A Great Cloud of Witnesses

A Great Cloud of Witnesses (Heb. 12:1)

The Bible tells us that we are surrounded by a large group of onlookers as we live out our lives as Christians. Scripture also says that we are running a race, the race of faith, and that those who have gotten to the finish line ahead of us are watching our race, waiting for us to finish and perhaps even cheering us on. “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that slows us down and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1)



A long list of saints – Noah, Abraham, Job, and others- who had already lived out their lives faithfully for God, had just been named in Scripture (Heb.11) before we read this passage about being surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses.(Heb12:1) Did this mean that Noah, Abraham and Job along with others were among the witnesses? This passage, I believe, was a reminder to those early Christians – and to us too- that many others have gone before us on this faith journey. That we are not alone in our joys and sorrows but we are part of a bigger story!



Can you think of a person, maybe several people, who have deeply influenced your life? People who have helped make you the person that you are today? Maybe your parents, a grandparent, or a teacher? People who are no longer with you – who have finished their race. You see, those people who cared about you, who passed their values on to you and loved you, they have a stake in how you live your life – how you run the race. You aren’t in this alone. You aren’t a self made person. You are part of much larger family.



The Christian life is often likened to a race. (1 Cor. 9:24, 2 Tim. 4:7) And in our race (our Christian life) we are instructed to “throw off everything that slows us down and the sin that so easily entangles us,” (Heb.12:1) so that we can run faster. Right now I can think of several sins that I allow myself to become entangled in: petty resentments, anxieties and fears. And those sins mess up my race and slow me down. I must throw them off so I won’t be sidelined. Can you think of things that impede your running too? Do you need to do housecleaning along with me? We are told to “throw off” these weights and concentrate on running. The saints who have already finished the race had the same kinds of problems we are having now and they ran their race and finished well. So we can do it too.



This verse, Hebrews 12:1, tells us many things. But it ends with, “let us run with perseverance, the race marked out for us.” Do you notice that this isn’t just any race we personally choose to make it? That this faith race of ours has been “marked out for us!” We aren’t in charge of the twists and turns in the path, just in how we maneuver those twists and turns. Scripture says, “The steps of a Godly person are ordered by the Lord.” (Psalms 37:23) Our path has been personally set up and “ordered” for us to run! So how can we lose?



Also we are told to run with perseverance. To not become discouraged and give up. To keep on keeping on. It’s easy to be a Christian in the short run. But what about the long run? Faith is all about endurance. What good is loyalty if it doesn’t last? God hates quitters. (Zechariah 7:11-12) We are to finish the race. And it matters how we finish it. Having done all to stand, we are to stand. (Ephesians 6:13) Remember these balcony people are watching.



While we are running we are commanded to keep our eyes on Jesus. Let’s listen: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Hebrews 12:2-3) As we run, Jesus is the supreme or ultimate example of running a good race. Jesus endured more persecution and suffering than we ever will. He is with us now and praying for us during our race.



So if you are discouraged with the way other Christians act, or you’re suffering and feel out of control, or you wonder why God allows the world to be so messed up, just put your head down and keep on running. Just always keep your eyes on Jesus. He lived with all of your sorrows and many more. And all the witnesses who ran the race before you had similar problems as you have, but they kept on running anyway. They have all crossed the finish line now and have passed the baton on to you. So now it’s your turn.

Prayer Changes Things - How an Angel Sprung Peter from Prison

Prayer Changes Things

How an Angel Sprung Peter from Prison (Acts 12)

Herod was on a rampage. He hated the early church and attacked its’ members whenever he could. James, the brother of John had been the leader of the church in Jerusalem and Herod arrested him and had him killed with the sword. James, who wrote the Epistle of James in the Bible, was probably the first of Jesus’ disciples to be martyred. Jesus had warned his disciples of their coming persecutions, (Mt. 20:23) but it still came as a shock. The Jewish religious leaders were pleased with Herod for killing James, so Herod was encouraged to go ahead and kill more disciples. (Acts 12:2-3) He had his soldiers seize Peter with plans to have him killed as well.



But Peter just happened to be arrested during the Days of Unleavened Bread (the seven days after the Passover), which was an awkward time to perform an execution. It would not have been correct procedure for a prisoner to be tried and executed on a religious holy day. Herod figured he would make a better impression on his religious friends if he waited until after the holidays to bring Peter out. So Peter was thrown into prison under a heavy guard consisting of four squads, (sixteen soldiers) to await his execution. Herod didn’t want to take any chances that his valuable prisoner might get away.



The night before Peter was to die, he was sleeping on the dirty prison floor between two guards and chained to both. There were also several sentries guarding the locked gates inside the dark prison. (Acts 12:6) Things were looking pretty bleak for Peter. As Scripture records these details, just one little passage stands out as a glimmer of hope! It reads: “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” (Acts 12:5) Could a house full of believers holding a prayer meeting all week really make any difference in this grim situation?



But back at the prison in the darkness of night while Peter was chained and asleep, everything changed! Let’s read what happened. “Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. Then the angel said to him, ‘Put on your clothes and sandals.’ And Peter did so. ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,’ the angel told him. Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening: he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first and second guards and came to the Iron Gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left Peter.” (Acts 12:7-10)



All the while Peter had been chained in the dungeon waiting to die, the believers had been together on their knees before God begging for his release. And God had heard their prayers. He had sent an angel to Peter in prison who had anesthetized the guards and removed Peters’ chains. The Iron Gate had opened by itself and no one could stop them as Peter escaped. It was so miraculous that at first Peter couldn’t believe that the angel was real. And when the angel left, Peter finally came to himself and the true significance of what had happened came home to him. God had delivered him from death.

Peter quickly walked away from the jail and through the dark streets of Jerusalem to Mary’s house. Even though it was the middle of the night Peter knew that the believers would be there praying. Let’s listen to what happens next. “Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. When she recognized Peter’s voice she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, ‘Peter is at the door!’ ‘You’re out of your mind,’ they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, ‘It must be his angel.’ But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.” (Acts 12:13-16) Peter told the excited believers all about how the angel had sprung him out of prison and how their prayers had been answered. And then he left and went into hiding so that Herod’s soldiers wouldn’t find him again.



This story of Peter’s dramatic deliverance from prison by a bright angel occurred about ten years after Jesus ascended back to heaven. The early believers at that time were extremely enthusiastic in their love for God. You might say that they were all “hot” or “on fire” for the Lord. They took care of one another, believed the Word of God, gave to the poor and spent much time together in prayer. Their hearts were right before God. I believe that this is why the Holy Spirit moved so powerfully among them. Why their prayers brought down angels to shake things up. I also believe this is why the early believers experienced so many miracles and healings in their gatherings. And why so many thousands were converted to Christ through their ministry.



Everywhere in Scripture we are told to pray often and to pray in groups. Prayer changes things. Here are just a couple of the many Bible passages instructing us to pray. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) And: “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)



Prayer is not a formula for getting things out of God. I think prayer is a heart thing-our hearts need to be humble and open to God when we pray. The passage in James says that the prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man is powerful and effective. To be righteous doesn’t mean to be perfect. It means that we are confessing our sins and trying to obey His will. We will be imperfect and sinful but we need to be willing to be willing. We need to open the door enough so God can move us. He won’t bash down the door of our heart. God sees our hearts – whether they are right or not. If we come to pray and haven’t forgiven someone, we need to first go and forgive that person. Our hearts are not right as long as we refuse to forgive another person. We have to be willing to be willing to let God help us forgive, even if we aren’t there yet.



