I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 25
Jesus,
Let us be bold and unafraid, like Paul, convinced of Your Truth and willing to stand before authorities, even with our lives on the line. Amen.
Category: Book of Acts
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 22: Speaking people’s languages
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 22
If I had a state of the art remedy for a cure for cancer and explained it brilliantly with language no one understands, what good would it do? Zilch. Squat. Nada. Not much. Why? Because I wouldn’t be communicating in a language everyone understands. I’d be speaking my own language, wasting time, and confusing other people. It’s not very productive.
Yet, if I had the remedy and explained it in such a way that ages 10-100 understood, I’d be brilliant AND I’d be a great teacher, a great communicator, and a great leader.
If I have understanding and knowledge and can express what I’m thinking in every day language, it’s a sign of maturity and leadership.
This stuck out to me as I was reading Acts 22, because Paul used language to relate to a people group. He spoke their language, and this is when they started listening.
1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” 2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Once they heard him speak in a language they understood, they became quiet. Once they knew he was speaking to them in a way they could understand, they quieted themselves in order that they could listen.
I think it’s the same way with others. Sometimes we just need to find people’s “language”. It may not always be a literal lingual language. It may be a way of interacting non-verbally. It may be adapting to people’s personalities to be relevant to what they’re going through. Just as Paul was all things to all people, he communicated the Gospel to all people (to the best of his ability).
I’m praying God also gives us understanding and wisdom for how to speak people’s languages, in order that we can be relevant in people’s worlds right where they are.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 21: Holy Spirit Led Timing
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 21
I see a pattern in the following Scriptures. The apostles were sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading in the context of time. They left locations and continued on to other locations. They stayed at certain places for certain lengths of time. They said goodbye to some people, travelled continuously with some people, and greeted others along the way. I want to have the discernment to know who to say goodbye to, who to take along the way with me, and who to greet along the way.
Lord,
May we have wisdom, through following your Holy Spirit’s guidance, to know timing. Help us know when it’s a good time to leave and be on our way, when it’s a good time to pray, when it’s a good time to say goodbye to our friends, and when it’s a good time to return home. Help us know when to stay in a place and when to not stay in a place. May we be sensitive to the timing of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.
7 We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. 8 Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. 9 He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 20: Kid is raised to life by the preacher who put him to sleep!
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 20
Ever fell asleep in church, because the preacher kept talking and talking, going on and on? You’re not alone! There’s a story in the Bible where a young man fell asleep, too! Ha! It’s one of my favorite stories, because he actually fell out of the window to his death, and then Paul (the preacher who put him to sleep) came downstairs and healed him! Then Paul went back upstairs and broke bread and ate. Haha! Just the typical day… no big deal. Preach too long, heal the kid who fell out of the 3rdstory window, and then grab a snack. Why not?
No wonder this book is a best seller! You can’t make this stuff up!
7 On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 18 : Proof from the Scriptures
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 18
I have one thought from today’s chapter. It’s more of a question, really. What unseen and behind the scenes work, time, study, and effort does it take to be able to publicly debate and prove, from the Scriptures, that Jesus was the Messiah?
Apollos did this; therefore it’s possible. We also have leaders in our day who stand, publicly, debating topics and proving, from Scripture, that Christ is who He says He is. I believe this is a beautiful gift from God and that it’s also a skill that came with much study, devotion, prayer, time, and effort. Deep knowledge and understanding of God and His Word is not only possible, it’s currently taking place in our generation.
27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 17: Tenacious Belief
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 17
Sometimes I think to myself, “did this happen yesterday?” It seems like these things happened just yesterday, in similar plots but in different locations. I am gaining from these stories that happened thousands of years ago, and I can relate them to my present day life.
For one, it’s funny to me that Paul had to spend three days reasoning with the religious people to explain and prove that Jesus had suffered and risen from the dead. (Acts 17:1-3) It’s similar to today. It can take a while for religious people to get past religion to meet Jesus. A lot of times it’s the commoners or those regarded as “socially simple” whose hearts are more easily open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul talking to the Jews first was strategic and from the Lord, but he was also talking with some of the most religious and hardheaded people of that day. They were prideful, they practiced the law, and their standards were held by their actions, not their hearts.
