Acts

Day Forty-Five

2012-03-02T03:14:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 9:32-43

32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. 36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” 39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

Philip’s Journey’s (Acts 8)

Probable route of Philip’s journey’s in Acts 8 (from www.ccel.org)

It is likely that “the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda” were those who had responded to Philip’s proclamation. Thus just as Peter had gone to Samaria to see what God was doing up there, so too he comes to Lydda and to great effect as a man called Aeneas is miraculously healed and many turn to the Lord. Luke’s focus then moves from one individual to another, this time a lady called Tabitha (or Dorcas in Greek) who, incredibly, is raised from the dead!

Is it surprising that in such a brief summary of historical events (Acts covers a period of over 30 years in just 28 chapters) there are so many stories that focus in on particular individuals? Is there anything we can learn from this?
What do we learn about the early church from the fact that, when this lady died, her community immediately sends a couple of men out to get Peter?
Is it significant that Peter sends everyone else out of the room before he prays for Dorcas? If so, is there anything we can learn from this?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Professor Blaiklock (this week’s commentator of choice!) notes:

“Strict Jewry held the trade of a tanner (43) as unclean, because of the constant handling of dead animals it necessarily involved. The fact that Peter is found at the close of this chapter lodging with Simon the tanner, indicates that a measure of Jewish prejudice was already banished from his thinking. We have noticed the subtlety with which Luke suggested Paul’s mental preparation for the catastrophic experience of chapter ix. Within similar significance the closing verse of the chapter prepares the way for the narrative of chapter x. Indeed reflection upon his position and the calling of his host may have provided the raw material for Peter’s dream.”[1]

In other words, he argues, just as there is the strong suggestion that God had been preparing Saul for his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, so too does God seem to be working in Peter’s heart preparing him for the dramatic events about to unfold in the next chapter.

What do we learn about God from this? Does God’s patience with people, and the time he takes to prepare them for his calling, challenge us at all in our relationships with one another? (i.e. Are we similarly as patient both with others and ourselves?)
Is there anything in particular at the moment that you feel God is nudging you towards? If so, what makes you think this?

From gardenofpraise.com

[1] Professor E.M. Blaiklock, “Acts,” pg. 90.

Day Forty-Four

2012-03-01T01:01:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 9:26-31

26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

I imagine that this must have been a difficult time for Saul. He has bravely taken on Jesus’ call with great zeal, alienating himself from those he must previously have been close to in the process. Now he has come to Jerusalem, still the main base for the group he has joined and, understandable, they are too frightened to meet him. Imagine, then, how grateful he must have been for the boldness and faithfulness of Barnabas – the encourager – as he takes the risk of not only welcoming Paul but recommending him to others too.

Do you, like Barnabas, tend to give others the benefit of the doubt or do you generally assume the worst until proved otherwise? Is there anyone in your life at the moment that, if you’re really honest, you’re quite suspicious towards? If so, pray for this person and ask God to help you see more clearly the good things within them.
What do you think would have happened if Barnabas hadn’t intervened here?

If you have a bit longer :-)

It is easy to assume that, having met with Jesus, Paul immediately plants lots of different churches, writes lots of incredible letters and becomes arguably the most influential Christian there has ever been… all overnight!

Importantly, however, having fled Jerusalem and headed back home, he then spends a lengthy period of time ministering in his hometown and surrounding regions. It is, in fact, not until over a decade has passed since his Damascus road experience that Paul goes out on his first “missionary journey.” He doesn’t then write his first, now canonized, letter for quite some time after that!

Regarding this lengthy period of preparation (albeit that he was still serving God, just more locally), a theologian called Blaiklock notes:

“The splendid deliberateness with which God forged His human tool is the great lesson of these years. Impatient men forget that God is not bound by time. His conversion was by far the most vital influence in Paul’s life. Ancestry, Pharisaic training, Hellenistic education, were fused by it into the character which the Holy Spirit formed and fashioned over the fourteen years of training. At length, in God’s good time, the door opened, and the events of half a lifetime assumed final and complete significance. So often with man’s days in Christ. The traveler breasts a last rise, looks back and sees the road behind, the reason for its bends and turnings, and its unerring movement to a goal. And in the vision the crooked places become straight and the rough places plain.”[1]

Do you ever feel frustrated because God doesn’t seem to be doing things as fast as you would like? Is there anything we can learn from Paul’s story in this regard?

[1] Professor E.M. Blaiklock, “Acts,” pg. 90.

Day Forty-Three

2012-02-29T03:50:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 9:19-25 & 2 Corinthians 11:21b-33

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah. 23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own people, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. 33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

It is hard to change. Not only is there the internal battle to try and stay on the new path you’ve chosen rather than revert back to the well-worn tracks you moved in before but there is also the external one. There are the expectations of others who viewed you in one way and are reluctant to look at you afresh. There can be downright hostility when those who thought you were one of them now see you as a traitor. It is, therefore, perhaps unsurprising that when those who thought Saul was with them see him arguing for the other side, they don’t take it too well. Thus it’s not that long before Ananias’ daunting prophecy begins to unfold; Saul starts to learn just how much he will suffer for Jesus’ name.

Have there been times in your life when you feel that you have changed and that this change has not been well received by others? What changed in you and what was the response? Why do you think people responded in this way?
Imagine you are one of the people in the synagogue when Saul comes in to preach. What do you think? How do you feel? Do you question his motives? Are you suspicious at all? Imagine you are one of the disciples in Damascus at the time. Would you have welcomed him so readily?
Are there times in your life when others have changed and you’ve found this difficult? In what way did they change? Why did you find it difficult? How did you respond?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Have a look at the map below and read all of Acts 9:1-31 trying to get a picture of where Saul was at the various points in this account.

From biblemapper.com

Day Forty-Two

2012-02-28T08:48:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 9:10-19

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

If, at some point in your life, you have made a decision to follow Christ, where on the scale below would you put yourself?

Any thoughts?

Did Jesus call Saul against his will?

Or could it be that, as a theologian called Mallone has argued, Saul’s fervent attacks against the Christians were to hide from others – and most of all himself – his secret doubts.[1] He must have heard of Jesus’ exemplary life. Further, as we learn later on in his letters, he seems to have had a growing sense that pre-Jesus Judaism was not working for him as he had perhaps hoped. He had seen the bold faithfulness of the Christians in general and, in particular, heard Stephen’s incredible speech and witnessed his faith-filled death.[2] Was there not at least a part of him that had begun to wonder if the objects of his fury might be right after all?

If you have a bit longer :-)

How do you think Ananias felt when God told him to go and see Saul? What do you think would have happened if he had decided not to go?
Is there anything in your life at the moment that you think God is calling you to do but which frightens you? What is it and why do you feel afraid? What are some of the ways we can helpfully deal with fear? How can we best support one another in this?
I recently saw the following on fb and thought I’d pass it on! Do you find any encouragement in this? Who can you relate to the most?

[1] See Professor E.M. Blaiklock, “Acts,” pg. 88 where he cites the work of S.H. Mallone.

[2] See Professor E.M. Blaiklock, “Acts,” pg. 89 where he cites the work of J.S. Stewart.

Day Forty-One

2012-02-27T08:44:00.000Z

If you have 5 10-15 minutes!

Read Acts 9:1-9, Luke 15 (extracts!) & Hosea 2:16

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable… 11 … “There was a man who had two sons… 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

16 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’

We are so familiar with Paul the maverick missionary, legendary letter writer and all-round faithful follower that it is easy to overlook the dark place that he came from. There is, however, something quite sinister about Luke’s opening phrase: “Saul…still breathing out murderous threats…” It is, I think, the imagery of breathing that stands out to me the most. It implies such a vast cesspool of bitterness and anger that the inevitable expiration can be nothing but hate.

How had he got there? We have to speculate somewhat but we do get some clues. You see Saul, we learn later, was a Pharisee and to us post-Jesus people we all know Pharisee’s weren’t great? Right?!

They were Jesus’ chief antagonists.

The ones he referred to as “unmarked graves,” “whitewashed tombs,” “blind fools”…

Those who tie heavy burdens onto others and lift not a finger to help them.

However, in Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were seen as the devout ones, the radical ones, those who tried the hardest to get it right.

So what was Jesus’ problem?

Well, the problem was that the Pharisees (at least those Jesus’ charges were directed against anyway) had become so preoccupied with getting it right, that they’d lost sight of God. In other words, they were so consumed with ticking all the right boxes of religious devotion that they had lost sight of the one it was meant to be for. Religion had become an idol to them. They had started to believe that God had to play by their rules. They had become the older brother in Jesus’ poignant parable: not reckless but still rebellious; the one claiming obedience whilst, ironically, disobeying his father’s desire that he come inside.

Thus I am encouraged by Saul’s testimony. You see, we are fairly familiar with stories of reckless people being restored. There’s Zacchaeus, the deceitful tax collector who ends up giving his money to the poor. There’s Mary Magdalene, possessed seven times over before becoming one of Jesus’ most courageous companions. There are the unidentified “sinners” who flock to Jesus and, we can imagine, have their lives turned around. But amongst the “religious” it seems a different story. Jesus’ harshest words seem reserved just for them. Where are the Pharisees who give up everything to follow Christ (okay, there is Nicodemus!)? Will that elder brother ever come inside?

Well, Saul was a Pharisee and Saul did come inside!

This is of great comfort and encouragement to us. For inside all of our hearts there is a younger son (a “sinner”) who rebels against God recklessly, outwardly, explicitly, deliberately. However, in most of us too – certainly in my heart – there is also an elder son (a “Pharisee”). A son who rebels against God more subtly. A son more concerned with outward compliance than internal love. A resentful son who sees others getting the things they want – the things they feel their goodness has deserved – and feels angry, aggrieved, overlooked. An elder son so blinded by self-righteousness that they cannot see that they too, like their younger sibling, desire their father’s gifts far more than the father himself. It is a different form of idolatry, but idolatry nevertheless.

And yet the father runs out to both his sons, just as Jesus reaches out to “sinner” and “Pharisee” alike. In the case of Saul the Pharisee, we see just how powerful a transformation God’s grace can bring.

What do we need to escape the shackles of our particular brand of lostness, whether it be younger-brother or elder-brother? How can the inner dynamic of the heart be changed from one of fear and anger to one of joy, love and gratitude[1]...We can only change permanently as we take the gospel more deeply in our understanding and into our hearts. We must feed on the gospel, as it were, digesting it and making it part of ourselves. That is how we grow.[2]

If you have a bit longer :-)

Read the full parable of the prodigal son (in Luke 15). Which son do you identify with the most? Why? What might your response be?
Why do you think Saul so aggressively persecuted the early church? Is there anything we can learn from this?

[1] Tim Keller, “The Prodigal God,” pg. 73.

[2] Tim Keller, “The Prodigal God,” pg. 115.

Day Forty

2012-02-17T00:00:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 8:26-40

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Luke moves quickly on from “Samaria” to “the ends of the earth” since, although the Ethiopian eunuch had a clear interest in God, it is unlikely he would have been a Jew. In fact, like the bleeding woman in Luke 8, his particular affliction would have made it impossible for him to be fully accepted into Jewish society; he was, as Tom Wright notes, “an outsider.”[1] But not for much longer!!! For, just as Jesus showed a particular concern for those seemingly furthest away from covenantal faith, so his followers – led by his Spirit – follow suit.

How regularly do you engage with people from a different culture or context to your own? Is this something you enjoy or find challenging? How can we grow in this?
Would you be able to explain this passage from Isaiah to someone who asked? What does it mean?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Whilst sharing a house with my friend Jo, we would moderately regularly say good night in the following way: “Sleep well. See you in the morning – unless I‘m whisked away by the Spirit in the middle of the night!” To be honest, we didn’t really think this would happen but for some reason were fascinated – and amused – by the idea that you could be in one place one minute and whisked somewhere totally different the next.

Somewhat bizarrely, however, this is Philip’s experience as the Lord suddenly takes him away and he “appears” in Azotus!

Any thoughts?!

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 133.

Day Thirty-Nine

2012-02-16T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes (well maybe 10!)

