Day 1
Blessed be Abram by GOD Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be GOD Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. --Genesis 14:19-20Have you ever felt like Elijah? After he had called down fire on Mount Carmel that consumed his enemies and the enemies of God, Elijah sat under a broom tree and complained. He thought he was the last prophet of the one true God left in the entire country. God had to remind Elijah of his victory over the false gods, that He was in fact the Most High God, and that Elijah was not alone.
I think something very similar happened to Abram (later called Abraham, the Patriarch of Israel). His nephew Lot was living in Sodom. An alliance of heathen kings (Goiim) overthrew the city and carried off Lot and his family. Abram gathered his entourage together and pursued them, defeating the Goiim and setting his kinsman free. As Abram was bringing Lot back home, they encountered Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Melchizedek was also a priest of the Most High God, and he blessed Abram.
Through the years, we know what eventually hapens, because we have the Word of God to read for ourselves. First, God rains down fire on Sodom (and Lot has to be rescued yet again.) Salem is eventually conquered by Israel, and becomes her capitol city Jerusalem. And Jesus, the Son of God, is compared to Melchizedek, as the ultimate Priest and King (see Psalm 110:4 and Hebrews 5:6). With this in mind, I want you to re-read Genesis 14:19-20, and substitute your name in the place of Abram. "Blessed be (insert your name here) by GOD Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be GOD Most High, who delivered your (think of your name here) enemies into your hand."
PRAISE God from whom all blessings flow. All this month I want to magnify the Lord with you, and show you biblical references of praise coming from those outside the religious mainstream. In this way I hope you will be encouraged, even if you feel outcast, unholy, or overlooked by God.
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Day 2
And Jethro said, "Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them." (Exodus 18:10-11)Do you sometimes find it hard to share your faith with another? All you really need to do is tell your story--how God delivered you. No one knows better than you where you were and where you were headed, how God changed your heart, and now promises to deliver you into His presence. That's what Moses did with his father-in-law, Jethro.
Seeing Jethro might have brought up bad memories with Moses. He represented a time in Moses' life when he had run away. Moses killed an Egyptian foreman, and fled to the desert in Midian. He met his wife Zipporah, daughter of the priest of Midian. Jethro believed in many gods, and when Moses left to go back to Egypt, back to face Pharaoh and the Egyptian taskmasters who had enslaved his people, Jethro was probably interested in which god was more powerful--the gods of the Egyptians, or the Most High GOD of Moses and Israel.
Moses met Jethro in the wilderness on the way to Sinai, and told him how God had put to shame each of the 10 major Egyptian deities in the form of the ten plagues. His story had to include the Passover, where the firstborn of all Egypt was killed, but the firstborn of all who obeyed God were spared. His story also included the voluntary transfer of wealth from the Egyptian people to the former slaves (look it up--the people of Israel asked, and the Egyptians gave them items of gold and silver and precious stones). We also know his story included the power of God over the Egyptian army, and their escape through the Red Sea.
Your story may not be as dramatic as all that. But I believe that if you have a sincere, heart-to-heart discussion with your neighbors and friends, they will see how God is greater than whomever they place their trust in. We are no longer slaves to sin and death, because our God has delivered us from the hands of our enemies.
Praise GOD from whom all blessings flow. Jethro was not one of God's Chosen People, but because of the testimony of Moses, he believed. You can share your story with someone outside the Church, and maybe they, too, will praise God because of what He has done to you.
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Day 3
"For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." (Joshua 2:11)Have you ever thought you had done something so bad that God would never forgive you? Imagine being in Rahab's shoes. Rahab was a businesswoman in Jericho. She may have been an inn-keeper. We know she had a reputation, because in every mention of her in Jewish history, she is referred to as "Rahab the Harlot." She is, however, mentioned a lot in Jewish history, and later in Christian history, because of her confession of faith.
