Day Sixty-Four

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 13:26-41

26 “Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. 32 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ 34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ 35 So it is also stated elsewhere: “‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ 36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”

Regarding this speech, John Stott argues that: ‘Luke is evidently anxious to demonstrate that Paul’s message to the Jews was substantially the same as Peter’s.’[1]

• Do you agree with him? If so, why might Luke be keen to do so?
• Reread Paul’s whole speech and imagine you are a Jew listening to it. How do you think you would have responded?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Here Paul is speaking to people living in Galatia.[1] In his letter to the Galatians we discover that he was sick at this time. It is not clear exactly what his illness was but clearly it affected his eyes (Gal. 4:15). Further there is the suggestion that it was highly unpleasant as people could have been tempted to mock him (Gal. 4:14). Elsewhere in Acts it is clear, however, that God used Paul to perform many miracles (e.g. Acts 19:11).

• Why then does God not heal Paul now? Is there anything we can learn from this?
• How do you think you would have felt if you were Paul and God was using you in incredibly powerful ways and yet you were painfully sick? Have you had experiences like that? If so, how did you respond?

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[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 225.

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[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 222.

Day Sixty-Three

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 13:13-25

13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.” 16 Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; 18 for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; 19 and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. “After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ 23 “From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John was completing his work, he said: ‘Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’ 

Since Judaism and Christianity are now separate religions, it is easy to assume that the early Christians viewed themselves as breaking off from their Jewish past – a bit like in the manner shown below:

However, when we examine the speeches that the early Christians made amongst their fellow Jews, it is clear that in their mind it was the other way around!

This is not to say that what God did through Jesus was not different from what he had done before – it was! However, from the early Christian’s perspectives, it was fully in line with all that had come before it. To their minds, they were the ones who had tracked with what God was now doing and, in particular, the way he had fulfilled the promises found within the Old Testament. The Jews who would not acknowledge their true Messiah were the ones who had gone off on a tangent!

It is Messiah language that is very much at the heart of Paul’s summary of the Old Testament – particular in the section we’ll read tomorrow. “Jesus is the one you have been waiting for!” Is the overarching proclamation. And he is a Messiah who fulfils all that has gone before him.

• Reread this part of Paul’s speech. Are you familiar with the stages in Israel’s history that he describes? If not, maybe it would be worth doing a bit of research and finding out more about them.

If you have a bit longer :-)

• Why do you think John Mark left them at this point? Why do you think Paul was so upset by it? (We are not told at this point that he is upset but what follows in Acts 15 demonstrates that clearly he was.)

Day Sixty-Two

If you have  5 minutes!

Read Acts 13:4-12, Genesis 50:20 & Romans 8:28

4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper. 6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.”

(Joseph speaking to his brothers) “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Here we have a conflict between God’s agents and a man presumably led by something more sinister. God is triumphant and even uses the opposition against him to lead someone closer to him.

• What opposition do you think there is against you at the moment?
• Can you see any ways in which God might use this opposition for good?
• Do you think you would ever be as bold as Paul was in this situation?
• Is there any particular significance to the fact that God caused Bar-Jesus to go blind for a time, as opposed to some other ailment?
• Do you think there could be times today when God might lead someone to call down a physical infliction on someone else?

If you have a bit longer :-)

John Stott notes that they might have gone first to Cyprus because that is where Barnabas was from.[1] What do you think? In other words, how much do you think Paul and Barnabas went to places because they specifically heard the Holy Spirit direct them there and how much do you think they decided through their own human (but God-given!) reasoning and wisdom? Are these two things mutually exclusive? If not, how might they have worked together for Saul and Barnabas? How might they work together in our lives today?

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[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 218.

Day Sixty-One

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 13:1-3

1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

There was a period of time over the recent Bible Overview Course when we were meeting in King’s Church and in the room next door was the Lent Prophetic Course run by Sally Ann. We were chatting beforehand one week when Sally Ann commented on how appropriate it was that Bible and prophetic courses should be running in adjacent rooms and joked that we just needed to get rid of the wall! I agreed; the Bible and prophecy need to go hand-in-hand.