Read Acts 8:14-25

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” 24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” 25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

As Beverley Gaventa notes, the receipt of the Spirit here, after the Samaritans have already believed, seems to contradict Peter’s Pentecost speech, where it is implied that repentance, baptism, forgiveness of sin, and the gift of the Spirit all come together in that orderly sequence! Further, within his writings, Paul cannot conceive of someone being a follower of Christ without having received the Spirit (see Romans 8:9). However, as we are all aware, life is rarely straightforward nor, often, are conversion experiences. Thus some hear, believe, receive the Spirit and get baptized in one incredible instant whilst others come to faith more gradually. In fact some, my two sisters included, could not tell you the specific point at which they decided to follow Christ they just know that they do now (which is the most important thing!) and that they can’t remember a time when they didn’t. Further, God’s Spirit cannot and will not be controlled – as we come to now![1]

You see it is the desire to buy and control God’s Spirit that is at the demonic heart of Simon’s request. This desire harks back to the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve’s desire to be “like God” in ways that they shouldn’t and thus be free from his rule and reign. It is this desire that provokes Peter’s stern rebuke: “May your money perish with you…” So why, having believed, does Simon make such a huge error? Was he not sincere in this belief?

Beverly Gaventa addresses this question by arguing that it misses the point: “Luke is not concerned about Simon’s interior life, he is concerned about Simon’s connection with Satan. As with Ananias and Sapphire, this is not a story about the degree of an individual’s conviction, but about a conflict of powers...”[2]

There is much to merit this conclusion. However, that said, as the story of Ananias and Sapphira also demonstrates – as does our own personal experience – becoming a believer in Christ does not automatically mean that our hearts and behaviour are then fully aligned with God’s Spirit. Rather, it is the start of a life-long journey; a journey on which we won’t “arrive” until Christ returns (see Philippians 1:6); a journey on which God is constantly working to draw us closer to him and transform us more into his likeness. Thus, I have no problem concluding that Simon’s conversion was sincere, his belief real but that the baggage he carried from his magical past posed a significant barrier to both his relationship with God and understanding of him.

Are there particular areas in your life that God is working on at the moment? Perhaps areas where your view of him or yourself doesn’t match up to reality; an area of addiction or unforgiveness… Are there people in your life walking with you in this?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Is there any significance in the fact that a couple of the apostles went out to see Philip and the work he was doing? If so, what can we learn from this?

[1] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 139.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 137.

Day Thirty-Eight

2012-02-15T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 8:9-13 & Exodus 12:1-13

9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD’s Passover. 12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

In Acts, lots of things happen that – in merely human terms – you really would not expect! Galileans speak in languages that people from lots of different places can all understand; many people are healed; leaders in Jerusalem are amazed by the courage and eloquence of “unschooled, ordinary men;” two people drop dead after attempting to deliberately deceive their community; and here – in Acts 8 – a renown sorcerer is amongst those who believe the good news of Jesus and decide to get baptized! Now this particular sorcerer did keep a lot of baggage from the past, as we’ll look at in a bit. However, it is of note that he – along with what appears to be his whole community – believed Philip’s message, and why? The clear implication is that it he came across a power far greater than his.

This kind of power encounter is perhaps quite unfamiliar to us in the West – certainly I’ve never experienced anything like it. I was therefore struck by the helpful cultural insight of the wonderful Louise Jarvis who, when we looked at the Exodus in BOC last year, added greater clarity to this story by pointing out the following: in the West we’re primarily concerned with “truth” and “reason,” therefore Christians’ attempts to defend and advance their faith tend to focus in on these. In many parts of the world, however, the focus is not “truth” but “power.” The big question is not: “Is it true?” so much as: “Does it work?” Thus in the Exodus story, for example, it is most definitely not just a coincidence that each plague seems targeted at one of the Egyptians’ so-called “gods.” Rather, God is asserting that it is he who has the power!

So too here! And to great effect as many – including someone powerful enough to have been called “the Great Power of God” – are convinced.

If I’m honest, I don’t particularly expect God’s power to burst in and through my life as dramatically as it does here and elsewhere in Acts. In my head I do believe this is the kind of thing God does and so do pray for people to be healed and seek such prayer for myself – for example. However if I’m honest, my expectation isn’t that high (although I think this is something God’s working on!). I am therefore challenged by the faith of those like the HOTS team who not only give intellectual assent to God’s desire and ability to heal but act boldly on this as well. Equally, however, I am not aware of friends who believe in supernatural power but just don’t know that, on this front as well as any other, nothing tops God (although this may well not mean that they don’t just that I’m not aware of it!). So, I guess my question is this: is the relative dearth of this kind of power-encounter in the West due entirely to the reticence of Christians, like myself, to step out more boldly in this area or is it also due to the fact that God meets people where they’re at and, for Western culture at large, belief in supernatural power is still far less common than in many other cultures? (Although, importantly, belief in the supernatural is definitely growing.)

If you have a bit longer :-)

Whilst reading about Simon’s conversion, it struck me how often I subconsciously write people off when it comes to matters of faith. In other words, I struggle massively to believe that they might ever be interested in hearing about God and responding to his love. Maybe they appear to be completely happy as they are. Maybe they’ve expressed strong negative views about belief in God. Maybe they just don’t seem to like me very much! For a whole heap of reasons there are a number of people I would be utterly amazed by if they ever expressed an interest in finding out more about Jesus. Simon would definitely have been one of these people – and yet when he hears, he believes! Now, as we’ll soon see, Simon didn’t totally get it; but he does make a response and – I will argue – the collective evidence suggests he was sincere.

Are there people you know of who you can’t imagine ever being interested in God? Does Acts challenge you at all in this (i.e. it challenges me!)? Spend some time praying for these people!
As Luke Smith reminded us on our recent weekend away, people are all at different places in terms of what they currently believe and how interested they are in matters of faith. How, therefore, can we walk that balance between being sensitive to where people are at – thus not trying to steamroller them into the Kingdom of God! – without writing people off simply because we don’t think they’d ever be interested?

Day Thirty-Seven

2012-02-14T10:13:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 1:8 & 8:4-8

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

From www.randalldsmith.com (6^th Feb. 2012)

Were I one of those dispersed Christians I’m not sure which would have dented me the most: the discouragement of seeing everything I thought God was building scattered; the doubt as to whether or not my commitment to this group was really such a good call; or the fear that perhaps I would be the next to end up in prison or something worse. Regardless, I’m pretty sure that my gut reaction would not be that of these incredible early Christians who: “preached the word wherever they went.” In other words, in contrast to the discouragement, doubt and fear these early Christians could have harbored, they demonstrate – by the power of God’s Spirit – joy, faith and boldness. Further, in contrast to my particular penchant for good planning, they seem remarkably happy just to go with God’s agenda. Thus God, in his sovereign redeeming way, yet again takes what the enemy intended for harm and turns it around for good. A strong wind may blow out a candle but a fire will spread!

Are there any current situations in your life that have been discouraging? What is the best way to respond to this discouragement? How can we best support one another within this?
Why do you think that the early Christians were so faith-filled and joyful in the face of hardship?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Where else in the Bible do we come across Samaritans?[1] Do these other references shed any additional light on the significance of what was going on here?
When, in your life, have you heard of or experienced incidences in which God has brought good out of difficult and damaging situations? Does this impact your view of any present difficulties you’re facing in any way?

[1] e.g. see Luke 9:51-56; Luke 10; John 4.

Day Thirty-Six

2012-02-13T14:55:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 8:1-3

1 And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

It is so easy just to gloss over these words. To read them quickly, give intellectual assent to what they describe and then move on. But just stop!

Read them again…

then re-read them…

then maybe one more time.

Spend some time thinking about their implication. For the people caught up in these events their world has been turned upside down. Start imagining the events unfolding. In my mind it is sudden, chaotic and terrifying. Imagine you’re part of it. One of your friends, a highly regarded member of your church, has been dragged out and stoned right in front of you and now all manner of violence has been unleashed. You see your best friend and their family carted off to jail. Another friend has just grabbed all their belongings and is running for their life…

How do you feel?

What are you thinking?

What do you do?

…

How is your relationship with God?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Why do you think the apostles weren’t scattered?
Many Christians today live in similarly terrifying situations. Please spend some time reading the report below from the organization Open Doors and pray into this situation.

Nigeria: Christians in grip of fear

Following the shocking attacks in Kano, northern Nigeria, on 20 January in which over 160 people were killed, both Muslim and Christian residents of the city have been urged to pray.   

Attacks by militant Islamist group Boko Haram have been responsible for the deaths of over 50 Christians since the beginning of January, a local Open Doors team has confirmed. Boko Haram's vow to 'cleanse the north of Christianity' has kept Christians in northern Nigeria in the grip of uncertainty. A short cell phone text message, circulated to warn Christians that more attacks would follow, has caused much fear. In a recent video posted on YouTube, the sect leader declared their attacks to be 'reprisals' for alleged earlier violence by Christians against Muslims. In reaction, the government has called on Christians not to be alarmed by the threats of Boko Haram, assuring them of protection. Many church leaders have joined the president in calling for calm, urging members to remain in prayer. However, the leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Ayo Oritsejafor, has told Christians to take appropriate action to protect themselves. "We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves," he has said. "We will do whatever it takes."

Open Doors teams ask for prayer

This atmosphere of fear and mistrust across the north complicates the work for Open Doors teams, who need much wisdom and discernment. At the end of last year, several Open Doors training sessions were disrupted by Boko Haram activities. Two participants at a training seminar in Maiduguri were gunned down by Boko Haram members after returning home. One of them was a pastor of the local Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) congregation.

The Open Doors team is responding by prioritising the needs of Christians who are not receiving any assistance from the government; the most urgent needs are among the large number of Christians from Potiskum and Damaturu in Yobe state who have fled to Nassarawa. Christians in Kano and Katsina say they have nowhere to go, so have stayed put; the team is investigating their needs.

Open Doors workers have asked for concerted prayer as they work to meet the most urgent needs. If staff teams are caught up in the violence, this will complicate the provision of assistance even further.

Please pray:

For comfort and healing for those affected by the violence. Pray that Christians would have the wisdom to show restraint and the grace to forgive.
For protection and courage for Open Doors workers as they move around the region to encourage and assist affected Christians.
For wisdom for the government in clamping down on the perpetrators of the violence, and that those responsible for the bloodshed will be arrested and brought to justice.[1]

[1] Taken from Open Doors’ website (www.opendoorsuk.org) Feb. 6^th 2012

Day Thirty-Five

2012-01-27T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:54-60 & Matt. 6:19-21

54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

In recent years, there has been marked protest against more traditional presentations of the gospel, caricatured as “going to heaven when you die.” Few Christians, I’m sure, have ever totally held this perspective; rather I imagine that all acknowledge the impact that the gospel has on the “now” as well as the “not yet.” There have, however, been legitimate concerns raised that within western modern culture the gospel has become individualised and privatised thus, as John Finney – for example – concludes, we need the Church and its gospel to be ‘broader and deeper;’[1] we need to be more kingdom minded.

As Jim Belcher observes, however, this renewed emphasis on the Kingdom of God has led traditional critics to re-brand this protest as a contemporary form of ‘social gospel’ liberalism. Soon, they argue, such kingdom thinkers ‘will drop the cross and atonement altogether, and the gospel will be reduced to social action, obedience, moral living.’[2]

Now, while properly understood, God’s kingdom can never be divorced from the cross, the resurrection or Christ’s return, whenever a balance is redressed there is always the risk of going too far the other way. Thus there is perhaps a danger that those trying hardest to – rightly – broaden our view of the gospel to include issues like social justice, creation care, politics and so on could end up unwittingly narrowing it again by neglecting those elements of the gospel which have traditionally been stressed. In other words, while we must affirm organizations like Christian Aid and their important redress: “We believe in life before death,” we must too – as Christians – not forget that our faith is ultimately based on hope; a hope that breaks into the “now” in amazing and essential ways but also a hope that won’t be fully realized until Christ comes again.

