End of the Year!

1st Timothy 1:3-6

12-30-07

Big Myths of Christmas Part 3

Luke 2:1-7

12-23-07

Acts 17:18-23

18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”
19 Then they took him to the high council of the city.* “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. 20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.” 21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)
22 So Paul, standing before the council,* addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

Paul noticed the Athenians were a people who tried to cover all their bases.  Not only did they have statues and Temples for the Gods of the Roman and Greek Cultures, they also made a statue and a temple to cover any unknown God they may have offended or missed going through life.  They were just making sure!  Paul was wise to pick up on this characteristic and to exploit it for the sake of the Gospel.  He did not want to let them off the hook.  So he appealed to their minds and named the unknown God as His God in an effort to win them over.  Do you know people who just try to cover all their bases so they don’t offend God?  Don’t be afraid to tell them about your God.  Use every opportunity to introduce them to Jesus, who is Lord!  Point out what they are missing and invite them to the altar of your God!  After all,  ”there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

 

Acts 17:16-17

16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city. 17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

Paul had gone ahead of Timothy and Silas to Athens, that magnificent center of culture and learning.  But what Paul saw deeply troubled him.  There were idols and temples everywhere and the culture was immersed in sinful behavior.  So what did he do with his distress for what he saw?  He used it to talk to the people, to preach in their synagogues, and to share in the market places with those who would listen.  He didn’t let it drag him down, instead, he used it to present the gospel to those he came in contact with.  May I suggest that we often see similar things in our culture and feel the same kinds of troubled feelings inside ourselves that Paul did in Athens.  The difference may be that we just let it take us down and notch and lament the direction our country is going.  May I suggest we look to the Spirit as Paul did in Athens.  May I suggest we use it to motivate ourselves to enter into discussions with those around us so we too can present an alternative to them through the gospel?  Consider these things as you hear the next story about a guy who goes bonkers and shoots up a mall or more legislation that strips our culture of any evidences of God’s presence or blessing!   Use these stories to bring up the good news!  Have a blessed day!

Acts 17:10-15

10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. 12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.
13 But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. 14 The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15 Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

Paul and Silas found themselves chased from one town to the next.  This day it was Berea.  According to Acts, they were a different kind of people, more inclined to study your words and actions to see if they were accurate.  I used to do 5 devotions a week based on the sermons I did on Sundays so the congregation could continue to ponder the message they heard to reinforce its accuracy.  I did that because we have a tendency to listen and accept the words of those we think are trustworthy and then never take the time to consider those words first hand from the Scriptures.  In Berea they did just that!  They sought truth and when they were given information they took it to the Scriptures to see if it was in fact the truth.  They went beyond just hearing and accepting.  They did what Paul later reminded Timothy to do in a letter to him.  “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).  I encourage you to do the same.  Don’t be guilty of believing everything you hear because you respect the source.  Check it out on your own.  We cannot be called a people of the word of God if we do not take the time to study it on our own.  Have a great prelude this week to Christmas!

Acts 17:1-9

1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. 3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” 4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.*
5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.* 6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers* instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. 7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”
8 The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. 9 So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

The beginnings of the early Church in Greece remind me a lot of the current Church in China.  They do not have buildings, cannot legally meet and are forced into the homes of believers to worship and grow in their faith.  They are not bothering anybody and gather for the express purpose of fellowship and evangelization.  It is in this context that someone always alerts the authorities and they come and enter these homes and drag them outside and usually beat the leaders and then have them thrown in jail on trump up charges.  There are men and women today in prisons through out China for their faith.  Jason and the others got off easy!  Today, pray for those who are being persecuted for their faith in China.  As you read these accounts in Acts remember similar things are happening today to our brothers and sisters in Christ elsewhere.  Thank God we live in a country where it is still okay to talk about our faith and to invite people to our Churches and homes to grow in Christ.  Look for opportunities to share your faith while we still can.  Have a great day!

 

Acts 16:35-40

35 The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” 36 So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”
37 But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”
38 When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. 40 When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.

