November 19–Acts 24-25

“Having hope in God. . .that there will certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I also do my best to maintain a blameless conscience before God and man”(24:15-16).

To serve God well in the present age, we must declare the coming one. Our message (and our inward ambition) must always be of the resurrection and judgement to come. Just as Jesus rose from the grave, every person will also be raised to life to give account to God. This great day is God’s target event.

Even in Roman custody, Paul is courageously clear on this important point. Note his emphasis on hope (a confident expectation of a certain, promised future). Without apology, he predicts the coming resurrection of all men. The righteous and wicked, for honor or judgement, all will be raised to life on that day. The “Day of the Lord”, the prophets called it. It will be a cosmic display of God’s glory! Every eye will see it.

In 24:25, Paul preaches this truth to Felix. Rather than courting favor with this powerful man, Paul aims directly at the Governor’s conscience. He speaks of “righteousness (required of all men by a holy God) and self-control (logical necessity in the pursuit of righteousness) and judgment to come (the certainty of this future event and the need for every man to prepare for it).

People regularly tell me that they do not like “hell-fire and damnation” sermons. Paul disputed this common and worldly wisdom. Judgment is why the good news is so good! Only as we keep the coming resurrection “in view” (24:16) do we see the true gift of Christ.

Dear Friend, do you live in the certainty of the coming resurrection? Are you future-focused? Will you please say these words out loud? “Soon I will stand one day in the presence of God. He will hold me accountable. ” Write it on your heart, dear one. Shape your life with this hope.

“Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment”(Jesus, John 5:28-29).

November 18–Acts 22-23

“And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that has been appointed for you to do’ “(22:10).

It is a GREAT question! Rises from a humble heart. Displays readiness for obedience. What would YOU have me do? What would You have ME do? What would You have me DO?

To call Jesus “Lord”carries with it the clear duty to SEEK His will and to DO it. “God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, italics mine).

Teachers of grace sometimes suggest that any reference to human effort is “off message”. Not so! While we must always resist the idea that we are saved by works, we must also insist that effort in active obedience is essential proof of genuine faith. “You wicked and lazy servant,” declared the Master to the one who never got around to obedient effort. See Matthew 25:26.

“My Father is working, so I am working,” said Jesus (italics mine). Faith is more than mental assent. It is union with the Father, and active obedience as an expression of it.

Christianity is weakened by unemployment. Thousands give testimony to having received Christ, but often without any indication of spiritual assignment or fruitful enterprise. In our text today, Paul was given both a unique and a general assignment. His unique task was to go to the Gentiles. His more common task was to arise, be baptized, call on the name of the Lord. Our experience with Jesus will mirror Paul’s.

In “retirement” I am learning this lesson again. I am to serve all the way to the end of life. I am to finish the race. I can rest when I get home. “Be faithful unto death,” says the Savior.

What would you have me do, Lord? Asking this GREAT question of our GREAT Savior makes the believer stronger in this world and more rewarded in the next.

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”(1 Peter 4:10).

November 17–Acts 20-21

“Now after these things. . .Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem”(19:21).

“Bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me”(20:23).

The Spirit’s agenda is NOT predicated on our comfort. The Lord, in His higher purposes, will often lead us into suffering. If not into temptation (the potential of moral failure), into suffering, nevertheless. When these moments come, faith requires courage. Even when the path turns toward danger, we are to be resolute and calm. We carry the cross. We do not complain about it.

In Ephesus (Acts 19), Paul, “purposed in the Spirit,” to go to Jerusalem. Interesting phrase. It combines supernatural guidance (from God) with courageous embrace of God’s will (from the believer). The Spirit pointed the path. Paul purposed it.

An unpopular decision with his friends. They warned him. Wept. Prophesied of hardships ahead. (Please note: two Christians can have the same information but reach different interpretations of God’s meaning and will). Jerusalem was boiling with anger toward Christians. His friends were convinced that he shouldn’t go. It was too dangerous.

What they misunderstood, is that suffering often serves a Godly purpose. It is a refining fire. Believers are called to, “fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24). Timely word! In an age of angry unbelief, believers must be willing to accept the suffering that comes.

“God assumed from the beginning that the wise of this world would view Christians as fools. . .and He has not been disappointed. Have the courage (therefore) to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ, and have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world”(Antonin Scalia).

Are you bound by the Spirit to a difficult life circumstance? Have you purposed to walk forward into God’s assignment for you with courage and hope?

November 16–Acts 18-19

“He found a Jew named Aquila. . .with his wife Priscilla. . .and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them. . . for they were tent-makers”(18:2-3).

“You are always a gardener. What grows, and how it grows, is up to you”(Jones Loflin).

As a believer, I am to bear fruit. One fruit God fairly expects from my life is the multiplication of workers. God calls me, and every believer, to participate in the training of new leaders. We must not only be disciples, we must also disciple others. Jesus told us to, “pray for laborers,” and to invest in their growth and progress.

Paul’s dedication to this strategic assignment is inspiring. In every chapter of his life, he intentionally involved himself in the task of identifying and developing new leaders.