In 2 minutes, how would you summarize the gospel? If possible, actually speak this out to someone and see what they think.
There are “now” and “not yet” elements to the gospel in that it massively impacts the present but won’t be totally fulfilled until Christ comes again. What is your bias in this regard? i.e. Which of these are you most likely to focus on and why? How can we help one-another to maintain a healthy tension between the two?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Stephen is often referred to as the first Christian martry. Sadly, today, many Christians face the threat of death or imprisonment for their faith. Spend some time praying for them. For help with this see www.opendoorsuk.org.

[1] John Finney, “Emerging Evangelism,” pg. 2.

[2] Jim Belcher, “Deep Church,” pg. 111.

Day Thirty-Four

2012-01-26T00:00:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:44-53

44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. 45 Having received the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David, 46 who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49 “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?’ 51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

Having built brilliantly to his climax, Stephen now delivers the finishing blow: “You’re so concerned about the temple, which God did give to us, but God’s greater than the temple and was meeting with us way before it even existed! How could you ever think it could contain him? Further, as I’ve just demonstrated to you through my deliberately crafted quick-stop tour of our history, us Israelites have constantly missed what God is doing and so turned against the people he’s sent us – and even God himself. You stubborn, rebellious people! Can’t you see that in turning against Jesus you have turned against God? You accuse me of not keeping the law and dishonoring the temple but you’re the ones who’ve rebelled!” (Or something like that!)

Stephen is angry – in my imagination at least! He is in a volatile situation and yet, rather than backing down, he goes on the offensive and, as we’ll see in a bit, it doesn’t go down well.

In his very insightful talk on anger (it's no. 45), Tim Keller defines anger as “defending something you love.” In other words, in and of itself, anger is not a bad thing – it’s not a sin! On the contrary, anger is an expression of love and occurs when the object of our love is threatened or damaged in some way. Therefore, the rightness (or wrongness) of our anger depends on what the object of love is that’s being threatened. Often, Keller argues, that object is our ego!!! For Stephen, however, the object of his love is very right indeed – it is Jesus. Thus, he doesn’t stop to think of the consequences; he delivers a brave and poignant attack!

When and why do you feel angry? Spend some time praying and thinking about this and then ask God, by his Spirit, to help you to identify what the objects of your love are that feel threatened at these times?
Are there things in the world that you think you should feel angry about? Do you? If not, why not? If you do, how can you channel this anger positively?
How can we spur one another on to become more Christ-like in this regard (i.e. getting angry over the things that he would rather than just because we’ve been inconvenienced slightly, for example.)
Have you, like Stephen, ever felt angry because Jesus (or your faith in him) was being attacked in some way? How did you respond?
Stephen offended his listeners through what he said. I am very reluctant to risk offending people so find Stephen’s boldness challenging. What about you? Are you more likely to offend people unnecessarily or hold back from saying something it would be good for people to hear out of fear they won’t like it?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Listen to Tim Keller’s talk “Healing your Anger” (free on iTunes). It’s helpful and insightful.

Day Thirty-Three

2012-01-25T00:00:00.004Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:39-43

39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!’ 41 That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and reveled in what their own hands had made. 42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to the worship of the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the wilderness, house of Israel? 43 You have taken up the tabernacle of Molek and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile’ beyond Babylon.

Stephen continues to turn the screw as he builds closer to his climax. Not only did the people reject God’s appointed deliverer – Moses – but, as soon as they were out of Egypt, they turned from God himself. Stephens then argues that this rebellion against God continued right through the Israelite’s history resulting in their exile into Babylon.

If you have a LOT longer!

Now perhaps you are very familiar with Israel’s history and know exactly what Stephen is referring too. However, maybe you are less sure! If so, hopefully the summaries below will help:

Quick Overview of Israel’s History

Timeline:

So hopefully you’ve all heard of David – the one who killed Goliath with a small stone?! Well, he was the most successful of Israel’s kings both in terms of his commitment to God and the unity that he brought to Israel and so under him, the kingdom was as follows:

Solomon then starts well and the kingdom prospers in wealth and wisdom. However, he also has lots and lots of wives and they slowly turn his heart away from God.

Then, in 930 BC the northern tribes rebel against Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, because he (foolishly!) says that he will reign more harshly than his father Solomon had. Alongside this human reasoning, however, God’s hand is at work as in 1 Kings 11, we see that the prophet Ahijah predicts this split and attributes it to Solomon’s rebellion against God. Thus, the kingdom now looks like this:

(NB. Benjamin was actually part of Judah so should be coloured green not orange!)
Israel becomes, in human terms, the more powerful and prosperous of the two kingdoms but has a succession of bad kings, all of whom rebel against God. God tries to draw the people back to himself again and again through sending various prophets: Ahijah, An Old Man at Bethel!, Iddo, Jehu, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha, Jonah, Amos and Hosea. However, the people don’t listen and so, in 722 BC, Israel finds itself taken over by the Assyrians – again through the paradoxical union of human and divine factors! (i.e. God warns the people that this exile will be in judgment for their sins but how this actually comes about is through the human choice of the Assyrians to attack, some bad decisions by the Israelite kings and the fact that Israel was in an important and yet vulnerable location.)

Whereas, some time after Judah has been exiled, some of the Israelites are allowed to return home; with Israel, once they’re exiled that’s it! They’re not relocated back to Israel at some later date.

Judah’s History – A Summary of John Drane’s Summary! [1]

In terms of location, Judah was more secure than Israel, which – situated in the midst of major trade routes – existed in a more strategic and thus vulnerable position. Further, during its 192-year existence, Israel was blighted by a high turnover of kings, many of whom were assassinated by their successors. In contrast, Judah had the advantage of a set dynasty: that of King David’s line. Both kingdoms suffered, however, from the split and from the 50 years they spent fighting each other.

Once Israel had been exiled, Judah found itself in a far more vulnerable position. The border of the Assyrian empire was now less than 20 miles from Jerusalem, Judah’s capital. Further, Judah’s king, Ahaz, had pledged allegiance to the Assyrians in return for protection against Israel and Damascas – despite Isaiah’s protests! This caused difficulties for Judah. However, by the time Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, took over, Assyria had become preoccupied with problems elsewhere giving Palestinian states, such as Judah, a greater amount of freedom. Egypt and Philistine decided to break away from Assyrian rule and tried to persuade Judah to join them. Hezekiah was wiser than his Dad though and, when Isaiah warned him that Assyria was not yet down and out, he listened. It was a good job that he did as Assyria soon crushed the uprising against them.

Hezekiah then led the nation in religious reform, within which he was no doubt politically motivated as well as religiously (establishing a distinctive Judahite identity would be important if any surge for freedom was going to succeed). He also strengthened Judah’s military and dug a water tunnel into Jerusalem in case of siege. Once the current Assyrian king had died (Sargon II), Hezekiah saw a chance for freedom and, this time ignoring Isaiah’s warning, decided to join the Babylonians and Egyptians in their revolt. This backfired and Judah soon found itself under Assyrian attack with Jerusalem spared only by a large pay-off! Jerusalem then found itself under siege, which ended when the Assyrians suddenly withdrew following some mysterious illness (2 Kings 18:17-19:37).

During the following years, whilst Manasseh (Hezekiah’s son) was on the throne, Assyria reached its peak – taking over Egypt’s capital and establishing itself artistically, intellectually and culturally. Judah was no match for its power and lived under its subjection, even worshipping its gods.

Assyria’s power then started to weaken and Manasseh’s grandson, Josiah, saw a chance to make a change. He followed in Hezekiah’s footsteps by implementing serious religious reform, even removing Assyrian alters from the former northern kingdom. The pinnacle of this reform came with the rediscovery of Israel’s law book (undoubtedly the book of Deuteronomy), which was found in Jerusalem’s temple (2 Kings 22:3-20). This led, in turn, to Judah’s recommitment to its ancient faith, as recorded in 2 Kings 23:1-3.

Meanwhile, the Babylonian empire was rising as fast as Assyria was falling, becoming the region’s superpower in 612 BC once Assyria’s capital, Ninevah, had been taken. Inexplicably, Josiah decided to get involved in all of this and was killed for his trouble. Judah then came under Egyptian control for a while before the Babylonians defeated them and took Judah as a vassal. Four years later, when Egypt regained some of its power, Judah decided to make a break for freedom – despite Jeremiah’s protests! This was a seriously misjudged move and the Babylonians responded by tightening their grip on the Egyptians and, in 586 BC, taking the Judahite king – and many leading citizens plus treasure – into exile in Babylon. The new king, Zedekiah, also refused to listen to Jeremiah’s wisdom and, when he thought the coast was clear, decided to side with the Egyptians and break away. It was a big mistake! After an 18-month siege, Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon’s king) and the main buildings in Jerusalem, including the temple, were systematically destroyed. This defeat left the people in intense theological shock. It appeared that either God had deserted them or that Marduk, the god of Babylon, had prevailed.[2]

However, the devastating results of the surrounding nations’ political manoeuvrings and the kings’ foolish decisions were seen by Judah’s prophets as judgment for the people’s rebellion. In their eyes, it was the curses of the covenant that they were now reaping. This covenant, however, was one that could ultimately never be annulled. God would prove faithful thus, even in the midst of such extreme disaster, there was reason for hope.

[1] See John Drane, “Introducing the Old Testament,” Chapter 6.

[2] Daniel Block, “The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 1-24,” pgs. 7-8.

Day Thirty-Two

2012-01-24T11:00:00.002Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:30-38

30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to get a closer look, he heard the Lord say: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look. 33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’ 35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 He led them out of Egypt and performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea and for forty years in the wilderness. 37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.’ 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us.

One of my favourite clips from the TV series “Friends” is the time Ross and Phoebe argue about evolution. Phoebe is not convinced by the theory but Ross is adamant it is 100% scientific fact. Phoebe then begins an effective series of arguments resulting in Ross having to admit that there is a chance this theory could be wrong. Her strategy is to go back through history pointing out where scientists have previously made mistakes…

“Wasn’t there a time when the brightest minds in the world believed that the world was flat? And up until about 50 years ago, you all thought the atom was the smallest thing – until you split it open and this, like, whole mess of stuff came out…”

She then delivers her finishing blow…

“Now are you telling me that you are so unbelievably arrogant that you can’t admit that there’s even a teeny tiny possibility that you could be wrong about this?”

Ross concedes that there is!

Stephen’s strategy in his speech is not too dissimilar from Phoebe’s approach here. Like Phoebe, he looks back over history charting the mistakes people have made in the past in order to try and persuade his listeners that, like their predecessors, they are making shocking error here! Unlike Phoebe’s speech, however, Stephen has three main points to make.

Firstly, as implied from Abraham onwards – and explicitly stated in vv. 48-50 – the temple is not unimportant but it has never been the only place people have encountered God. On the contrary, arguably the most important God-encounters in the Old Testament, including Moses’ call here, occurred outside of its walls; even outside of the city within which it was based – in fact they didn’t occur in the Promised Land at all! Moreover, although the temple could be a place of worship, it becomes a place of idolatry when people start to see God as somehow contained within it.

Secondly, and more importantly, Stephen deliberately recalls Israel’s history in such a way as to draw attention to the Israelite’s inability to see what God is doing and their rejection of his chosen servants. This was implicit in the abrupt beginning to his retelling of Joseph: “The Patriarchs were jealous of Joseph…” In his recap of Moses, it is even more explicit with Stephen adding in additional details (absent from the Exodus text) to ram home his point further: e.g. v. 25 “Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not;” v. 35 “This is the same Moses they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.” v. 37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will send you a prophet like me from your own people.’”

Why is he doing this? Well, like Phoebe he is building to a grand climax. He is preparing the ground before pointing out to his opponents their biggest act of blindness and rejection of all; their rejection of Jesus.

Thirdly, although Stephen’s opponents have accused him of “speaking against the law,” in rejecting God’s chosen Messiah, it is ironically they who are guilty of breaking the law – not Stephen.