This short Bible story of Peter and the angel leaves us with some important lessons, doesn’t it? For one, we should pray often and prayer should have a central place in our church life. If it doesn’t, could we start a prayer group or prayer meeting at our church? Perhaps we could pray that our fellow church members love God and one another the way those early believers loved God and each other. And we need to learn to pray the way that early church prayed. Maybe our prayers, like theirs, can bring down an angel to open up the prison doors in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones.

Noah and the Flood

Noah and the Great Flood

God is brokenhearted. Grieved and discouraged, He continues on in pain. He had loved His children so much but now He is sorry that He ever created them. The Bible tells it this way: “The Lord was grieved that He had made humans on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain. So the Lord said …I am grieved and sorry that I made human beings.” (Genesis 6:6,7b) As any good parent grieves over a son or daughter who rebels and chooses evil, so God also grieves when His children rebel and chose evil. And God is grieving over His rebellious children at the time our story takes place – the story about Noah and the great flood.



The date of our story is back near the dawn of history. The flood occurred approximately 1,675 years after God created Adam and Eve in the Garden. All of the people on earth back then were the descendents of Adam and Eve. And Adam and Eve’s descendents weren’t doing well at all.



Scripture tells us that in those prehistoric times there were giants on the earth. “There were giants on the earth in those days, …There were mighty men who were of old, men of renown.” (Genesis 6:4) And the lifespan of Adam and his offspring seemed to be much longer back at the dawn of history than our lifespan is now. We can only guess what this means but perhaps the earth was different in some ways back then than it is now.



Let’s listen to how the Bible describes the people who lived on earth during Noah’s lifetime. “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Genesis 6:5) And, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.” (Genesis 6:11) This is one of the Bible’s most vivid descriptions of total depravity. It says that ALL of the people on the earth had corrupted their ways and that ALL the thoughts of their hearts were evil continually! No wonder God was brokenhearted.



Scripture first says that all the people on earth were corrupt. But then Scripture corrects that statement and says that all the people on earth were corrupt except one. There was just one person in the whole earth before the flood that wasn’t corrupt, and that person was Noah. The Bible says it this way: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” (Genesis 6:8-9) Noah’s Godly life was a powerful contrast to the wicked lives of his contemporaries. This description of Noah doesn’t mean that he was sinless or perfect. I believe that Noah was called “righteous” in Scripture because he trusted God and tried to obey Him.



So God came to Noah and told him that He was thinking about ending the lives of everyone on earth by bringing a flood. “So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.” (Genesis 6:13)



God continued by instructing Noah to build an ark, - an ark made of cypress wood and coated inside and out with pitch. And God didn’t leave Noah on his own to figure out how to build this ark. But God, the Master Planner, gave Noah detailed plans for building the ark, from the exact measurements of the ark and a pattern of a three deck configuration with just one door, to instructions as to what supplies and food to pack, and even how many animals and birds should be gathered into the ark.



God promised Noah that He would establish His covenant with him- the first mention of a covenant between God and humans in the Bible. I believe that God was promising to protect Noah and his family through the impending flood.



And Scripture says: “Thus Noah did according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” (Genesis 6:22) Noah built the ark exactly the way he had been told, with every detail exactly as God had specified. God was looking for a person who would work with Him to establishing His purposes on earth. And God had found that person in Noah.



It might have been difficult sometimes for Noah to follow God. Remember that he was the ONLY person on earth who trusted God. All of Noah’s friends and relatives had rebelled against Gods’ ways. So Noah didn’t get any support from anyone when he tried to do the right thing. He must have warned his relatives and friends about the flood that was coming. But no one listened to him. It might have been lonely following God when the rest of the world was going in the opposite direction. And don’t you imagine that he was laughed at by his neighbors and relatives when he spent years building his enormous ship in a location that probably wasn’t even near any body of water? Can’t you just hear the jokes that were being passed around?



Finally the ark was finished and the time was drawing near. The Bible tells it like this: “And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood. Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds an of all creatures that move along the ground, male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.” (Genesis 7:7-9) I had always pictured Noah and his family running through the woods catching animals. But it sounds like God caused the animals and birds and reptiles to come on their own to Noah and to the ark.



The Bible tells us that when Noah and his family and all the animals and birds and creatures that crawl on the ground had finally gone inside the ark, that God closed the door of the ark. Noah didn’t shut the door, God did. “Then the Lord shut them in.” (Genesis 7:16b) There was only one door to the ark and Bible scholars have suggested that this door could be a picture of Jesus Christ. One of the names for Jesus is the “door” (John 10:7) because He is the Door to Everlasting Life. And there is only one door to eternal life – Jesus. God’s judgment was coming on the earth in the form of the flood, but God was shutting Noah’s family in and keeping them safe from death. And when God’s final judgment comes, all those who have gone through the one Door (Jesus) will be safely shut in by God and protected from death.



When the flood finally came, the Bible describes it this way: “…on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.” (Genesis 7:11b) “as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth” (Genesis 7:18) “…all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered. The waters rose and covered the tops of the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet. Every living thing that moved on the earth perished…” (Genesis 7:19-20a) “Only Noah was left and those with him in the ark. The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days.” (Genesis 7:23b-24) It was a terrible time.



“Finally the springs of the deep and the floodgates of the heavens were closed and the rains stopped falling from the sky.” (Genesis 8:2) God sent a wind over the earth to dry things out and the waters slowly receded. The flood began during the second month of the year and it was during the tenth month of that same year that the waters from the flood had receded enough that the tops of the mountains became visible. (Genesis 8:5)



Forty days after the mountain tops became visible; Noah opened the window of the ark and sent a raven out. But the raven just flew back and forth. Then he let a dove out of the window of the ark. But the dove couldn’t find any place to land so it flew back to Noah. Then he waited seven days and let another dove out the window and this time the dove came back with an olive leaf in its’ beak.



Noah and his family and the animals and birds were inside the ark for a year before the earth dried enough for them to come out. God told them when it was time. The ark had landed on Mt. Ararat (in Armenia or Turkey) and the first thing that Noah did when he came out of the ark was to build an altar and make a sacrifice to God. Noah and his family worshiped God and thanked Him for saving their lives. And God blessed them.



Then God came to Noah and made a covenant or a promise to him and to us too that He would never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. Let’s listen: “Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood: never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Thus I establish My covenant with you: (Genesis 9:11) “And God said: This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I will set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” (Genesis 9:12-130 So when we see a rainbow in the sky we can remember that it is a sign of God’s promise to us that He will never again destroy the whole earth with a flood.



I have heard that anthropologists have discovered stories of the flood in the histories of almost every culture and tribe. Such a sad story – sad that except for Noah’s family, every man woman and child on earth perished. God was able to save Noah and use him because he trusted God, but no one else did. In a world that had broken His heart, God found joy in this one man who believed in Him. God still cares about His children and He is still looking for people today who will trust Him. Like Noah, let’s put our trust in God and bring joy to His heart.

The Tower of Babel - Why It Was Never Finished

The Tower of Babel - Why It Was Never Finished!