It is not clear here whether the five men listed were all “prophets and teachers” or whether some were one and some the other. It is noteworthy, however, that the two functions are listed together. What is also noteworthy is the diversity amongst those listed. Two are from North Africa, Simeon and Lucius – the first of whom could conceivably be the Simon who carried Jesus’ cross.[1] There is Saul, the Pharisee, who was from Tarsus in what is now southern Turkey. There is Barnabas the Levite from Cyprus (4:36) and then Manaen a close childhood friend of Herod’s![2]

• What is prophecy?[1]
• Why is it important that the Bible and prophecy go together (if, indeed, you agree that they should)?
•  Is there any significance to the fact that one of Herod’s childhood companions is listed in this group?

If you have a bit longer :-)

When I read in the Bible about God speaking to someone, I often find myself wondering what that experience was like. Was it an audible voice? Was it an instantaneous unshakable conviction? Or was it more like the way I believe he often speaks to me? A growing conviction over time or a gentle nudge inside their heads, which they think is God but might not be?!

Well, as is usually the case in the Bible, we are not told. We just know that he did!

•  Do you believe that God speaks to you? If so in what ways?
• When we believe that we have heard from God, how do we know if it is him speaking or not? What degree of certainty should we have before acting on what we we’ve heard?
• How can we help one another in this?

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[1] The definition of the Greek word, profeteia, is: “discourse emanating from divine inspiration and declaring the purposes of God, whether by reproving and admonishing the wicked, or comforting the afflicted, or revealing things hidden; especially by foretelling future events.” From Accordance, an NT computer programme.

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[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 218.

[2] “Brought up with Herod” in the TNIV does not fully indicate the closeness of the Greek word used (suntrofos), which means something like, childhood companion.

Day Sixty

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 12:24-25 & the quote by William Hazlitt

24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

“Man is the only animal who laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck by the different between what things are and what they ought to be.” (William Hazlitt)

Humour indicates a higher and alternate reality.[1] We laugh when a cake goes wrong because we know what a good cake should look like. We laugh when someone falls through the bottom of a chair (as long as they don’t hurt themselves!) because we know that this is not normally what chairs do! On a deeper level, comedy reveals dysfunctions within the world as we know it indicating that, on some kind of intuitive level at least, we know it should be better.

A comedy, in its traditional definition, is the opposite of a tragedy. In other words something that ends well.

Within these definitions the entire biblical story is, in many ways, humourous and a comedy.

It is humourous in that it constantly highlights the discrepancy between the world as it is and the world as God wanted it to be. Throughout the Bible we are painfully aware that God made the world fuller, more whole, less broken… and that God made people to be more loving, less destructive… At times, this discrepancy is portrayed in deliberately humourous language (e.g. God’s rant against idolatry in Isaiah 44 and his reply to Job). At times the presentation is more sober.

However it is also a divine comedy in that the whole story of the Bible looks forward to a happy ending. There may be ups and downs but ultimately God will triumph. His plans for the earth will one day come fully into fruition.

This ultimate victory is foreshadowed here. The whole chapter has a comical twist. It starts with a fervent attack by someone who, in human terms, has all the power. By the end, however, the powerful antagonist is dead and the seemingly powerless church continues to grow.

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[1] Peter Burger, “Redeeming Laughter,” pg. 208. (Thanks to Jen Hewett and Barney Pimentell for their dissertations’ help in this!)

Day Fifty-Nine

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 12:20-24 & Isaiah 14:9-15

Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there. 20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply. 21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” 23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

A Taunt to the King of Babylon: The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones—all those who were kings over the nations. 10 They will all respond, they will say to you, “You also have become weak, as we are; you have become like us.” 11 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. 12 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

The humour continues – albeit in an ironic black comedy kind of way – as Herod reaches the pinnacle of earthly glory only to be reduced to a pile of worms. It echoes with the taunt against the King of Babylon in Isaiah 14, written when Babylon was in the height of her power and Israel was suffering under her oppression.

• Why do you think God did this? Do you agree that this account is humorous in a slightly morbid kind of way? If so, what is the significance of this?

If you have a bit longer :-)

It has been said that tyranny can deal with anything except ridicule.

• Do you agree with this?
• If so, do you think humour could be better employed to combat ruthless tyrannical behaviour today?
• In this vein, have you heard of/seen the film “The Dictator” by Sachan Baron Cohen? If so do you think this is a good example of how to use humour subversively? If not why not? (I haven’t seen it so can’t comment. Generally, however, I am not the hugest fan of other stuff he has made. I feel like in principle he is onto something, I’m just not totally sure I like how he does it. What do other people think?)