Two men of Israel arrived in Jericho to spy out the people. How they ended up in the house of Rahab we don't know (leading us to believe she may have been an inn-keeper). Neither do we know for sure how or why she discovered the true intentions of the spies (maybe they took her into their confidence hoping that she would give them access to the city as they planned to overtake it.) What we do know is that Rahab believed. "I know that the Lord has given this land to you," she said, "and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you." They had heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea. They had also heard of victories Israel had over two minor Amorite kings east of the Jordan River. "When we heard of it, our hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below."
This confession brought her salvation, both physically and spiritually. The spies promised to spare her family when they invaded the city. More importantly, Rahab is listed in the geneology of David, the king, and ultimately of Jesus, the Savior of the world. Jesus, during His time on Earth, met a woman much like her in Samaria. The woman at the well also had a reputation, which was well-deserved. Jesus did not condemn her, but rather brought her to the realization of her need for a Savior.
Maybe you have done some things in the past that society says are unforgiveable. Perhaps you have a bad reputation among the "good" people in your society or your church. God invites you to have fellowship with Him. It may mean leaving your home and business behind, like Rahab, but the benefits are amazing. Your first response after recognizing who He is might be to go share him with all the people who had once denigraded you, like the Samaritan woman did. It all centers around a confession of faith, a statement of praise that God is greater than your circumstances. He alone is your hope and your salvation. You can certainly "Cast your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you." (1 Peter 5:7)
Praise God from whom ALL BLESSINGS flow. Rahab was another outsider who was welcomed into the family of God because of her confession. Her faith was expressed through actions as well as her words, but her words are a prayer of praise to God for her salvation.
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Day 4
"Do not plead with me to abondon you, to turn back from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, and worse, if anything but death comes between me and you." (Ruth 1:16-17)Have you ever had a friend who would go to the ends of the earth and back with you? Chances are there was something you saw in them or they saw in you that was admirable, beautiful, or praise-worthy. Whenever you find someone who fills their mind with things that are true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse (See Philippians 4:8)--these are people you want to spend time with.
Apparently there was something that drew Ruth to Naomi. Ruth had lost a husband, true, but Naomi had lost two sons and any hope of ever being a grandmother. Ruth's commitment to Naomi was sacrificial--she agreed to give up her national identity, her spiritual identity, her freedom of association, her freedom of movement. Above all, her commitment to her mother-in-law was glorifying to God. She was from Moab, where they worshipped the fish-god Chemesh, and the god Moloch who was said to have required human sacrifice, as well as the goddess Ashtoreth (a name derived from Ishtar, or Isis). Ruth's confession, "Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God," was in essence turning away from these false deities and embracing the Most High.
As you take stock of your current friendships, can you think of anyone who would look up to you, especially after a crisis? Would they be willing to follow after your God after losing someone near and dear to them? Glorify God in your life in such a way that people are drawn to your character, your convictions, and your Christ. Be the catalyst in your friends' religious life.
Praise God FROM WHOM all blessings flow. Recognize who He is, and whose you are. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart; commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgments as the noonday." (Psalm 37:4-6).
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Day 5
"Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness." (1 Kings 10:9; 2 Chronicles 9:8).Have you ever seen someone give lip service to God, when you really didn't think they truly believed it themselves? That thought crosses my mind every time I hear certain celebrity preachers, those whose media presence is greater than their actual ministry. Only God knows their heart, but the Bible says we should be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing.
There may have been some diplomacy in the praise that the Queen of Sheba heaped on Solomon when she saw the Temple he had built for the Lord. She may have known something about the gods worshipped in the region, If she had met with the king of the Philistines, she might have had good things to say about Dagon, their god; if visiting Moab, she might have praised Chemesh. Nevertheless, we should never throw out the baby with the bathwater. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21, "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good."
The good thing about what the Queen of Sheba said was that God did, in fact, love Israel forever. He did make Solomon king. Solomon was charged with executing justice and righteousness. Her ascribing this to God gave God the glory for it. Yes, she may have been currying favor, but as Jeff Foxworthy might say, "I ain't mad at her." What she said was absolutely true.