The Bible tells us that Noah was a man of faith and a man of God. After the flood the first thing he did when he came out of the arc was to worship God there on Mt. Ararat. Noah and his wife had three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Scripture says that Noah’s three sons were all married without children at the time of the flood. And so there were eight people who entered the arc when the flood occurred, Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives. After the flood, Noah’s family was the only family left alive on earth. Must have been lonely! So Noah’s three sons and their wives started having babies! “These three were the sons of Noah, and from these sons the whole earth was populated.” (Genesis 9:19) The whole tenth chapter of Genesis records long lists of Noah’s’ family tree: naming his sons, grandsons, and even on down to Abraham, nine generations and 300 + years later. (The women’s names aren’t recorded here in this genealogy!)



Noah and his descendents probably lived in the area that today is modern Iraq- the cradle of civilization. They were all one big extended family – brothers, sisters, grandparents and cousins and they all spoke the same language. Scripture tells that these early primeval peoples were hunter-gatherers and farmers. And we are even told how many years passed between each generation.



By the time we get down to Noah’s great great grandchildren, we read the story about the tower of Babel. It had been about 175 years since the flood and Noah’s family had grown into a big group by now. Some of the group had traveled to the plain of Shinar and they wanted to settle there. We don’t know exactly where Shinar was, but Biblical scholars believe that it was probably in the vicinity of the Euphrates River.



This group talked among themselves about building a tower there in Shinar. “And they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens: let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the earth.’” (Genesis 11:4)



We don’t know what was in the hearts of Noah’s great great grandchildren, the builders of this tower, but their motives must not have pleased God. Let’s listen: “But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, ‘Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do: now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come let Us go down there and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.’” (Genesis 11: 5-7)



This short story in Genesis ends quickly after telling us that the name of the tower was called “Babel” meaning “confusion”, because the Lord confused the peoples’ language. Just how this confusion occurred we don’t know. Perhaps over time if each small group began speaking a different language, the workers might not have been able to understand one another and coordinate their work, and thus complete the tower.



When Scripture says, ‘Come let Us go down there and confuse their language,…’ I believe that the “Us” here refers to the triune God,- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There are other Biblical passages that also refer to the Godhead as plural.



The story of the tower of Babel ends this way: “Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth: and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.” (Genesis 11:9) Does this story from antiquity give us the answers as to why there are so many languages on the earth and why the human race spread so rapidly across the earth after the flood?



What can we take away from this Bible story? We can only guess at why God stopped Noah’s decedents from finishing their tower. Perhaps these tower builders wanted to impress future generations with a majestic tower that reached to the sky. They would achieve might and power by staying together around their tower. Perhaps the creative work of their hands would be more important in their lives than God would be! And the city and the tower would hopefully keep them all in one place. Together they could become famous and make a name for themselves. It might be that they forgot to include God in their tower building plans or to ask Him for His direction in their lives. The sins of self-sufficiency and pride might have been reasons that God was not pleased with their tower. They might have wanted to build a monument to their own strength and might and in their prideful rush just left God out of their plans.



God never likes to be left out of our plans or our lives. He doesn’t like us building our towers without Him. Scripture says that God is jealous when His children forget Him. (Exodus 34:14) The story of the Prodigal Son reminds us that the Father missed His oldest son so much and waited and watched anxiously for his return. (Luke 15:11-32) And God waits for us too. He so wants us to open our hearts and our lives to Him. Let’s make sure we do that.

Jesus Promises Peace, But Do We Have It?

Jesus Promises Peace, But Do We Have It?

God has promised many good things to His children. And one of those things is peace. Shortly before Jesus went back to heaven he gave His peace to His disciples and also promised it to all who believe in Him. This is His promise to His disciples and to us:



“My peace I leave with you, My peace I give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:2)



Everywhere in Scripture the believer is promised peace and is told not to worry. This special peace is part of our inheritance as Gods’ children. It’s a wonderful gift we have been given – a life free from anxiety and fighting and fear. But have we all received it? And if we have received it, do we know how to hold on to it? I love the peace and joy I have in Jesus, but I don’t always hang onto it. When trouble comes around, my heart often pounds with fear? Jesus has promised that He will overcome our troubles for us. But I so quickly forget. Jesus reminds us:



“…In Me you have peace. In the world you will have troubles, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b) Scripture tells us that Jesus will over come every evil and through Jesus we will be over comers too!



We don’t understand how, but God can take our biggest troubles and our nastiest problems and work them around for good. “All things work together for good to those who believe, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) God promises to be with us and get us through our troubles. “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble, and I will deliver him and honor him.” (Psalms 91:15) and “Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not afraid for I am thy God, I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, yes I will uphold you with the right hand of My Righteousness.” (Isaiah 41:10)



With God promising to take care of us, we can relax and be at peace. We never need to be afraid when troubles come. We may not understand how this promised victory will be accomplished. Sometimes we may not see it until after we die. But we are promised victory through Jesus and we can be sure that He will deliver. Since God has us covered we can practice trusting Him through our hassles and continue resting in our peace.



Along with our gift of supernatural peace, Jesus has also given us a new commandment. “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, as I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)



It looks like we don’t just passively receive Jesus’ gift of peace, but we are commanded to actively live out our lives keeping that peace by loving others. In order to keep the peace gift, we have to live the life! Wouldn’t you know it? We can’t gossip and criticize and hate folks in our church and expect to hang onto our gift of peace! Forgiveness and love and peace all go together.



Along with this commandment, there are many Scripture passages showing us the part we can play in order to keep this peace from slipping away. We are commanded to forgive the people that hurt us and to love and live in peace as much as we can. Let’s listen to just a few of these commands from the Bible. “Pursue peace with all people, …looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God: lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.” (Hebrews 12:14a-15) This passage tells us that we can’t allow bitterness into our lives and hang onto our peace. Peace and bitterness won’t stay in the same room together. So you will have to decide which one you want to keep around.



Another Bible passage tells us: “When angry, do not sin: do not let your anger last until the sun goes down.” (Ephesians 4:26) This passage is telling us not to hang onto our anger but to move on and forgive quickly. We can’t hold on to our anger and hang on to our peace at the same time. If we want to keep Gods’ peace we will have to obey Gods’ commands to love and forgive.



Another passage tells us to make up with any person that you are having an argument with before coming into church with your gift. “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you. Leave your gift on the altar, and go and first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24) It is more important to God that first we keep the peace with our brother before we give our gift to Him.



It sounds like we have to try to get along with everyone doesn’t it? And if the other person refuses to get along with us we are told to forgive them and pray for them and love them anyway! There is one person who presently hates me that I am trying not to hate back– but instead to pray for and love this one. I make it and love them sometimes and unfortunately sometimes I don’t. It’s a challenge. But if I return the bad feelings I will lose the peace God gave me!



Every time we pray the Lords’ prayer, we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Matthew 6:12) Guess we better start learning to forgive others if we are going to pray the Lords’ prayer in church and mean it! Since God has forgiven us for all of our sins, He expects us to forgive other people when they sin against us. Refusing to forgive will cost us our peace. So even though Gods’ peace is a free gift, there is a price we have to pay to keep it.



Along this same line, Jesus tells the parable of the king who forgives one of his servants of an enormous debt he owes, only to find the same servant turning around and throwing another person in prison for owing him a small debt. The king hears about this and gets angry. He calls his servant back and makes him pay his huge debt after all. (Matthew 18:23-25) Jesus’ point in this story is that we are expected to forgive others since God has forgiven us. It isn’t an option. Christians are commanded to forgive and to try to live in peace. It’s all tied together.



Scripture tells believers not to go to court and sue one another. Let’s listen: “But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?” (1 Corinthians 6:6-7) You see, sometimes we may have to be cheated in order to follow Jesus and keep the peace.



