You Must Bear Witness in Rome

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Paul before King Agrippa

Acts 22:30-23:11

The Message

³⁰ The next day, determined to get to the root of the trouble and know for sure what was behind the Jewish accusation, the captain released Paul and ordered a meeting of the high priests and the High Council to see what they could make of it. Paul was led in and took his place before them.

Before the High Council

23 ^1-3 Paul surveyed the members of the council with a steady gaze, and then said his piece: “Friends, I’ve lived with a clear conscience before God all my life, up to this very moment.” That set the Chief Priest Ananias off. He ordered his aides to slap Paul in the face. Paul shot back, “God will slap you down! What a fake you are! You sit there and judge me by the Law and then break the Law by ordering me slapped around!”

⁴ The aides were scandalized: “How dare you talk to God’s Chief Priest like that!”
⁵ Paul acted surprised. “How was I to know he was Chief Priest? He doesn’t act like a Chief Priest. You’re right, the Scripture does say, ‘Don’t speak abusively to a ruler of the people.’ Sorry.”
⁶ Paul, knowing some of the council was made up of Sadducees and others of Pharisees and how they hated each other, decided to exploit their antagonism: “Friends, I am a stalwart Pharisee from a long line of Pharisees. It’s because of my Pharisee convictions—the hope and resurrection of the dead—that I’ve been hauled into this court.”
^7-9 The moment he said this, the council split right down the middle, Pharisees and Sadducees going at each other in heated argument. Sadducees have nothing to do with a resurrection or angels or even a spirit. If they can’t see it, they don’t believe it. Pharisees believe it all. And so a huge and noisy quarrel broke out. Then some of the religion scholars on the Pharisee side shouted down the others: “We don’t find anything wrong with this man! And what if a spirit has spoken to him? Or maybe an angel? What if it turns out we’re fighting against God?”
¹⁰ That was fuel on the fire. The quarrel flamed up and became so violent the captain was afraid they would tear Paul apart, limb from limb. He ordered the soldiers to get him out of there and escort him back to the safety of the barracks.

A Plot Against Paul

¹¹ That night the Master appeared to Paul: “It’s going to be all right. Everything is going to turn out for the best. You’ve been a good witness for me here in Jerusalem. Now you’re going to be my witness in Rome!”

For Reflection

Do you think that those of us who are so blinded by our religious convictions could look rationally into a mirror as Paul provided the Pharisees and the Sadducees and see the truth of our folly?  What if it turns out in vigorously defending our religious convictions, we are really fighting God?  Who wins that fight?  Maybe that is the real reason for conflict.  God's chance to illuminate the truth and give us a chance to grow closer to Him.

Pray

Pray that you when confronted by your own conviction will not hold so steadfastly that you cannot hear God's guidance.  Pray that out of conflict you will grow closer to God's will for your life.

Taken into Custody

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Paul before King Agrippa

Acts 22:17-25

The Message

^17-18 “Well, it happened just as Ananias said. After I was back in Jerusalem and praying one day in the Temple, lost in the presence of God, I saw him, saw God’s Righteous Innocent, and heard him say to me, ‘Hurry up! Get out of here as quickly as you can. None of the Jews here in Jerusalem are going to accept what you say about me.’
^19-20 “At first I objected: ‘Who has better credentials? They all know how obsessed I was with hunting out those who believed in you, beating them up in the meeting places and throwing them in jail. And when your witness Stephen was murdered, I was right there, holding the coats of the murderers and cheering them on. And now they see me totally converted. What better qualification could I have?’
²¹ “But he said, ‘Don’t argue. Go. I’m sending you on a long journey to outsider non-Jews.’”

A Roman Citizen

^22-25 The people in the crowd had listened attentively up to this point, but now they broke loose, shouting out, “Kill him! He’s an insect! Stomp on him!” They shook their fists. They filled the air with curses. That’s when the captain intervened and ordered Paul taken into the barracks. By now the captain was thoroughly exasperated. He decided to interrogate Paul under torture in order to get to the bottom of this, to find out what he had done that provoked this outraged violence. As they spread-eagled him with thongs, getting him ready for the whip, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is this legal: torturing a Roman citizen without a fair trial?”

