Acts 23: Paul is Spared

Paul is Spared

In Acts 23:1-5, we see Paul get punched while being held down. The command to punch him came from the High Priest Ananias. Paul's response was an insult to whoever commanded the punch, but according to Exodus 22:28, Paul was wrong to insult a ruler of people. 

Then in Acts 23:6-11, Paul knows that the Sadducees and the Pharisees were divided on their stance of Paul's innocence and guilt, he lets the crowds know that he is a Pharisee. Because he believed in the resurrection of Christ (the dead being a risen is believed possible by Pharisees and not Sadducees), then he aligns himself with the Pharisees saying that he is one of them. The disagreements became violent and in order to keep Paul from being harmed he was moved. The next night he was told by God “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome (Acts 23:11).”

There was a plot to kill Paul and the Jews made an oath to not eat or drink until Paul was dead. Paul's nephew (his sister's son) found out about this and told Paul who had his nephew taken by the centurion to tell the tribune of what was waiting for him. Paul was then sent to Felix the Governor. A letter was accompanied with  Paul and those he was sent with explaining Paul's situation including his possible innocence (Acts 23:28-30). After the arrival, Felix decided not to charge Paul with anything until the accusers arrived and he could hear them out.

I learned from Paul's trials that when you are led by the Holy Spirit, keep going. I see Paul as an example of courage in the Spirit of God to keep pressing on even when it seems hopeless. I see God's hand guiding Paul the whole way. Have you ever taken the time to look back at life and see where God's hand was guiding you in accordance with the Bible?

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Acts 19: Paul's Healings and Exorcising Without Jesus

Paul's Healings and Exorcising Without Jesus

We have seen Paul uncover idols and heal people in the name of the Lord. We have seen him drive home the point of faith in Christ over Mosiac Law in terms of salvation. But in this chapter we see the Holy Spirit so infused in Paul that even Paul touching items of cloth allowed for him to have healing powers. People were being healed of sicknesses and evil spirits came out of people (Acts 19:11-12).

When seven traveling Jewish men sought to exorcise a man who had been overcome by evil spirits, they referred to the Jesus that Paul spoke of. That was their mistake, it was not the Jesus that they knew, but someone else's relationship with Jesus. The evil spirit did not know who they were but it knew Paul and Jesus. The evil spirit made the man attack the seven men and left them fleeing, naked and wounded. Many people found out about this and around the same time those who had become believers came forward to admit doing magic arts. In an attempt to rid themselves of those ways they burned their books that were altogether worth 50 thousand pieces of silver (Acts 19:13-20).

Without the Holy Spirit what can you do? You can do things on your own power. There are people who are very successful in life and do not have the Holy Spirit. They do not know Jesus. Do you see how Paul's faith in the Holy Spirit and God using him allowed for pieces of clothing and cloths to be used as healing agents as long as Paul touched them? Yet, with the 7 men that tried to exorcise an evil spirit without them having Jesus as their personal Lord became useless. See the difference? With Jesus/God/the Holy Spirit you can work wonders. Without either of them it is a wonder anything would ever work.

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Acts 14: Unbelievers, Healing and Humility

Unbelievers, Healing and Humility

Unbelievers can really cause some trouble. Their unbelief and hard hearts can stir up those who are seeking. Unbelievers can be cynical and overlook truth and proof due to their personal issues, not because what they do not believe in is not true. The unbelievers here in verse 2-6 were Jewish poisoned the minds of the Gentiles and turned them against the brothers Barnabas and Paul. But, Barnabas and Paul found out about and fled and continued preaching the gospel. I love the dedication here. I think many would find it easy to say "if I keep hitting these roadblocks, then it isn't meant to be." When you are doing God's will, it isn't about what the naysayers and haters say.

Being in God's will can also allow you to heal those that are sick and disabled. In verses 8-10 we see that man who had never been able to walk was commanded to stand by Paul's voice and the man was healed. Once again, the Holy Spirit has healing power. It isn't just physical. If you have ever had the Holy Spirit work through your life in restoring a relationship or helping you through a personal problem, then you too know of the Holy Spirit's power and have a testimony to tell.

But, sometimes people get things twisted and confused. We see good things people do and we begin to worship them or make false idols (see Exodus 32). In verses 11-18, when the crowds saw what Paul had done with healing the man, they began to refer to them as gods and wanted to offer a sacrifice to them. When Barnabas and Paul heard about this they stopped them and showed them that they were also men and need not be worshiped. Barnabas and Paul could have used that time and gotten the glory like Herod wanted, but they chose the humble route.

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Acts 11- Further Development of the Church

Further Development of the Church

Peter met with the members of the church and told them about the Gentiles (non Jewish people) who had received the word of God. The brothers and sisters accused Peter of not being a faithful Christian Jew because he ate with Gentiles and they were uncircumcised at that. Peter tells them of the vision he had that allowed him to see that God had no distinction or partiality when it came to who could receive the word of God. Through this the church members were able to understand that everyone, including Gentiles, could receive the word of God. No partiality (Acts 11:1-18).