We read in Scripture about how powerfully the Holy Spirit worked through the early Christian church. The early Christian church was blessed constantly with healings and miracles and thousands of people came to Christ through their witness. Don’t we sometimes wonder why we don’t have the same dramatic conversions and healings today in our churches that they had? Scripture also records that they were all united and in agreement with one another and constantly cared for one another. They always kept the peace. (Acts 2:44-47) Could it be that Gods’ powerful anointing was with the early church because they were united and demonstrated love? They kept the peace and were all of one accord. Was that their secret?



The Lord not only commands peace to be our inheritance but He also commands us to keep that peace by forgiving those who hurt us and by loving and serving others. Many of us don’t hold onto our peace because we don’t obey His commands to forgive and love others. We are tempted to get angry and hold grudges. We become critical and unforgiving and tell ourselves that we have that right. But as Christians we don’t have that right. Love isn’t just a feeling, it is a decision. Forgiving and loving is a way of behaving.



As we travel through life we will have many opportunities to practice Jesus’ command to love and forgive. We can consider each offensive situation we encounter where we feel like responding with anger, as a challenge instead to respond with love and forgiveness. We are not really fighting against irritating people but we are fighting against the powers and principalities of the devil. The Bible says that we will be tested by God (1 Thessalonians 2:4), so we can use each test as a learning experience in this school of life. Life is sometimes described in Scripture as a battle and God has given us armor to put on to fight in the battle. (Ephesians 6:11) And the armor God has given us to put on our feet are the shoes of peace. (Ephesians 6:15)



So let’s walk through this life wearing our shoes of peace ---the ones God has given us. Let’s not ever take those walking peace shoes off - even for a minute. Not let hate the person who hates us. Surprise them with love and keep our peace. Might not be so bad after all –a life resting in Jesus’ peace - a life free from resentment and hate and anxiety! Jesus has left us this gift of peace, so let’s enjoy it – hang on to it. Do whatever it takes!

Born Again - Paul Before and After

Born Again - Paul Before and After

Saul was a Jewish religious leader- a Pharisee- and he hated Christians! The Christians were preaching that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to take away sins. And Saul was threatened by this dangerous doctrine! As a Pharisee, he and his fellow priests controlled the Jewish people with the Law. The religious leaders might have to give up some of their money, power and influence if too many Jews started believing in this Jesus. And Saul couldn’t let this happen!



As a zealot, Saul constantly fasted and tithed and prayed and spent his life studying the religious Law with the other Pharisees. He was proud that he obeyed the Torah, kept all of the ordinances and sacrificed daily in the temple. He was so much better than the ordinary Jew. God must be pleased with his diligence. But those evil Christians! Saul needed to kill as many Christians as he could to protect God’s laws and to keep Judaism pure.



So getting rid of Christians became Saul’s main passion in life. He would frantically rush from house to house in Jerusalem searching out Christians to arrest and put in chains. Hundreds of Christian men and women were dragged off to prison by Saul, causing many believers to run away and hide in towns outside of Jerusalem. Saul was there when the mob stoned Stephen and he tirelessly plotted to have other Christians executed as well. By getting rid of Christians he believed he was doing God’s work and he was proud of it. Soon with all of his intense ambitious efforts, praise God, these believers in Jesus would be a thing of the past.



Saul wasn’t satisfied to just kill the Christians in Jerusalem. He needed to stamp them all out, so he turned his energies to catching the believers who had been scattered to the towns outside of Jerusalem. We read in Scripture that he obtained letters of permission to arrest any Christians he could find in Damascus (150 miles away) and bring them back in chains. “Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:1-2)



So as Saul was traveling with his men along the road to Damascus, and looking forward soon to be dragging more Christians away to prison; an amazing thing happened. It was nearly noon and suddenly a light from heaven blazed down around Saul. Saul fell to the ground terrified and then he heard a voice speaking to him. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4) Trembling and astonished, Saul asked: “Who are you, Lord?” And then the voice from heaven answered: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” (Acts 9:5b) Shaking with fear Saul asked: “Lord, what do you want me to do?” And Jesus answered: “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:6b)



The men traveling with Saul stood on the road speechless since they also heard the voice from heaven. Saul got up but the bright light from heaven had blinded him and he couldn’t see. The men with him led him by the hand into Damascus and for three days Saul sat alone in a house not being able to see and refusing to eat or drink.



Ananias was one of the Christians who lived in Damascus. The Lord came to Ananias in a vision and gave him the address of the house where Saul was staying. Then God told him to go to Saul and lay hands on him and pray for him to get his sight back. Ananias was afraid and reminded the Lord that Saul had harmed many Christians. But the Lord answered him: “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16)



Ananias obeyed God and went to the house where Saul was staying and laid hands on Saul and prayed for him. He said: “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17b)



When Ananias prayed for him, Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit. Something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized. And then Saul began worshiping with the other Christians in Damascus and immediately began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Some of the Christians were still frightened of him and all the believers were totally amazed that the man who had hated them so much now loved them and was one of them. But Saul was so excited about his new love for Jesus that he didn’t waste any time going about preaching and bringing as many people to Christ as he could. The Church’s worst human enemy had become her greatest friend.



Saul was as intense and anxious to spread the good news that Jesus is Lord and Savior as he had been in earlier days to stop the spread of the good news of Jesus. Soon the religious leaders were trying to kill Saul because he was making disciples for Christ everywhere he went. When Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he accepted Jesus and was “born again”. He became a new person. He even got a new name.



We all know the old Saul as the new “Paul” - the one who tirelessly spread the Christian faith to the Gentiles. Over the years Paul had to suffer and pay the price for his faith in Jesus. He suffered whippings and shipwrecks and he was thrown in prison on many occasions. And tradition has it that he was hung upside down on a cross and martyred in Rome. But during his lifetime he planted new churches everywhere he traveled, and we have all been blessed by the letters the Holy Spirit wrote through Paul to those new churches. He wrote letters of instruction to the Corinthians, the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, the Thessalonians, and the Romans. And Paul’s letters in the New Testament are written for us too.



Paul changed and became a new person with a new direction after he met Jesus there on the road to Damascus. And we also become new persons with new directions after we meet Jesus. Jesus comes to give us His Holy Spirit and change us. Jesus describes this change as being “born again”. (John 3:3) Jesus says that without being born again we cannot enter the kingdom of God.



Jesus came for Paul on the road in a blaze of heavenly light but Jesus comes for us too. He may not come for us in as dramatic a way as He did for Paul. I think Paul was a special case and Jesus met him where he was. But Jesus meets us where we are too. When Paul realized that Jesus was God and Savior, he gave his life (his will, his plans, his energies, etc.) to Jesus and Jesus baptized him with the Holy Spirit and came to live in his heart. That is what it means to be “born again”. A “born again” person doesn’t belong to himself anymore. He is under new management and belongs to Jesus. Paul later bragged: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20b)



Paul said “yes” to Jesus when he met Him on the Damascus road and he was “born again”. And we need to say “yes” to Jesus too and be “born again”. It will be the most important thing that we will ever do.

An Angel Tells Philip Where to Go

An Angel Tells Philip Where to Go

The Bible story begins with an angel giving instructions. “Now an angel of the Lord told Philip, ‘Go south to the road –the desert road -that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’” (Acts 8:26) We don’t know if Philip actually saw the angel or if the angels’ message was delivered to him in a dream. But right away Philip obeyed the angels’ command and started walking down the road through the desert to Gaza. Gaza was about fifty miles from Jerusalem.



