Snake Bitten! Acts 25-28

May the mumbling commence!

Okay, all you fans of The Hobbit: You know the old saying out of the frying pan and into the fire?  Well, Paul found himself in a similar situation – out of the capsizing ship and bitten by a viper.  Read from the beginning of Acts chapter twenty-eight:

Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.  The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.  Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.  When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."  But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.  The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. 

There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and for three days entertained us hospitably.  His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.  When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.  They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed. (Verses 1-10)

Shipwrecked!  Capsized!  And still Paul made it safely to the island of Malta (along with the other sailors).  Praise God, right!?!  Paul even was chipping in and gathering wood for the fire, only to find himself bitten by a snake!  Snake bitten!

It is small wonder that the people of Malta thought Paul to be cursed and guilty of some bad action – like murder.  The irony of the situation is that Paul had been guilty of murder.  He had stood, as Saul, in a former life and gave his approval of the killing of many Christians – the first known person being Stephen.

Did Paul hear their accusations?  Perhaps, he did.  And, perhaps, he hung his head low – remembering the faces of those he led to their death.  I wonder, when Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, if Paul saw more than just the Lord Jesus.  I wonder if Paul also got a brief glimpse of Stephen and the many other people he had given his stamp of approval for the death sentence.

If Paul did hang his head, his head did not hang for long.  Paul knew that he was forgiven.  The mercy and grace and love of God had transformed him into what he was that day.  And God underscored this gift to Paul by saving Paul from the snake’s poison.  God had promised to Paul that he would arrive in Rome to testify for Christ there (27:23-24).

When Paul did not die from the snake bite, the people of Malta mistook Paul for a god.  As Paul healed many on the island with sickness and disease, Paul did not change their minds.  The people of Malta honored Paul and his companions, giving them everything they needed for their trip to Rome.

What a temptation!  They thought Paul was a god!  This passage says nothing about how Paul responded to the people of Malta making this mistaken assumption.  Out of the capsizing ship, bitten by a snake, continued life, and thought to be a god!  I wonder how Paul responded to the people of Malta…

I wonder how we respond to going from one dangerous situation to another.  May we give glory to God the Creator, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  May we give that glory for the mercy, grace and love given to us.  May we give that glory in dangerous situations.  May we make known to others whom we serve.  May we make known who has the power to overcome and heal us from all our ailments.  Salvation is in Christ alone.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Conspiracy! Acts 21-24

May the mumbling commence!

Sometimes, we can be insatiable.  Our overactive appetite can be beneficial, but most of the time it is detrimental to our health – physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually.  How do we gage our appetite as either healthy or unhealthy?  Let us read an example from Acts chapter twenty-three:

The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.  More than forty men were involved in this plot.  They went to the chief priests and elders and said, "We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.  Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here." 

But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.  Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, "Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him."  So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, "Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you." 

The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, "What is it you want to tell me?" 

He said: "The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him.  Don't give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request." 

The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, "Don't tell anyone that you have reported this to me." (Verses 12-22)

Jesus warned his disciples that there would come a time when God-fearing people would think that killing followers of the Way would please God.  Paul (once known as Saul) was one of these persons.  Jesus changed him – transformed him – into an instrument of the Messiah. 

Now, God-fearing men thought killing Paul would please God.  So these forty men took an oath to neither eat nor drink until they killed Paul.  Now, there is spiritual hunger – forgoing physical food to serve God.  But that spiritual hunger was misguided even as Paul’s former hunger for persecuting the followers of the Way was.  Indeed, to kill Paul or any other Christian was a conspiracy against God’s will.

That is why their plan failed – EPIC FAILURE.  God’s will cannot be changed by human effort.  I wonder how long these forty men stood by their oath when Paul was far beyond their reach…

I wonder how long I starve myself spiritually because I refuse to do as the Holy Spirit guides me.  There are ways that may seem right to you and me, but God’s ways are not our ways.  God’s ways are higher – by far.

In fact, I feel that killing is a conspiracy against the will of God.  “Thou shall not kill.”  Yes, I know that God ordered Israel to kill in the Old Testament.  Perhaps there will be a time when God orders such acts in the future.  But I will leave the burden of proof on those who desire to kill for the Name of the Lord. 