For Reflection

Exasperation!  How often have you felt that?  The Captain could not understand the clamor.  When Paul invoked the Roman law, the Captain was surprised that he had mistaken Paul for a vagabond and had no choice under Roman law but to free him.  Thus, the stage is set for reasoned dialog in the face of irrationality.  Thank God for human law that protects one's human rights.

Why are we so willing to abuse our relationship with God by assigning God's will to unGodly acts?

Pray

for wisdom to see beyond human fear into the truth of God's will for humankind.  Pray that you will find patience, and loving responses in times of conflict.  Pray and seek truth in Scripture.

A Stirred-Up Mob

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Paul before King Agrippa

Acts 21:27-36

The Message

Paul Under Arrest

^27-29 When the seven days of their purification were nearly up, some Jews from around Ephesus spotted him in the Temple. At once they turned the place upside-down. They grabbed Paul and started yelling at the top of their lungs, “Help! You Israelites, help! This is the man who is going all over the world telling lies against us and our religion and this place. He’s even brought Greeks in here and defiled this holy place.” (What had happened was that they had seen Paul and Trophimus, the Ephesian Greek, walking together in the city and had just assumed that he had also taken him to the Temple and shown him around.)

³⁰ Soon the whole city was in an uproar, people running from everywhere to the Temple to get in on the action. They grabbed Paul, dragged him outside, and locked the Temple gates so he couldn’t get back in and gain sanctuary.
^31-32 As they were trying to kill him, word came to the captain of the guard, “A riot! The whole city’s boiling over!” He acted swiftly. His soldiers and centurions ran to the scene at once. As soon as the mob saw the captain and his soldiers, they quit beating Paul.
^33-36 The captain came up and put Paul under arrest. He first ordered him handcuffed, and then asked who he was and what he had done. All he got from the crowd were shouts, one yelling this, another that. It was impossible to tell one word from another in the mob hysteria, so the captain ordered Paul taken to the military barracks. But when they got to the Temple steps, the mob became so violent that the soldiers had to carry Paul. As they carried him away, the crowd followed, shouting, “Kill him! Kill him!”

For Reflection

How does it happen?  How do people get so caught up in lies and unsupported truths that they are willing to kill?  Of what are they so fearful that they lose rationality?  Does it happen today?

Pray

that you will never be so caught up in the moment that you will forget the most important focus of God's plan the expression of love so divine that it displaces fear.  Pray that your trust in God is so deep that you will wait on His word.

A Champion for the Needy

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Job 29:2-20

The Message

When God Was Still by My Side

29 ^1-6 Job now resumed his response:

“Oh, how I long for the good old days,
    when God took such very good care of me.
He always held a lamp before me
    and I walked through the dark by its light.
Oh, how I miss those golden years
    when God’s friendship graced my home,
When the Mighty One was still by my side
    and my children were all around me,
When everything was going my way,
    and nothing seemed too difficult.

^7-20 “When I walked downtown
    and sat with my friends in the public square,
Young and old greeted me with respect;
    I was honored by everyone in town.
When I spoke, everyone listened;
    they hung on my every word.
People who knew me spoke well of me;
    my reputation went ahead of me.
I was known for helping people in trouble
    and standing up for those who were down on their luck.
The dying blessed me,
    and the bereaved were cheered by my visits.
All my dealings with people were good.
    I was known for being fair to everyone I met.
I was eyes to the blind
    and feet to the lame,
Father to the needy,
    and champion of abused aliens.
I grabbed street thieves by the scruff of the neck
    and made them give back what they’d stolen.
I thought, ‘I’ll die peacefully in my own bed,
    grateful for a long and full life,
A life deep-rooted and well-watered,
    a life limber and dew-fresh,
My soul suffused with glory
    and my body robust until the day I die.’

For Reflection

By what acts are you known?  Are you known as a champion of the downtrodden, of the needy, of the outcast? 

Pray

that you will focus on God's will that we work for justice and provide sanctuary and compassionate assistance to those in need. 