As Philip was on his way he passed an important Ethiopian official riding along in a chariot and reading the book of Isaiah as he was traveling. Scripture says that this Ethiopian was a eunuch (a man who had been altered sexually) who worked for Candace, queen of Ethiopia. He probably had been sexually altered so that he could be trusted to work closely with the queen. Eunuchs back then were used in Oriental courts to fill positions of high authority. We aren’t told his name, but he was in charge of all the queens’ treasury. This Ethiopian had gone to Jerusalem to worship and now he was on his way back home.



And as Philip was passing the Ethiopian on the road he got a second message from the Lord. This time his instructions didn’t come from an angel but from the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go over to that chariot and stay near it.’”. (Acts 8:29) And again Philip heard and obeyed the Spirits’ instructions! “Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet.” (Acts 8:30a) The Ethiopian was sitting in his chariot reading aloud as he traveled down the road.



“Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. (Acts 8:30b)



“How can I unless someone explains it to me?” the Ethiopian answered. (Acts 8:31)



So Philip got up in the chariot and sat with the Ethiopian and the two continued traveling down the desert road together. The Ethiopian was reading a passage of Scripture from Isaiah 53:7-8.



“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

And as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

Who can speak of his descendants?

For his life was taken from the earth.”



“Tell me, please, who is Isaiah talking about, himself or someone else?” the Ethiopian asked Philip. (Acts 8:34) He really wanted to know the Scriptures and have a deeper relationship with God.



So Philip explained that in the passage where Isaiah was describing the sheep that was led to the slaughter and the lamb that was silent before the shearer, that he was describing Jesus. And the Suffering Servant, pictured in the book of Isaiah, is also a picture of Jesus Christ, Son of God, and Savior. Philip went through the scriptures with the Ethiopian and shared the good news that Jesus had died to take away our sin. And the Ethiopian kept nodding and smiling and asking more questions.



After the two men had been talking and traveling together for a good long time, they came upon a pool of water beside the road. The Ethiopian said, “Look, here is some water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” (Acts 8: 36) And Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And the Ethiopian answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:37)



So they stopped the chariot and the two men got out and went down into the water. And with great joy, Philip baptized the Ethiopian. As soon as they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit carried Philip away out of the Ethiopians’ sight. And thus the story ends with the Ethiopian getting back into his chariot and traveling on down the road rejoicing that he has found Jesus as his Lord and Savior.



This short story from the Bible perhaps leaves us with some questions. For one, the curtain is pulled back and we see that angels sometimes serve as messengers to Gods’ people. Not only in this story but throughout the Bible there are stories of angels coming to the aid of believers. Angels have also been known to protect believers, feed them, and assist them when they are in need. All of these angelic actions and more have been recorded in Scripture.



We may be questioning why we don’t get directions from an angel like Philip did. Or could there be occasions in our lives when there have been messages delivered to us or angelic intervention taken on our behalf and we didn’t even recognize it? Indeed we read from Hebrews 13:2: “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels unawares.”



We can not get away from the fact that, in this story, Philip would not have been able to meet the Ethiopian and bring him to faith in Jesus, if he had not on several occasions received supernatural guidance. After the angel told him to walk down the Gaza road, Philip still received more guidance with the Holy Spirit telling him to walk over to the Ethiopians’ chariot and to stay near it. Philip was a great evangelist. Many thousands of people came to Christ through his preaching. But we can see that he didn’t lead people to Christ in his own strength. He must have been open and listening for the Holy Spirits’ voice to show him what to do.



But the question may still linger. Why don’t we get instructions from a visible angel like Philip did? I don’t know all of the reasons, but in reading the book of Acts we do notice that the twelve apostles seem to have received more of the charismatic gifts - like the power to heal and prophesy and evangelize. These dramatic gifts perhaps made the apostles more visible to the public, and angelic intervention might have been recorded more often when it occurred with these public figures that were in the limelight. The rest of the believers often seemed to be given gifts like serving or teaching or helping. Since every believer is a part of the body of Christ, we are each given different gifts by the same Holy Spirit. We can not all be an eye or an elbow. We function differently in the body. But all the gifts are useful and important.



Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you.” We have Gods’ promises here and everywhere in Scripture that He will always be with us. But do we sometimes forget His promise that He is present with us? He promises to continually teach us how to live. But do we take time to listen for His teaching?



Perhaps the Holy Spirit has tried to speak to us again and again but we have been too busy to listen. Could it be that we can’t hear His quiet voice over the noise of our games and shows and the stuff that clutters our lives? When the angel told Philip to walk down the road to Gaza, he heard and obeyed right away. He had a listening heart and he didn’t let anything get in the way. God was able to do great things through Philip because Philip’s whole life was about loving God. If we have a listening heart and our whole life is about loving God then He will be able to do great things through us too.

simon the Magician - The Man Who Tried to Pay Money for the Gifts of God

Simon the Magician – The Man Who Tried to Pay Money for the Gifts of God

Simon the Magician lived in Samaria around the time the disciples in Jerusalem were baptized with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Scripture says that Simon made quite an impression with his magic. “Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, ‘This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.’”. (Acts 8:9-10)



About this time a great persecution broke out in Jerusalem against the church. Saul (later named Paul) went from house to house dragging new believers off to prison. So most of these frightened believers had to run for their lives. And since Samaria was near Jerusalem, many of them fled there hoping to find safety.



Philip was one of the Christian apostles who went to Samaria during this time. As soon as he arrived he started preaching to every Samaritan he met that Christ is the Savior. And along with his preaching he performed signs and wonders through the power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells the story. “When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in the city.” (Acts 8:6-8)



I wish I could have been there to watch, since amazingly most everyone in Samaria believed in Jesus and was baptized. Even Simon the magician became a Christian and was baptized and followed Philip everywhere. (Acts 8:13)



The good news got back to the apostles in Jerusalem that nearly all of the Samaritans had accepted the Word of God. There was great rejoicing since the Samaritans were now believers, but still they didn’t immediately receive the gift of the Holy Spirit like the Jewish believers had at Pentecost. We don’t know why that was.



Many Jews believed that God would never bless Samaritans since they were considered to be a group of half-breeds. There were serious barriers of racial prejudice to be dealt with here. Until this point, the Christian church in Jerusalem had been completely Jewish. But when the Samaritans believed, it was the first time the Church burst its Jewish bonds and moved toward a truly world-wide fellowship.



So Peter and John went to Samaria to pray for these new Samaritan believers that they might receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit did fall on the Samaritan believers like it had on the Jewish believers when Peter and John laid hands on them and prayed.



Simon, who had been the magician, was impressed when he saw that when Peter and John laid hands on the Samaritan believers, the Holy Spirit would come down with power. Wow, he would like to be able to do that too he thought! Wouldn’t that impress his fellow citizens and make him look important? Simon offered Peter money for the ability to lay hands on people and bring down the Spirit. Perhaps since he had impressed people with his magic tricks before he became a Christian, he might have wanted to impress people now by manipulating the Holy Spirits’ power. We don’t know what his motivation was but we do know that Peter became very angry with Simons’ foolish request.



Peter answered Simon with strong words. “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money? You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and a captive to sin.” (Acts 8:20-23) Simon immediately begged Peter to pray for him and I like to think that he was truly sorry for his mistake of trying to buy God’s power so that he could use it to build up his reputation.