I am reminded of Caiaphas, the high priest of Israel at the time of Jesus' crucifixion. While the Pharisees were arguing with the priests about how to arrest Jesus without causing a riot among the people, Caiaphas spoke up. "You know nothing at all," he said. "Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." John 11:51 goes on to explain his words in the previous verses: "He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."
Praise Him ALL CREATURES here below--even the politicians who sometimes speak out of both sides of their mouths. We are blessed to be called the children of God no matter where we are. God's name will be praised--if the people stop praising Him, the Bible says the rocks and trees will shout the glory of God. And politicians.
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Day 6
"Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth except the God of Israel." (2 Kings 5:15)Have you ever been so struck with your own unholiness in the presence of God that it made you re-think your livelihood? When I was in Seminary in south Ft. Worth, one of the biggest employers in the area was the Miller Beer brewery. I had 2 fellow students at the seminary who had jobs driving trucks for them. One of them quit his job because he could not in good conscience deliver a product that made people intoxicated. The other fellow maintained his job, tithed on his earnings, and prayed that none of the beer he delivered wound up causing car accidents or domestic violence.
In the Bible we see the story of Naaman, a commander in the Syrian army. Naaman had leprosy; but we see in the biblical account that the leprosy did not make him humble. Naaman sought out Elisha, a man of God. Naaman was not impressed in his initial dealings with Elisha. The prophet did not meet with him face to face, but sent a subordinate. The prophet did not pray over him, or lay hands on him, but rather told him to dip 7 times in the Jordan river. Naaman griped about everything, and was ready to go home when one of his servants humbly asked him to stop looking at things emotionally, and look at them objectively. "If the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?"
Naaman relents, but he must not have totally believed. Not, that is, until he saw smooth, healthy skin where the leprosy had been. At that point, not only was his body made whole, but his heart as well. Naaman goes back to thank Elisha, and offers him gifts. He asks permission to take a few cubic yards of Israeli dirt back to Syria with him, because when he gives burnt offerings, he wants to make sure the offerings are made to the Lord God of Israel and no longer to the gods of Syria.
Then he makes one last request: "Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon--when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing." See the repeated phrase? I can imagine Naaman's voice cracking as he is overcome with emotion. He literally broke down in the presence of Elisha (who by the way, met with Naaman face to face, now that he had humbled himself.) Elisha absolves him of this future sin, and bids him go in peace.
PRAISE Him all creatures here below. What peace there is when our sins are forgiven--even future ones! What glorious praise escapes the lips of one whose heart is made clean. When our haughtiness is changed to humility, we can reach greater heights in God's kingdom. A man never stands so tall as when he is on his knees.
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Day 7
This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: "The Lord, the God of Heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has apointed me to build Him a temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah." (Ezra 1:2).Have you ever been in a country where you didn't know the language, but wished that you did? I was standing in line at a local donut shop run by two Korean women, mother and daughter. I know them to be Christians, and I admire them for doing so well in this country. The rude kid in front of me was having trouble understanding the older woman's accent, and he screamed at her, "Learn to speak ENGLISH!" I wanted to grab that brat by the ears and say, "Listen! You lose all you have and move halfway around the world, and see if you can do as well as these ladies have done."
The people of Jerusalem were taken into exile, and forced to live in Babylon for 70 years. An entire generation of Jews were given Babylonian names, were forced to speak the Babylonian language, and had to trade in the Babylonian economy. But when Cyrus rose to power, God used him to re-populate Jerusalem. Not only did he allow the people of Judah to leave Babylon and go back to Jerusalem, but he also financed the rebuilding of the Temple. If you think that was cool, just wait. There's more.