Changing Shame into Praise

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Zephaniah 3:14-20

The Message

^14-15 So sing, Daughter Zion!
    Raise the rafters, Israel!
Daughter Jerusalem,
    be happy! celebrate!
God has reversed his judgments against you
    and sent your enemies off chasing their tails.
From now on, God is Israel’s king,
    in charge at the center.
There’s nothing to fear from evil
    ever again!

God Is Present Among You

^16-17 Jerusalem will be told:
    “Don’t be afraid.
Dear Zion,
    don’t despair.
Your God is present among you,
    a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love
    and delight you with his songs.

^18-20 “The accumulated sorrows of your exile
    will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
    You’ve carried those burdens long enough.
At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those
    who’ve made your life miserable.
I’ll heal the maimed;
    I’ll bring home the homeless.
In the very countries where they were hated
    they will be venerated.
On Judgment Day
    I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering!
You’ll be famous and honored
    all over the world.
You’ll see it with your own eyes—
    all those painful partings turned into reunions!”
        God’s Promise.

For Reflection

So many times Scripture reveals the intent of the new covenant which was sealed with Christ's blood.  Over and over again the message of transformation and the hope inherent in new beginnings is told.  So, believe it!  Sinners like you and me are given a new chance.  Nothing is held against us.  Praise God for His new covenant.

Pray

that you will take to heart the good news.  Pray that you will have the confidence, conviction and trust in the promise of hope.  Pray that people all over the world will experience the shalom of the new covenant.

Gathering the Outcasts

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Isaiah 56:1-8

The Message 

Messages of Hope

Salvation Is Just Around the Corner

56 ^1-3 God’s Message:

“Guard my common good:
    Do what’s right and do it in the right way,
For salvation is just around the corner,
    my setting-things-right is about to go into action.
How blessed are you who enter into these things,
    you men and women who embrace them,
Who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
    who watch your step and don’t do anything evil!
Make sure no outsider who now follows God
    ever has occasion to say, ‘God put me in second-class.
    I don’t really belong.’
And make sure no physically mutilated person
    is ever made to think, ‘I’m damaged goods.
    I don’t really belong.’”

^4-5 For God says:

“To the mutilated who keep my Sabbaths
    and choose what delights me
    and keep a firm grip on my covenant,
I’ll provide them an honored place
    in my family and within my city,
    even more honored than that of sons and daughters.
I’ll confer permanent honors on them
    that will never be revoked.

^6-8 “And as for the outsiders who now follow me,
    working for me, loving my name,
    and wanting to be my servants—
All who keep Sabbath and don’t defile it,
    holding fast to my covenant—
I’ll bring them to my holy mountain
    and give them joy in my house of prayer.
They’ll be welcome to worship the same as the ‘insiders,’
    to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to my altar.
Oh yes, my house of worship
    will be known as a house of prayer for all people.”
The Decree of the Master, God himself,
    who gathers in the exiles of Israel:
“I will gather others also,
    gather them in with those already gathered.”

For Reflection

The key to the fellowship of followers is Christian hospitality.  We all were, at one time or another outsiders.  Now, as we gather in the Shepherd' flock let none of us be made to feel as though we don't belong.

Pray

that all of God's faithful will treat each other with Godly hospitality, as a member of one's own family.

Lifting Up the Downtrodden

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Psalm 147:1-6

The Message

147 Hallelujah!
It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;
    praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.

^2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
    who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.
He heals the heartbroken
    and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
    and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
    we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.
God puts the fallen on their feet again
    and pushes the wicked into the ditch.

For Reflection

"Sometimes I feel like a motherless child."  This Negro Spiritual confirms heart wrenching despair, children torn from their families, people stolen from their homelands, nothing familiar, nothing saved.  Yet in all their dispair the American slaves found hope in their faith.  They knew of what the psalmist sang.  It was their song too.  Is it yours?

Original score of "Motherless Child" by William E. Barton, D.D., 1899.   From Wikipedia See:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sometimes_I_Feel_Like_a_Motherless_Child

Listen to Odetta. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce8ix4VGR2w&feature=related

Odetta was of my generation.  Learn more of her and her experience in a New York times interview.  See:  http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/arts/20081203_odetta.html (20 minutes good quality.)

Pray

that you will find your home in God's household.  Pray that others in dispair will find hope in the Lord.

