Tuesday, January 25: Acts 24- Seasoned with salt.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul writes, Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6). These words filled my mind as I was reading Acts 24. It struck me that Paul was living out his teaching before Felix. The opportunity God presented to him was to speak with King Felix, so he seized the opportunity and applied a gentle sprinkle of salt into his defense. Nothing offensive or over the top but just enough to create curiosity, so that if the Holy Spirit was at work in Felix’s life or anyone in the court they could follow up, publically or privately, with Paul. That was cleaver, artful and dedicated to the spreading of Jesus’ name!

Lord, I pray for the conversational savvy of Paul… savvy that injects just the right amount of the Jesus-message into situations, so as to open doors for sharing the gospel with people you place in my path. Lord, I pray Paul’s instruction:  May I be wise in the way I act toward others, making the most of every opportunity. And, Lord, may my conversations always be full of grace and seasoned with the salt of the gospel, so that I may know how to answer everyone about the faith I have in You –Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen..

 

Monday, January 24: Acts 23- Cooperating with God

 

What happens when you get a nudge from God to do something or you receive a word from the Lord about something God wants you do? What do you do? How do you act? A one-word answer comes to mind… cooperate! Cooperate with God.

In today’s chapter, Paul is in Roman custody and one night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome" (11). What does Paul do with this word from the Lord? He cooperates! Paul doesn’t sit back saying, in effect, “If God wants me in Rome, He will have to get me there.” No, Paul cooperates with the intentions and direction of God’s word and works toward getting to Rome.

Case in point; in the ensuing verses Paul learns of a Jewish plot to kill him.  So Paul alerts the Roman authorities about the plot and thereby saves his life and sets in motion his trip to Rome.

Paul acted in accordance with prudence and God’s word, thus cooperating with God…

When God speaks with us, in whatever manner God chooses, we need to cooperate, partnering with God in the bringing forth of His will.

As I muse on this, one caution bubbles to the surface from my life experience with the Lord. We are to cooperate with God, moving through the doors He opens. The key is walking in God’s timing, not forcing the issue and trying to do in OUR own strength and timing whatever it is God has told us about.

Cooperating with God… that is my prime thought for today.  What is God showing me (&you) about 2011 and the things He would have us do? If so, how would God want you to cooperate with His leading today and in the coming days.  Think about it.

Lord, show me the steps I should take to cooperate fully and faithfully with You, in regard to the things You would have me do. Show me, Lord. Lead me, Lord. I will remain watchful and will follow Your lead. Amen.

 

Saturday, January 22: Acts 22- The power of your story

We all have a story… the story of our life and for those of us with a faith, the story of our faith… how we came to having our faith, what it means to us and how it provides an anchor for us in life. Stories are powerful and connecting…

When asked to give a defense, Paul told the story of his faith, how Jesus came into his life and what Jesus as asked him to do. This is the 2^nd time Luke has recorded Paul’s story.  Ever wondered why? One answer is that stories are powerful.

Stories do not always result in our listeners accepting the faith we have but they do plant seeds.

What’s your faith story? How did you come to the faith in Jesus that you have? What were the important moments for you in your journey toward believing in Jesus? What is your life like after believing in Jesus? That’s the story flow Paul uses. Clear, concise and personal…

God’s nudge as I sit this morning is simple. I should think through my story and hone it so that when opportunities arise to interject faith into a conversation I can do so by using my story,just like Paul does, to the end that my story might lead others to faith in Jesus Christ.

Bill Hybels in his book Just Walk Across the Room suggests that we hone our story to 100-words. The brevity means we can interject it into any conversation without dominating. And if the Holy Spirit is working on the person(s) with whom we are talking, then they will ask questions which will allow us to elaborate. And if the moment isn’t orchestrated by God to go deeper, we have planted a seed for possible future conversations.

Can you tell your story in a clear and concise way? Think about that. Better yet, write it, hone it, pray it and offer it to God to be used when He opens a door…

Lord, thank You for my story. Open doors that I may use it to share my love for You with others… In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Friday, January 21: Acts 21- Brothers and sisters in Jesus

The first half of the chapter is a travel log, Paul’s journey from Ephesus to Jerusalem. It is none too exciting. Sounds a bit like a vacation journal I sometimes keep, did this, did that, went here, went there. As I was reading this portion of the chapter, one aspect jumped out at me. Everywhere Paul and his companions landed and stayed, whether for a day or for a week, they connected with believers. Some, it seems, he might have known or at least heard of, others were completely unknown prior to their meeting. These brothers and sisters of Christ’s body lodged Paul and friends, fed them, prayed with them, and blessed them.

The wonder of the body of Christ. There is something to being fellow believers in Jesus. I can’t explain it but I have experienced it.

I have been blessed to be part of half a dozen local churches during my adult life and in each location I have been blessed by members of Christ’s body. Christ’s Body is amazing, from rural western Pa, to sophisticated Greenwich CT, from Cincinnati to Boston, a tiny church of 15 to multiple service congregations of hundreds.  In each stop I have experienced the love and care of sisters and brothers in the Lord.