God must speak clearly when we are to violate the commands and the Spirit they are based upon.  God must speak clearly to a community of Christians across all denominational lines.  Even then, we must proceed with care, listening for God’s command with every step we take.  Otherwise, we leave ourselves open to conspiracy and division that will make Satan smile.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Truth and Relationship NOT Magic; Acts 17-20

May the mumbling commence!

The power of Jesus’ name is NOT the power of magic or sorcery.  To heal people and cast out demons is NOT a matter of saying the right words or holding your body in just the right position.  The power of Jesus’ name has nothing in common with deceptions and lies. 

The power of Jesus’ name is about the power of truth and the power of relationship.  Both truth and relationship take time to develop and fully understand.  Indeed, we will never fully understand the truth that Christ represents until we pass onto the next world.  These are hard lessons.  They are lessons that the seven sons of Sceva forgot or paid no attention to.  Read from Acts chapter nineteen:

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. 

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."  Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.  One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"  Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 

When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.  Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.  A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.  In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Verses 11-20)

If we were to stop at the first sentence, we might wrongly conclude that the power of Paul was magical.  It seemed too good to be true.  Paul spoke and healed in the name of Jesus of Nazareth.  There seemed to be nothing to it. 

So the seven sons of Sceva used the name of both Jesus and Paul.  Maybe these names were enough sometimes.  The Scripture says one day an evil spirit challenged them, “I know Jesus and Paul, but who are you?!?”  The seven sons of Sceva ran away from that evil spirit naked and bleeding – humiliated.

Anytime we strive to serve in the sake of Jesus’ name, we must be doing more than throwing around the name as if it were some lucky charm.  To evoke Jesus’ name does not automatically condone all that is being done.  Many things have been done in the name of Christ that were and are contrary to the spirit of Christ.

Let us spend time getting to know Jesus – develop that relationship with Christ and with our Christian brothers and sisters.  That is how we will learn what it means to minister and serve in the name of Christ.  If we can discover the will of Christ and we choose that will for our own, then we will see God bless our efforts beyond our wildest imaginings.  It will not be a magic recipe.  It will be truth living through us.

Just as the sorcerers of Paul’s day, let us confess our evil deeds.  Let us jettison the mountains of books and multiple step processes that will cause revival.  There is no quick fix or magical solution.  Develop relationships with God and His people.  It takes time, but the time spent is well worth it.  In fact the worth of rightful relationships far outstrips the worth of all the making the church grow recipes that are out there.

Then we will know even as we are fully known.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Zeal Refocused; Acts 13-16

May the mumbling commence!

In Acts, the missionary trips begin with Barnabas and Saul and switch to Paul and Barnabas.  Saul becomes Paul and takes preeminence over Barnabas.  Barnabas once needed to be the “man of encouragement” (the meaning of Barnabas’ name) for Saul, because of Saul’s zealous history of persecuting followers of Jesus’ way. 

Saul began using a new name – a Greek name – to mark his change of focus.  The zeal was still there, but that zeal was transferred to service to the Lord Jesus the Messiah.  Let’s focus on the passage where this transition is made.  Read from Acts chapter thirteen:

They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.  But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.  Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?  Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.  When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (Verses 6-12)

Barnabas and Saul went to the island of Cyprus, and they encountered a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus – which means son of Jesus (The Lord saves).  Apparently this man was also known as Elymas (meaning sorcerer).  Elymas wanted to prevent his master Sergius Paulus from accepting the word of God.

Who steps forward?  Saul, who is also known as Paul, steps forward.  In the way of prophets of old, Paul confronts Elymas.  Paul exposes Elymas’ deceit and trickery, which perverts the ways of the Lord.  Then, Paul pronounces a judgment – blindness.  Blindness, for a time – isn’t that ironic.  Blindness, for a time, is what helped to turn the perversion of Zeal that Paul, then known as Saul, once had.