Cyrus wrote the decree in the Hebrew language. Copies were made in Aramaic, so that the other nations could see that they had gone back with permission of the king. Now, I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but I see two words for God in this verse. The first one is Jahweh, which is translated "Lord" (because the Jews thought the name of God too holy to repeat). The name means "The One Who is Pre-existing", and one of the first times it is used in the Bible is in Genesis 2:7, "Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nostrils, and the man became a living person." The second name used by Cyrus to reference God is Elohim, meaning "the Supreme God." The first time this name is used in the Bible is in the very first verse of Genesis, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." The Hebrew construction is that of a plural masculine noun, yet the Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God. (This gives support to the concept of the Trinity, and is explained in John 1 where it says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.")
Not only did Cyrus send the Jewish exiles back with his blessing, but in doing so he fulfilled two major prophecies. Some 90 years earlier, Jeremiah had promised that the exile would last exactly 70 years. God had planned this event, and Jeremiah predicted it, way before it ever happened. Isn't that cool? But wait. There's more. Almost 150 years before this event, Isaiah had prophesied this very thing, and had called King Cyrus by name. "When I say of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd,' he will certainly do as I say. He will command 'Rebuild Jerusalem'; he will say, 'Restore the Temple'." (Isaiah 44:28)
Praise Him all creatures HERE below. God made Cyrus a strong ruler, strong enough to fulfill His will for the Jewish people and for His Temple. As a Christian, you are His temple. He has a plan for you to fulfill, as well. He is strong enough to make it happen, wherever you are and whatever your circumstance. He knows you by name, and He speaks your language.
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Day 8
The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery." (Daniel 2:47).Have you ever felt like Don Quixote? This would-be hero, who set out to right all wrongs and battle all evil, was laughed at by onlookers who saw the world as it was instead of what it could be. The Man of La Mancha did some pretty peculiar things on his quest; he never did realize that his helmet was a shaving-bowl, and his foil in a sword-fight was merely a windmill. Nevertheless, he always lived by his credo, The Impossible Dream.
Daniel lived by a different credo. His was to know the will of God, and to do it. His habits must have looked silly to his Babylonian captors: as silly as Don Quixote does to us--he served a God that he could not see or touch (as opposed to the idols they worshipped); he prayed to this God faithfully three times a day (as if he were talking to himself); and he believed in God as if He were all-powerful (yet Daniel and his countrymen were captured and taken into exile). Although he was an exile from Judah, Daniel was sought out for his wisdom and elevated in the Babylonian kingdom by no less than three different pagan kings.
Nebuchadnezzar, one of those kings, had an important dream. He called all of his wise men and asked them to interpret the dream; not only that, but to keep them honest he asked them to tell him what he had dreamed, not just the interpretation. If they failed, they were to be put to death. Daniel stepped up. He was able to do the impossible with the dream--he told the king what the dream was, and also what it meant. The dream that God had given him prophesied about the present kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's day, and the next four major kingdoms or world powers. Many scholars believe that he foresaw the Roman Empire. No wonder the king praised the God whom Daniel served.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." We can do no less than to praise Him continually. The world may laugh at us--until there is a crisis, and God's power is revealed in us. Then, like Nebuchadnezzar, they will also praise Him with us. Like Daniel, we should be willing "To fight for the right without question or pause/To be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause". (From "The Impossible Dream", the theme song of the 1972 movie "Man Of La Mancha.")
Praise Him ALL creatures here below. We should all be like Daniel, who was known for his faithfulness to God. When the world sees our faithfulness, we are given an opportunity to show His might, and God's name is praised. Nothing is impossible with God.
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Day 9
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants. They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God." (Daniel 3:24)Have you ever thought about dying for your faith? Most of us think more about living out our faith, but according to author and musician Bill Drake, "More people were martyred for the sake of the gospel in the 20th century than in all the previous centuries combined. As many as 160,000 believers reportedly make 'the ultimate sacrifice' each year. One in every 200 Christians around the world can expect to be martyred." ("Wear the Crown", 2006 by Bill Drake).
