Day 49: Acts 16-17

The Apostle Paul had impressive credentials. Paul (whose former name was Saul) was a Jewish Pharisee which had been converted to Christianity. He was a highly intelligent scholar of the Jewish law. He was born a Roman citizen in Tarsus. Scripture tells us that he studied at the feet of the great Rabbi Gamaliel. But Paul tells us in Philippians 3:8 “…I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

Yet in the midst of all that happened in Paul’s life, he was found walking in the will of God! Acts 16 Verses 6 – 10 says:

"And they passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; 7and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; 8and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a certain man of Macedonia was standing and appealing ... to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."

This passage is all about being in the center of God’s will. It’s an age old question, “What is God’s will for my life?” I’m confident that God will show us His will, but we have to have the key in order to unlock it. So what’s the key to knowing God’s will? It’s wanting God’s will!

Psalms 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Day 47: Acts 11-13

On Friday I received our Youth Sunday School curriculum, "Your Life in Christ", in the mail. After it was delivered our office manager brought it into my office saying something like, "Your Life in Christ came in this box." (the book was in a box...I know you probably pieced that one together, but if not I thought I would help) Of course I couldn't resist and made a standard comeback to the effect of "I didn't know you could get that in a box." The sobering reality is we sometimes are very tempted to put Jesus in a box. In our flesh we kind of like Him in a box. You can take Him out when you want to be righteous and put Him away when you want to live in the flesh or when He doesn't agree with your tradition of holiness.

Here in our text for today, Peter's box for Christ got expanded once again. The box Peter had in Christ expanded several times; witnessing the numerous miracles, when Peter finally came to understand that Jesus was the Son of God, when Jesus died on the cross for our sins after speaking numerous times of this event, when He rose from the dead, and when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. Now Peter is being hit with the fact that the Gospel is not just for the Jews. It is for all of mankind. Not only is salvation extended to the Gentiles, but full rights as brothers in Christ and children of God; Gentiles also receive the Holy Spirit.

My hope is that God can keep expanding my knowledge and faith in Him. I believe I will never arrive at full understanding of God this side of Heaven. Even some of the things I do know and fully believe in I don't fully understand. I think that's the way it's supposed to be. I do love it though when God pulls back the curtain just a little bit more for me so I can know Him more.

Day 43: Acts 1-3

Acts 1:8 is often referenced or quoted, and for good reason. It is the continuation of the Great Commission and reminds us of the mission of every believer: to be a witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"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."

First of all, we see the necessity of the empowering of the Spirit of God. Apart from Him we cannot hope to be effective witnesses for the Lord. He gives us the strength, courage and wisdom to speak, and He moves in the hearts of those we are hoping to reach with the Gospel. He also enables us to bear the spiritual fruit in our lives that demonstrates the power of the Gospel we speak of.

Second, we recognize the responsibility of the disciples to be faithful to their task. While God would empower them, they still had to step out in obedience. The same is true for us today. As we humbly rely on the power of the Spirit, we need to step out boldly to love others and seek opportunities to share Christ with them.

Finally, we see God's heart for all people. The Gospel was not just for the disciples, nor just for the Jews. It was to be shared with the whole world. And in that whole world, there is no one that is beyond the saving grace of God.

I recently finished reading The Unexpected Journey, and I was really challenged by the testimonies of so many different "unreachable" people that came to follow Jesus. We don't know what is going on behind the scenes and how God is working in the lives of those around us. So we must be faithfully obedient to love and pray for those around us, sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, and trusting that God is at work and will continue to add to the number being saved!

Day 42: John 19-21

As we wrap up John's Gosepl, he concludes with the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus. I love the way that we see the Providence of God's hand all over these pages of Scripture. Beginning in John 19:32, it says, that the soldiers broke the legs of the two men on each side of Jesus as was cumtomary during crucifixions. But when they came to Jesus, He was already dead. So they pierced His side. When He was pierced, blood and water flowed out. John 19:36 says, "These things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of His bones will be broken."

God aways fulfills His Word and His promises! As I think about about this powerful truth, I'm reminded that the same God in the pages of John's Gospel is fulfilling His Word and promises in the lives of those who follow Him.

Day 41: John 16-18

Here are a couple of scriptures that popped out to me:

1. John 16:13-14 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

• Just as the Son's meat was to the do the will of the Father and to declare all that the Father revealed unto Him, so the Spirit's primary purpose is to do and say all that the Son desires.
• Notice the wonderfully parallel structure between the Son's relationship to the Father and our relationship to the Son. We are able to have the same intimacy with the Son as He did with the Father because of the Spirit of the Son that indwells all those that believe.
• One of the greatest ways to know whether something said or something done is from God or not is to determine whether or not it brings glory to the Son. "He will glorify me." The Spirit indwells us to bring Jesus glory.

