Month: February 2024

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The Two Paths of Life

Proverbs 4 Every person faces the challenges of how they will live in this world until eternity arrives for there are two paths of life. One leads to heaven and the other to hell. How does one find the right path?  Jesus told the disciples, I am not leaving you as orphans but I am sending you the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. He will bring to your mind all that I have taught you so that in times of crisis you will know what to say and what path to follow.  Further,, the prophet Isaiah wrote: “Isa 30:21 You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying,“This is the correct way, walk in it,”whether you are heading to the right or the left.” That is how we can know and what path we must follow. 

God wants us on the path of wisdom and wise instruction and He has given us His Word to fulfill that need. But, we can’t know it if we are not in His Word and meditating on it daily. We must seek and find the truth that is hidden about these paths. Which path are you on? Psalm 1 tells us to beware of the wicked. Do not follow them, stand in their path and do not sit in the seat of the scoffers. Gain wisdom and understanding so you can be discerning, judging rightly. 

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Upside Down Theology

Acts 11 God directs our steps, so says the Psalmist. God directed Peter to go and tell the good news to Cornelius who was a Gentile. Six brethren accompanied him, thus giving us the perfect number of seven to be witnesses of this event. The Gentile Cornelius had had an audience with an angel about how to know the way to God and he obeyed. Peter, as the disciple who often challenged Jesus was the chosen recipient to take the good news but first he had to overcome prejudice. 

Do I need to overcome prejudices that will keep me from presenting the good news to unbelievers? Do I need a vision of that which is “unclean” to change my focus, or do I need to have a personal encounter and witness the power of the Holy Spirit to open my eyes? There are many who are waiting to hear the good news and we are to be ready to go and not question the ways of God. 

Again, we see that the Jerusalem church was aghast at the news of the believers in Antioch and the news of Cornelius’ conversion. Just like us, we often fail to recognize that God has done a mighty work. But, graciously God gave them evidence to show them that this good news is not just for the Jew but also for the Gentile. 

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Will you go and tell?

Acts 10 Salvation is for All

In the previous chapter we saw how God called a “righteous” Jew to salvation and he will be used to bring the gospel to many. Today in chapter 10 we find that God calls a “righteous” Gentile to be saved and all of his household. God is showing us that He is the Savior of all, not just the Jews but also for the Gentiles.  

Today look about your neighborhood,and your church and see that God has called many to salvation. Are we like Paul who resisted, but then the Holy Spirit grabbed his heart and he went on to bring the message to many? Or are we like Peter who resisted because of the many rules of the Pharisees of whom he was?  

Look about you and see that what Jesus saw, the fields are ripe for harvest. Will we go into the fields and bring the message of salvation to them? 

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A Damascus Road Experience

Acts 9 One thing we know about Saul is that he believed, like some unbelievers do today, that those who are of the Way must be stopped. They thought then and do today that only those who follow their Way are right. They live by this motto: I am serving God, and I must put to death anyone who speaks of Messiah and His salvation. They believe they are “offering service to God.” [Jn 16:2] This is where we find Saul in this historical record given by Dr. Luke.

Saul had been at the stoning of Stephen, and from there, he sought to kill or punish as many of these “Christians” as he could. Obtaining letters from the high priest, he roamed about Israel, and from there, he went to Damascus so that he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. On a lonely road, Messiah Jesus accosted Saul. The light of the Messiah blinded him as He asked him why he was persecuting Him.

Saul, raised as a Pharisee and taught by Gamaliel, was prepared to know and understand the Torah and the prophets. He was sure that he was doing God’s will by killing or imprisoning as many of the Way as he could. But, God opened his heart to know that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and Saul/Paul was on the wrong path.

Were you raised to know a way to God, but then you met “the” God and found that the Way you were taught was diametrically opposite? Jesus said, ” Come unto me, ” and that is what Saul had missed. Blinded on the road to Damascus, Saul became Paul and went on to preach the gospel message until his death.

Have you had a Damascus Road experience? Tell us about it.

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Wise or Foolish?

Trust God

Ps 20 Archaeologists seek to unearth the things lost to mankind and are hidden in the depths of the earth. They dig and find and then determine where these came from and the stories behind them. The Pharaoh’s in Egypt had pyramids to store their bodies and their riches to enter the after life. But, when the pyramids are opened, all that is there are mummified bodies and decaying riches. 

In the NT, Jesus told a story about a man who built many barns in which to store his riches. Jesus called him a fool. Jesus called him a fool because, just like the Pharaoh’s of old,  he trusted in those riches to meet his needs both in this present life and in eternity. He noted that like Pharaoh and the barn builder, they  trusted in chariots and horses for victories. He was saying, don’t put your trust in those things but instead put your trust in God because earthly riches will surely turn to dust and be lost in the rubble of the garbage heap but men who put their trust in God will one day be called wise by God. They heard the word and built their house on the rock, not on the sand. Both heard the word but only one put their trust in the rock of God.  