Blemishes that Exclude

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

Leviticus 21:16-24

The Message

^16-23 God spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron, None of your descendants, in any generation to come, who has a defect of any kind may present as an offering the food of his God. That means anyone who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed, crippled in foot or hand, hunchbacked or dwarfed, who has anything wrong with his eyes, who has running sores or damaged testicles. No descendant of Aaron the priest who has any defect is to offer gifts to God; he has a defect and so must not offer the food of his God. He may eat the food of his God, both the most holy and the holy, but because of his defect he must not go near the curtain or approach the Altar. It would desecrate my Sanctuary. I am God who makes them holy.”

²⁴ Moses delivered this message to Aaron, his sons, and to all the People of Israel.

For Reflection

Now, I ask you, "Why would God send a message regarding the exclusion of defective people through Moses, a man with a speech defect and a murderer?"  Yes, I know this is old testament,  Yes, I know this is the book of laws. Yet, the question is puzzling.

Perhaps from a literal perspective, some folks were mentally or physically not able to carry on the functions of priesthood.  But, the passages make more sense when bathed in the light of Christ and the new testament. If understood as a metaphor, one might interpret the passage; blind to the Spirit, unable to offer a helping hand, unable to carry the word or stunted in spiritual growth.

For those who are unable mentally of physically, we are cautioned not to treat them discriminatively in any other way.  On the contrary, we are obligated to serve them in Christian hospitality as full members of the household of God.

For those who are defective in spirit, the same obligation binds us to their service.

Christ revealed how to adhere to the intent of the law even if we were confused about how to adhere to a law that was declared well over two thousand years ago in a context we can only imagine. All of us are defective in some way.  Yet, God uses us weak though we may be.  One who is blind may see the Spirit far more clearly than a fully sighted person.  Only God can judge our worthiness.

Pray

for those who are stunted in Spirit,  Pray for those who are blind to the truth in Christ.  Pray for those bodies and minds are scared by sin.  Pray for forgiveness for those things which you have done and that appear as scars on your mind and body.  Pray that you will fulfill your obligation to the grace of God in humility and Christian hospitality.

The Fruit of the Spirit

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Simon Wants to Buy Power

Galatians 5:22-26

The Message

^22-23 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
^23-24 Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
^25-26 Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but . That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

For Reflection

Belief it!  Let it change your attitudes.  Let the Spirit in to change your life.  It will make a difference in your life and in the lives of those with whom you come in contact.  Living the life as the Spirit moves you will change the world. 

Pray

that, the Spirit will be invited in to all people to help them  "work out its implications in every detail of our lives."  Pray that you will allow the Spirit to become so deeply embedded in your being that you cannot help but be one with God's plan for you.

The Works of the Flesh

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Simon Wants to Buy Power

The Message

^16-18 My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

^19-21 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.

For Reflection

Perhaps the hardest thing to over come is our own sense of self.  It is not just who we understand our selves to be.  It is also what that understanding motivates us to do. To what extent is your sense of self cemented in your relationship with God?

Pray

that you will see who you are through God's eyes.  Pray that  your sense of self as a child of God protected in His universe, will assist you to reject the pressure of living in the face of sin.  Pray that sinful self-interest will never win when at odds with God's interest in you.

Faith Resting on God's Power

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Simon Wants to Buy Power

1 Corinthians 1:26-2:5

The Message

^26-31 Take a good look, friends, at who you were when you got called into this life. I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. That’s why we have the saying, “If you’re going to blow a horn, blow a trumpet for God.”

2 ^1-2 You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

^3-5 I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.

For Reflection

We are blessed In the free world to live in a nations of relative affluence and peace.  We know what affluence and peace do for us, but do we understand what they do to us?

I remember in my childhood hearing stories of my grandparents arrival into New York City from Austria in 1900.  They were poor, arriving almost penniless.   Their Lutheran faith was the glue which held them together and provided a basis for their hope in a brighter American future. Their confidence and trust in the Lord allowed them to overcome their perceptions of the risk of upheaval.