In Acts 16, he met Timothy and invited him to come along on the missionary journey. In Acts 18, he encountered a Jewish couple (already converted? We do not know.) He moved in with them. Living together intensified the relationship, multiplied his opportunity to teach and encourage and inspire. When Paul left Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila went with him. They became missionaries, trained by a missionary.

Does this remind you of the Savior’s intentional relationship with the disciples? It should! He used friendship as an opportunity for leadership development. Close contact, frequent conversation, all part of a strategic and godly purpose.

Luke later tells of Priscilla and Aquila’s encounter with Apollos. See Acts 18. Wisely and forcefully, they befriended and corrected this talented young preacher! Not critics, they were mentors.

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).

Friend, are you at work identifying and inspiring and instructing the next leaders in your church? Are you praying for an expanded workforce? Do you make time for the next generation of servants?

Your own obedience is only one part of your obligation to God. If you love Him, you must also help build a team.

“Men, where is your man? Women, where is your woman?” (Dawson Trotman).

“For our own success to be real, it must contribute to the success of others” (Eleanor Roosevelt).

November 15–Acts 16-17

“When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them”(16:10).

Unusual word. Important idea. Symbibazo was a compound word in Greek. Sym meant “together or with.” Bibazo meant “to force or cause.” Often translated as “concluding” (see above), it literally meant “to force together.” It was an intellectual and moral discernment process, putting pieces of evidence together to determine meaning and discern the direction of God.

For many days, Paul and his team had been stalled. Every attempt to move had been frustrated or forbidden. One night in a vision, Paul saw a Macedonian (Greek) man pleading for them to, “come over and help.” (Up to this moment, all missionary activity had been confined to Asia Minor and the area immediately around Israel. A move into Europe was groundbreaking!)

The next morning, over coffee (how I imagine it, anyway), the team considered and concluded that God was calling them into Europe! Unlike Acts 13, where the Holy Spirit communicated the conclusion to them in direct words, in this instance, God pointed direction via a dream and required His children to use their minds to discern His will.

God’s people are sometimes slow to reach conclusions. Exactly Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees. “Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the time”(Matthew 16:3).

Friend, have you REACHED A CONCLUSION as to the will of God? It takes courage, I know. All of us experience a certain reluctance to face this moment of decision and accountability. What do all the pieces of His dealing with you (taken together and drawn to a moral conclusion) tell you? Will you spend time to consider and decide what He is saying? Having reached a conclusion, will you begin immediately to do His will?

“If you don’t make up your mind, your unmade mind will unmake you” (E. Stanley Jones).

“Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil”(Hebrews 5:14).

November 14–Acts 14-15

“Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God”(14:22).

The perseverance of genuine faith is a marvel! Like a cork in water, a person in Christ is impossible to keep down. In Acts 14, Paul is stoned and dragged out of a city. With irrepressible courage, he gets up, goes to the next city and preaches the gospel. Amazing! Unconquerable.

The Spirit of God produces the same mental toughness in us! He tells us to EXPECT tribulations. See Paul’s words above. The Greek word is thlipsis, it meant “pressure or stress.” Believers are not surprised when life gets difficult, when opposition or danger comes. Facing problems, enduring them, is part of our assignment in this world. We are called to courage, not ease. No discouragement. No pouting. The road home leads through these difficulties.

When problems come, we TRUST GOD to open doors. “God opened a door of faith to the Gentiles,” reported Paul with great gladness! Note his focus on God’s work rather than his own comfort! Life cannot be what we want. It CAN be what He wants! When God opens doors, we walk through them. No regrets. No attachment to things that are necessarily left behind. Faith and forward are often the same word.

In our troubles, the Spirit teaches us to be WISE. The Acts 15 reports a controversial situation. Potentially destructive. With calm faith, Peter and Paul and James face the potentially divisive conflict with testimony, scripture and wisdom. Their leadership did not satisfy everyone, but it did make a way for the people of God to move forward in unity. Wise as serpents, gentle as doves.

Friend, do you expect tribulation as a norm? Do you accept them without complaint or regret, as a part of the journey? Do you endure and trust God to open doors? Are you wise with your opponents, certain that the Lord will guide you through?

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

“The best way out is always through”(Robert Frost).

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle”(Phillips Brooks).

November 13–Acts 12-13

“When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself”(12:10).

The Apostles were often in trouble with the authorities. Often in jail. In several instances, God miraculously opened the prison doors and set them free. Peter in Acts 12. Paul in Acts 16. Daniel and Joseph in the Old Testament. Symbolic message! God is greater than any jail cell or legal threat. Nothing is impossible for Him. (Nothing is even difficult.) See Jeremiah 32:27.

In Revelation 3:20, Christ calls us to open the door for Him. He seeks entrance into our lives. For those who obey, dinner conversation follows, deep intimacy.