2. John 16:23-24 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

• The key to getting prayers answered is asking "in the name" of Jesus. But what does that mean? Does it mean to tack on "in Jesus name, Amen" to the end of all of our prayers? Certainly it doesn't.
  
• The main focal point of our praying ought to be the person of Jesus Christ. He taught us to pray "hollowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done..." Notice the center of such praying - Jesus. He was teaching us to desire and pray that God's name might be hallowed in the hearts of men, that His kingdom would established here on earth, that men might revere him as King of kings and Lord of lords, that His will might be accomplished on earth as it is in heaven. In other words, pray those things that please the Father - namely that His name might be greatly praised among every tribe, nation, and people group of the world.
• To pray in the name of Jesus means to ask for the very things that Jesus desires. It means to go to the Father as if you were the representative of the Jesus Christ asking for the very thing that Jesus would ask for in such a circumstance.
• May your praying be radically focused on the will of Jesus Christ and His kingdom!

3. John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

• Ever notice how most people want eternal life in heaven? They just don't want God to be there when they get there. Notice in this verse eternal life is defined by "knowing" the only true God and Jesus. In other words, the end or aim of eternal life is that you get to know Jesus. Paul wanted that more than anything. He prayed that he might know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings.

May these thoughts encourage your study of John 16-18.

Day 40: John 13-15

"In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also"
John 14:2-3

I see some striking parallels here with the account of creation that we find in Genesis. God created the heavens and the earth and then prepared them for man. He created light to illuminate our paths and mark our days. He created dry land for us to walk upon and dwell upon. He created all of the creatures of the earth to fill it with the evidence of His greatness and for man to have dominion over. He created earth and prepared if for us so that we could thrive. The earth is clearly designed to support life and is set apart from all other stellar bodies. Once God created Adam, God placed him in a perfectly prepared Garden for him to dwell in.

God created this vast and complex universe in a mere week. I believe in a 6 literal days creation because I believe Bible is His Word and that is what His Word says. And I believe my God is big enough to do such a things. His Word also says that Christ has gone away to prepare a place for the disciples; for us; for me! It's not like a preparing for a banquet with a 'X' number of guests. He is preparing a specific place for me and for you individually. Can you imagine what kind of place God could prepare if given close to 2000 years to prepare it? Look what He did in 6 days. I can't either, but I'm anxious to find out.

Day 36: John 5-6

As we continue reading through John (my favorite gospel!) I want to take a moment and discuss the identity of the Savior.

I still remember back in college when I began to truly read the Bible for the first time and I came face to face with the reality that Jesus is God in the flesh. Even though I grew up in church, somehow that just never clicked for me before. But there I found it, seemingly on every page of the New Testament!

I have a Muslim friend who told me Jesus never claimed to be God, but that His followers ascribed that to Him at a later date. It's true that we don't have stories of Jesus walking around shouting, "I'm God! Fall at my feet!" However, I think we see part of the reason for that in John 5:31 when Jesus said, "If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid." He did not come to glorify Himself, but to do the Father's will. To constantly declare His deity was not part of the agenda.

This is well demonstrated in Philippians 2:5-11 where we see that although Christ was God, He laid aside His glory to come to the earth and die for our sins. What a mighty God we serve!

For the people of His day, Jesus' claims were clear. Here in John 5:17-18 we see that they understood exactly what He was saying: He was equal with the Father. In just a few chapters we'll read one of His most profound claims of deity in John 8:58 when Jesus applies the very "I AM" of God to Himself. Again, the implications are clear, as they wanted to stone Him for blasphemy.

Of course, John made it plain who Jesus was in his opening chapter: "the Word was God ... [and] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory!"

The implications of this truth are almost overwhelming. Jesus is not just another great prophet or teacher or man of God. He wasn't just a revolutionary or influential figure in history. He is not on equal footing with Muhammad or Buddha or Lucifer or an angel.

He is the Lord of Glory! The Alpha and the Omega! The Creator and Sustainer of all things! I hope you've come to the place where you see Him as He truly is: indescribable, incomparable, and unlike anyone else. I pray you've come to the place that Peter did when he said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

And above all, I hope you've put your trust in His work on the cross for your sins and that you find Him to be the One true thing you can build your life upon!