They were closely bound as a family. I remember the boys, my uncles, stopping daily on their way home from the mills in which they worked to pay respects to their mother and visit with their sisters.  They began their American lives poor in material wealth but rich in spiritual abundance.

Americans, like the Israelites in Egypt, grew more and more affluent.  As our nation grew more affluent, our work ethic and culture made more and more demands upon our time.  We became less able to continue the family ties that supported us.  Some say morality and ethics were bent to justify just about anything.  Studies are showing that spirituality is deteriorating.  Society seems becoming soft.  The gulf between the haves and the havenots seems to be widening.

In the face of these conditions, turning to God for a solid spiritual foundation does not seem to be the most important first step.  And yet, contrary to popular opinion, returning to a strong individual spiritual base may be much more effective than each trying to control outcomes single handedly.

To what extent are you ready to reject the divisiveness of our affluent culture and return to spiritual solidity and hopeful faith?

Pray

for the wisdom that starts with confidence in the promise of God and ends in absolute trust in the goodness of God's plan for your life and the lives of all people.

Christ, the Power of God

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Simon Wants to Buy Power

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

The Message

^18-21 The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense. This is the way God works, and most powerfully as it turns out. It’s written,

I’ll turn conventional wisdom on its head,
I’ll expose so-called experts as crackpots.

So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn’t God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense? Since the world in all its fancy wisdom never had a clue when it came to knowing God, God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb—preaching, of all things!—to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation.

^22-25 While Jews clamor for miraculous demonstrations and Greeks go in for philosophical wisdom, we go right on proclaiming Christ, the Crucified. Jews treat this like an anti-miracle—and Greeks pass it off as absurd. But to us who are personally called by God himself—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s ultimate miracle and wisdom all wrapped up in one. Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.”

For Reflection

"You can't see what's right by looking at what's wrong."  is a line from a Willie Dixon blues tune. Some times we see just what we want to see.  Those that are hawkish will only accept hawkish options.  Turning the other cheek, requires great confidence, conviction and trust in the Lord and is done at the risk of being mocked.  Christ was no weak mamby pamby.  But He was compassionate and loving. And those characteristics were not only the mark of His ministry, but also His guiding principles.  To what extent does love and compassion overtake your fear of performing unconventionally?

Pray

for courage and trust God.  Pray that you, like Stephen, will overcome your fear and speak truthfully and act as an authentic Christian.

Using the Name of the Lord

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Simon Wants to Buy Power

Acts 19:11-20

The Message

Witches Came out of the Woodwork

^11-12 God did powerful things through Paul, things quite out of the ordinary. The word got around and people started taking pieces of clothing—handkerchiefs and scarves and the like—that had touched Paul’s skin and then touching the sick with them. The touch did it—they were healed and whole.

^13-16 Some itinerant Jewish exorcists who happened to be in town at the time tried their hand at what they assumed to be Paul’s “game.” They pronounced the name of the Master Jesus over victims of evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus preached by Paul!” The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were trying to do this on a man when the evil spirit talked back: “I know Jesus and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?” Then the possessed man went berserk—jumped the exorcists, beat them up, and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.
^17-20 It was soon news all over Ephesus among both Jews and Greeks. The realization spread that God was in and behind this. Curiosity about Paul developed into reverence for the Master Jesus. Many of those who thus believed came out of the closet and made a clean break with their secret sorceries. All kinds of witches and warlocks came out of the woodwork with their books of spells and incantations and made a huge bonfire of them. Someone estimated their worth at fifty thousand silver coins. In such ways it became evident that the Word of the Master was now sovereign and prevailed in Ephesus.

For Reflection

Paul was in today's vernacular, a "Rock Star."  And as all rock stars, his persona was imitated  by all manner of pretenders.  Jealously and greed took control and when the perpetrates were outed they were enraged and committed atrocities as they came face to face with their inadequacies.

That's the bad news.  The good news is that the pretenders realized the power and gifts God had given to the twelve. The failure of the pretenders brought others to realize the true source of power and lead them to believe in the truth of Christ.

Pray

that you will employ the wisdom of God's truth.  Pray that you will be able to recognize the pretenders.  Pray that your faith will be so transparent that the pretenders will see themselves reflected in your witness and fall to their knees knowing the truth of Christ.