If you have a bit longer :-)

Do you think it was reasonable that the Israelite’s didn’t see Moses as God’s appointed rescuer following his killing of the Egyptian?
Think of another occasion when the Israelite’s missed what God was doing. Spend some time meditating on this event, imagining that you were there at the time. Try to imagine what it would have been like and how you would have felt. Do you think you would have seen God’s hand at work and responded positively to this? Or would you have reacted like the other Israelite’s who missed it? (e.g. Imagine that you are one of the Israelites waiting to invade the Promised Land when the spies come back with reports of how massive the inhabitants look. Would you press on regardless or would you – like the Israelites did – turn back in fear? Imagine you are living in the prosperity of Israel when the prophet Amos suddenly arrives from Judah [who you’re not on good terms with] to tell you all that God is angry with you. Would you believe Amos or just think he was scare mongering? Imagine you are a first century, devout, monotheistic Jew living in a hostile land within which your culture and faith are constantly under potential threat. Someone comes into your temple and tells you about a man called Jesus who, you’re told, was killed but then rose from the dead. This man is now God’s appointed means of salvation and so in order to be in a good place with God you have to worship this resurrected man and put your trust in him. Would you believe this person? Would you feel warmly towards them or would you – like Stephen’s opponents – see this movement as a significant danger to not only your faith but your whole community and way of life?)
As I reflect back on God’s works throughout the Bible I am very unsure that I would have been one of the ones who did get it; who did see that God was moving and respond positively to this. Of course I like to think that I would! However when I take the time to try and see it from the Israelite’s point of view, I often find myself more similar to them than I’d like to think. So, the challenge is this: how can we help one-another to be attune and open to what God is doing now?! How can we best ensure we are working with God and not against him?

Day Thirty-One

2012-01-23T10:41:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:20-29

20 “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his parents’ home. 21 When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. 23 “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his own people, the Israelites. 24 He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. 25 Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not. 26 The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’ 27 “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.

When I look back over my life since finishing school, I have to admit that it could be read as something of a random hotchpotch! Since school I have worked for a year with an engineering company, studied sports science and physics, studied theology, taught English in Thailand, taught Life Skills to disaffected young people, looked after two children under 5, undertaken various roles within church (mainly teaching and preaching), taken on various temp jobs and taught sport (not in that order)! Despite the apparent randomness, however, I have been constantly amazed by the ways in which God has used all of these different experiences to shape and help me. I was particularly struck with this during my time in Thailand and had a clear sense that all the various bits and pieces of work I’d done up to that point had, in different ways, equipped me for what I was now doing. Even the various computer and organizational skills that I’d learned on my year in the engineering company proved invaluable, despite the fact that about a month into this job I was fairly sure that a career in engineering was not for me!

God does anoint and supernaturally equip people for the work he wants them to do. However, he also uses the mundane and perhaps seemingly random experiences that occur in our lives to prepare us for this calling. Moses is a great example of this as his upbringing was essential to God’s call on his life. I think this is brought out strongly in the film “The Prince of Egypt,” which clearly shows how Moses’ early life within Pharaoh’s household gave him the access that he needed later on. Further, Moses was educated in the Egyptian’s ways thus would have known how to address Pharaoh and best deal with the challenges he faced. On top of this, there is the suggestion that Moses was, in his younger years, somewhat rash. It is perhaps again significant that God didn’t actually call him until he’d had some 40 years away from Egypt to mellow!

Have a think back over your life. Are there things you’re doing now that God has clearly used your past experiences, upbringing… to prepare you for?
Do you have any ideas about what God might be preparing you for in the future?
In times of hardship, or when what we’re doing just seems boring or pointless, is there any comfort derived from reminding ourselves that, although we can’t see it now, God will be using this time to prepare us for what he has next?!

If you have a bit longer…

…and want to find out more about Moses, you can watch some videos that we made for BOC on Moses. They star the amazingly talented Hannah Scott and Claire Fletcher with some brilliant animations by our very own Micha B (and Becky Jordan as an excellent flip chart stand!).

Day Thirty

2012-01-20T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:17-18 & 2 Peter 3:3-9

17 “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. 18 Then ‘a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt.’ 19 He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.

3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

As John Stott notes, “The Israelites’ exile and slavery in Egypt lasted for four bitter centuries. Had God forgotten his people, and his promise to bless them? No. He had warned Abraham of their 400 years of enslavement and mistreatment. But now at last the time drew near…”

Imagine that you are an Israelite living 200 years into this 400-year period of slavery. How would you feel? What do you think your relationship with God would be like?
Are there times when you have waited a long time for God to answer a prayer? Are there prayers you’ve repeatedly prayed that you’re still waiting for God to answer? What does it feel like to wait? What does it mean to wait well? How can we help one another in this?
How do you feel about the fact that throughout history people have often had to wait long periods of time before God acts in the way they’ve been hoping for? Why do you think God didn’t act sooner here? Why in general do you think God doesn’t always act as quickly as we might want or expect him to?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Before reading onto the remainder of Stephen’s speech have a think about where you think he might be going with all of this and why.

Day Twenty-Nine

2012-01-19T10:30:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:9-16

9 “Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him 10 and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. 11 “Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our people could not find food. 12 When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. 16 Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money.

Having reminded his accusers that God first established the Israelites long before there was any particular building in which he could be worshipped or particular laws they were to follow, Stephen moves on in his quick-stop tour of the OT to Joseph. It is interesting that Stephen here says nothing of Jacob’s favouritism, nothing of Joseph’s dreams or coat but leaps straight in with: “His brothers were jealous so they sold him;” probably an allusion to the jealousy of those who had previously opposed (see 5:17). Further, his use of the all-encompassing word, “trouble,” no doubt refers to the false accusations made against him by Potiphar’s wife (cf. those made against Stephen now!) and subsequent unjust imprisonment.[1]

His general theme continues, however, as he repeatedly stresses the location of God’s next big intervention: Egypt. Moreover, there’s still no temple, still no law and as yet none of Moses’ customs!

If you were going to give someone a quick-stop tour of the OT, which characters and stories would you include? Why? If you have time, it would be really worthwhile to actually write this out or speak it out to someone. You could even get them to do it too and compare who/what you picked out and why.

If you have a bit longer :-)

Regarding the story of Joseph in Stephen’s speech, Beverly Gaventa notes that given, “the multitude of details that might have found their way into this brief retelling, it seems peculiar that Stephen lingers over the death and burial of Jacob and his sons.”[2]

Why do you think this is?

[1] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pgs. 122-123.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pgs. 122-123.

Day Twenty-Eight

2012-01-18T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 7:1-8

1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true? 2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’ 4 “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. 5 He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 God spoke to him in this way: ‘For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. 7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’ 8 Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.

Okay, let’s recap the charges:

“We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God…This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

In other words, they claim, Stephen is speaking against Moses, the Law, the Temple and the Jewish customs. As Wright points out, all of these things were important distinctives of the Jewish faith, thus of particularly high value to them whilst living in a pagan world.[1] Further, as Beverly Gaventa observes, “Since the beginning of Acts, believers have gathered at the temple…but resistance to the word of God has also come from those identified with the temple. Now the question emerges: Which group rightly identifies itself with the temple and its traditions?”[2]

How does Stephen respond? Well what he says is in effect something like: “Right, so I’m trying to destroy the foundations of the Jewish faith am I? Well let’s look at what those foundations actually are! In fact, let’s go right back to when the Jewish faith started, which you all know wasn’t with Moses, it was with a man called Abraham…” He then goes on to talk about Abraham and how, through Abraham, the journey of God’s people began – within which, however, “the focus is less on Abraham than on God, whose initiative is central to every point Stephen makes.”[3]

Have a little audit of what aspects of your Christian faith and church life you see as incontrovertible. What would those things be and why?
Are there aspects to your faith and church life that you recognize could legitimately be changed but which you really like? How would you react if someone started to challenge those things?
How can you properly determine what aspects of your faith and church life you shouldn’t be willing to change even if challenged to do so and which it would be okay to alter?

No need to spend any longer ;-)

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” 103.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” 119.

[3] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 121.

Dy Twenty-Seven

2012-01-17T00:00:00.003Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 6:8-11

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

One of my most vivid childhood memories is of going to watch my younger sister in her school’s production of Joseph. My sister played the part of Potiphar’s wife. Her and Potiphar appeared for probably a maximum of 5 minutes in a play lasting over an hour yet, from my completely unbiased perspective of course, they stole the show! He was wearing a classic fake glasses, nose and moustache combo and put on a Monty Python-esque funny walk; my sister was scarily convincing as the would-be adulteress literally chasing Joseph around the stage. In that play, as in many others, the smaller characters had an impact far beyond what you would expect from their relatively minor role.

So too in Acts, Stephen appears for the first time at the start of this chapter and is dead by the end of the next. However, his impact is huge! His death not only appears to be a significant part of Saul’s later conversion (7:58) but, through his speech in particular, he in many ways lays the foundation for the vast explosion of the church out amongst the Gentiles – the journey to which Luke starts charting in the chapter following Stephen’s death.

Thus, Stephen becomes one in a huge line of people whose relatively walk-on parts resonate into history with an impact far beyond what could possibly have been conceived at the time (see also, for example, the women listed in Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew; the widow in Luke 21 who innocuously makes her offering and, in doing so, becomes Jesus’ example par excellence of what it means to give… and so on!).

Can you think of more recent examples of everyday people whose lives/actions/words have turned out to have an impact far beyond what anyone could have expected at the time?
Does the fact that God works in this way affect your view of him at all? In what ways might it make you reassess the potential significance of your life and what God might do through you?

Stephen has already been described as a man of full of wisdom, full of faith and full of the Spirit; Luke now adds that he was also full of God’s grace and power. We are perhaps so familiar with these words being used together to speak of God – and by his Spirit those who serve him – that the slightly incongruous nature of their pairing easily passes us by. But how often in the world do we see this incredible combination in practice? Perhaps it is something we can pray we’d see more of! It is, however, fitting that it is this description of Stephen that precedes Luke’s account of the “great wonders and signs” that he did among the people; it is because God is powerful and gracious that he is both able and willing to intervene in people’s lives for their good.

Maybe choose one person you know of who is in a position of power and ask God to help them also have grace.

If you have a bit longer :-)

Whilst writing on this section, Tom Wright laments the vehemence with which he, and other Christian writers and speakers, are often attacked if they dare to suggest anything new! Conversely, he notes, those on the more radical end of the spectrum can become similarly obtuse if he affirms any aspect of tradition. He concludes: “as in several previous generations, people today find real debate about actual topics difficult, and much prefer the parody of debate which consists of giving a dog a bad name and then beating him for it, and then lashing out, too, at anyone who associates with the dog you happen to be beating at the time.”[1]

In line with this, whilst at Bible college, I was shocked by how easily my whole view of a particular theologian could become tainted by just one comment. I would find myself in a quandary as to whether I should even bother to find out what else they might think because I was so put out by one thing they had written about x, y or z. I was surprised by the amount of effort required to remind myself that just because I disagreed with them on some things it did not mean they would not be a useful source of help!!! This is in part reflective of an unhelpful leaning that I have towards black and white/all or nothing thinking. However it is, I think, also indicative of a wider problem within our modern day society, which is that we’re perhaps not that good at disagreeing! Thus, for example (and to be a bit provocative!), one could argue that the meaning of the word tolerance has made a subtle shift from “agreeing to disagree” to just “agreeing” or, if not, staying quiet.

How do you respond when hearing or reading something that you disagree with?
We haven’t had a scale for a while so where would you place yourself on the following:

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 103.

Day Twenty-Six

2012-01-16T10:15:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes (or maybe 10!)

Read Acts 6:1-7 & some of John Stott’s thoughts on these verses

1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented them to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

The devil’s next attack was the cleverest of the three. Having failed to overcome the church by either persecution or corruption, he now tried distraction. If he could preoccupy the apostles with social administration, which though essential was not their calling, they would neglect their God-given responsibilities to pray and to preach, and so leave the church without any defence against false doctrine.[1]

[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 120.

Three friends decided to go deer hunting together. One was a lawyer, one a doctor, and the other a preacher. As they were walking, along came a big buck. The three of them shot simultaneously. Immediately the buck dropped to the ground and all three rushed up to see how big it actually was. Upon reaching it they found out that it was dead but had only one bullet hole. Thus a debate followed concerning whose buck it was. A few minutes later a game officer came by and asked what the problem was. The doctor told him their reason for the debate. The officer told them he would take a look and tell them who shot it. Within a few seconds the game officer said with much confidence, "The pastor shot the buck!" They all wondered how he knew that so quickly. The officer said, "Easy. The bullet went in one ear and out the other."