Three Jewish boys who had been captured and carried into exile in Babylon risked their lives when they refused to bow to the king's idol. They stood up for their faith. They said, "We do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18).
When the king looked into the incinerator, he was astonished. He saw three--no, four men walking through the flames, and one appeared to be the Son of God. He asked them to come out of there, and when they did, and not a hair of their heads was singed. Their clothes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. Seeing the impossible, observing the unfathomable, witnessing the inconceivable, Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that the God of these men should be praised and honored. Anyone who spoke ill of their God would be cut to pieces and their houses destroyed.
Jesus walks with us through the fire. He is there for us in every situation. Even situations that lead to death. Look what the men said: "God is able to save us...but even if He does not," we still love Him enough to worship only Him, we still trust Him enough to obey Him, and we know that soon we will see Him, either in this life or the next.
Praise HIM above, ye heavenly hosts. The author of Hebrews said, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race that is set out for us." (Hebrews 12:1). The witnesses who are cheering us on are the angels in heaven, and the martyrs who have gone before.
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Day 10
"At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified Him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdome endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?' " (Daniel 4:34-35).Have you ever had a moment where you were caught totally off guard, when you couldn't believe what you were seeing was real? If you spend any time on the web, you may have seen stories or pictures of children after they have done something horrible to an automobile. I can think of one I saw recently where a little girl took a screwdriver and scratched the words, "I love you, Daddy" into the paint on the side of his pickup truck. Another story I heard was where a man had a beautiful old Model T Ford, perfectly restored, in his garage. He came home one day to see his son with a paintbrush and an empty bucket of white housepaint--he had painted the Model T white.
Those are times when you want to scream, "My God! What have you done?" However, when a true act of God occurs, you can't really stand a scream at God. I mean, you can, but what good would it do?
Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful king of the most powerful kingdom in the world in his day. Yet Daniel prophesied that he would be humbled. Sure enough, he was struck with a mental disorder known as Boanthropy. He thought he was a cow. He went outside and ate grass. His hair grew out, long and unkempt; the Bible says it looked like the feathers of a a huge bird of prey. His nails grew long like the claws of a bird. He had no shelter, so every morning he was wet with the morning dew.
When he finally came to himself, no one had usurped the throne. It is not specifically written in the text, but Daniel, as one of the satraps or governors of the land, probably oversaw the affairs of state while his boss the king was incapacitated. When his sanity was restored, "my honor and splendor were returned to me afor the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before." (Daniel 4:36).
The king realized what God had done. Instead of blaming God for ruining his life, Nebuchadnezzar praised God as the ruler of all the earth--not just his kingdom, but all the kingdoms of the world. "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride, He is able to humble." (Daniel 4:37)
Praise Him ALL CREATURES here below. You can't get too high and mighty that the Lord cannot humble you. And you cannot be so humble that the Lord Himself cannot exalt you. "My God, what have you done," can be a phrase of disbelief to those who are humbled before Him. We are all blessed by Him. The foolish will blame Him when they have squandered the blessing. The wise will praise Him for what He has done for them.
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Day 11
"I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end. He rescues and He saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." (Daniel 6:26-27)Have you ever thought to yourself, "Whew! That was close"? If a written record was kept of how many times a crisis was diverted by the hand of God, the Library of Congress could not contain all the volumes that would be needed.
We have cited several instances involving Daniel and the various kings who ruled over the land while he and his people were in exile in Babylon. There must have been something about Daniel that made people in power praise the Lord. This same quality made others in the kingdom jealous of Daniel; they wanted him out of the way. They could find no fault in him, so they manufactured one.
Knowing that Daniel was faithful in prayer to his God three times a day, the king's advisers proposed a law intended to flatter King Darius. For the next 30 days, the law said, no one in the kingdom should give praise to or ask anything from anyone but the king. Young men who wanted to marry their sweethearts would have to ask the king if it was okay. Men who wanted to do business together would need to get the contract approved by the king. Women who wanted to borrow a cup of flour would need to ask the king if he would entreat her neighbor for her. With much honor comes much responsibility.
