The Everyday Prayer

RE Verse reading–Acts 20:17-35 (day five)  “I know that after my departure savage wolves will arise. . .speaking perverse things, to draw the disciples away. . .and now I commend you to God and the word of His grace which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”  (vs 29-30, 32)  Strange comfort.  Paul’s attitude.  He sees hardship ahead, savage stuggle.  It isn’t pessimism.  Kingdom progress has always been opposed. “The days are evil”( Ephesians 5:16).  Problems should not surprise or discourage us.  They should motivate us to pray.   Hard times are NOT the full story.  Hope is.  To commend these elders and their young church to God and to the word of His grace was Paul’s expression of confidence.  No matter what they would face in the coming days, God had promised grace (help, power, courage, wisdom) that would be more than sufficient.  Now unto Him who is ABLE. . . even when hard times come.

RE Verse reading–Acts 20:17-35 (day four)  “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak”  (vs 35)  Many modern believers misunderstand the place of work in our gospel.  Starting as we should from Ephesians 2:9 (“Not by works (ergon) lest any man should boast”), we rightly claim salvation as a gift by grace through faith alone.  Many, however, never find an appropriate balance for Philippians 2:12 “work out (kata ergon) your salvation with fear and trembling”.  In Acts 20,  Paul’s word choice is picturesque.  It was the word used for harvest.  It pictured the hot, sweaty, urgent work of bringing in crops.  The first hearers all knew exactly what was being required.   May the Lord give us the same vision for our own lives.  Hard work is God’s will for us.  It is the only way  the weak can be helped.  As the old hymn says, “We’ll work till Jesus comes.”  Sing with me, will you?

RE Verse reading–Acts 20:17-35 (day three)  “I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God”  (vs26-27)  As Paul reviewed his life,  he was glad for the times he did not back down from telling the truth.  It is hard to do.  Fear of people’s reaction, avoidance of tension or conflict is enough to silence most of us, most of the time.  Two times in this short sermon Paul says, “I did not shrink”  (vs 20, 27) which translates a Greek word meaning “to stand down”.  One of the signs of  Holy Spirit- filling is boldness.  (Acts 4:13)  The Spirit gives us the courage to tell truth even when it is unwelcome or unpopular.  Strange irony.  We are most generous when we are least concerned with people’s reaction to our words.   We speak the truth in love. (Ephesian 4:15). Our gift to others is to not be afraid of them.

RE Verse reading–Acts 20:17-35 (day two)  “You yourselves know. . .how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews”  (vs18-19)  Not to get political (as if there is any place safe from it), but those who care about anything must bear the conflict that comes.  To say that President Obama “cares” may be political spin, but the fact that his sweeping new health care law was (and will be) a fight is not a surprise to him or anyone else.  No leader can be naive at this point.  Whether building a church or proposing a new entitlement program, all leaders face difficulty.  Those who lead (and those who oppose them) must pay the price of conscience and conflict.  God forbid that we grow soft and self-indulgent.  To avoid conflict is to not care. Paul is our example.  So is Jesus.

RE Verse reading–Acts 20:17-35 (day one)  “You yourselves know. . .how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials” (vs 18-19)  Do you like unselfish people?  I do.  They attract and inspire me.  In 2 Corinthians 9, the Bible says that God loves cheerful givers.  Acts 20 says that people love cheerful givers too.  Paul is meeting with the elders of the church in Ephesus for the last time.  He loves these men.  They love him.  It may sound egotistical, but Paul is actually making a point that he has been unselfish in his service and that the same will be required of them when he is gone.  The church cannot exist unless people give unselfishly.  Can you think of examples in your own life?  People who have been generous, courageous, sacrificial in the cause of Christ?  If so, then God is calling you to follow their example and become an inspiration to others.

RE Verse reading–1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:6-15 (day seven)  “Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience. . .(and) yearn for you”  (9:13-14)  Paul’s enthusiasm for an offering from the Greek churches for the struggling Jerusalem church came, partly, from his hope for unity.  The ancient world was torn to pieces by the prejudice between Greeks and Hebrews.  Paul believed that generosity from the Greeks would serve as proof (vs 13, dokima–“a test for authenticity”) that God was at work.  He also hoped that it would result in thanksgiving to God (vs 12) and a new, dramatic “yearning for friendship” (vs 14) in the hearts of the Jewish believers.  What better evidence that the Prince of peace had come than a bridge of friendship between former enemies?   Would it work today?. .  Between people who have a “history” of conflict and mistrust?  “Every man is a friend to him who gives gifts”  (Proverbs 19:6)  Simple wisdom.  Time-tested.  A path forward!

RE Verse reading–1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:6-15 (day six)  “This is to your advantage who were the first to begin a year ago. . . to desire to do it.  But now finish doing it”  (8:10-11)  It has become a theme for me.  After 38 years in ministry, my concentration these days is on finishing.  It is easy (common) to start on a noble journey but become distracted, discouraged, fatigued or bored along the way.  The early excitement fades.  Paul knew that  certain forces work to keep us all from “finishing the race”(2 Timothy 4:7)  We get weary.  We get satisfied with some obedience but not all.  It is to our own advantage to defeat these promise-weakening pressures. (vs 10)  Part of the joy of the Christ comes from the satisfaction of having finished the task assigned to us by the Father.  Every Saturday of outreach, every morning in prayer, every sacrificial dollar. . . All that He wills!  All of our days.  Don’t drop out now.  Finish!

RE Verse reading–1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:6-15 (day five)  “And this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God” (8:5)  It was an unexpected kind of generosity.  Even in a miraculous age, the Spirit of God working in the Macedonian church was a surprise to Paul.  Affliction does not normally lead to joy.  Poverty doesn’t usually lead to liberality.  (see vs 2)  It is supernatural and, therefore,  exactly what we should expect.  If God is better than we imagine–“Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20)–then people who are filled with His life should also be a regular surprise to us as well.  In patience, in generosity, in forgiveness, in joy. . .part of the Lord’s plan for this predictable world is to plant surprises in the midst of it. May the Lord use us to surprise someone today.

RE Verse reading–1 Corinthians 16: 1-4, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:6-15 (day four)  “On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save. . .so that no collections be made when I come”  (16:2)  It is a radically simple concept.  Childlike.  Each one of us.  Every week.  Being generous, for Paul, was not something that happened on a pay cycle.  Deeper than that.  He imagined that every week (not just when we had new money, and not just when special persuasion was being applied) every Christian would sit down and consider how much he/she had (at that moment) and set some of it aside to give later.  Giving is not a bill to be paid.  It is a regular act of worship and gratitude, a moment every week to recognize how much we have and commit some of it to the good of others and the glory of God.  Imagine what could be accomplished.  Each one, every week, save something!

RE Verse reading–1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:6-15 (day three)  “Now HE WHO SUPPLIES seed to the sower and bread for food will SUPPLY and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness”  (9:10)  It is His name.  More than what He does, it is who He is.  In 2 Corinthians 9, the Apostle Paul reveals a name for God that is often foreign to our thinking.  “HE WHO SUPPLIES!”  (Please say it out loud!)  If we meditate on it, this truth will change our lives.  Specifically, Paul has in mind the miracle of seed-planting and harvest.  How many seasons has God performed this miracle for a hungry world?  Thousands?  Millions? And for one who never changes, past is prediction and promise.  Generosity is part of His character.  Something we can count on.  It is His name.  “My God shall SUPPLY all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”  (Philippians 4:19)  No fear! We serve “HIM WHO SUPPLIES”