The Inadequacy of the Temple

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Martyrdom

Acts 7:44-50

The Message

^44-47 “And all this time our ancestors had a tent shrine for true worship, made to the exact specifications God provided Moses. They had it with them as they followed Joshua, when God cleared the land of pagans, and still had it right down to the time of David. David asked God for a permanent place for worship. But Solomon built it.

^48-50 “Yet that doesn’t mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote,

“Heaven is my throne room;
    I rest my feet on earth.
So what kind of house
    will you build me?” says God.
“Where I can get away and relax?
    It’s already built, and I built it.”

For Reflection

Where is our temple?  

Temples have been built.  Golden domes adorn sanctuaries.  Store fronts display the cross of faith.  Is this where we are to find God?

The universe is God's temple and we are housed at His feet.

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving to the God whose home is the universe.  Thank God for creating human beings to be counted among the members of his household.  Pray that you will repay your indebtedness to God with loyalty, trust, and obedience.

The Rejection of God

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Martyrdom

Acts 7:39-43

The Message

^35-39 “This is the same Moses whom they earlier rejected, saying, ‘Who put you in charge of us?’ This is the Moses that God, using the angel flaming in the burning bush, sent back as ruler and redeemer. He led them out of their slavery. He did wonderful things, setting up God-signs all through Egypt, down at the Red Sea, and out in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to his congregation, ‘God will raise up a prophet just like me from your descendants.’ This is the Moses who stood between the angel speaking at Sinai and your fathers assembled in the wilderness and took the life-giving words given to him and handed them over to us, words our fathers would have nothing to do with.
^39-41 “They craved the old Egyptian ways, whining to Aaron, ‘Make us gods we can see and follow. This Moses who got us out here miles from nowhere—who knows what’s happened to him!’ That was the time when they made a calf-idol, brought sacrifices to it, and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together.
^42-43 “God wasn’t at all pleased; but he let them do it their way, worship every new god that came down the pike—and live with the consequences, consequences described by the prophet Amos:

Did you bring me offerings of animals and grains
    those forty wilderness years, O Israel?
Hardly. You were too busy building shrines
    to war gods, to sex goddesses,
Worshiping them with all your might.
    That’s why I put you in exile in Babylon.

For Reflection

People!  What is your problem?  Stephen speaks of the Moses who prophesied the coming of Christ!  This is the Moses who when he was away from the people they turned from God and wallowed in self-righteousness! The law was insufficient to ensure commitment, confidence and trust in the Lord.

This is the God who let his people try it their way only to suffer the consequences of their own making.  God does not approve!

What gives you confidence?  What gives you the reason to trust?  What holds you closely to the Lord?

Pray

for those who lose their trust in the promise of God.  Pray that you will patiently sustain your trust in God even though you may lose sight of the promise.

The Rejection of Moses

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Martyrdom

Acts 7:35-39

The Message

^35-39 “This is the same Moses whom they earlier rejected, saying, ‘Who put you in charge of us?’ This is the Moses that God, using the angel flaming in the burning bush, sent back as ruler and redeemer. He led them out of their slavery. He did wonderful things, setting up God-signs all through Egypt, down at the Red Sea, and out in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who said to his congregation, ‘God will raise up a prophet just like me from your descendants.’ This is the Moses who stood between the angel speaking at Sinai and your fathers assembled in the wilderness and took the life-giving words given to him and handed them over to us, words our fathers would have nothing to do with.
^39-41 “They craved the old Egyptian ways, whining to Aaron, ‘Make us gods we can see and follow. This Moses who got us out here miles from nowhere—who knows what’s happened to him!’ That was the time when they made a calf-idol, brought sacrifices to it, and congratulated each other on the wonderful religious program they had put together.

For Reflection

It comes down to this.  Who is to be most revered?  Who is the true christ?  Moses or Jesus?  To us it seems an odd question.   But, in the early church when Jews were fighting reform, it was a huge issue.  It is obvious that Moses could be viewed as a deliverer, a christ figure.  By deifying Moses, the accusers of Stephen could label his talk of Jesus as blasphemy against Moses and the Jewish faith.