Where is your trust today? Do you trust in what will decay and be lost in the rubble of the earth where it will rot and rust? Or do you trust in the God of eternity who will determine your destiny? 

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Scattering brings forth fruit

Acts 8 It is interesting to read this account by Dr. Luke on the scattering of the early church due to persecution. Included in this we see that those who were believers went even to Samaria, a place detested by the Jews. We remember the stories of the Samaritan who cared for the injured man and then we read about the Samaritan woman who came to saving faith. All through the NT, God has given us a glimpse of those who were disregarded by the world, coming to faith. God is not partial to any and He will move heaven and earth to bring the gospel to the lost and dying. Thus we see now again that truth that Joseph saw: even what men try to do evil, God can use to turn to good that all men may hear and believe.  Acts 8 is proof that God can and will bring the gospel message to the world and Satan and his servants cannot stop it! 

Is there a Samaritan in your world that needs the gospel message? Will you and I step out to find them and share the good news? 

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Wisdom Speaks

Acts 7 Are you able to share the gospel clearly to unbelievers? There are many programs that offer this as a stepping stone for believers to share their faith. But, Stephen did not have this and as we read his testimony we find that not only does he know the history of his people but he also knows that truth: without faith one cannot please God. (Heb 11:6) Jesus had told the religious leaders that they were searching the scriptures for in those alone would they find salvation. He also told them that He was the Messiah whom Moses had written about and he would be their judge. As we read this entire chapter, the longest in the book of Acts, we find that the tension rises until no longer do the religious leaders want to hear the truth. 

We meet people that want the short answer to salvation but Stephen shows us that God has given His Word and His Messiah so that we can know for certain the truth that Jesus alone is the savior. And how did the religious leaders react? Dr. Luke reveals to us that they ran on Stephen and stoned him to death, which then reminds of the words of Joseph: “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” [Gen 50:20] 

What good did the stoning of Stephen bring about? Stay tuned for tomorrow’s episode.

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Satan at work

Acts 6: Have you ever been deceived? How clever is our arch enemy. He doesn’t seek to deceive the unrighteous for they are already his servants, but he seeks to deceive the righteous. Jesus rightly called Satan the deceiver and in this chapter we see him at work. He always works in secret as we saw in the lives of Ananias and Sapphira in Chapter 5 and we saw it in the trial of Jesus before the religious leaders. It is his secret tool and we must be aware of his work lest we are taken in to his kingdom’s work. Note vs 11 “they secretly instigated” some men.

Why does Satan use this tool? It is because of what John wrote in John 3 “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.’ [Jo 3:19] And what is the fruit of these secret works? “They incited the people as they did before Pilate. But, worse, they incited the elders and the scribes of the law who should have had discernment and wisdom yet they languished in their darkness. Truly Jesus said to them: “you search the scripture thoroughly because you think in them you possess eternal life but these scriptures testify about Me.” [Jn 5:39]

Today be wise and discerning as you listen to words presented to you.

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A Psalm of Praise

Psalm 18 I doubt any of us have faced enemies as King David did. The OT graphically portrays those who hated David and sought to kill him. As I said, I doubt few of us have faced such vengeance and hatred. These attitudes and behaviors come out of the pit of hell and are encouraged by the enemy, Satan. We saw it in the first family when Cain killed his brother Abel and now in the psalm we see it in the life of Saul. How do you face such enemies? You do it by looking for and praising the God who is sovereign and in control of our every waking moment even when we do not understand what is taking place. Instead of saying why me, say instead as David did: I love you, Lord, my source of strength! 

It is God’s strength that will carry us through the deepest trials of life. We pay attention to the circumstances around us and see that in Him we are safe, for He is our refuge. We do it when we cry out to the Lord and seek His face both in the ongoing circumstances and in the future when it has all passed. 

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Hypocrisy

Acts 5 One of the sins God hates most is hypocrisy, the act of being something you are not. We saw it in the hypocrisy of Achan, who hid the riches taken and hidden in the book of Joshua, or the hypocrisy of Nadab and Abihu as they sought God’s favor in burning false fire. All of this tells us that God not only hates this sin but will declare it to the world and His church immediately. In this chapter in Acts, two individuals decided to lie to the church but, more importantly, to God about the purchase price of their land. There is a lesson here for us from the Book of Numbers. Num 32:23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Today, if you make a vow to the Lord, be sure to keep it, as Ecclesiastes 5:4 says. God takes no delight in fools. It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

Where are you in this story today? Are you honest before God or a hypocrite? What is God saying to you today?

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