Okay, so with the preaching jokes I could justifiably be accused of going for quantity over quality but the point I want to make is this: preaching doesn’t always have the best reputation! Perhaps understandably; I’m sure most of us have sat through sermons we don’t understand, go on for hours or are just plain dull.

However, just as the destruction of your favourite song through bad karaoke doesn’t put you off music for life, so too with preaching, we must be wary of letting our bad experiences taint our view of preaching all together. We must not throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak (nor get this particular saying the wrong way round, as I just did but fortunately corrected before it could be read!).

On the contrary, Jesus’ first followers were adamant that God’s Word must be faithfully taught thus we can be sure that this particular ministry is as important now as it was back then. Perhaps some of the ways this is done might be different – we now have access to resources they wouldn’t have dreamt of! – but one way or another, if Jesus’ church is to have health and life, the Bible must be taught and learned.

However, as Stott goes on to observe, the apostle’s resolute prioritizing of preaching and praying doesn’t mean they viewed practical care and administration as being in any way inferior. Rather, he notes, “it was entirely a question of calling.”[2] Both roles had to be fulfilled by Spirit-filled people and both appear to have been full-time responsibilities.

Open Heaven is blessed to have an administrator known to be “full of the Spirit and wisdom” in the form of the wonderful Lizzie Bullen. Spend some time today thanking God for her and praying the God would continue to bless her service to his church?
Within your walk with God, how much do you prioritise engagement with him through the Bible and prayer? What practically could you do this week to develop further in these areas?
Remember that Open Heaven has loads of great teaching material within its website!
Also, on the internet, you can access a wealth of Bible teaching. My personal favourite is my Dad! Less biased recommendations would include Tim Keller, Haddon Robinson and the very helpful Bible Fresh website. (NB. If you’re reading this on the Acts blog,[6] please sign in and leave a link to any good talks you’ve listened to in the comments box below.)

If you have a bit longer :-)

Regarding the practical problem that arose in Acts 6, Tom Wright notes: “the apostles were quite clear what they should not do. They shouldn’t at once rush to do the work themselves…they must delegate.”[1]

Do you find it easy to delegate or do you tend to take on too much yourself? If you take too much on, why do you think this is? What can you do to improve in this area?

The apostles were able to make a quick and decisive decision to delegate because they were clear on their primary calling: to preach and pray. Thus, one way of managing more effectively what to say “yes” and “no” to is to have a clear sense of your gifting and passions.

What would you identify as your primary gifting and passion? (Or maybe identify a top three).
Looking back over the past month, what proportion of the things you’ve taken on would fit into these central callings? Are there any things you’ve said “yes” to that have hindered your effectiveness in these key areas? NB. The point of this is not to say that we should never do anything that doesn’t fit with our main calling(s). On the contrary, it is important we are willing to take on things that need doing even if they are not our best fit. Rather, the point is that we need to manage our time so that the things we are primarily called to don’t get neglected.

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 99.

[2] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 121.

Day Twenty-Five

2011-12-09T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 5:27-42 & Proverbs 1:20-33

27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.” 29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” 33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” 40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; 21 on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: 22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. 24 But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, 25 since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, 26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you—27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. 28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, 29 since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD. 30 Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

We have already noted the wisdom of the apostles when faced with charges and accusations against them (see Day 17). Here, again it is wisdom that is their rescuer but this time from the mouth of a Pharisee called Gamaliel. His speech to the Sanhedrin is astonishing in both its insight and sheer pragmatism and it is effective, for, Luke notes, it “persuaded them.”

Are there times in your life when you have seen a potentially volatile situation saved by the injection of some well-timed wisdom?
Do you regularly pray for wisdom? If not, is this something you could start to pray for more often?!
Are there other ways, praying aside, in which we can actively seek wisdom?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Luke notes that, following their flogging, the disciples rejoiced that they were able to suffer for Jesus’ name. As one who can feel aggrieved by even gentle ribbings about my faith, I am challenged by this!

Can you recall times when you’ve suffered in some way for being a Christian or for something that you’ve done in response to God’s call? How did you respond to this? How did you feel about it?
Do people in the Bible always rejoice when they face suffering? Can you think of any notable examples when this is not the case (Job and Jeremiah, for example, immediately spring to my mind!)?
From the biblical record as a whole, it seems important to maintain a healthy tension incorporating both: being honest with God about our negative emotions and feelings in response to suffering (i.e. lamenting well); and promoting joy and gratitude despite our circumstances (i.e. praising well). How can we best walk in the midst of this tension both as individuals and as a church?

Day Twenty-Four

2011-12-08T00:00:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 5:17-26

17 Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. 20 “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” 21 At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles. 22 But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, 23 “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 24 On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what this might lead to. 25 Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” 26 At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

Tom Wright explains the seemingly bizarre response to the apostles’ healings by using the analogy of a big stadium or concert hall. If, he noted, you owned a concert hall that was previously going well but then a ragtag band of musicians turned up and started drawing large crowds – who then felt no need to enter your establishment – you might feel a bit aggrieved. And so, Wright goes on, had the apostles led their ministry elsewhere, somewhere remote and away from Jerusalem, the authorities would not have been so bothered. However, they courted fire by going right to the heart of the establishment itself – the temple.[1] Thus as Luke simply explains: they were jealous!

Are there certain areas in life within which you are more prone to experiencing jealousy (e.g. material belongings, status, sporting success…)?
Why is jealousy so potentially devastating?
What is the best way to deal with jealousy?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Read Psalm 91:9-12

9 If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling,  10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.  11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;  12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

What are angels and what is their role?
Have you ever encountered an angel? What happened? How did you feel?
If God can send an angel here to rescue the apostles from prison why does he not always send angels to rescue his people in times of need?

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pgs. 82-83.

Day Twenty-Three

2011-12-07T00:00:00.000Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 5:12-16 & Gen. 50:15-21

12 The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept. 18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said. 19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

On these verses in Acts Beverly Gaventa notes:

Ironically, Satan’s intrusion increases the stature of the believing community. The residents of Jerusalem, perceiving the awesome power of God in these deaths, rightly understand that the community is God’s and that Peter and the other apostles act by means of God’s power.[1]

In other words, following Satan’s attempts through Ananias and Sapphira to disrupt God’s work, the early church is seemingly stronger and more effective than ever! This resonates with a number of other occasions in Scripture when even evil deeds and intentions are used by God to fulfill his purposes (Joseph’s conclusion in Gen. 50:20 being just one such example.)

What do you think about this? Does it impact on your view of God in any way?

If you have a bit longer :-)

About the healings performed by the apostles, Tom Wright observes:

One of the peculiar things about both Jesus’ healings and those of the apostles is the way in which, at certain times and places, things seem to happen which don’t happen anywhere else. I have no idea why it might be that in Jerusalem, at that time, Peter’s shadow falling on people might cause them to be healed, and why we don’t hear any more about that kind of thing; just as I have no idea why it should be that in Ephesus…, hankerchiefs were taken from Paul’s body and laid on the sick to make them well, which again doesn’t seem to have happened anywhere else. There is always a strange unknown quality about God’s healing. In our “democratic” age we tend to suppose that if God is going to do anything at all it would only be fair that he would do it all the same for everybody, but things just don’t seem to work like that. I have no idea (if it comes to that) why, in a few chapters’ time, James is killed and Peter escapes. All of that is part of the mystery of living at the overlap between the present age, with its griefs and sorrows and decay and death, and the age to come, with its new life and energy and restorative power.[2]

Are there areas/times in your life when you have felt God has been unfair – either to you or someone you know? How has this felt? What is the best way to deal with this perceived sense of injustice on God’s part?

[1] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 105.

[2] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 85.

Day Twenty-Two

2011-12-06T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 5:7-11

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

John Stott argues that there are at least three important lessons we can learn from the account of Ananias and Sapphira:

1. The seriousness of their sin: which Peter describes as being against the Holy Spirit, not just the church. Further, their deceit, if left unchallenged, would have hugely damaged the open community the early church had so far maintained.

2. The importance of living a transparent life before God, without deceit and deviousness, so that we can have good relationships both with God and one another.

3. The necessity of church discipline.

On this latter point he notes that:

The church has tended to oscillate in this area between extreme severity (disciplining members for the most trivial offences) and extreme laxity (exercising no discipline at all, even for serious offences). It is a good general rule that secret sins should be dealt with secretly, private sins privately, and only public sins publicly. Churches are also wise if they follow the successive stages taught by Jesus. (Matt. 18:15ff.)[1]

What do you think of John Stott’s comments on church discipline? Do you think church discipline is necessary? Do you think contemporary churches are more likely to veer towards one extremity than the other? If so, which one and why?
Have you witnessed or experienced any good examples of church discipline? What was the outcome of this? Have you experienced bad examples? What was the outcome?
Have your friends ever confronted you about attitudes or behaviours they think you should change? How did this feel? Was it helpful or unhelpful?
How do you feel when you have friends you feel you need to confront about something? Do you think you are more inclined to say something when you shouldn’t or not say something when you should?

If you have a ~~bit~~ lot longer ;-)

Within my MA dissertation I (very briefly) addressed the issue of church discipline citing those who argue that a centre-set model for church is better suited in this regard than a more bounded-set model (the latter, they would argue, is the form many more-traditional churches take). The actual paragraph relating to church discipline is on page 42 but you’ll probably need to read the whole section in order for it to make any sense. The section is entitled: “We must welcome people as they are.”

Do you agree with Halter that a centre-set model of church provides a better forum for effective church discipline than a bounded-set model? Why?

[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pgs. 111-112.

Day Twenty-One

2011-12-05T00:00:00.003Z

If you have 5 minutes (well maybe 10!)

Read Acts 5:1-5 & Wright’s thoughts on lying

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

The real, deep-level problem about lying is that it misuses, or abuses, the highest faculty we possess: the gift of expressing in clear speech the reality of who we are, what we think, and how we feel. It is, as it were, the opposite of the gift of tongues. Instead of allowing God’s Spirit to have free rein through our faculties, so that we praise God in words or sounds which enable us to stand (however briefly) at the intersection of heaven and earth, when we tell lies we not only hold heaven and earth apart; we twist earth itself, so that it serves our own interests. Lying is, ultimately, a way of declaring that we don’t like the world the way it is and we will pretend that it is somehow more the way we want it to be. At that level, it is a way of saying that we don’t trust God the creator to look after his world and sort it out in his own time and way.[1]

I was once visiting an anonymous potty-training toddler who was having a brilliant time jumping on a trampoline. The moment I came to say hi I was greeted with a very emphatic: “I do not need a poo!” I had made no suggestion of the opposite so was immediately suspicious and, as time later proved, rightly so.

The reason I mention this is partly because I found it so funny but partly because it illustrates a common trait across humanity, we are irrationally prone to lie! I see this in myself; from the innocuous “I’m fine” – when I’m not – through to more calculated half-truths (thus half-lies?!), it is often bafflingly hard to just be straightforward and upfront.

The problem with Ananias and Sapphira is not that they didn’t give enough; in actual fact there was no requirement on them to sell the property at all. Rather, the problem was that they deliberately tried to deceive people into thinking they were more generous than they were. Or as John Stott puts it:

They wanted the credit and prestige for sacrificial generosity, without the inconvenience of it. So, in order to gain a reputation to which they had no right, they told a brazen lie. Their motive in giving was not to relieve the poor, but to fatten their own ego.[2]

The consequences of their deceit were severe.

Do you see in yourself an irrational bias towards dishonesty? Are there any particular situations in which this is accentuated (e.g. for Ananias and Sapphira their weakness was their ego)?
Are there situations in which it is wise to not reveal the whole truth about something or restrain from being entirely honest?
What about more out-and-out lies, as in this account? Are there ever times when it’s okay to deliberately deceive?
What do you think about Tom Wright’s thoughts on lying? Does he overstate his point or is he right in his assertions?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Within the Bible, God striking down particular individuals, is actually quite rare. Aside from Ananias and Sapphira here, there’s Er and Onan in Gen. 38, Uzzah in 2 Sam. 6 and Herod in Acts 12 (and possibly some others?!).