Day Fifty-Eight

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 12:12-19

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!” 15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place. 18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

“Knock knock”

“Who’s there?”

“Peter”

“Peter who?”

“Peter you’ve just be praying for”

“Okay, very funny! Who is it really?”

“No really it’s Peter!”

“Yes Yes I get the joke! Who is it?”

“It’s Peter!”

“Peter?! Is that you?”

“Yes I just told you it was!”

“Wait there I’ll get the others.”

“Can’t you let me in firs…Oh you’ve gone. Fine I’ll wait.”

“Hey everyone it’s Peter.”

“Yes we know it’s Peter who has been arrested we’ve been praying for him all night. Haven’t you been listening?”

“No I know that, but I mean it’s Peter outside! He’s been knocking on the door.”

“Don’t be so ridiculous. Weren’t you listening. We just told you. Peter’s in prison. That’s why we’ve been praying (turns to Mary and whispers) seriously Mary you need to get a new maid, this one’s not all…”

“No it is Peter. I heard him speak. He’s outside the door knocking. Listen can’t you hear him he’s still knocking!”

“Look I know you’re upset. You probably just thought it was Peter.”

“No it was Peter. I mean it is Peter, he’s still there. Listen he’s still knocking.”

“Oh no! Oh no! Ooohhh nooooo!”

“What’s wrong Mary?”

“They must have killed him already. I bet you’ve just seen his ghost.”

“No it’s not his ghost it really is him…”

Aside from the tragedy at the start, the whole of this chapter is funny. This section in particular is brilliantly funny. Loads of the early Christians are in Mary’s house praying for what? Presumably Peter’s release! And yet when Peter is released they don’t believe it. The prison gate is opened before him but he ends up stranded outside the locked door of those most eager to welcome him home!

So what do we make of this humour? Is there anything we learn from it?

I recently watched an episode of a drama series based on the life of a top barrister. Within this episode she was defending a man with a vague alibi. She was not too concerned about this, however, as she noted that innocent people generally do have vague alibis. Who remembers where they were on, say, the 5^th of May at 4:43pm unless – of course – they were committing a crime?! If someone’s alibi is too perfect, then you have good reason to be suspicious.

In a similar way the humour, idiosyncrasies and honesty of the Bible is one of the strongest arguments for its authenticity. If it were too perfect, it would be much harder to believe. For example, if you were making up a story like this – a dramatic prison break of one of your main characters – who would think to add this randomly hilarious story in? Surely you would have the church filled with faith, looking out of the window waiting for Peter’s return, confident that the God who had achieved so many miracles in their presence would come good again? You wouldn’t have them doubting. You wouldn’t have them leaving Peter outside. You definitely wouldn’t have them suggest it was his ghost! Life is often stranger than fiction thus, perhaps conversely, the slight oddities of Scripture support its credibility.

If you have a bit longer :-)

• What is humour and is it important? If so, why?
• God made us in his image. The fact that humans have a sense of humour therefore tells us that God does too. Do you think of God as having a sense of humour? If so, how does this affect your relationship with him? 

Day Fifty-Seven

If you have 10 minutes!

Read Acts 12:5-11 & the quote by John Stott

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

Here then are two communities, the world and the church, arrayed against one anothers, each wielding an appropriate weapon. On the one side was the authority of Herod, the power of the sword and the security of the prison. On the other side, the church turned to prayer, which is the only power which the powerless possess.[1] (BUT WHAT POWER!)

“That’s not fair!” This was the first time the children I look after three-days-a-week had accused me of such a thing. I cannot remember what it was over, probably something like whose turn it was to choose the Peppa Pig episode to watch. However, although I felt I was treating them equally, the perception of unfairness jarred with me as – like most people working with children – I try hard to be fair since I appreciate how hurtful it must be for a child if someone is favoured over them.

 However it is not just children; we all like things to be fair and it throws us when it is not. “Why did this happen to me? What have I done to deserve it?” We can find ourselves exclaiming. Or conversely, “Why have I had such an easy life when others have all sorts of heartache to deal with?” Time and time again though the well-worn parent refrain “Life isn’t fair” is proved correct. We live in an unfair world.

