Day Forty

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?!

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[1] Tom Wright, “Acts,” pg. 133.

Day Thirty-Nine

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?

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[1] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 139.

[2] Beverly Gaventa, “Acts,” pg. 137.

Day Thirty-Eight

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

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?

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

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

Day Thirty-Six

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:

1. 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.
2. For protection and courage for Open Doors workers as they move around the region to encourage and assist affected Christians.
3. 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]

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