What do you think about these incidences? Are you surprised that there’s almost as many (if not the same number) in the New Testament as there are in the Old?
Do you think God ever exercises his judgment in this way today?

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pgs. 81-82.

[2] John Stott, “Acts,” pgs. 109-110.

No notes this week

2011-11-28T14:15:00.001Z

Hi OHers,
Just to let you know that there are no Acts notes this week - so if you want to you can catch up on any you've missed! However, they'll be back next week moving onto chapter 5 :-) Also, the weekly pdfs are now available for download from this blog - click here, or the pdf tab at the top.
Helen

Day Twenty

2011-11-25T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 4:32-37 and selected extracts from Deut. 15

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

…there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today…7 If anyone is poor among your people in any of the towns of the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward them. 8 Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them whatever they need…10 Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward those of your people who are poor and needy in your land.

I experienced Acts-4-style generosity just last week when my car needed repairing and someone immediately offered me theirs to use until I could get it fixed.

In what ways have you experienced the generosity of others during this last week? Thank God for those things.

If you have a bit longer :-)

Are there some possessions that you have that you are more willing to share than others? Why is this? Should we be willing to literally share everything or is it okay to have some things that we don’t allow others to use/borrow?
Is there anything of Acts-4-style generosity that you could engage in this week?

Day Nineteen

2011-11-24T00:00:00.002Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Acts 4 records the first time that some of the disciples are imprisoned for their faith. Sadly, this has also been the experience of many Christians from that time on.

Read the reflections of a guy called Jonny, who decided to spend 24 hours in solitary confinement to raise awareness of the plight of Christians who are imprisoned for their faith.[1]

Over the BLACKOUT weekend I decided to do a 24 hour sponsored solitary confinement – no food, no drink, no outside communication, no internet, no Bible, no toilet. Before entering my prison cell (a shed at the bottom of a friend's garden) I hadn't thought much about what the experience would be like; I just knew that I wanted to – I needed to – do something. Make a stand, push some boundaries, raise some support. I started by reading some memoirs by Asia Bibi, a sister imprisoned and sentenced with the death penalty under Pakistan's blasphemy law. The book is in French, but it didn't take much more than my GCSE standard to pick up words like "fatigue", "agonie", "cruelle" and "souffre". I was saddened, inspired, challenged. Asia Bibi is an emblem of injustice. She's in it for the long term, not just 24 hours. Why? Because she follows Jesus, and she won't deny it. As I drifted to sleep I could hear stray fireworks and faded traffic, what would a prisoner in a North Korean labour camp hear? What would an inmate in the notorious prisons of Iran hear? Sobbing? A beating? Nothing? Being a November night there was a constant chill, but nothing that my hoody and socks couldn't fend off. What would it be like in an Eritrean shipping container in the middle of the desert when the sun disappears? I will never forget the words of Helen (who was locked in these very shipping containers): "If I could sing in prison, imagine how you can use your freedom for God's glory!" Just imagine.

As daylight penetrated the gaps in the blinds, I sat and reflected – my mind dancing from thought to thought, unable to stay put. "I'm missing a football match." But what would they be missing? Family. Education and occupation. Everything. I had with me some letters of encouragement from the past few years. They really were so encouraging! In just the short time I had been cut off, I could feel it, I hated it. These letters gave life. I can only imagine what they must do for persecuted prisoners.[2] Guessing the time is a strange thing. It's only ever a glance down at my phone or an ask of a passer-by away. I started to think about what it would be like waiting; waiting to be dragged out, waiting to be tortured, waiting to be killed. Or maybe, just maybe, waiting to be released. To feel the sun on your face, to dwell in the embrace of a loved one. To taste your favourite foods again.

I was reminded by the words of Psalm 46: "Be silent, and know that I am God... The Lord Almighty is here among us." Maybe we shouldn't be so surprised when we hear of miraculous releases, imprisoned believers being strengthened by visions, or guards coming to know Jesus, or believers using their own clothes to clear up the crap in fellow prisoner's cells. God is still God. His grace is enough.

Philippians 2:4 also came to my mind. I didn't know it by heart (challenge one), but as I later came to read, it states: "Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing." (challenge two) How quick I am to think of myself. But this faith, this walk with Jesus, is a community thing. The most important thing is to love God and love others. It's upside-down thinking. Hebrews 10:24 says, "Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds." Yes! Let's scheme and get into some holy mischief![3] Time passed as I prayed and pondered. Silence is a strange thing, my stomach grumbles seemed surround-sound, but were soon drowned out by the uprising of fireworks. I started to think about Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and the other nations undergoing tense revolution. Will it be better, will it be worse? I was comforted by a phone call just days earlier with friends in Egypt, hearing of ongoing ministry. Toiling for the Kingdom.

Darkness descended, another day was closing. I was almost done. But for persecuted believers around the world, what next? Well, I believe there is hope. And I believe we can be torch-bearers of this hope."If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honoured, all the parts are glad." (1 Cor. 12:26) We're in this together. Join with us, and refuse to live in a world that doesn't care.

If you have a bit longer :-)

Spend some time praying for Christians who are currently imprisoned for their faith and their families. For help with this, you can visit: www.opendoorsuk.org

[1] See https://www.facebook.com/notes/open-doors-youth/blackout-experience/390516919985

[2] You can write letters of encouragement right now! Visit http://www.opendoorsuk.org/resources/letter/

[3] Shane Claiborne

Day Eighteen

2011-11-23T00:00:00.003Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 4:23-31

23 On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed one.’ 27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28 They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

I used to work at a life skills centre for young people who were unable to access either work or further education. This was rewarding work but definitely had its ups and downs. One particular down I remember clearly: we had lost control; there were chairs being turned over; raised voices; accusations that we’d never done anything to help them, we didn’t care, everything we did was wrong and so on! For someone who’s not a conflict fan (in that I find it uncomfortable rather than I don’t think it has any value!), I was way out of my comfort zone – what was happening was what I had, for some time, feared and now there it was, playing out with no seeming way to calm things down.

The next day, I attended the teaching course I’d been taking and this week it was the turn of the mini-teach: a 20-minute slot in which we could teach anything we wanted to the rest of the group. Sometime back, I’d decided to teach something from the Bible and had been dreading it for weeks: What will people think? Will it go terribly? Will people be offended? And yet, when it came to it I had an amazing sense of peace; however badly it went, there was no way it was going to be as difficult and uncomfortable as the previous day’s events! And so, for that brief moment, I felt a fresh freedom. I’d faced one of my worst fears and survived. In comparison this mini-teach seemed like a breeze!

Now, sadly, this sense of freedom didn’t last too long but it did teach me a lot. The age-old classic really is true: the best way to overcome your fears is to face them! (Although being true doesn’t necessarily make this any easier!!!)

The reason I say all of this is that, when I picture Peter and John going back to the others and reporting on what had happened, I get the sense that rather than knock the confidence out of them, their brush with the authorities has spurred them on. They’ve faced their first set back, survived (even come out on top!) and are ready to go again.

Are there difficulties that you’ve faced that God has used for good in some way? What does this show us about God? Does the fact that God can use even difficulties for good mean that these difficulties are any less difficult (if that makes sense!)?
How do you feel when you have opportunities to share your faith in Christ with others? Does the emotion of fear factor into this at all? If so, maybe we can imitate the disciples by asking God to grant us boldness in this.

If you have a bit longer :-)

Pray for people you know who don’t know of God’s love in Christ and ask God to help you show or say something of him to them this week.

Day Seventeen

2011-11-22T00:00:00.002Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 4:5-22 and Luke 20:1-8

5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.” 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” 18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” 21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?” 3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” 5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.” 8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

There are some obvious parallels here between the experience of the disciples and that of Jesus before them. It is firstly significant that Luke mentions Annas and Caiaphas – two men strongly connected with Jesus’ unjust trial (John 18:12). Secondly, as with Jesus before them, the disciples’ authority is questioned and – again like Jesus – their answer renders their accusers speechless (Acts 4:14 cf. Luke 20:7). Further, as v. 19 shows, they are adept at using questions!

Conrad Gempf has written a very insightful book called “Jesus Asked?” – which you can check out in podcast form for FREE!!![1] Do any of Jesus’ questions stand out to you as being particularly effective and/or pertinent? In terms of engaging with people who have different beliefs to your own, do you think as carefully about what questions you could ask as you do about what answers you can provide?

It seems odd that the religious leaders should feel so aggrieved by this man’s healing and the message of the resurrection of the dead; surely both are good news?

Why do you think they were unhappy about these things? Is their behaviour a challenge or warning to us in any way?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Why do you think both Jesus and the disciples were asked about the source of their authority/power? Are there ever situations in which we may want to ask this question?

About the disciples, Max Lucado writes:

They aren’t the same men. Oh, I know they look like it. They have the same names. The same faces. The same mannerisms. They look the same. But they aren’t. On the surface they appear no different. Peter is still brazen. Nathanael is still reflective. Philip is still calculating. They look the same. But they aren’t. They aren’t the same men you read about in the last four books. The fellows you got to know in the Gospels? These are the ones, but different. You’ll see it. As you read you’ll see it. In their eyes. You hear it in their voices. You feel it in their passion. These men have changed…[2]

The religious leader’s are astonished at Peter and John’s courage; this same Peter who, just weeks earlier, had denied even knowing Jesus.

In what ways has an encounter with the risen Christ changed you? Do we reflect on this enough? Why is it important to do so?

[1] http://conradgempf.christian.net/ja/podcast-page.htm

[2] Max Lucado, “Acts,” pg. vii.

Day Sixteen

2011-11-21T10:51:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes (well, maybe 10!)

Read Acts 4:1-4 and Revelation 12

1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.

1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. 7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” 13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. (CS Lewis, “The Screwtape Letters”)

I play hockey and before each game our coach gives a team talk within which he points out some of our opposition’s strengths and weaknesses: “Number 9 has scored 10 goals already this season so we need someone to stick on her at all times. Last time we played them, their left defender was weak, so let’s attack hard down that side” and so on. However, this critique of the opposition, while an important part of his talk, is never the main focus. Rather, our coach spends the majority of the time reminding us of our strengths (and – to a lesser extent – weaknesses) and instructing us on any particular strategies we are to employ during the game.

John Stott notes that, while earlier on in Acts we are presented with an almost idyllic picture of the early Christian community, it is not long before opposition is encountered. Behind this opposition – although only not explicitly mentioned until chapter 5 – is the unseen reality of Satan who, Stott argues, employs three main weapons: violent persecution; moral compromise (e.g. 5:1-10) and the danger of exposure to false teaching (6:1-4 – from which we could also add disunity and strife amongst the believers). We should, he goes on, therefore read Acts and Revelation side by side: “Both tell much the same tale of the church and its experience of conflict, but from a different perspective. Luke in Acts chronicles what unfolded on the stage of history before the eyes of observers; John in the Revelation enables us to see hidden forces at work.”[1]

However, while it is important to be aware of Satan and his strategies – as it helps us to deal more wisely with them – it is, as CS Lewis points out (and Stott would concur), unwise to focus too much on this! Further, here, as elsewhere, the opposition causes harm to particular individuals but cannot stop the spread of the church at large, which – on the contrary – continues to grow.

Thinking about the equal and opposite errors that CS Lewis describes (denying/ignoring the existence of Satan versus over-focusing on him), which are you more inclined to and why? Is there anything you could/should do to rectify this?
Are there any areas in your life now where you face opposition? What form does this take? What (and/or who) has God given you to help you overcome this opposition/persevere through it?

If you have a bit longer :-)

Read Ephesians 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

One morning last week, I received a text from a friend who had felt prompted by the Spirit to pray for me and asked if there was anything in particular I’d appreciate prayer for; which was great because there was!