And the judgment happened just as Paul said it would.  Sergius Paulus came to know the Lord through this judgment.  Deceit, trickery, and power plays have no chance to stand up against the truth of the ways of the Lord.  Now, note the change in narration in the next verses of Acts thirteen:

From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.  From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.  After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak." 

Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! (Verses 13-16)  

At this point, Paul assumed leadership.  His zeal for the Lord Jesus pushed him to the forefront.  “Listen to me!” said Paul.  Paul no longer needed an apologist for his former actions.  Paul was building up his own reputation through glorifying the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 

For the rest of this missionary journey, the actions are narrated almost exclusively as Paul and Barnabas (13:42, 46; 14:1, 3; 15:2, 22, 35, 36) – no longer as Barnabas and Saul.  Only twice is Barnabas given first mention, once because of the preeminence given to Barnabas by the people of Lystra (14:15) and once by the preeminence that was given to him because of the other apostles in Jerusalem (15:12).  Otherwise, Paul has claimed the mission for God as a personal mission and acts accordingly. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Prayer Metronome; Acts 9-12

May the mumbling commence! 

Is it time to jumpstart your prayer life?  Then, join the symphony of conversation!  Make sure your timing is right so that you will blend with beautiful harmonies.  To blend properly it will take impeccable timing, and that means listening for the metronome of prayer.  How do we find that metronome tock-tock? 

Let us examine the story of Simon Peter and Cornelius recorded in Acts chapters ten and eleven.  Let’s answer the question of when Cornelius prayed.  Read from Acts chapter ten:

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.  He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.  One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. (Verses 1-3a) 

What can we learn from Cornelius?  1) Cornelius led a family as devout and God-fearing people.  This devout nature led them to giving generously to people in need and led them to regular prayer.  2) Prayer meant action – giving generously.  3) Prayer meant listening to the call of the Spirit of God – he had a vision.  Note that the vision occurred at three in the afternoon – a time set aside for regular daily prayer in the Temple.  4) As later verses state (vs. 5-8), Cornelius obeyed the instructions he was given.

Remember that I spoke about a prayer symphony – a beautiful blend of harmonies?  Well, what can we learn from Simon Peter?  Read some more from Acts chapter ten:

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.  He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.  He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.  It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air.  Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." 

"Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." 

The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."  This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. 

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate.  They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 

While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you.  So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." (Verses 9-20)

We learn from Simon Peter.  1) The importance of ritual – Peter prayed at noon, another established time of prayer in the Temple.  Even though he was not in the Temple, Peter joined these other people in prayer.  Perhaps, he even joined Cornelius without even knowing it. 

2) Prayer is about hunger – Peter became hungry for lunch.  Maybe he could smell lunch cooking downstairs.  Why didn’t Peter take lunch first?  People do not live on bread alone.  Prayer is about spiritual hunger for the Word of God. 

3) Prayer is about listening – even when we do not understand.  God will eventually make His will known to us. 

4) Prayer is about obedience and action.  Simon Peter, too, obeyed (vs. 23-24). 

Then, Peter and Cornelius meet.  Read more from Acts chapter ten:

Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.  Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.'  So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us…" 

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.  The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.  For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. (Verses 30-33; 44-46a)

What power prayer has when it is done in concert!  What beautiful harmonies of vastly different instruments – both Jewish and Gentile!  Peter had them baptized (10:47-48), and he defended their baptism before the Jewish elders later (11:15-17).  He said, “So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God (Verse 17)?"

In prayer, there is no conceivable righteous opposition to God.  Now, we know the metronome for our prayers!  Your will be done, O God. 

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

A Standing "O" from Christ; Acts 5-8

May the mumbling commence!

And the apostles are called on the carpet again.  The Sanhedrin discovered that a strenuous warning did no good.  The name of Jesus was still being preached.  The name of Jesus was still being used in healings.  The number of people following the way was increasing exponentially.  Some priests were even following the way of Jesus (Acts 6:7).