Some times people hear what they want to hear.   Some times people are mislead because they are fearful and more comfortable with quick and easy answers. If they can just find someone other than themselves to blame and eliminate them, the threat would disappear.

Why is it that confidence, conviction and trust in God is so hard to gain and so easy to loose?

Pray

that you will invite the Holy Spirit into your heart.  Pray that you will have the courage of your conviction in God to trust in His promise.  Pray that you will have the patience that confidence in God brings, even when the outcome seems bleak.

I Have Come to Rescue Them

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Martyrdom

Acts 7:30-34

The Message

^30-32 “Forty years later, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to him in the guise of flames of a burning bush. Moses, not believing his eyes, went up to take a closer look. He heard God’s voice: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Frightened nearly out of his skin, Moses shut his eyes and turned away.
^33-34 “God said, ‘Kneel and pray. You are in a holy place, on holy ground. I’ve seen the agony of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their groans. I’ve come to help them. So get yourself ready; I’m sending you back to Egypt.’

For Reflection

Moses beheld a vision of God, disguised as a flaming bush.  But not just any old flaming bush.  The flames did not consume the bush.  Certainly the law of Moses is divinely delivered.  It is, indeed, the word of God.   Who could not ignore His law?  Who can not ignore His law today?  How can we be obedient to the law when the laws conflict?  What do you do when the law conflicts with itself or with commonsense?

Pray

Pray for the courage to be obedient to the law.  Pray for the wisdom to apply the law well.

Equipped to Speak Boldly

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Martyrdom

Ephesians 6:13-20

The Message

^13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
^19-20 And don’t forget to pray for me. Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out.

For Reflection

Learn to apply truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation.  This is how you prepare to witness.  Whether in act or in word. the witness you give to God's grace is always enhanced by prayer and obedience to the truth of God.

Pray

that you will know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all.  Pray for all who witness to the name of God.  Pray that you will observe the world through God's eyes.  Pray that you will see opportunities to witness where others are blind. Pray for all to experience a righteous life.

Full of Faith and Spirit

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Arrest and Speech

Acts 6:1-7

The Message

The Word of God Prospered

6 ^1-4 During this time, as the disciples were increasing in numbers by leaps and bounds, hard feelings developed among the Greek-speaking believers—“Hellenists”—toward the Hebrew-speaking believers because their widows were being discriminated against in the daily food lines. So the Twelve called a meeting of the disciples. They said, “It wouldn’t be right for us to abandon our responsibilities for preaching and teaching the Word of God to help with the care of the poor. So, friends, choose seven men from among you whom everyone trusts, men full of the Holy Spirit and good sense, and we’ll assign them this task. Meanwhile, we’ll stick to our assigned tasks of prayer and speaking God’s Word.”

^5-6 The congregation thought this was a great idea. They went ahead and chose—

Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit,
Philip,
Procorus,
Nicanor,
Timon,
Parmenas,
Nicolas, a convert from Antioch.

Then they presented them to the apostles. Praying, the apostles laid on hands and commissioned them for their task.

⁷ The Word of God prospered. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith.

For Reflection

Each of us has talents.  Not all of us has the same talent.  As disciples, we are use the talents we possess to advance the Kingdom of God.  How have you been using your talents?

Pray

that you will be so filled with the Holy Spirit and steeped in your faith that your life will be a witness to the Kingdom of God.  Pray that your faith will sustain you, comfort you and give you courage to use your talents in fulfilling God's will for you.

Guided into All the Truth

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Arrest and Speech

John 16:12-15

The Message

^12-15 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’

For Reflection

As in all things there is timing.  The knowledge of God and from God is discovered as it is needed to be known.  The all of God is more information than one can handle.   As we mature as a faithful person and, for that matter, as a human race, we discover more and more of God and God's universe.  What is needed to be known as a child is far less complicated and complete as what is needed as we mature.  Some times, such knowledge arrives in clouded and mysterious ways as though looking at the world through carnival mirrors.  Prayer, study of scripture and interaction with the fellowship of believers will help clarify and interpret God.

Pray

for the guiding hand of God as you discover new and exciting aspects of God's universe.  Pray for the wisdom to listen to God's will as you explore tomorrow's wilderness.