Just as in our day, some of the most hardhearted people are those who know religion and know about Jesus and know about “moral actions”. They know about Jesus, but they don’t know Him as a person. Jesus loves these people; but the reality is that some people want Jesus and some don’t. Some want Him now, some want Him later, some want Him never. It was the same in Paul’s day. When Paul taught in the synagogue, “some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women” (Acts 17:4). Someof them were persuaded. Paul taught the Scriptures to those who had studied and had known the Scriptures. Someof those people were persuaded. Others weren’t.
It’s the same in our day. When we share about Jesus, some people want Jesus and some don’t. We can pray for people, we can hope for them, and we can share the Gospel; some will believe. Our hope and pray is, of course, that all would believe; but it is only our job and in our power to control our own yes. This can seem discouraging and a bit of a downer, but my point isn’t to discourage. My point is to say that our situation is not that different from Paul’s day, in the way of people not believing the Gospel.
I take this as a point of encouragement, because Paul and the apostles were not discouraged by this. It didn’t stop the ministry. Their focus wasn’t on those who didn’t believe. In fact, they were sent away to another city for their own safety, they kept preaching and the next people “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). This time, many Berean Jews (studiers of Scripture) and prominent Greek women and many Greek men believed! (Acts 17:12)
I’m preaching to myself here when I say that sometimes we give up too easily. Sometimes the next try is our huge success, and if we don’t have the hopeful stamina to keep presenting Truth, we may never see the fruit God has prepared for us to be a part of manifesting here on earth.
Paul and the apostles left the first city, not because people didn’t believe, but because some of the non-believing Jews got jealous and started a mob and a riot. The city was no longer safe for them, not that this didn’t stop them from preaching in other places. Obviously not, as many apostles lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel.
The thing is, they gave their lives and their all for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They had a stamina and a tenacity in sharing Jesus. I want to have a spiritual stamina that is hopeful in anticipation of good things to come. I want to have a mindset that the Lord is setting me up for huge successes and that the good things to come are just around the corner as I pursue and remain steadfast and tenacious in prayer and belief.
My prayer is that the Lord would increase our spiritual stamina to believe that He really is chasing us down with goodness and lovingkindness and that we will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Amen.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 16: Family
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 16
When God puts His heart and His thoughts in us, we begin to have a heart for people and for family. The Lord has been highlighting family for many people lately, and we’ve been praying into it. As I’m reading Acts 16, the story about Lydia sticks out, because Paul and Timothy met her, the Lord opened up her heart to pay attention to the things Paul was speaking, and then she became a Believer.
14 A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God, was listening. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was spoken by Paul. 15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
The awesome part is that after she became a Believer, she wanted fellowship and connection with other Believers. This shows, because she invited Paul and Timothy to come and stay at her house. She wanted to be with her family and she wanted to spend time with her new spiritual family.
I am convinced that the more we let the Lord form and shape us, the more we will have a heart for family; because family is on the heart of God.
Put family on our hearts, Lord. Let us love family like You. Amen.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 13: Simplicity
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 13
I’ve known many people who have it on their hearts to go. Perhaps it’s to literally go overseas and be a missionary or perhaps it’s to move and be on mission with a specific group of people. The action is the same. Go.
While there is wisdom in seeking God and knowing His timing, sometimes we overcomplicate it.
The following is a motto of my life for not just missions, but for pretty much everything:
Simplify.
I see simplicity in how Barnabas and Saul decided to go.
They did the following:
1. Heard from God
2. Fasted and prayed
3. Had others lay hands on them and pray for them
3. Received their commission and were sent off
2 As they were ministering to[a] the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them to.” 3 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.
Sometimes it’s as simple as seeking God, letting Him speak through others around us, and then doing what the Lord told us to do.
Holy Spirit,
Teach us how to hear Your voice and act in simple obedience.
Teach us the art of simplicity.
Amen.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 12: A prayer to be faithful to the end
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 12
12 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Lord,
May we, Your Believers, remain faithful to the end, even if it means being killed because we love You and share Your Truth with other people who You died for and passionately love.
Amen.
2020: 28 Days in Acts – Acts 11: How to break off criticism
I’m spending the first 28 days of 2020 in Acts, and I am sharing posts of highlights from each chapter and day! If you want to join, feel free to read, follow and/or comment below!