Perhaps this is why Darius signed the law without thinking about what it would mean for his most trusted advisor, Daniel. Darius knew that Daniel was faithful to his God. But Darius, thinking of the honor that this law meant for him, plus all the extra responsibility, fell into a trap. He was forced, by the rule of law, to throw Daniel into a zoo where lions were kept. Surely they would tear him limb from limb, and consume him. When Darius saw this consequence of the law, he tried to find a loophole. He fasted. He apologized to Daniel as the punishment was meted out. Then he was the first one on site at the zoo when the dawn broke. Finding Daniel unharmed, Darius praised the most high God, the God who had saved Daniel's life.
If we are faithful, God is able to deliver us from a time of crisis. He can make us safe, even among wild beasts intent on making a meal of us. It requires some risk on our part. We need to be willing to stand up for Him. We may even find ourselves in front of the firing squad. We cannot avoid the situation completely, but we can trust Him for the outcome. As we saw with the men in the fiery furnace, God is able to save us; but if He does not, we must still stand strong.
PRAISE HIM above ye heaveny host. When we are most vulnerable, that is the moment when His hand is most evident.
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Day 12
"They they cried to the Lord, 'O Lord, please do not let us die for taking this man's life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O Lord, have done as you pleased.' Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the the Lord and made vows to Him." (Jonah 1:14-16)Have you ever tried to evangelize a society steeped in their own religion? My hat is off to those who are called to missions. As I understand it, they must try to get the people's attention, earn their trust, point them to Christ, and leave the results to God. Many missionaries have returned home despondent because they felt that they had failed--their churches were not filled, there were not hundreds of souls saved, their expectations of success in the field were not met. Many more missionaries have lost their lives on the mission field, making us wonder what God could have done through them if they had lived longer.
Jonah was a prophet. He had heard directly from God. He was disobedient, which is why we find him on an east-bound ship. He apparently got the attention of the sailers and other passengers aboard, because they had heard him say that he was running away from the Lord (see Jonah 1:10). In what was probably the only written account of negative evangelism, Jonah had admitted that he was disobeying God.
When the storm came up and nearly capsized the vessel, it made the people start praying to their gods. Jonah was asleep. The men came to him and begged him to pray to his God, too. Jonah confessed that the God he was disobedient to was the Master of Heaven, Creator of the sea and the dry land. This bothered the men--Jonah had made God mad. They asked what could be done to appease God, so that the storm would be calmed. Perhaps they expected a prayer of repentance, or maybe an animal sacrifice. When Jonah said they should throw him into the sea, suddenly they were all afraid of making God even more angry--after all, Jonah was His prophet, and he would certainly be killed if they threw him into the sea. Some of them may have been familiar enough with Hebrew worship to know that their God did not condone human sacrifice.
So they repented, despite Jonah's negative example. They prayed that God would forgive them for what they were about to do. When they heard Jonah splash into the water, they discovered that the storm was immediately calmed. Relieved, they offered sacrifices to God, and some made vows to Him. Revival broke out on that ship.
Now, I don't recommend using this technique to win souls for the Savior. It is not often that people are won over by a negative example. They didn't want to judge: they were proclaiming Jonah's innocence even as they were tossing him into the waves. Yet it was God's judgment of Jonah, and His sparing the rest, that convinced the people of His power. They knew firsthand that God was Lord of the wind and the waves, that He would not abide sin, and that in order for them to be saved one would need to be sacrificed. This is the very same message we proclaim today: Jesus is Lord of all, but we cannot enjoy fellowship with Him (in this life or the next) if we abide in sin, and that to be saved we needed Someone to die in our place. Praise God that Jesus was willing to be the sacrifice for us, to take our sin upon Himself and suffer in our place.
