Acts 16:16-40 Paul and Silas in Prison

It did not take very long for Paul to get in trouble again. This time, he meets a slave girl with a spirit of divination and he casts the spirit out of her. The powers that this spirit had upon this girl allowed her to see that Paul and Silas were serving God and that they preached the way of salvation. Unfortunately, the casting out of the spirit from this girl cost the owners a lot of money since they were into the business of divination. At times, I'm not certain of how annoyed God is at my attempts to know and understand my future. When I go to the horoscope, tarot cards, palm reading, etc I disobey God.

Paul and Silas were apprehended and taken before the magistrates. The accusation they drummed up against them was a conflict in customs between Jews and Romans that gets them beaten with rods before they are imprisoned - in the inner prison with their feet fastened in the stocks. Our cultural response to the Gospel is no different than the Romans' response in the days of Paul. Bottom line is: the Gospel is countercultural and I must be willing to preach it no matter the cost. The Gospel disrupts my way of life and calls my attention to conform to a heavenly culture I don't understand. To follow Jesus means to take up my own cross.

The preaching of a countercultural Gospel is affirmed by the power of the Holy Spirit. For one, the apostles were praying and singing hymns after being beaten and fastened to the stocks in prison. I am not one to feel in the mood of singing after a beating. This is an obvious manifestation of the Spirit's power upon his people in the midst of persecution. It is not the product of Christian stoicism in the face of opposition. Also, God takes care of his people to fulfill his purposes. The shaking of the prison until everyone was free is another manifestation of the Spirit's power on behalf of God's people.

Paul and Silas have an opportunity to witness to the jailer who was ready to take his life since he thought all his prisoners had escaped. A divine appointment produces an opportunity to share the Gospel and see a life surrender into the hands of Christ. Trials and tribulations are opportunities for the power of the Spirit to manifest. These manifestations of the Spirit produce opportunities to preach the Gospel. I need to be on the lookout for these opportunities in the midst of my trials and tribulations. Am I seizing those opportunities on a daily basis?

Another such opportunity to witness the Gospel of the kingdom came about as a result of their imprisonment. When the magistrates wanted to let them go silently, Paul refused to leave until they would come to them. They were Roman citizens (probably with dual citizenship) who had been beaten without charge and Paul intended to use the opportunity to speak to the magistrates about the kingdom. Injustice can become the conduit for witnessing opportunities. Am I focusing on the injustice or on the opportunity? I think that I would be a lot more focused on what happened to me than looking to use the opportunity that the situation has given me for the furthering of the kingdom of God.

Father, help me rely on you for all my future. Give me boldness and courage to preach a Gospel that is countercultural with valor to face the consequences. Teach me to make the best of every opportunity, even those granted me via injustice and persecution, to be a witness for the Gospel. Amen.

Acts 8:4-8 Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

God is an expert in redeeming terrible and chaotic circumstances. Persecution scattered the Ancient Church, but with its scattering came the spread of the Gospel. Jerusalem had become a place of comfort for the church and the Apostles made it a fortress so to speak. But in doing so, they were disobeying the very  instructions that Jesus gave them to be witnesses in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Sometimes, God uses very unusual circumstances to overcome my lack of motivation to be a witness outside of my Jerusalem (local place of ministry). Am I entrenched in my Jerusalem unwilling to go out to Samaria to be a witness?

Another key element in the propagation of the Gospel is that not only did the disciples break out of their zones of comfort, but they all were proclaiming the good news. The preaching of the word, understood in this context as being witnesses for the kingdom, was not the exclusive task of the Apostles - "those who were scattered went about preaching the word." In fact, the Apostles remained in Jerusalem! I must be a witness myself. I can't delegate the proclamation of the word to my leaders. I am called to do so. I must obey! My willingness to proclaim the good news as a believer is a key factor to the spread of the Gospel.

The persecution also forced the Ancient Church to go into places they probably would not have gone on their own. Not only were the disciples forced to leave Jerusalem and move outwardly, but they were forced to go to undesirable (to them) places. Samaria is a case in point. The inhabitants of Samaria are descendants of the Jews that mixed themselves with foreign women of the Assyrian empire. The Jews despised them for adopting not only foreign women, but also foreign gods. The Jews despised the Samaritans so much that they would rather walk around their city than enter it to go anywhere even if it meant walking more. Where is my Samaria? Who is despised like that in my context? Is it a social class? Is it the poor? Is it an ethnic group? There could be multiple answers, but the bottom line is that I must be a witness to them also!

"Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ." Maybe to his surprise, the people paid attention to his message and many signs followed the preaching of the Gospel, just like he had experienced in his own Jewish context. God had no partiality. He demonstrated his power among them just like he did among the Jews. Philip became an instrument in God's hands to demonstrate the love, compassion, and mercy of God. The result of such a campaign of love motivated by the persecution  was much joy for the Samaritans. My pain sometimes becomes the motivator to do God's will so that others may experience joy. Christ compels me to identify my Samaria and seek them Samaritans to proclaim the good news so that they might have the opportunity to experience true joy.

Father, thanks for the tough times as well as the good times. Fill me with your Spirit and grant me courage and boldness to speak your word, to be a witness and not rely on my leaders to do so. Help me take responsibility and action. Open my eyes to see the Samaria in my context and seek them. Thank you for the joy you give us all who follow you in your kingdom. Amen.

Acts 6:1-7 Seven Chosen to Serve

One of the problems that the Early Church encountered was a lack of organization. The Apostles were trying to do everything including serving at tables to provide for the needs of the people. Pretty soon, they found they could not keep up trying to do everything. Frustration was setting in and complaints started to arise because some segment of the widows were being neglected. The effects of a lack of organization are felt throughout the whole body and something had to be done.

The body of Christ is certainly a living body, an organism, but it is also an organization. In order for the body of Christ to be effective in all its ministries and remain alive as a body, it is necessary to organize its functions properly to ensure proper execution. The Apostles were forced to set priorities in their ministry and they chose to do what they were called to do: to pray and to preach the Word of God. My priorities in ministry should not be any different - I must prioritize my call according to the gifts God has given. Understanding that serving at tables is very important, they decided to appoint capable people and delegated those functions that they couldn't do even if they tried.

Sometimes, it is not a matter of being able to do it, but able to do it well. The execution of the Apostles in the area of distribution brought criticism because they were not able to execute effectively. I'm sure that if they continued to try doing it, they would have lost many people in the shuffle. Sometimes, I neglect quality in the execution of ministry and the body suffers. One of the most important things in their efforts to organize is to establish the requirements for those people who are to execute the job. The Apostles came up with three requirements: have a good reputation, be full of the Spirit, and full of wisdom. The Church today needs to continue to enforce these requirements.

A good reputation is easy to enforce. A candidate's life and testimony should be an open book that speaks to the values and priorities of a person. But how do you enforce being filled with the Spirit??? My reading of Acts and the New Testament as a whole tells me that the essential "signs" of a person filled with the Spirit is boldness and courage to be a witness to unbelievers. This is the area of life that must be probed to determine fullness in the Spirit. Wisdom is also very evident in the life of a person. I must state clearly that it is not earthly wisdom we are looking for here, but heavenly wisdom. It is to make decisions according to godly principles in ones life and church sometimes at a great cost.

The final consideration for a proper organization is to know how many people you need for the job. In this case, the Apostles deemed it necessary to have seven men appointed for the task. I am sure that the number was the result of the need in the body of Christ. I wonder how would it have been if they had appointed only three persons. The number must be enough to cover the need.

Interestingly enough, the results of such a reorganization brought an increase in the Word of God and the number of disciples multiplied greatly. I am very quick to look at the number of disciples, but I don't think I've ever thought of the Word of God increasing as a result that I must measure. What is an increase in the Word of God? It is to saturate all of church life with the preaching and teaching of the Word. It is to have more preaching points to communicate the Gospel. It is to have more people trained to witness the good news of the Gospel. I must seek to increase the Word of God by prioritizing my work in the kingdom and organizing the efforts of the body of Christ.

Thank you Lord for your Church, your body on earth. Help me respond to your call and prioritize my tasks according to that call and do not allow me to be swallowed up by the urgent. Help me facilitate the reorganization of your local body on earth for maximum effectiveness for the kingdom. Amen

Acts 4:1-22 Peter and John Before the Council

The healing of the lame beggar was an indisputable sign from God. There were people who witnessed the healing. There were people who knew firsthand the beggar, who was over forty years old, and his condition. Though many people came to Christ as a result of the miracle (estimated 5,000), some still opposed the message. The priests and the Sadducees were annoyed with the preaching for different reasons. The priests opposed it because they didn't believe in Jesus as the Son of God. The Sadducees opposed it because they did not believe in the resurrection and did not like the proclamation that Jesus had resurrected from the dead. No matter how powerful a sign God may perform in our midst, there will be opposition.

Peter and John, after being arrested, were questioned about their good deed. The officials asked by what power they had performed it. Peter, filled with the Spirit answers that it was in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they crucified, whom God raised from the dead. Now, this is what I call courage and boldness! Knowing that he was arrested by people who hate Jesus and the resurrection, Peter still pounds, without fear, the truth in their faces. This is the kind of courage and boldness I need in this world to make known the message of the kingdom of God.