Who could you hold up in prayer today? Are there regular people who you have committed yourself to pray for? Is there anyone you could drop a note to, letting them know that you’re praying for them?
When away from our family and friends overseas, it can be particularly encouraging to know that people back home are praying for you. Look at the list of OHers currently living overseas[2] and choose one or more of them to pray for today. If there’s anything particular you pray for, or any notes of encouragement or Bible verses that you want to send to them, let me know and I’ll pass these on.

[1] See John Stott, “Acts,” pgs. 88-89.

[2] The Annecy Team (the McKnights, Ali, Vicky, Georgie, Aaron & Yannick); Si Surge in Spain; Emma in Australia; Paul, Benj and Esther in Cambodia; Gav in China; Gill in Morocco; Si Guillebaud in Berundi.

Day Fifteen

2011-11-18T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 3:24-26

24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

As already highlighted on Day Four, Jesus’ commission that his disciples bear witness to him in Jerusalem AND BEYOND was not the first time God had revealed his desire to reach out to all people! Rather, right at the start of Israel’s history – back with a guy called Abraham – God promised that one day he would bless all peoples on the earth through Abraham’s offspring. At the time, Abraham probably thought that meant his offspring in general but now it is clear that it is through one man – Jesus – that this promise has been fulfilled. Led by the Spirit, it is now the disciples’ responsibility to spread this great news. At the moment they’re still just in Jerusalem but even here – as Peter indicates in his speech above – they have the bigger picture in mind.

So, HOW BIG IS YOUR COMMUNITY? In other words, even if God has called you to Loughborough for now, do you – like Peter – try to keep this bigger perspective in mind? If so, in what ways does this impact your life in Loughborough? (e.g. Do you regularly pray for people of different nationalities and cultures to your own? Do you pray for people who are facing hardship in different countries to our own? How often do you remember the plight of Christians facing persecution in the places they live and pray or act on their behalf? Are you open for God to call you to a different country and serve him there? Do you regularly pray for people from OH who have done just this?) If not, maybe ask God to reveal to you more of his heart for the nations and ask him to show you what you could do in response to this.

If you have a bit longer :-)

All through his speech, Peter makes reference to various Old Testament people and themes to demonstrate that Jesus is the pinnacle of all of this and fulfills these various OT strands!

On a scale of one to ten (it’s still scale week!), how familiar are you with the OT? How clearly do you understand the ways in which Jesus is the fulfillment of it? Would you benefit from looking into all of this a bit more? If so do you think you’d find it helpful to attend Open Heaven’s Bible Overview Course at some point?!?! (Shameless plug!!!)

Day Fourteen

2011-11-17T00:00:00.002Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 3:17-23

17 “Now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’

Peter acknowledges the crowd’s ignorance and uses this to introduce his argument that, far from being a failure, Jesus’ death actually fulfilled God’s plan! However, their ignorance doesn’t mean they don’t need forgiveness rather Peter follows this up with an urgent plea that they repent.

Here, as in a number of other places, the Bible assumes a significant parodox; that on the one hand people are free and their actions and choices have consequences, which are often bad and need forgiving. However, on the other hand, God is somehow ultimately still in charge and manages to weave his will through these free and fallen decisions such that his purposes are outworked!

How do you feel about this paradox? Is it something you take comfort from or something that frustrates and confuses you?
Although the Bible seems to hold the two sides in equal tension – and practically it’s important that we try to follow suit – in reality this can be hard to do and so we tend to migrate to one side more than the other. What is your bias in this regard? i.e. Are you more likely to become overly fatalistic and feel like everything that happens is completely down to God (which can lead us to be very mistrustful of God as lots of bad things happen in life as well as good). Or are your more likely to become overly burdened, feeling like it’s all down to you and one small mistake will scupper everything? Or – like me – do you sometimes flit between the two?!
If you find this all a bit headwrecking (and/or interesting!) and want to read more about it, I recommend a talk my Dad wrote entitled, “Free and Chosen?”

If you have a bit longer :-)

Read Acts 17:29-34

29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Within his speech in Acts 3, Peter tries to persuade the crowds to turn to Jesus, giving them four incentives:

So that your sins may be wiped out (like a whiteboard being wiped clean)
So that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (the postive counterpart to forgiveness)
So God may send Christ, the appointed one, when it is time for God to restore everything
Because if you don’t you’ll be cut off from the people (the negative consequence of not turning to Christ)

In terms of evangelism today, do you think Christians are similarly confident in sharing all four aspects? If not, are there one or two we tend to highlight more than the others and why do you think this is?

Now, as I mentioned in Day Eight, we do have to remember that Peter is speaking to a crowd who were familiar with all of these concepts – albeit they wouldn’t previously have connected Jesus with it all.

Therefore, looking at Paul’s speech in Athens in Acts 17 (where the listeners weren’t Jewish), what similarities and differences are there when compared with Peter’s? (Obviously, within all of this we have to remember that both speeches are actually Luke’s summaries, in reality the speeches would have probably been much longer. However, I think it is fairly likely that Luke has not only picked out the main points within these particular speeches but that also what he includes are, in fact, hallmarks of their speeches in general).

Day Thirteen

2011-11-16T00:00:00.002Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 3:11-16

11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “People of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

Peter’s speech here shares a similar pattern with that he delivered at Pentecost. Again, it is a speech given spontaneously in response to the powerful workings of the Holy Spirit. Further, as at Pentecost, Peter’s tact is to demonstrate to the crowds that – rather than a failed Messiah – this Jesus they had crucified has, in fact, been vindicated by God and this demands a response!

The urgency with which Peter directs the awestruck crowd’s attention to Jesus is starkly contrasted later on in Acts when, in chapter 8, a magician called Simon sees the Holy Spirit’s power as an opportunity to further his own fame and popularity.

Are there times when we’re tempted to use the gifts God has given us to further ourselves rather than point to Christ? If we’re really honest, perhaps none of us has totally pure motives in this regard so how can we increasingly grow in this area? For example, recently I have felt challenged to try and worry less about how people might respond to things I think God is calling me to say or do than I currently do. For the key players in Acts, they simply accepted that what they did and said would have a mixed response but did and said it anyway!

If you have a bit longer :-)

Be wise in your dealings with outsiders, but use your opportunities to the full. (Col. 4:5)

Who is going to do you harm if you are devoted to what is good? Yet if you should suffer for doing right you may count yourselves happy. Have no fear of other people: do not be perturbed, but hold Christ in your hearts in reverence as Lord. Always be ready to make your defence when anyone challenges you to justify the hope which is in you. But do so with courtesy and respect. (1 Peter 3:13-15)

Again, as at Pentecost, Peter seizes the opportunity that suddenly presents itself in order to tell the crowds about Jesus.

On the scale below – it’s scale week this week! – where would you place yourself? Where do you think Peter would be?

Thinking back over the last week, are there times when you now recognise you could have said something about your faith in Jesus but didn’t? How do you feel about this?
Are there ever times when it’s wise to deliberatly not say anything about Jesus or your faith in him?

And if you’re really keen!...

Peter pulls no punches in telling the crowds what they’ve done wrong: handed Jesus over to be killed; disowned him before Pilate, though Pilate had decided to let him go; disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released instead; killed the author of life!

How well do you think such forceful rhetoric would go down in our contemporary culture?
Does the fact that it would probably be unpopular mean Christians shouldn’t ever be so blunt?
Currently “insulting” conduct is outlawed in the UK. Some MPs want this clause to be scrapped saying it restricts freedom of speech and has led, for example, to a street preacher being arrested because passerbys found him offensive.[1] What do you think? Should we as Christians concern ourselves with such matters? If so, what do you think the Government should prioritise: freedom of speech or the freedom for people to live their lives without being insulted? Whatever you think, maybe just spend a few minutes praying for the Government and asking that God would help them find a good and healthy balance between protecting people from slander and abuse while allowing people to express their beliefs without fear of recrimination.

[1] For more info see http://www.christian.org.uk/wp-content/downloads/freespeech_June11.pdf and/or http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15205553

Day Twelve

2011-11-15T00:00:00.003Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 3:6-10 & 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

In the Old Testament you had a few special people like judges or kings or prophets. In the New Testament God said, ‘I will pour my Spirit out on all flesh.’ So, the more you put one person on a pedestal, the more people think there’s a special anointing or something, which is not true, and it actually makes the Church go backwards and not forwards. We’re not going to reach the ends of the earth if we’re relying on a few specially anointed or gifted people. The good news is that the job was given to every ordinary, weak kind of person. Now, why he did it that way, I don’t know. It seems an awful risk, but that’s the way he chose. (Jackie Pullinger)

The first thing that strikes me about this passage is the confidence of Peter’s faith. He doesn’t even pray; he just speaks. Now it does appear that Peter was uniquely gifted, even amongst the apostles, as in 5:15 we’re told that people were healed when just his shadow passed over them! However, his faith is still a challenge for us and since then there have been a number of people in history who have been anointed with a similarly amazing gift of healing; Jackie Pullinger is one although, challengingly, her main message is that we should all be involved in bringing God’s love to those who are sick, lost and broken.[1]

On a scale of one to ten, how confident do you feel that God can heal people today?
Do you know anyone who has been miraculously healed? Has this impacted your faith in any way? In what ways did it impact them and the people around them?
Do you think that the Holy Spirit has given you the gift of healing? If so, how might you step out more in this area?
What would you identify as your primary gifts? Again on a scale of one to ten, with how much confidence and faith do you think you outwork these gifts? How can we spur one another on in exercising our gifts in this way (i.e. with confidence and faith!)?

If you have a bit longer :-)

I once heard a Tim Keller sermon in which he made the point that in our lives God is either the end (i.e. the goal) or he is a means to another end (maybe peace, freedom from guilt, good health, assurance of heaven, a spouse…). We generally, he argued, come to God for the latter reason – i.e. because we recognize in ourselves some need that only God can fulfill. The challenge for the remainder of our Christian lives, therefore, is how do we move closer and closer to the first; i.e. how do we love God primarily for who he is (regardless of our circumstances) rather than just for what we can get from him (which, incidentally, it could be argued is also the primary theme in the book of Job!).

Here, it is clear that as amazing as the man’s healing is, its main fruit is the praise of God that it induces. It is for this reason that miracles within the Bible are generally referred to as signs; they are not ends in themselves (although they’re great!), rather they point to a greater end – God!

Why did you initially decide to become a Christian? Was it purely because of love for God or was it because you had identified a need that only God could fill? If the latter, what was this need? Or – like me – are you not really sure why you became a Christian you just felt, at the time, an overwhelming conviction that this was something you had to do?!
Are there any areas in your life now where you recognize that God is the means to an end rather than the end in and of himself? What areas are these?
Accountability with one or more Christians whom we trust is an important part of growing in our faith and therefore becoming people who love God more and more for who he is rather than just for what we can get from him. Do you have people you can speak to in this way? If yes, maybe you could share with them your answers to the question above. If not, maybe this is something it’d be good to pray about and ask God to show you people with whom you can start sharing your life with more openly.

[1] See http://www.christianitymagazine.co.uk/features/Jackiepullinger.aspx

Day Eleven

2011-11-14T00:00:00.050Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 3:1-5

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

Contemporary Christianity now looks so different from Judaism that it’s easy to forget that the first Christians saw Christianity not as a new or separate religion but as Judaism in its most fulfilled form! Peter and John have not, therefore, abandoned the temple or Jewish forms of worship – as evidenced here in 3:1. However their worship does now has a new expression too (see 2:46, which describes believers meeting together both in the temple and in homes; on the combo of which, John Stott notes, “There is no need to polarize between the structured and the unstructured, the traditional and the spontaneous. The church needs both.”[1]).

The whole issue of continuity versus discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments is a matter of much theological debate! Where would you place yourself on the scale below?

Does it make any practical difference where we place ourselves on this scale? If so, can you think of any examples?

About these verses, Tom Wright notes:

…Luke emphasizes that Peter and John looked hard at the man. They stared intently at him. What were they looking for? A sincere spirit, ready to receive more than he’d asked for? A heart full of pain and sorrow, ready to be touched by God’s healing love? Somehow there is something important about that deep, face-to-face contact: not only did Peter and John stare at him, but they told him to look hard at them, too. No good turning your face away in embarrassment, as often happens with beggars who are ashamed to catch your eye, and of passers-by who are equally ashamed to look at beggars. What is about to happen involves a deep human contact as well as a deep work of God.[2]

This partnership between God and people in displaying God’s power and bringing about his purposes is one of the deepest mysteries of the Christian faith as well as one of the greatest privileges. In what ways can you partner with God today to see other people’s lives touched by his love and grace?