Praise Him ABOVE ye heavenly host. Even when we do not follow His call, we can still be used by Him. Sometimes people are won over despite our negative example.
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Day 13
"By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish." Jonah 3:7-9Have you ever been in a group of people who were grieving? Funerals tend to bring folks together, many times into a church or church-like setting. I remember the national mood almost 15 years ago, on 9/11; people were somber, grieving, mourning the losses.
In early American history, a preacher by the name of Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon in 1741 called "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God." Not only did it make the congregation weep in his church that Sunday, but it kicked off what is known as the First Great Awakening, a revival that swept through the United States and Europe.
In our text, the Prophet Jonah preached a negative sermon: "Yet 40 days, and Nineveh will be destroyed." The people of Ninevah, from the highest to the lowest, responded humbly. They fasted. They prayed. They put on sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Their response to God's message literally saved their nation.
There is no greater way to give praise to the Almighty God than for a nation to humble themselves, and pray, and seek God's face, and turn from their wicked ways. See 2 Chronicles 7:14. God always moves when people repent. Over the last four or five years there have been spiritual revivals in places as diverse as Korea, India, and Northern Africa. Sadly, in America our society has grown cold to the Gospel; a great Spiritual Awakening may not happen here.
Thankfully, God deals with people one on one. Each Sunday in churches from Winterville, Maine to San Diego California, from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Key West, Florida, people are coming to Jesus one at a time. Some come rejoicing, and with them we rejoice. Others come weeping, and we welcome them with open arms. We all have one thing in common: each one of us came to the realization that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot achieve holiness alone. We cannot reach God without help.
"But thanks be to God for his indescribable gift." (2 Corinthians 9:15). Jesus is our help. He is willing and able to come to our aid, to "lift our feet out of the miry clay" and make us "seated together in the heavenly places." If we but humble ourselves, either collectively or individually, God will change our hearts and our minds. He will make us new.
Praise FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST. He can make all things new. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). Note the first step is to humbly confess our sin. We cannot demand, declare, or decree our way into heaven. Only God can do that; and He will, if we humbly come to him with all our heart.
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Day 14
"Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him"....On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him." (Mattnew 2:2,11)Have you ever discussed your faith with someone from a totally different religion? I'm not talking about a different Christian denomination. I mean someone who believes in a totally different god. If you want them to listen to you, then you really have to be respectful of their belief, while pointing them to the truth.
Our text for today describes people from a different geographical region and a different religion seeking out Jesus, so they could worship Him themselves. The description given by Matthew is pretty vague, but we can look to the clues and theorize that the Magi, or "Wise Men" as we call them, might have been Zoroastrians from ancient Persia, a region in modern day Iran. Zoroastrians, I am told, relied on astrology as a science. When we see that they followed a star all the way to Bethlehem, we can see the connections: Persia is east of Israel, and the men clearly studied astrology.
A quick study of Zoroastrianism shows that the start of this monotheistic religion was about 650 to 600 years before Christ. Their name of their deity is loosely translated as Wisdom. We know that about 100 years later, Daniel was exiled to the Persian capital and served the first Persian ruler over Babylon. Could it be that the wise men mentioned in Matthew chapter 2 had studied the Messianic prophecies in Daniel chapter 9? Daniel wrote, "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince will be seven weeks and 62 weeks." (Daniel 9:25). I believe these men were seeking out the Prince of Jerusalem, who would grow to be King of the Jews, as the personification of Wisdom, their God. It was the Son of God whom John the Apostle referred to as "the Word" in John chapter 1.
Listen, friends: you never know the true impact of your witness for Christ. The Sunday School teacher who led Billy Sunday to Christ did not know that he would become an evangelist. Billy Sunday did not know that one of the people brought to Christ during his ministry would be Billy Graham. We still do not know the full impact of those whom Billy Graham led to the Lord during his crusades. One thing we do know: if we are faithful like Daniel, then generations after we are gone the spiritual descendents of ones to whom we witnessed could be among the first to kneel at the feet of Jesus when He comes to rule on the earth for a thousand years. (See Revelation 21).