My Mouth Will Utter Truth

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Arrest and Speech

Proverbs 8:1-11

The Message

Lady Wisdom Calls Out

8 ^1-11 Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling?
    Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?
She’s taken her stand at First and Main,
    at the busiest intersection.
Right in the city square
    where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,
“You—I’m talking to all of you,
    everyone out here on the streets!
Listen, you idiots—learn good sense!
    You blockheads—shape up!
Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you how to live well,
    I’m telling you how to live at your best.
My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth—
    I can’t stand the taste of evil!
You’ll only hear true and right words from my mouth;
    not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.
You’ll recognize this as true—you with open minds;
    truth-ready minds will see it at once.
Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money,
    and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.
For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth;
    nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

For Reflection

Truth.  Must we always tell the truth?
Yes! 

What about "little white lies?"
Even these will injure. 

What if I am not being completely truthful and the other knows that it is not the truth -- is it still a lie?
Duh!

Do we always have to tell all the truth?
What are you, a candidate for office?

We must be known as truthful in word and deed, otherwise, no one will believe us.

Pray

Pray for the courage to tell the truth and the wisdom to tell it humbly and respectfully.

These Things You Shall Do

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Arrest and Speech

Zechariah 8:14-19

Keep Your Lives Simple and Honest

^14-17 A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“In the same way that I decided to punish you when your ancestors made me angry, and didn’t pull my punches, at this time I’ve decided to bless Jerusalem and the country of Judah. Don’t be afraid. And now here’s what I want you to do: Tell the truth, the whole truth, when you speak. Do the right thing by one another, both personally and in your courts. Don’t cook up plans to take unfair advantage of others. Don’t do or say what isn’t so. I hate all that stuff. Keep your lives simple and honest.” Decree of God.

^18-19 Again I received a Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies:

“The days of mourning set for the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will be turned into days of feasting for Judah—celebration and holiday. Embrace truth! Love peace!”

For Reflection

Celebration of God's promise is celebration of hope, truth and peace.  What do you do to celebrate God's participation in your life?  From the God of the Angle Armies, the message is, live lives filled with hope and righteousness and celebrate truth.

Pray

that you will see the goodness in God's people.  Pray that you will seek the goodness around you.  Pray that in the midst of troubles you will find time to celebrate the grace that your faith encourages.

Barriers between You and Your God

A Living Faith
Who Understands Faith?
Stephen's Arrest and Speech

Isaiah 59:1-8

We Long for Light but Sink into Darkness

59 ^1-8 Look! Listen!
    God’s arm is not amputated—he can still save.
    God’s ears are not stopped up—he can still hear.
There’s nothing wrong with God; the wrong is in you.
    Your wrongheaded lives caused the split between you and God.
    Your sins got between you so that he doesn’t hear.
Your hands are drenched in blood,
    your fingers dripping with guilt,
Your lips smeared with lies,
    your tongue swollen from muttering obscenities.
No one speaks up for the right,
    no one deals fairly.
They trust in illusion, they tell lies,
    they get pregnant with mischief and have sin-babies.
They hatch snake eggs and weave spider webs.
    Eat an egg and die; break an egg and get a snake!
The spider webs are no good for shirts or shawls.
    No one can wear these weavings!
They weave wickedness,
    they hatch violence.
They compete in the race to do evil
    and run to be the first to murder.
They plan and plot evil, think and breathe evil,
    and leave a trail of wrecked lives behind them.
They know nothing about peace
    and less than nothing about justice.
They make tortuously twisted roads.
    No peace for the wretch who walks down those roads!

For Reflection

Sometimes I think that folks believe that God is the original born loser, with a capital "L".  So many blame God for ills and troubles with out considering that their troubles are a result of their own errors and weaknesses.  The greatest barrier between God and humankind is not God's unwillingness to hear and answer, but our inability to recognize what separates us from Him.  Why do we refuse to see the folly of self-centeredness?  Why do we still trust in the illusion of self righteousness?

Pray

for those who see only a "do-it-yourself"  world.  Pray for those who make tortuously twisted roads to false security.  Pray that, one day, all may see the wisdom of trusting God.