Acts 11
How to break off criticism
I see a story in Acts 11 that gives us tools on how to break off criticism. In this case, criticism came in the form of racism and a religious spirit, both of which are unloving and not Godly.
The circumcised Believers criticized Peter, because he ate with uncircumcised Believers. In that time and culture dining with others showed fellowship and a sense of intimacy. The circumcised Believers didn’t like this comradery Peter was displaying between himself and the uncircumcised Believers; because they didn’t have a heart for the Gentiles. They didn’t like their ways, their customs, or their culture. They had critical leanings toward the Gentiles, even though the Gentiles were now their own brothers and sisters in Christ. The uncircumcised Believers were racist.
1The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
From this, I see that the uncircumcised Believers didn’t know their Gentile brothers and sisters, hadn’t stopped to hear their stories, and lacked knowledge about the very people they chose to not like. They didn’t want to take the time to sit down and have lunch with them. Their critical thoughts led to racism, because they lacked knowledge of their own brothers and sisters.
Key Point: Who we choose to have dinner with may offend other Believers, due to critical hearts.
Peter was criticized by his own people, because he was willing to have lunch with uncircumcised Believers. Though their thoughts and words came from critical hearts, I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Peter to receive such rude comments from people he loved. His willingness to have dinner with people caused conflict with his own people. Sometimes the people whom we choose to have dinner with will frustrate people around us, but it doesn’t mean that our chosen fellowship is wrong. Sometimes it means the hearts of those who are offended need to be taken to Jesus and changed before things get disunified.
Key Point: Critical thoughts, left undealt with, can lead to disunity in the body of Christ.
The circumcised Believers did not have a heart for the Gentiles, due to their critical thoughts. Sometimes, critical thoughts, left undealt with, can lead to disunity in the body of Christ. Fortunately, this is not the case in this story, because the bitterness is dealt with and there is a change of heart and mind.
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
Key Point: One encounter with God can change our whole perspective, even when dealing with years of ingrained beliefs.
Peter was a man who stuck to his convictions (most of the time… putting the three crows’ calls behind us). He declared Truth, and he preached boldly. When God commanded him to “get up, kill, and eat”, Peter declared boldly that he would not, and said that he has never eaten anything ‘unclean’. He was adamant about believing and obeying the Truth that he had grown up believing and obeying.
However, God put a different view before Peter. God spoke three times, each time correcting Peter. Three times seems like repetition enough that Peter would pay attention to what God had said. After God spoke three times, the vision and encounter that God gave Peter was pulled up to Heaven again.
Key Point: God is patient and kind to tell us what we’re believing and abiding by is something He doesn’t agree with.
God’s patience is evident in the way He chooses to address Peter, by telling him not once, not twice, but three times that He has made the animals clean to eat. God knew Peter’s heart, thoughts, and intentions. God knew that Peter was trying to stick by His convictions. Jesus had also spoken to Peter before in a series of three questions, and Jesus decided to again, use three statements to correct Peter.
Key Point: God can use our past to help us understand what He’s saying.
The Lord used a series of three to speak to Peter in Acts 11, but this wasn’t the first time He’s spoken with Peter in this pattern.
69 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.”
70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.”
71 And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!”
73 And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.”
74 Then he began to [a]curse and [b]swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!”
Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.
– Matthew 26:69 – 75
Peter experienced Jesus’ pattern of three. He was familiar, and it was an experience that left him weeping bitterly. I don’t think it’s a situation he’d easily forget.
Perhaps because Peter had known the Lord had corrected him in a series of three, he was more apt to look for that pattern again. I find it interesting that the Lord used a series of three to correct Peter in Acts 11, when telling him that He calls the animals clean and edible. It at least made him ponder these things. He didn’t dismiss the thought after having that encounter with the Lord. The Lord continued to confirm His message to Peter; and Peter was then able to share this testimony with other people, in order that the Lord could change Peter’s unbelieving heart and also change his friend’s unbelieving hearts.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Key Point: Sometimes all it takes for unbelieving, critical hearts to change to believing hearts is for us to tell our story.
When Peter shared his story with the Believers who were circumcised, their hearts changed and they recognized that the Gentiles had received repentance, as well. All they needed was knowledge that God spoke, and this came through the form of a story. The Word of the Lord is powerful, and can change critical hearts to rejoicing, celebratory hearts that welcome new family members into the body of Christ.
In His Presence 