Simons’ effort to try to purchase the ability to manipulate the power of the Holy Spirit was his sin. And his desire to use God’s power for his own gain is wrong also. The word “simony” which means the buying and selling of church offices and influence comes from this story.



What can we learn from this Bible story? How can we avoid making the same mistake today that Simon made so long ago? I will give my best guesses and if you have other ideas, please pass them on. First Peter accused Simon of being bitter, which possibly meant that Simon was resentful since he no longer held the best and highest position among his fellow citizens. Remember Simon had been treated like a very important person in Samaria when he had practiced his magic arts, but now that he had given that up to become a Christian, he may have missed all of the special attention. Maybe if he could buy God’s power then he could use it to feel important again!



We can follow in Simon’s footsteps and try to use God today to further our own reputations or pocketbooks instead of humbly following the leadings of the Spirit. In the middle ages, indulgences were sold by the Church. When a person paid money for the indulgence he was told that he received forgiveness for his sin. Of course we can never purchase forgiveness of sin with money when our forgiveness has already been purchased by Christ’s blood, and is given to us as a free gift. (Ephesians 2:8-9) But the Church made big money off of supposedly selling Gods’ forgiveness!



Twenty years ago a friend of mine knew a musician who for a year pretended to believe in Jesus to see if he could make lots of money selling Christian music. This singer was a member of another religion but he could fake being Christian if it could be financially profitable, couldn’t he? When his experiment didn’t work out and his Jesus songs didn’t pay off like he had hoped, he dropped his pretending and went back to his secular music which brought in more cash. Just recently I read in the paper that this same musician is back trying out his luck again with his Jesus music! Maybe the new Christian/political audiences today will finally appreciate his songs and this musician can finally cash in on God – and make use of Jesus to build up his reputation while he is at it! And some politicians today are also learning to cash in on God. These folks can appear pious while repeating the correct Christian phrases, and thus gain votes and power.



Are these examples at all similar to Simon’s mistake? Perhaps? Simon was proud and hadn’t yet learned to humble himself before God. In order to move in God’s kingdom we have to learn to be humble. Humility is everything. We need to give up our pride and our selfishness in order to follow Jesus. Jesus is Lord and He wants it all. We don’t use God for our own glory, we ask God to use us for His Glory. Jesus speaks out about this in Scripture. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39) We need to learn to lose ourselves for His sake. It doesn’t work any other way!

The Stoning of Stephen - the First Christian Martyr

The First Christian Martyr - the Stoning of Stephen

It had just been a year or so since Jesus had gone back to heaven and left the Holy Spirit to guide and infill His followers, and already so much was happening. Those first new Christians cared about each other so much and were so guided by the Holy Spirits’ power that very soon thousands of their neighbors in Jerusalem believed in Jesus and became Christians as well. There were hundreds of healings and miracles in their prayer meetings, so many that all of Jerusalem was talking about these amazing Christians and becoming disciples of Jesus also.



It was during these early days when the new Christian church was taking shape that we first hear about Stephen. Stephen was a member of that very first church and was chosen along with six other men to wait on tables and serve meals to the widows who belonged to the families of the church members. (Acts 6:1-5)



The early Christians felt that it was their job to be sure that the women without husbands in their midst didn’t go hungry. This may seem strange to us today, but providing for the widows made sense back then. In that culture, the men held the purse strings and the women had little or no control over their own finances. When a husband died, the family inheritance would go to the son or sons. And since the wife would not be able to keep her husbands’ money, her sons would be expected to take care of her.



Since the early church members shared everything in common, they shared their responsibilities in common too. And taking care of their widows was one of their responsibilities. This responsibility was so important to the group that they wanted their very best Christian men to wait on their widows. Let’s listen: “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them,…This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit,…” (Acts 6:3 and 5a)



We don’t know how many months or years Stephen served the church by waiting on tables and serving meals to the widows, but Scripture does tell us a little more about him and about his faith. “Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, and he did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people,” (Acts 6:8) And also Stephen must have been a good looking guy because the Bible says: “…they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” (Acts 6:15b) Stephen was such a help to everyone and such a power house for God. He was a man of integrity who went about and shared his faith, but then the trouble came!



Stephen began preaching and discussing the Scriptures in the Synagogues around Jerusalem and some of the Jews who heard him began to spread lies about what he was teaching. “They secretly persuaded some men to say, ‘We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.’ So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, ‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the laws Moses handed down to us.’”. (Acts 6:11-14) Sadly the religious leaders were the ones who spread the lies about what Stephen was teaching. One of the falsehoods they told was that Stephen was blaspheming or trying to do away with the laws of Moses. They must have thought that they were protecting the laws of Moses by lying about Stephens’ teaching. But these religious leaders were breaking the very laws that they claimed to be standing up for. They were breaking one of their own Ten Commandments by lying and bearing false witness. The ninth commandment reads: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16) People in the name of God are still breaking that commandment today!



Stephens’ angry accusers brought him before the Sanhedrin for questioning. Caiaphas, the same high priest who had condemned Jesus a few years earlier, was still in power when Stephen came in for questioning. Stephen stood up before the religious leaders and went through the Old Testament scriptures pointing out how the prophets had foretold the coming of Jesus the Savior, the Righteous One, and the One who they had rejected and killed. (Acts 7:1-53 – Stephens’ sermon to the Sanhedrin)



When the religious leaders heard Stephen say that Jesus was the Righteous One that they had killed, they flew into a rage. And then everything happened quickly. The furious priests grabbed Stephen and started dragging him out of the city to kill him. It must have been a frightening scene to see this crazed mob yelling and shouting accusations as they shoved and pulled Stephen through the streets of the city and on to his death. As the men were hitting him and jerking him along Stephen looked up into heaven and saw a vision. “’Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’” (Acts 7:56)



The enraged men yelled the more and covered their ears so they couldn’t hear Stephens’ words as they pulled him along. Finally when they got outside the city they picked up stones and surrounded Stephen for the kill. Saul, who later became a Christian and was re-named Paul, was there with the group giving his approval for the stoning and holding the coats of the men who were throwing rocks at Stephen. (Acts7:58b and 8:1) It was a dreadful day!



Scripture tells the story of Stephen’s death. “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he died.” (Acts 7:59-60) Amazingly right in the middle of this bloody and brutal stoning, he prays for forgiveness for his killers! Stephen was the first Christian to die for his faith in Jesus. And since then there have been many more Christians who have been martyred for their faith.



Right after Stephens’ death, the rest of the Christians in Jerusalem also became targeted for trouble. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church, going from house to house; he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” (Acts 8:1-3)



You would think that the leaders in Jerusalem would be happy that Stephen and the other Christians were living there among them. The sick were being healed and the hungry were being fed. Why would anyone have a problem with that? But unfortunately the same religious leaders who killed Jesus were still in power, and they also wanted to kill these new Christians. Jesus had already warned them that they would be persecuted if they followed Him, and the warning is there for us too. “If the world hates you, remember that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:18-20a)



It’s easy for us to forget that we may experience rejection by others if we follow Christ. We have been given warnings about this throughout Scripture, but we still can feel surprised when people, even family members, turn against us for seemingly no reason. One of the beatitudes also reminds us to expect persecution. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12)



I hope none of you will ever have to suffer persecution because of your faith in Christ. But if you do, just remember that you are in good company, since many Christians down through the ages have had to take up their cross to follow Jesus. Persecution is never an easy thing. But if you are rejected or persecuted because of your faith, just consider it to be an honor.