The message of the kingdom is clear. Jesus Christ is the one killed and resurrected; the stone they rejected and God made him the cornerstone; the salvation of the world. For there is no other name in which we must be saved. Peter not only demonstrated courage and boldness in preaching Jesus' name and his resurrection, but he makes the claim that Jesus is the exclusive savior - there is no other. We think that a message of exclusivity is not accepted today, but in those days, there were many religions and some pagan religions had many gods. To make a claim of exclusivity was counter-cultural, even daring. The gospel of the kingdom does not have room for polytheism (many gods) or syncretism (mix of religions). I need to make a decision about Jesus: Is he or is he not the Savior of the world? If he is, I must proclaim him as the exclusive savior with resolve and unapologetically.

The Spirit of God takes uneducated, common people and transforms them into true witnesses to the world. People who are determined to speak the name of Jesus no matter the cost. Even under threat to speak to no one, they were more concerned with God's perspective - "whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you." What they had witnessed was so life-changing that they could not be silent - "for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." Have I truly experienced the saving power of Jesus in my life? If I have, what is holding me back from sharing the greatest thing that has happened in my life? If I fear something, it means I am not filled of the Holy Spirit. I need his fullness today, every day!

Father, send your Spirit and fill me up. May I boldly proclaim the name of your Son Jesus no matter the opposition. Grant me courage and boldness. Amen.

Joshua 22:10-34 The Eastern Tribe's Altar of Witness

After the war and the renewal of their covenant before Joshua, the Eastern tribes went back home. Unfortunately, the sense of separation that the Jordan river imposed between them and the other tribes led them to think of a way to proclaim their solidarity. They built a replica of the altar on their side of the promised land so that all who would see it would know that they believed and served the same God.

When the Western tribes saw the replica of the altar on the other side of the Jordan, they were indignant. They interpreted the altar as a breach of faith. The Israelites were not supposed to offer sacrifices anywhere else but where the ark, the presence of God, was. They were preparing to do war against the Eastern tribes. When given an opportunity to explain their actions, the Eastern tribes declare the altar a "Witness" of their faith between them and not a functional altar to offer sacrifices.

A Witness gives a testimony, evidence, proof of something. The Eastern tribes wanted to make sure that their faith was not questioned because of their living on the other side of the Jordan. Am I willing to offer a testimony of my faith publicly? What am I willing to do to offer my testimony to those who live around me? I am called to be a witness to the world!

I admire the readiness to wage war against a breach of faith. The Israelites had tasted the wrath of God as a consequence to their breaches of faith and they were not willing to go through that again. Am I ready to wage war against breaches of faith? I can't forget that God has equipped me to wage war against sin, the flesh, and the world. But I must pick up the full armor of God. I must be willing to prepare for an encounter at any moment.

Lord, may I never be ashamed of my faith. May I find ways to be a witness to those around me. Give me the power to fight against sin every day of my life and dread a breach of faith with all my heart and soul. Amen

Matthew 9:27-31 Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

As Jesus continues his journey, two blind men follow him crying out for mercy. It is interesting to me that Jesus doesn't stop right away and respond to their cry. Ministry is not about running to meet people's immediate needs, as important as that is. It is about understanding your mission and using your resources as best you can to fulfill that mission. Jesus was interested in fulfilling people's greatest need of salvation and time was of the essence. 

Again, the issue of faith comes up again. Jesus wants to see faith before he acts in favor of people's needs. Ministers should take this element seriously. Are people coming to have their belly filled, or do they truly trust God? Resources in ministry are limited. We should consider resource allocation according to the faith we discern from people. Am I throwing pearls to the pigs in the ministry? Am I being a good steward?

Due to the mission that Jesus was to accomplish: salvation of humanity, he understood that too much fame early on in his ministry would be an obstacle. So he sternly requires them to be silent. It is hard to picture Jesus asking people to be quiet about something that transformed their lives! The fact that they couldn't keep it a secret despite Jesus' stern warnings speaks volumes of how life-changing it was. I don't have to force myself to be a witness. Jesus has done something life-changing for me and that should move me to speak.

Needs, faith, and witnessing - essential elements in ministry. I need to focus on the greatest need of people and not be distracted by the immediate needs. Immediate needs can swamp any ministry; any life. I need to nurture my personal faith and be discerning of faith in people's lives - even potential faith. I want to invest the resources God has given me in lives that will multiply the investment. Witnessing is the natural and inevitable result of seeing God meet my needs when I seek him with faith.

Father, I need you. Help me learn from your ministry. Keep me focused on the main thing: people's salvation; people's greatest need. Grow my faith as I seek you daily. Fuel my testimony as I perceive your work in my life and fire up my desire to tell others of your goodness.