This part of the narrative in Acts should make you ask one question and only one question.  Why did God use an earthquake to set Paul and Silas free in the evening when the City officials were going to release them in the morning?  The answer:  for the sake of the Philippian jailer and his family.  It was the miraculous that reached the heart of the jailer.  As I suggested in our last devotion, he could hear the singing and the praying and was probably pondering how these two men could be so unconcerned with their predicament.  What God was about to do was not for Paul and Silas.  They trusted God and were at that very moment worshipping Him for His faithfulness and what He would do through their circumstances to touch others.  It was for the jailer and the future of the Church at Philippi that God acted.  I am sure they talked about it for years to come in their fellowship and used it to win still others for Christ.   So whats the point?  What God does for us, may not be for us at all!  It may be for those around us who are looking for answers in life; those who are struggling to stay on course.  It may be for the encouraging and building of your fellowship of believers.  Paul and Silas would have been released in the morning, so we know it was not for them.  But what happened allowed them to bring the Jailer and his family into the family of God and further allowed them to go and encourage the new church family in Philippi with what God had done through their situation.  I am sure it would later be of good use to Paul, when from a Roman prison he wrote to a discouraged Philippian Church that his imprisonment was causing many to come and know Jesus personally and grow stronger in the faith.    Just remember as you go through this week,  what happens to you may not be for you at all!   It may be for all those people around you who need to know God’s saving grace.  Have a good week!

Big Myths of Christmas Part 2

Matthew 1:18-25

12-9-07

Acts 16:25-34

25 Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. 26 Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! 27 The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”
29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. 33 Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. 34 He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

What do you do when you find yourself unjustly imprisoned, your body beaten, your clothes removed and your arms and legs in shackles?  That is where Paul and Silas ended up for delivering a demon possessed girl from the powers of darkness.  But what they did in that prison in that condition was nothing short of amazing.  Instead of bemoaning their fate and falling into negative thoughts about where God may be in all they had experienced,  they prayed out loud and praised their God and sung hymns of praise.  I can hear the other prisoners crying out in obsenities telling them to shut up.  I think the guard heard ever word and wondered at their faith.  That’s right, their faith!  Who were these men that they should take such a positive approach to a very negative situation?  Why were they singing to their God praises when they clearly had found themselves in a very difficult predicament?  When you find life difficult do you choose to live out your faith or to hide it?  Do you choose to acknowledge the greatness of God or do you bemoan your predicaments.  Paul and Silas simply lived out their faith.  The results were nothing short of miraculous.  The jailer and His family found the Lord because Paul and Silas lived out their faith!  Lets do the same during the good and the not so good days!  Live out your faith so the world can see it and wonder!

Acts 16:16-24

16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.”
18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.”
22 A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. 23 They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. 24 So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.

I am often asked if fortune tellers and mediums have real powers?  The answer is yes!  Some are frauds and use manipulative power to persuade those coming to them to believe what they have to say, but some actually do operate under demonic influence.  This young lady was under the influence of a demonic spirit that Paul eventually called out of her.  I wanted to bring this up for those of you who may know others who claim to follow Jesus and yet believe in, have used or called upon Psychics for information regarding their lives.  They are not subjecting themselves to the influence of the Holy Spirit, but the influence of the occult.  This is incongruent with who we are in Christ.  We cannot ignore the teaching of the Scripture in deference to the occult.  Reading astrological charts, looking into daily horoscopes or calling upon fortune tellers is not okay.  You are opening yourself up to demonic inluence.  If you ever get into a conversation with anyone who believes in these kind of people, please take the time to tell them what the Scripture teaches.  Open your Bibles to this page and read them this story.  If they do not listen their only interest is a prosperous life, not the Lord.  We trust Him and Him alone!  Paul and Silas went to jail because they recognized the source of her insight; it was demonic.   Don’t be fooled!  Don’t even be tempted to read the tabloids as we move into the new year and all these predictions are given.  Look to the Lord!