To add to our frustrations, often God too seems unfair. At times our prayers are answered before they are uttered; at other times we pray for years and God apparently does nothing! While one person in church goes through a time of prosperity another is bankrupt. While some enjoy great health others fall sick…

Even in this chapter of Acts, God seems unfair! Why does he save Peter but not James? Why is Herod struck down at the end of the chapter rather than at the start, before he can unleash any damage? Further, if God is willing to kill Herod why not other destructive despots who have plagued the earth before and since?

Luke does not proffer any reason why James was killed but Peter walks free, nor does he seem perturbed by the inconsistency. Indeed there are echoes of Acts 5-7 where the release of Peter and the apostles from prison precedes Stephen’s death at the hands of a mob. God’s apparent inconsistency would perhaps be better explained were Peter to continue as his main agent. However, other than a brief appearance in chapter 15, Peter is not mentioned again.

What jarred me most about the children's protestation was the implication that I could not be trusted. That rather than doing my best to love both equally I favoured one above the other. This challenge to my trustworthiness is sometimes expressed in other ways; when I forbid something dangerous and am regarded a killjoy. None of this is unusual and I’m building it up to make a point!  However when trying to explain to a two-year old the logic of not giving her a hot cup of tea to carry or allowing her to just eat cake or climb on the TV… and your patient clear well-grounded-in-rational-thought arguments are met with cries of despair, it can be a genuinely frustrating experience.

It was during one of these experiences – as I was lamenting the cognitive gap between my highly rational explanations and a two-year old's inability to grasp their astonishing logic – that it suddenly occurred to me that the gap in knowledge and understanding between myself and a two-year old was infinitely smaller than the gap between myself and God! You see at the time I was, if I am honest, annoyed with God because a number of things had not panned out as I had hoped. I felt let down by him and could not understand why he was not answering my prayers more immediately and directly. In that moment I began to picture myself as the two-year old and God as me. There I was railing against the apparent unfairness I perceived in God totally oblivious to, and unable to grasp, his infinite wisdom and the work he was doing in my life.

Perhaps Luke grasped better than I how vast the gap between our knowledge and God’s really is?

Perhaps he had the faith to not understand but still trust?

Perhaps we can learn from him?

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[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 208-209.

Day Fifty-Six

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 12:1-4

1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

The relationship between the Jews and the Roman Empire they lived within is not entirely straightforward! On the whole, until around AD 66-70 when things went badly downhill, the Jewish faith was tolerated within the Empire – albeit seen as odd. In 37 BC the Romans even appointed a half-Jewish leader over Judea (and surrounding regions) in the hope that the Jews would be more compliant with his leadership. This was Herod the Great, the diplomatically brilliant but personally insane Herod of the nativity story.[1] Following his death, the region was split into three areas and his three sons ruled one each. The son who ruled Judea, where Jerusalem was, didn’t last long and was replaced by Roman governors including Pontius Pilate of Jesus’ crucifixion account. The second son – Antipas – ruled over the northern part, including Galilee, and was the Herod who had John the Baptist killed. He was then involved in Jesus’ trial.[2] A third son, Philip, was the most humane.

The Herod we meet here is Herod Agrippa I, in contrast to Herod Agrippa II who we meet in chapters 25 and 26. He is the grandson of Herod the Great and the son of Aristobulus, who was a half-brother of Herod Antipas.[3]

The Herod family was trusted by the Roman Empire but disliked by the Jews due to their Roman upbringing. They were charged with keeping the peace. These two factors explain, in part, Herod’s behaviour here. In killing James he is able to both lend himself to his Jewish critics and demonstrate to his Roman leaders his intolerance of those threatening the status quo.[4] Killing James first perhaps demonstrates a reticence to go straight to the top. Spurred on by “the Jews” approval, however, he arrests Peter and places him in jail…

• Luke is such a brilliantly concise reader that, in his brevity, it is easy to gloss over the devastating impact James’ death must have had on the church community. Reread these verses and try to imagine how you would have felt if you had been part of the church at that time. How do you think you would have responded?