In the same way, we should know and rejoice that Christ opens doors for us. Leads the way. Makes progress possible. All obstacles must be viewed through this lens. When God opens the door of our prison, we are to walk out with PRAISE on our lips. When He doesn’t free us (from jail or suffering, as was the case with John the Baptist), we are to stand certain in His greater plan. In both circumstances, we trust Him.

Are you facing a door that seems closed and locked? Are you trapped, your progress hindered? Will you lift your eyes to a God who is bigger than your cell, stronger than your guards? Will also consider that your job may be to endure with joy? Will you walk through the door when it opens? Will you praise Him and rest in His daily provision when it doesn’t?

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee”(Charles Wesley).

“Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut” (Revelation 3:8).

November 12–Acts 10-11

“And a large number who believed turned to the Lord. . . and the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch”(11:21,26).

It was something brand new! Not like anything the world had ever seen before. Diverse AND unified! Jews and Gentiles. Slaves and free men. Male and female. Rich and poor. They were a team. A family united by faith in Jesus.

In the tsunami of the Spirit,old prejudices were being washed away. When God promised,”Behold, I do a new thing,” (Isaiah 43:19), He was predicting the church!

Reaching for an appropriate name, some began to call these people “Christians” (little replicas of Christ, people in whom His life and values are present and powerful.

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). One of the remarkable realities of the new-born church was (is) unity.

The secular age often speaks of “the brotherhood of man”. It claims an existential unity by virtue of humanity alone. Sadly, this connectedness is imaginary and impracticable. Every war proves it so.

True unity, much-needed unity, rises only from the supernatural. The restless sinfulness and proud autonomy of the human heart can only be calmed by the Prince of Peace.

Filled (dominated, directed) with the Spirit, believers discover a new basis for unity. We accept those God accepts. “What God has cleansed no longer consider unholy (rejected as unacceptable). See Acts 11:9. As we walk in the Spirit, a united family is born.

Friend, do you embrace the duty and privilege of life in the family of Christ? Do you gladly and fully embrace those whom Christ embraces? Do you live with your brothers and sisters in carefully guarded unity. Are you a Christian?

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

“Accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).

November 11–Acts 8-9

“Saul, Saul why are you persecuting Me?”(9:4).

The stoning of Stephen was a tipping point. “On that day,” says Luke, “a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem” (8:1). As Jesus warned, hatred toward Christ and His followers quickly burst into open flame. Opposition is always part of the story. This world does not welcome Truth.

“Paul began ravaging the church,” writes Luke in 8:3. The word meant “to desecrate or shame.” From a root that means “filth,” it pictures throwing mud or fecal material in order to injure or dishonor. Persecution is a “smear campaign,” an attempt to turn public opinion against believers, to make it morally acceptable to hate or harm them.

Resisting God, however, is hard! If painful for the victims, also for the aggressors. “Is it hard to kick against the goads?”, the Lord later asked Saul (Acts 26:14). Painful conscience! Empty heart. Those who hate God do not get free from Him!

What a glorious relief (for Saul, for us) when God’s love finally breaks through our resistance. Presented with undeniable proof of Christ’s resurrection and glory, struck blind (as a representative judgement on his spiritual blindness and pride), Saul believed! His life was changed. He was born from above.

The world hates the truth of Christ. It will hate us for speaking it. To seek safety in silence, however, is to betray the love of Christ. In persecution, we experience, “the fellowship of His suffering.” In persecution, the kingdom makes progress!

“The tyrant dies and his rule is over. The martyr dies and his rule begins” (Soren Kierkegaard).

“They overcame him (the accuser) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their own life even when faced with death”(Revelation 12:11).

November 10–Acts 7

“You men are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did”(7:51).

Stephen was one of the first deacons. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. Wise and generous, a man of great integrity and courage.

We are not told how he came to Christ. What we do know is that he was an able student of Scripture and a fearless communicator of God’s truth. So much for the argument that laymen should leave the preaching to the professionals!

“The best defense is a good offense,” says the old football proverb. In the face of opposition, Stephen pressed forward (6:10). Filled with the Holy Spirit, He preached to the Sanhedrin a scalding sermon that would cost him his life.

His sermon was a summary of Jewish history from Abraham to the present day. Sometimes gently, sometimes not, Stephen reminded them of the moments of Israel’s resistance to the will of God. Many examples! The patriarchs were jealous of Joseph. The people disowned Moses and wanted to return to Egypt. As a nation, they misunderstood the deeper meaning of the temple. They killed the prophets. It was a clear pattern.

Sad, but true. The family tradition of the human race is resistance to God. Apart from Christ, this would be the our only story.

When Stephen spoke, the crowd reacted with fury! Common reaction of human pride. “I am no sinner! How dare you judge me!” Patriotism poured additional fuel on the fire. “You don’t love our country! We are God’s people!”

Who preaches this way in our day? Who reads history and Scripture as proof that men are lost and (apart from a Savior) are hopeless in both time and eternity? Fearless followers of Christ do! Like Stephen, we preach God’s truth, even when it is unpopular or dangerous to do so.

“ ‘They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 1:19).

“Do not fear what you are about to suffer . . . Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).