Ananias and Sapphira - An Upsetting Story

Ananias and Sapphira – An Upsetting Story

The story told in Acts 5 about Ananias and Sapphira has never been one of my favorites. I’ll bet it hasn’t been one of yours’ either? Am I right? I would find myself feeling upset and confused every time I would read this Bible story. And it frightened the early Christian church too, so Scripture tells us. Why would God deal so harshly with this couple when they messed up a bit? Haven’t we all messed up at times? Would God strike us down too?



We don’t know much about Ananias and Sapphira. The name ‘Sapphira’ means ‘beautiful’ in Aramaic. Perhaps she was beautiful. This Christian couple may have been part of that group of believers who waited in the upper room for the Holy Spirit to come at Pentecost. Or they may have become believers and joined the church a few days or weeks after that. But Ananias and Sapphira were both members of that very first church in Jerusalem - our spiritual ancestors.



We are told several things about Ananias’ and Sapphiras’ church. For one, at Pentecost the Holy Spirit had fallen on each believer in a powerful way and now the church group was experiencing miracles and healings in their gatherings. And also many of these new believers in their enthusiasm had sold their homes and land and were giving all their money to the group so that everything could be shared in common. “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.” (Acts 2:44-45)



It seemed that Ananias and Sapphira loved the Lord and wanted to fit right in with the other new Christians. And since most of their friends were selling their homes and giving the proceeds to the group, Ananias and Sapphira felt pressured to do the same, even though they may have had some reservations. Shouldn’t they join in and appear to go along with the crowd?



Scripture says that Ananias and Sapphira went ahead and sold their home even though their church group didn’t require that of them. And then they decided to keep part of the money from the sale and give part of it to the church group. Nothing wrong with that either. But if they let the other church members believe that they had given all of the money from the sale to the church instead of just part of it; they might make a better impression! They wanted to look good and keep up with the other church members who were giving everything. What could be wrong with that?



So Ananias talked it over with Sapphira and the two agreed together to tell a little white lie to their church leaders. They would tell Peter that they were giving all of the money from their sale and Peter and the others would be impressed with their generosity! Next day Ananias walked in and gave the money to Peter saying that he was giving the church the full amount of money from the sale of the home and wasn’t he a nice guy? Peter, being full of the Holy Spirit, immediately knew that Ananias was lying! He didn’t need to give all of the money to the church, Peter insisted, but he should never lie to the Holy Spirit. Peter spoke out angrily to Ananias: “…Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:4b) Ananias was so shocked at Peters’ words that he fell to the ground at Peter’s feet and died instantly.



Three hours later Sapphira came by not knowing that her husband had died. She walked up and told Peter the same little lie that Ananias had told, insisting that they were giving the church all of the money from the sale and even quoting a false amount. And then Peter told her what he had told her husband: “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out too.” (Acts 5:9) Sapphira also dropped dead at Peter’s feet and she was buried next to her husband. This sad story ends with a report that great fear came upon everyone in the church when they heard about what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. (Acts 5:11)



We are left with questions. Why did Ananias and Sapphira die instantly when they lied in church when I am sure others have lied in church and haven’t been struck down in such a fashion? What is going on here? Let’s dig a little deeper.



Let’s remember that, when Ananias and Sapphira told their lie, the Holy Spirit had just recently fallen on the church with visible signs like wind and fire and power. At one prayer meeting the Holy Spirit had shaken the meeting room. Healings and miracles were happening every day through the Spirit. And the apostle Peter was so filled with Holy Spirit power that thousands believed in Jesus when he preached and throngs brought their sick out in the streets hoping that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them and make them well! Acts 5:16 states: “Multitudes gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were ALL healed.”



I dare say that none of us today have been part of a church quite like that early church, where Gods’ presence through the Holy Spirit could be seen and felt and experienced so powerfully. Back then every single person Peter touched was healed through the Holy Spirit. Ananias and Sapphira had been there for the healings and the miracles. They had experienced God’s power there with them and seen and felt God’s holy presence residing in Peter and in the church. When Gods’ presence resides so powerfully with His people, they should be reverent in His presence. So when Ananias and Sapphira walked in and casually lied to the Holy Spirit, present there in full power, where was their reverence for God?



We read another story in the Old Testament that is similar to the story of Ananias and Sapphira. In Leviticus 9 and 10 we read about the very beginnings of Israel’s priestly ministry. God had given Moses instructions of how the priests were to sacrifice the animals on the altar for the sins of the people. And Aaron and his four sons had been chosen to be the Israel’s’ first priests. All of the Jewish people gathered around to worship God and after Aaron and his sons had made the sacrifices, Aaron blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering on the altar. And when the people saw Gods’ glory in their midst they all shouted and fell down on their faces. (Leviticus 9:23-24)



It was a holy moment. Gods’ presence and glory had come to be there with the people. All of the people were deeply moved and in reverence to God bowed and fell to the ground. But while the people were on their faces in worship, two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu decided to show off and offered ‘profane’ fire right in front of the visible presence of Gods’ glory! Let’s listen to what happens next. “Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.” (Lev.10:1-2)



These sons of Aaron didn’t seem to respect or fear the presence and glory of the living God. As priests they had been instructed as to how to come into the holy presence of God, but they decided to do their own thing instead! Where was their fear- their reverence for God? After these young men died while everyone was looking on, Moses explained to the stunned Aaron why his two sons had been struck down. “And Moses said to Aaron. ‘This is what the Lord spoke, saying:’ ‘By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people I must be glorified.’” (Leviticus 10:3)



The power and glory of God was physically present in both of these stories from the Bible. Ananias and Sapphira thought nothing of lying when the Holy Spirit was present in great power and Nadab and Abihu played games in front of Gods’ fiery glory. These four people casually did their thing before Gods’ presence and didn’t regard Him as holy. They paraded their sin right in front of a holy God. Most of us have felt Gods’ presence and we know that He is with us. But probably none of us have been in circumstances like these where the glory and power of God could be seen and experienced physically. And if we ever were in the presence of Gods’ glory, I doubt if we would make the same mistake and not honor Him!



Scripture tells us that after we die we will stand in front of the living God in all His glory. God is holy and we will not be acceptable in His presence unless we are holy. We aren’t good enough on our own and in our sin and doing our own thing. We won’t be able to tell our little white lies there or bring in profane fire. We will need to be ready! Heaven is a sinless place and we can not enter it and hang on to our sin. But the God who is holy and pure is also a God who loves us and brings us salvation. He has provided a Way for us to be covered and come to Him, a Way to take away our sin, and a way to be ready. And that Way is Jesus. (Acts 4:10-12) Let’s accept Gods’ gift of Jesus now so that when it’s our time to go we will be prepared to meet our Maker.

The Very Beginnings of the Church

The Very Beginnings of the Church

When we speak about the Church, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind may be a congregation of members who come together on Sunday mornings for Sunday school and worship service in a church building. But of course a church building isn’t the definition of the Church. And a local congregation is only a very small part of the universal Church. All of the believers in Jesus around the world who are alive today or who have ever lived during the last 2000 years make up the mystical Body of Christ, - the Church. And the Holy Spirit has put them all together in one Body. (The Body of Christ).



It is believed that Pentecost was the birthday of the Church. At that time there were only about one hundred and twenty people who believed that Jesus was Lord and that He died for their sins. It had just been nine or ten days since Jesus had gone back to heaven and had instructed His followers to wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. So when the Holy Spirit fell upon these believers, the Church – the Body of Christ- was born!