The Church in Antioch (which was far away) was growing. While there Barnabus and Saul met with other believers and taught for a year and it was also there at Antioch where the disciples were first called Christians. A prophet named Agaubus warned of a great famine that was coming to all the earth. he disciples determined to send relief to the brothers in Judea and they sent that relief by Barnabus and Saul., Everyone pitched in according to their ability (Acts 11:19-30). 

From this chapter I have pulled out that when it comes to the word of God and the life and resurrection of Christ, there is no partiality. It does not matter what you look like. You can receive the word of God regardless of the outside. The word will stick based on the inside. I also learned that this was the the first recorded relief effort from one group of people helping another group of people. That takes love and concern and selfless care for others. We need that when there is a national or worldwide disaster. We need that kind of selfless giving on weekdays, weekends and holidays. We need that more often. Love takes no days off.

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Luke 6:1-5- Lord of the Sabbath

Lord of the Sabbath

Many times I have heard that Christianity is about rules, regulations and religious rituals that have no meaning and make no sense. In many instances, Jesus thought similarly about being Jewish in his day.

In Luke 6:1-5, we have another example of the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus into saying something that was wrong. Jesus often paid no attention to rules that were set forth by man's foolishness in order to supplant God's will. 

One of the Ten Commandments is to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8-11). Pharisees took that to an exponential level and literally would not even do what was right ion God's eyes because they thought they were doing the right thing. But often, Pharisees were not as concerned with God's will as they were their appearance to others and displaying their self-righteousness. They were trying to call out Jesus for rubbing in his hands the seeds he had picked to eat. Really? Seriously?! That is what you criticize??

The Pharisees made a list of what you could and could not do on the Sabbath. But, the will of God cannot be contained in do's and dont's. Yes, we have the Ten Commandments, but those are not the only commands God or Jesus gave through the entire Bible. Following God's will is bigger than a list.

Jesus said that he was "Lord of the Sabbath." This was one of his claims to being God in the flesh. As Jesus lived, we got to see his miracles and his heart through his actions. The great part about him saying that he was "Lord of the Sabbath" was that on another Sabbath, he healed a man with a withered hand (Luke 6:6-11). Would God really have you wait until the next day if you could serve Him or people on the Sabbath?

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Mark 6:7-13- Shake off the Dust

Shake off the Dust

In Mark 6:7-13, we read about Jesus sending out the twelve apostles/disciples. In verse 8, Jesus charged/commanded them to only take one tunic (garment of clothing) and and sandals. They were not to take any bags or bread or any money in their belts. In my reading from Dave Guzik, he states that the rule/law was that Jewish rabbis were not to have the appearance of doing any other business in the temple. So, when Jesus sent out the twelve (2 by 2) they also were not have the appearance that they are doing any other business than spreading the word of Christ. Not having those items also put them in position to have more faith in God that He would provide for them while He did their work. If a preacher/pastor doesn't have have faith in God, then how can they teach others to have that faith?

A second point that I found interesting was the command in verse 11 to "shake off the dust" if any place would not have them or receive their message. The practice of this comes from Jewish people shaking off dust as they would travel through Gentile/non-jewish cities. it was seen as a way to not want to take anything from a city that was not Jewish. Do you see the connection? If a person or place does not receive the word of Christ then do not take that mentality or way of thinking with you in any way shape or form. That includes anything as small as dust. It is not your job as a pastor/preacher or follower of Christ to convince people to receive Jesus. You can share the faith, but you do not have to argue with them until you are blue in the face or until they accept Jesus. You deliver the message. They choose to receive it or reject it. Jesus did not need to argue and neither do you.

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Matthew 8:13

Matthew 8:13 "Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.'" commentary-  A centurion soldier came to ask Jesus to heal a servant. This soldier was an officer in the Roman army oppressing Jewish people. While all other  Jewish people would hate him he still felt humble enough to ask for help from Jesus (a Jew) for help in healing a servant. He cam humbly & not with selfish intent. Jesus healed the  servant from afar & marveled at the man's faith & understanding of who Jesus was. Selfless & humble & God will hear you.

Matthew 3:8

Matthew 3:8 "Bear fruit in keeping with repentance." commentary- John the Baptist was quite upset with those  who worshiped Abraham over God himself. He warned them to bear fruit with repentance which meant that those who thought their Jewish heritage in Abraham was enough. It wasn't enough. They were getting baptized in preparation for a Messiah but still had not walked away from their sinful lives. We need to do the same as well. We can say we are Christians and Christ followers but the fruit of our repentance can show sin  that we are unwilling to give up.