If you have a bit longer :-)

History repeats itself and sadly today there are many leaders as ruthless as the Herod family. Spend some time praying for those you know of and the people who suffer under their rule. In particular, please pray into the situations in…

• North Korea, where Kim Jong-un is the current leader having taken over after the death of his father Kim Jong-il. Open Doors estimates that over 25% of Christians in North Korea are languishing in labour camps due to their refusal to worship the founder Kim Il-Sung’s cult.[5]
• Syria, where Bashar al-Assad is the current ruler having succeeded his oppressive father in 2000. Bashar started his rule with an agenda of reform and openness. Those around him, however, reacted badly to this and recently he has led a violent oppression against those protesting his rule. It is currently a complex situation in Syria – which Jimmy helpfully shed some light on at a recent International Prayer Breakfast (just one reason why you should think about coming along!). What is clear, however, is that the situation needs prayer.
• Burma, here is an update from Open Doors: “Burma transitioned to a new, semi-civilian government in March, stirring hopes for significant change, including the re-admission of Aung San Suu Kyi into the political arena. A new Human Rights Commission was established in September, with minorities represented on it. It remains to be seen how independently it will operate. However, pressure on Christians from society and the military appears unchanged. There were several reports of the army harassing Christians of the Kachin tribe. In November a bomb killed 7 children and 3 Kachin people at an orphanage run by Christians.”[6]

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[1] John Drane, “Introducing the New Testament,” pg. 32.

[2] John Drane, “Introducing the New Testament,” pg. 34.

[3] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 182.

[4] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 182.

[5] http://www.opendoorsuk.org/resources/persecution.php?country=north_korea

[6] http://www.opendoorsuk.org/resources/persecution.php?country=burma_myanmar

Day Fifty-Five

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 11:19-31 & Look at the Map Below

Now those who had been dispersed by the persecution which arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and (Syrian) Antioch,[1] giving the message as they went to Jews only. However, among their number were natives of Cyprus [1] and Cyrene [2], and these men, on their arrival at (Syrian) Antioch [3], proclaimed their message to the (Gentile) Greeks as well, telling them the good news of the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord. News of these things came to the ears of the Church in Jerusalem [4] and they sent Barnabas to (Syrian) Antioch [5].

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus [6] to find Saul (Paul). When he found him he brought him up to Antioch [7]. Then for a whole year they met together with the Church and taught a large crowd. It was in Antioch that the disciples were first given the name of "Christians".

During this period some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them by the name of Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there was to be a great famine throughout the world. (This actually happened in the days of Claudius). The disciples determined to send relief to the brothers in Judea, each contributing as he was able. This they did, sending their contribution to the elders there (in Jerusalem [8]) personally through Barnabas and Saul (who later return to Syrian Antioch [9]). (Map& text from www.ccel.org)

As is common in Acts, a large period of time and significant distances traveled are covered with amazing brevity. The vast majority of details are omitted. Details that are included are therefore of particular significance.

• Reread this section of Acts and note the details that are included. Why do you think Luke includes these?

If you have a bit longer :-)

• If you were to write in a few sentences a summary of the previous year of your life, what details would you include and why?
• If you were to do the same for Open Heaven, what would you include and why?

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[1] “Syrian Antioch - present day Antakya in southern Turkey. This Antioch was known as "Queen of the East", capital of the province of Syria, and the third largest city in the Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria. With a population of over half a million people, it was located on the River Orontes, and a junction of trade routes between East and West. It should not to be confused with Pisidian Antioch, a Phrygian town in the Roman province of Galatia.” (From http://www.ccel.org/bible/phillips/CN092MAPS1.htm taken 080512)

Day Fifty-Four

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 11:4-18

4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ 8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’ 15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

If you have a bit longer :-)

At first glance it seems Peter’s justification for breaking with previous Jewish norms was based entirely on his own experience: “I was praying…in a trance I saw a vision…I heard a voice telling me…I replied…The Spirit told me…”

Does this mean then that it is primarily our own experience that should guide us today? Well, without wanting to negate the importance of personal experience and whilst acknowledging its validity, we must recognize that relying on experience alone can get us in bother! What, for example, do we say to the person utterly convinced that placing their life savings – and a second mortgage – on one particular horse was a divinely inspired move? Or what about a more common phenomenon (and one I’ve personally ascribed to many times) of the peace-test (in other words the belief that if God is guiding us into something we will automatically have sense of peace about it)? Not that our feelings don’t guide us at all – or that God doesn’t at times grant us supernatural peace when we follow his leading – but when applied absolutely such an emphasis on our feelings can be misleading. Jesus, for example, was deeply troubled and anxious about going to the cross (as you would expect) but did it anyway. Jeremiah was deeply disturbed by the things God was asking him to do and yet pressed on (e.g. Jeremiah 15:10). So if experience can throw us off at times why was Peter’s allowed to change the whole pattern of the early church? Was it just that his experience was more fail-proof than ours?