If you have a bit longer :-)

From what follows (i.e. the man being healed!), it is clear that the man’s expectations of what he needs, and can receive, are incomplete!!! He asks for money but needs, and receives, a new life.

Have you been in situations where you’ve expected one thing from God but received something quite different? How did this feel?
Maybe it’s worth asking God if there are currently any areas in your life, or situations that you face, where your expectations are similarly incomplete? Ask God to shape your expectations so they’re more inline with his!

[1] John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 85.

[2] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 50.

Day Ten

2011-11-11T00:00:00.001Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 2:42-47

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

On these verses Tom Wright comments:

Luke is careful to point out the landmarks. In fact, Acts 2:42 is often regarded as laying down “the four marks of the church.” The apostle’s teaching; the common life of those who believed; the breaking of bread; and the prayers. These four go together. You can’t separate them, or leave one out, without damage to the whole thing. Where no attention is given to teaching, and to constant, lifelong Christian learning, people quickly revert to the worldview or mindset of the surrounding culture, and end up with their minds shaped by whichever social pressures are most persuasive, with Jesus somewhere around as a pale influence or memory. Where people ignore the common life of the Christian family (the technical term often used is “fellowship,” which is more than friendship but not less), they become isolated, and often find it difficult to sustain a living faith. Where people no longer share regularly in “the breaking of bread”…they are failing to raise the flag which says “Jesus’ death and resurrection are the centre of everything” (see 1 Corinthians 11:26). And whenever people do all these things but neglect prayer, they are quite simply forgetting that Christians are supposed to be heaven-and-earth people.[1]

➡ Of these “four marks” – teaching/learning, community, remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection and prayer – are there one or two you focus on more than the rest? What could you do to create a better balance?

➡ Challengingly, the believers hold their things in common. What examples within OH can you think of where people act inline with this (the exceptional hospitality of the residents of 64 Beacon Rd and Phil Morton are a couple of examples that spring to my mind!). Are there ways that we could develop further in this? What about if we see the whole Christian community as part of our family – some of whom have hardly anything, materially speaking. What does it look like to share internationally as well as locally?

If you have a bit longer :-)

➡ “Everyone was filled with awe at the many signs and wonders performed by the apostles.” Is it just leaders who are able to perform signs? If not, is everyone equally gifted in this area?

➡ “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” There is something contagious – as well as awe-inspiring – about this early Christian community. The great relationship that OH has with the students’ union through Club Mission is, I think, in a similar vein. In what other ways does OH have a positive and attractive relationship with our local community? What as-yet-untapped potential is there for this?

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pgs. 44-45.

Day Nine

2011-11-10T00:00:00.002Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Acts 2:22-40

22 “People of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: “I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope,  27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.  28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.” 29 “Brothers and sisters, we all know that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand  35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

Peter moves on from his confident assertions that today is a day of hope fulfilled to explain how this has all come about: through Jesus; the seemingly failed Messiah who, Peter argues, God has vindicated and raised up to be “the rightful king of Israel.”[1] In doing so, he brings two strands of OT prophecy together: the hope of God’s kingdom coming more fully and the slightly mysterious prophecies about a suffering servant; the one pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (see Isaiah 53). It is, Peter argues, through Jesus’ suffering and death – not despite it – that God’s presence can now be experienced so profoundly.

If you have a bit longer :-)

➡ How often do you reflect on Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection? Maybe we could all try to start each day thanking God for what he has done for us in Christ.

➡ Does Jesus’ suffering (and then restoration and vindication) encourage you in any way when you’re facing times of difficulties?

➡ “With many other words Peter warned them and pleaded with them…” Do we have this same passion and urgency when we’re engaging with those who don’t yet know Christ? How can we spur one another on in this?

[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 36.

Day Eight

2011-11-09T00:00:00.005Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read the extract from Martin Luther King’s speech below

& Acts 2:14-21

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!
(NB. It is well worth checking out the full speech on YouTube!)

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “In the last days,” God says,   “I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,  your old men will dream dreams.  18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days,  and they will prophesy.  19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.  20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.  21 And everyone who calls  on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Particularly in times of great hardship, certain speeches or texts stand out as exemplars of hope. Martin Luther King’s speech, at a time of great racial oppression, is one of the finest examples of this. Similarly, within the Jewish tradition, there were certain texts that embodied Jewish hopes for the future: hope that God’s people would be set free from oppression, hope that God’s kingdom would come more fully on the earth, hope that there would be renewed intimacy with God and empowerment to live in ways that please him, hope that God’s power would be experienced more completely, hope that the nations would finally be blessed through Israel and so on. Joel 3:1-5 – which Peter quotes here, albeit with some interesting changes – was one of these texts. By starting with it, Peter is making one thing very clear: this time you’ve all been waiting for is now here! There are, however, now and not-yet elements to this[1] and so, for Luke, the giving of the Holy Spirit is not only a blessing for now but also a guarantee that “the great and glorious day of the Lord” – when everything will be as God always wanted it to be – will indeed come![2]

➡ Are there times in your life when you’ve struggled to have hope? How has this felt?

➡ Hope isn’t just something for the future rather, as we see in Acts – and actually with Martin Luther King as well – hope has a powerful impact on the present. What in your life might be different if you had more hope?

➡ How can we encourage one another to be people of hope? How can we best spread hope amongst are neighbours, work colleagues, family, friends…?

If you have a bit longer :-)

On verses 17 & 18, Tom Wright writes:

This work of God is wonderfully inclusive, because there is no category of people which is left out: both genders, all ages, all social classes. But it is wonderfully focused, because it happens to all “who call on the name of the Lord” (verse 21). Here, once more, “the Lord,” which in Joel meant Israel’s God, YHWH, now seems to mean Jesus himself. And with this Luke introduces a vital and complex theme in his work: “salvation.” All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved.” “Being saved” doesn’t just mean, as it does for many today, “going to heaven when they die.” It means “knowing God’s rescuing power, the power revealed in Jesus, which anticipates, in the present, God’s final act of deliverance.” Peter will now go on to encourage his hearers to “call on the Lord’s name,” and so to know that “salvation,” that rescue, as a present reality as well as a future hope.[3]

➡ What could you do today to outwork your “salvation” in the present and bring God’s kingdom closer to earth?

It is pertinent that Peter starts his speech (well Luke’s summary of it anyway!) with a quotation from Scripture and we may want to conclude that all evangelistic talks should begin in this way. It is important, however, to remember that Peter was speaking to those within the Jewish faith who would have been familiar with these texts. Interestingly, later on in Acts (17:16-33) when Paul is chatting to non-Jews in Athens, he starts by reading an inscription from one of their idols (albeit to prove to them their own ignorance!) and then quotes one of their own poets.

➡ Within our evangelism, how can we, like the Christians in Acts, maintain faithfulness to the truth of Scripture whilst communicating these truths in culturally appropriate and penetrating ways?

[1] See Acts notes from last week (“Day Four”) and Tom Wright, “Acts,” pgs. 32-33.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 77.

[3] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 34.

Day Seven

2011-11-08T00:00:00.018Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Re-read Acts 1:8 & Read Acts 2:5-13

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” 13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

In taking the opportunity to speak about Jesus to the international community present in Jerusalem at that time, the disciples started to fulfill the different parts of Jesus’ commission (Jerusalem…ends of the earth) all in one go! Although they are only engaging with those within Judaism at this stage.There are potentially some interesting connections between the outpouring of the Spirit and the fact that, at the time, people were celebrating Pentecost (a harvest festival that took place 50 days after Passover and which, later on, became an anniversary of the giving of the Law at Sinai – thought to have taken place 50 days after the Exodus).[1] However, it could also be that Luke simply includes this detail to explain why so many people from so many different places were all in Jerusalem at the same time![2]

➡ There are currently people of many different nationalities living in Loughborough. How proactive are we in seeking to reach those whose culture and nationality is different from our own? Is there anything you could do differently in this regard? (For some ideas on this, check out “Claire’s 24-hour Mission Trip!”)

If you have a bit longer :-)

As Beverly Gaventa observes, the outpouring of the Spirit was “no private event,” rather the disciples were immediately cast into the public arena.[3] Moreover, not all those present received them well! Rather, as Tom Wright challengingly notes, then – as “again and again in Acts” – there is “opposition, incredulity, scoffing and sneering at what the apostles say and do, at the same time as great success and conviction.”[4] In this regard, I am pretty certain that I’d experience more of the latter if I were more willing to risk the former.

➡ Looking back over the past week, have there been times when you’ve not said or done something that would have helped people see more of Christ through you because you were worried what they might think? How do you feel about this?

➡ Maybe we could all try to do or say at least one thing this week that helps someone who doesn’t know Christ find out more about him, even if there’s a risk they might think we’re a bit odd?!

➡ Are there any public Christian figures that are on your heart for you to pray for? If not, maybe ask God if there’s anyone you could be supporting in this way. Those I can think of would include: the Archbishop of Canterbury, Steve Chalke, the Pope, the Bishop of London, Alister McGrath (a theologian)… (you probably know of others!)

[1] See John Stott, “Acts,” pg. 62.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 74.

[3] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 74.

[4] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 29.

Day Six

2011-11-07T00:00:00.005Z

If you have 5 minutes!

Read Luke 3:16-17 & Acts 2:1-4

16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Whilst studying at Bible college, I remember one chapel service in particular. Within it, one of our lecturers read out a story about a guy who heard a knock at the door, answered it and saw Jesus standing there (it’s not a true story by the way!). He was, understandably, very excited to see Jesus and so invited him in. At first, he was delighted to have Jesus staying with him but then Jesus started to move things around a bit in his house and invite people over that the man didn’t want to be there: a homeless person, a prostitute, a Jehovah’s witness... The story carried on in similar vein, ending when the man decided that the safest thing to do was put Jesus in a cupboard and just bring him out on special occasions!!! The point of the story was pretty clear! When Jesus comes into our lives it’s great and very exciting but it can also be uncomfortably disruptive.

The fire and wind accompanying the Spirit’s infilling convey a similar sense of both excitement and disruption. Both are violent forces that can be powerfully harnessed but not controlled. Both resonate with John the Baptist’s prophecy in Luke 3, within which John highlights the Messiah’s power to bring renewal, cleansing and purity to God’s covenantal people. Both appear regularly in the OT to indicate God’s invasive presence (e.g. Exod. 3:2; 1 Kgs. 19:11-12).[1]

Further, this dramatic arrival of the Spirit, though promised, is sudden and transforming.

The overall sense, therefore, is that while the disciples can (and must!) wait for the Spirit, while they can gather to pray and worship and seek God together; the Spirit comes as a result of God’s initiative, not theirs. Moreover the time he comes, the way he comes and what he does on his arrival are again determined by God, not the disciples. The Spirit can be sought (and quenched!) but not controlled – which is obvious but (to me at least) also challenging!

➡ Are there any ways in which you have tried to control God’s Spirit? Have you seen examples of this elsewhere? How as Christians can we be more open to the free initiative of God’s Spirit without trying to set the agenda?

➡ In what ways has God’s Spirit brought joy, peace, comfort and excitement into your life? Are there any ways in which he has brought disruption and discomfort?!

If you have a bit longer :-)

Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. (Gen. 1:3)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

In Genesis 1 we see that God creates through his word. In John, Jesus is referred to as God’s Word. Further, as a guy called Vanhoozer (great name!) has noted, language is “the medium of covenantal relations with God, with others, with the world.”[2]

➡ Is there, therefore, any particular significance to the fact that the Spirit’s first act at Pentecost is to grant words?

➡ If you’re into a bit of cultural critique! How might this emphasis on and confidence in words challenge our postmodern culture?!

[1] Beverley Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 74.

[2] Kevin Vanhoozer, “Is there meaning in this text?” pg. 206.