And beyond the borders of the US, I have experience Jesus in His body in places where I am clearly an outsider. In Nigeria I have been warmly received and loved by my Lord’s church. In Germany I have been warmly received and loved by my Lord’s church. In Juarez I have been loved and warmly received by my Lord’s church and in England, too. Such is the blessing of the Body of Christ.

Last summer in Nigeria I stayed at a guesthouse filled with young campus ministry workers from all across Africa attending a conference. We laughed, cheered alongside one another during World Cup matches and we encouraged and prayed with one another. One of the most profound prayer experiences I have ever experienced came when these brothers and sisters in Christ prayed for me the night before I had to leave… such is the blessing of the body of Christ. (If you want to read more about that night check out a blog I wrote about that experience: http://bmafricanadventure.blogspot.com/)

Reading about how fellow believers cared for and loved Paul, I was reminded how much the fellow believers –some with whom I have had a long-term relationship and some I have been with only momentarily- have cared for and loved me over the years.

I sit here with the Word open and my fingers on the keyboard, delighting in the gift of sisters and brothers in Jesus… a gift of immeasurable value.

Thank You, Jesus, for the gift of Your body, the Church…men and women washed in Your blood with whom I have deep kinship because of our common faith in You… Amen.

 

Thursday, January 20: Acts 20- What will you say at the end?

Among Frank Sinatra’s famous songs was “I Did it My Way.” I am guessing that you have heard it. It is an ode to self, to the strength of human character, who needs no one else but does it on his/her own. It could be the theme song to American rugged individualism.

Paul, I believe, would have sung a different song. “I Did it God’s Way” might have been his song’s title, or maybe “To God be the Glory.”

Verse 24 communicates a great deal about the focus of Paul’s life.  I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

With the subtlety of a 2x4-to-the-head, I hear a question in my heart: “Bill, what’s the focus of your life? What song are you singing…?”

Seems to me those questions are appropriate for all of us… Think about it.

Jesus, I think I am a mixed bag, sometimes singing Your song, often singing mine. Forgive me when I stray from the way You have for me and journey in thedirection I want to go. More than forgiveness, I pray for strength to finish the race and complete the task You have for me…

To You be the glory… Amen and Amen.

 

 

Wednesday, January 19: Acts 19- Jesus is THE way

Reading today, the big picture rather than individual incidents, seems to link onto my ponderings. What I saw was that Jesus is THE way of salvation. Paul was constantly meeting people where they were religiously/spiritually and attempting to move them to belief in Jesus. Sometimes he experienced success, other times ridicule or even persecution but his ‘modis operendi’ was to have people change from their present belief to belief in Jesus.

In verses 1-4 he meets some purported disciples.  Through conversation, Paul learns that they know of John not Jesus.  He instructs them in the way of Jesus and they are baptized with water and the spirit and the church is born in Ephesus. Paul was determined to make sure they had the whole truth and understood Jesus…

Supported by these dozen disciples of Jesus, Paul spends 2 years in Ephesus preaching to Gentiles and Jews the way of Jesus. Some believe, others malign the Way, miracles occur and so does persecution.  Paul never changes his message. It is all about Jesus, not Artemis, not Judaism… Jesus is the only way of salvation.

Where the Spirit nudged me next was all about how to live this truth in my 21^st century world where ‘pluralism’ is the buzz word. God is gently reminding me that I have to discover ways to penetrate my pluralistic society with the message of Jesus.  And, yes, some people will reject Jesus, others will reject and even malign me.  No matter what comes my way, I should be displaying a Christ like character and attitude.

This, I suspect, will not be easy for me…

Lord, I need Your help. The nudges of the Holy Spirit are uncomfortable. They push me beyond my comfort zone in so many areas. One comfort I take in all this is that I know I cannot do this on my own, I know I need You and Your strength and much growth to begin to grow in this direction. And all I can do now is cry,” Help me, Lord, Help me”… Amen.

 

Tuesday, January 18: Acts 18- Home base

I sat for a while pondering this chapter.  Nothing in particular connected with me. I surveyed the chapter again. I tried to imagine meeting some of the new cast of characters… Aquila, Pricilla and Apollos. I wondered about some of the converts listed.  What was it like for Crispus and his family? As synagogue ruler turned Christian, was he ostracized from his friends at the synagogue? I just wondered….

Nothing really stuck to my heart. I sat quietly with my Lord, silently praising Him and thanking Him for who He is.

Glancing back at the text, I landed upon verse 23, which mentions that Paul spent time in Antioch before setting out on another journey. This tiny inkling, a small spark glowed… home base! Paul spent time at home. Antioch was the church that initially sent Paul out. Antioch was Paul’s his home base, his anchor, his church. I thought about missionaries I know, called to live for a while in a foreign land.  Most I have met have a sending church, a home church, a church family with whom they have a special bond. Antioch was Paul’s.

I switched focus to my life.  Since my earliest days as a Christ-follower, my local church has always been my home base.  It’s a place where I seek to let my gifts flourish, where I make friends who can encourage me and walk with me on my daily Christ journey. Home base – an anchor, a place of belonging - my church.

I hope you have a home base like this. If you don’t, find one, invest in it. Don’t stay on the periphery, instead watch what God will do as you plug in and invest in your church.

Lord, thank You for my church family… a sweet gift from You. Amen.