Well certainly Peter’s experience was more assured than any I have had. However in verse sixteen Peter’s explanation reveals that there was also more than just his personal experience at work here (again, though, not to diminish the importance of this experience). For in verse sixteen he says: “Then I remembered what the Lord had said…”

These few words are significant! They not only root Peter’s experience (and the outcome of this experience) in Jesus’ teaching but – as we’ll see – they actually cement its place in the wider story of Scripture. This cementing is achieved through one simple word: “gift.”

You see “gift” here refers to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is central to understanding the differences between the Old and New Testaments, indeed Old and New Covenants as they are better rendered. For some thoughts on this, here is an extract from an essay on the Spirit I wrote whilst at college:

In Judaism (i.e. before Jesus came on the scene!), receiving the Spirit was not essential to participation in the covenant community; rather, ‘the ministry of the Spirit seems to have been limited, with few exceptions, to the leaders and prophets.’[1] As such, it can be referred to as a donum superadditum (additional gift).

However, the gift of the Spirit as donum superadditum (additional gift) was not the anticipated role of the Spirit in the ‘salvation’ of ‘the age to come,’ within which the created world would be restored,[2] Israel would be liberated from their enemies[3] and God’s covenant would be restored.[4] On the contrary, it was ‘hoped (especially on the basis of Joel 2:28-32)…that the Spirit of prophecy would be poured out on all of the restored Israel at the end’ (e.g. Numbers Rabbah 15.25).[5] This outpouring would enable ‘ongoing obedience fulfilling the hope of Ezekiel 36:26’[6] thus enabling Israel to be the hoped for ‘light to the nations.’ (Isa. 42:6)

In other words, before Jesus came, the Israelites were looking forward to the time when God would restore the covenant he had previously made with his people; a relationship currently dented by their rebellion against him. Central to this new covenant would be the outpouring of the Spirit empowering God’s people to walk in ways that pleased him. Further, this outpouring of the Spirit would equip the Israelites to fulfil their original mandate to be a “light to the nations” and see all the nations of the earth blessed through them (Genesis 12). The early Christians believed that Jesus had brought about the start of this new covenant. They believed that he had not only taken away the consequences of their rebellion enabling them to be forgiven but also that, in doing so, he had released the outpouring of God’s Spirit and thus granted them the intimacy with God they had so longed for.

This is why when Peter notes that the Spirit has been poured out on the Gentile believers, his critics are satisfied. Peter’s experience, whilst startling, is not left field! It is in fact in line with God’s intentions and promises from the start. This is why when we get to chapter fifteen and the matter comes up again we see it settled through Scripture. While Peter’s experience may controversially contravene particular aspects of the law, it accords with the story of Scripture as a whole and the direction in which God was heading (albeit few recognized this).

What light does this shed on the question raised yesterday? How do we discern when God is doing something unconventional and new and so, although we may feel challenged, we need to go with it? Or when it is that error or falsehood is creeping in and we need to stand firm? Should we organise joint healing services with spiritualists? Is it okay for church to meet in a pub? How do we discern who to go out with or not go out with? Is polygomy okay for today? And so on and so on…

Well, some of these are perhaps simpler to deal with than many of the other condundrums life throws up at us. However, in all cases I would argue from Acts that the more immersed we are in the overarching story of Scripture the better prepared we will be to deal with these kinds of challenges. It does not mean we will always make the best call. However the more we draw from the wisdom of Scripture and understand the direction in which it moves the better equipped we will be to navigate the challenges we face today. Similarly, it is through immersion in Scripture that we are best able to weigh up our own feelings and experiences and offer insight into the experiences and feelings of others.

So the application for today? READ THE BIBLE!!! (And I urge myself in this as much as all of you since I am often poor at reading the Bible devotionally on my own.)

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[1] Max Turner, “The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts,” pg. 6.

[2] Wright, “The New Testament and the People of God,” 299.

[3] Ibid, 300.

[4] Ibid, 301.

[5] Max Turner, “The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts,” pg. 14.

[6] Ibid, 15.