God was doing a new thing. These very first Christians had been brought together as one body by the power of the Holy Spirit and they were all on fire for God. The men and women who loved the Lord in Old Testament times lived out their lives under the law while waiting for God’s future promise of salvation. But now that promise of salvation (Jesus the Savior) had come and the waiting was over. The Age of Law had given way to the Age of Grace. Jesus had suffered and died to redeem His Church. So the Church (the believers) was born through the power of the Holy Spirit!



Acts 2-4 tells the story of how those very first Christians lived and what the Church (the group of believers) was like in those first few months. To start with, immediately after the Holy Spirit fell on the believers at Pentecost, a large group of people in Jerusalem crowded around to see what was happening to this noisy group.



Peter took this opportunity to preach to the crowds and about three thousand people believed in Jesus that very day. “Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’….Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” (Acts 2:38 and 41) So it seems that the Holy Spirit gave Peter great power in his preaching. And the Holy Spirit also convicted three thousand people to accept Christ as Savior and be baptized; they were added to the number of Christians in the new Church. In those early days the Holy Spirit was operating in His people (the Church) in a very powerful way!



That first group of Christians in Jerusalem didn’t build a big church building but instead they met in the temple court (that first group was mostly Jewish) and ate together in each other’s homes and shared everything in common. Peter and John and some of the other men who had been Jesus’ disciples became part of that very first Church. These early Jewish Christians studied Jesus’ disciples’ teachings and prayed and ate together constantly. Let’s try to get a picture of that very first group of Christians. “They devoted themselves to the disciples’ teachings and to the fellowship and the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the disciples. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)



Peter and John were members of this very first church. One day on their way to the temple they stopped to talk to a lame beggar sitting at the temple gate. The beggar was asking for money. Peter told him that he didn’t have money with him but he would give him what he had –he would heal his lameness in the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:6-9) So Peter commanded him to walk in Jesus’ name and immediately the lame beggar jumped up and began to walk and leap around and praise God.



All of this excitement caused quite a stir as many people crowded around in amazement. This crowd had always remembered this man sitting with withered legs by the temple gate begging, but now he was running and jumping about. So Peter had another chance to preach to the crowds and tell them about Jesus the Savior.



Just as Jesus had healed a lame man and had gotten in trouble with the religious leaders, now Peter and John also would get in trouble with the same religious leaders for healing this lame man in Jesus’ name. The high priest and the Pharisees threw Peter and John in prison, later releasing them with orders to never preach about Jesus again. These powerful rulers also threatened to imprison or kill any Christian in Jerusalem who might disobey their orders and preach about Jesus.



Peter and John went back to the Church and reported all that had happened. Peter told his fellow Christians of how they had been ordered never to preach about Jesus again. They all knew that these authorities could throw them into prison and possibly have them put to death if they disobeyed. It hadn’t taken long for the new Church to be persecuted for their faith! Would these new believers obey the religious authorities or would they risk prison or death and keep telling others about Jesus? What would we do in similar circumstances?



Let’s see what Scripture says they did. “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God,… 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.” (Acts 4:24, 29-31)



I don’t know about you, but I am really impressed with that first church and the way that they reacted when they were threatened by prison and death. Instead of being intimidated and playing it safe, these early believers prayed for boldness to speak all the more about Jesus. And they prayed for more healings and miracles to be done through them in His name. God must have been pleased because after they prayed, the meeting was shaken and the Holy Spirit filled them with even more power and boldness.



That very first Church is a great model for us to follow. Those early Christians were joyful and enthusiastic about their Savior, Jesus and about what the Holy Spirit had done by putting them together as the Church. And they loved each other and shared everything with one another. They didn’t even let threats of prison or death scare them but prayed for the boldness to speak out even more for Jesus.



We also have been placed into Christ’s Body, the Church, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let’s be enthusiastic and let’s pray for more boldness to speak out for Jesus. Let’s love and share with each other the way they did. And let’s pray that our Church today can be as fearless and loving and filled with the Holy Spirit as that very first Church was.

Pentecost - When the Church Received the Holy Spirit

Pentecost – When the Church Received the Holy Spirit

Jesus was getting ready to go to heaven. He had gathered His disciples together on Mt. Olivet and was saying goodbye to them. They all had sad faces because they didn’t want Him to go. He was going back to the Father and they would be left down here on their own. Jesus had reminded them earlier, “I will not leave you orphans.” (John 14:18) But perhaps they still felt like they were being abandoned.



Just before Jesus left He gave His followers a promise. “For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Acts 1;5) “…And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts1:8)



Jesus instructed His disciples to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon them. Then He began to rise in the air. With heavy hearts the disciples watched as Jesus left them and was taken up to heaven. After Jesus was gone they trudged back to Jerusalem to wait for His promised Holy Spirit. They settled down to wait in the upper room of a large house, and many more followers of Jesus (about 120 of them) came to join them. This large excited group of believers stayed together in the upper room for the next nine or ten days. No one left since Jesus had promised that every believer would receive this wonderful gift. The anxious group waited and prayed together day after day for the Holy Spirit to come upon them.



It must have been quite a prayer meeting! And then it finally happened. Let’s listen: “When the Day of Pentecost had come, they were all together and in agreement in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them tongues, like fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)



A group of people from many different countries were in Jerusalem during Pentecost and heard this noisy group and the story of Jesus being told, each in his own language. Surprised as to how these believers could speak so many different languages, this international group of on-lookers gathered around these ecstatic believers as they were speaking in tongues. How could each foreigner hear the gospel in his own language? What was going on here? Were they all drunk? Then Peter stood up and preached to the crowd and told them that the Holy Spirit had just been poured out onto these believers. (Acts 2:14-17) Peter went on to tell them that Jesus had died for their sins and the crowd listened and many believed. Scripture tells us that three thousand people believed in Jesus that day and were saved. The power of the Holy Spirit was present in full force!



Jesus had not left his followers after all! His Spirit had fallen on each one of them there at Pentecost. He would still be doing His work on earth through them. And through us too. Scripture says that every believer is filled with the Holy Spirit! “For we are all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greek, slaves or free – and we are all given the one Spirit to drink.” (1 Corinthians 12:13) Jesus is in the world today through those of us who believe in Him. We are His body and we are being changed by the Holy Spirit that is in us.



At Pentecost the coming of the Holy Spirit sounded like a mighty rushing wind and was seen as a tongue of fire over each believer’s head. Some say that the Holy Spirit is like fire because the He is so powerful. And the Spirit is often likened to the wind because we can’t see where the Spirit is moving, as God works in mysterious ways. “The wind blows wherever it pleases, you hear its sound but you cannot tell where it has come from or where it is going. So it is with everyone that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)





Do we believers appreciate this gift of the Holy Spirit that we have living in us? The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is constantly working in us: teaching us spiritual truths, convicting us of our sins and leading us. (John 14:26) He pours out God’s love in our hearts. (Rom.5:5) He gives us gifts for ministry and strengthens our inner being. (1 Cor. 12;4-11 & Eph.3:16) He seals us for heaven and His presence in us is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance of the kingdom. (Eph.1:13-14) And Scripture tells us that we can grieve Him. (Eph.4:30)



Let’s try to be aware every day that the Holy Spirit is living in us. Listen for His still small voice, wait on Him and never grieve or squelch Him. Life in the Spirit is a wonderful mysterious journey- a marvelous gift. Let’s receive everything He has for us. And let’s submit to His guidance and allow Him to lead us all the way.