Something needed to be done.  “Let’s try it again,” the Sanhedrin must have said as they arrested the apostles.  The Sanhedrin probably thought they were safe from Jesus propaganda at least for the time being.  BUT the angel of the Lord released the apostles from prison for the express purpose of telling people about the way of Jesus.  As soon as it was dawn, the apostles began to preach in the temple again.  The Sanhedrin had to round up the apostles again – much to their chagrin.  Read the exchange that they had with the apostles and among themselves from Acts chapter five:

Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest.  "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood." 

Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!  The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead – whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.  God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.  We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him." 

When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.  But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.  Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.  Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.  After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.  Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." 

His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.  Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.  (Verses 27-42)

Obedience to God trumps obedience to men.  That is the message plain and simple.  The Sanhedrin was incensed and ready to kill the apostles, but cooler heads prevailed.  Gamaliel, a Pharisee who was a little more sympathetic to the Christian cause of resurrection, told them to leave the apostles alone.  He pointed to former leaders of rebellion, who found their followers scattered after their deaths. 

With the followers of Jesus, the death of Jesus did not have the same effect.  In fact, Jesus’ death spawned a great reawakening of followers of his way.  What would happen if they killed Jesus’ closest followers?  Well, if this way was of man, it would eventually fade away.  If it was of God, there was no victory in opposing God.  The way of Jesus would prevail in this case.  Gamaliel counseled the Sanhedrin to bide their time and see what happened with this Jesus movement. 

The Sanhedrin listened.  They had the apostles flogged and ordered not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore.  Another exclamation point was added to the order – flogging.  Yet the apostles rejoiced in being counted worthy of suffering for the sake of the Name. 

The flogging gave them more fuel to preach and teach in the name of Christ Jesus.  When we  boldly stand and testify for Jesus – pronouncing the Good News of the way of Jesus, we get a standing ovation from Jesus in heaven.  Read the last statement Stephen made before being stoned to death from Acts chapter seven:

"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." (Verse 56)

When Jesus spoke of ascending into heaven in Luke chapter twenty-two, Jesus spoke of sitting (Vs 68).  As we stand in witness to Jesus, Jesus stands in heaven as witness to our faith.  So, know that when you stand for Jesus no matter the odds, Jesus stands at the right hand of God.  A standing “O”!

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

The Path of God Not of Least Resistance; Acts 1-4

May the mumbling commence!

What do we do when we encounter resistance?  It is far too easy for me to take the path of least resistance.  Conflict is hard work – especially when it happens with the people that you love.  In the third and fourth chapters of Acts, Peter and John find themselves at odds with their religious leaders.  Peter and John are ordered to stop healing and preaching in the name of Jesus.

Time to go undercover?  Not so fast!  Read about what they did after their chastisement in Acts chapter four.

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.  When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

'Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain? 

The kings of the earth take their stand

and the rulers gather together

against the Lord

and against his Anointed One.' 

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.  They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.  Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." 

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Verses 23-31)

God’s people united in prayer.  They trusted in the Lord, the Creator of the universe.  They looked to the Scriptures and saw the machinations of the worldly powers against the Anointed One predicted.  They also saw that defying the Anointed One was futile.

Where did God’s people place the blame for Jesus’ death?  Herod, Pilate and the Gentiles are mentioned as conspiring against Jesus.  The people of Israel were counted among this list as well.  The Sanhedrin is not even mentioned in this passage.  It seems no one was innocent in this affair – except for Jesus.  Yes, the innocent suffer the most.

What did the people of God pray for?  They prayed for the ability to continue serving the Lord Jesus with boldness.  They prayed for more healings and miraculous sings so that glory would come to the name of Jesus.  They hardened themselves against the command of the Sanhedrin to continue to walk in Jesus’ way.

God’s answer was immediate.  In fact, God earlier provided Peter with the words to refute the Sanhedrin.  Peter had a special extra anointing of the Holy Spirit.  At this prayer meeting, God answered by shaking His people.  How did the Lord shake them?  He shook them by giving them a special anointing of the Holy Spirit.  And they spoke boldly the word of God.

Resistance to God’s will is futile.  When God calls us, the path of least resistance is no longer an option.  Help us, O God, to hear the whispering of Your Holy Spirit.  May we listen and obey.  Then, we will know the way of Jesus.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out