One day every knee shall bow and every tongue confess the Lord Jesus (Philippians 2:10). The Wise Men are often referred to as 3 Kings (tradition holds there were three, because they brought 3 gifts; Syriac Christians teach that there were as many as twelve). They bowed before Jesus. Psalm 72:11 says that all kings will bow down to Him. Isaiah 45:23 says, "The Word has gone forth from my mouth in righteousness, and will not turn back, that to me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegience."
Even now, Lord Jesus, come! Until then, we will praise you with every breath; we will worship you with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength; and we will tell the world of your promise of redenption.
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Day 15
"Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." (Matthew 8:8-9).Have you ever understood God better by comparing Him to the work that you do? Humans have always tried to understand God better by ascribing to Him human qualities. It is called anthropomorphism, combining the Greek word for "man" (anthropos) with the Greek word for "shape" (morph). An example is our speaking of the mighty hand of God--we think in human terms, and the way that work gets done in our world is by our hands. Yet God, being spirit (not flesh) does not have hands per se--He was able perform His creative works just by speaking the world into existence.
In our text, a Roman army officer with a hundred men under his command came to Jesus for help. This act of humility was striking, because Israel at the time was under Roman military occupation. The Romans lorded over the Jews, and the Jews were subject to Roman laws. Nevertheless, this Roman asked for help from Jesus, Himself a Jew. Jesus agreed to his request, and started out toward the centurion's home to heal his servant. However, in a further show of humility, the Centurion said, "I'm not worthy for you to even enter my home." He entreated the Master to merely make the command, to say the word, and his servant would be healed.
His explanation was simple: Jesus commanded the physical and spiritual realm much like the Centurion commanded his troops and his household. When he barked out orders, people jumped. Therefore, all Jesus had to do was to order the sickness to leave, and it would be so--He didn't even have to be present for the order to be carried out. This Roman officer understood that Jesus was the Word made flesh (John 1:14). The Word that was able to create the universe and everything in it was also able to heal a poor, sick servant.
True praise is elevating God to a level higher than ourselves. We can do a little within our own sphere of influence and authority, but we know that God can do so much more. When we think of the promise of what can be done through us in the name of Jesus, we am all the more humbled. When we speak the Name of Him who spoke the world into existence, we can unleash supernatural power. Praise God who works in us and through us, "for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13).
To God be the glory, great things HE has done.
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Day 16
Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit,and she begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter. Since she was a Gentile, born in Syrian Phoenicia,Jesus told her, “First I should feed the children—my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.”“Good answer!” he said. “Now go home, for the demon has left your daughter.” (Mark 7:25-29).
Have you ever let your race or your family heritage defeat you? I heard a story about a wealthy man, prominent in his community, who commissioned a geneology to be published, so that the community could see his family's importance. The historian uncovered a person in his direct ancestry who had been thrown into prison for a felony. He had been sentenced to hard labor. The rich man directed the biographer to refer to this felon as "a person in the service of the government" when the family history was published.
In our text, Jesus was tired and in need of a vacation. He went to the Mediterranean coastal region of the port cities Tyre and Sidon. These were areas that in the Old Testament Johua had apportioned to the tribe of Asher. Unfortunately, they did not completely destroy the Canaanites who lived there. So now a woman of Canaanite ancestry sought Jesus out, because her daughter was in need. She ignored several social constructs of the day--she, being a woman, approached Jesus, a man. Also, since Jesus was known as a Jewish Rabbi, He might not have had anything to do with her, a Gentile. She might have thought to herself, "Why would the Teacher even speak to a dog like me?" I have heard sermons that the Syro-Phoenecians were magicians and sorcerers, or that they had a reputation much like the Gypsies of 19th and 20th century Europe and America. I don't know about that. I do know that Jesus engaged in conversation with her.
Many will look at this passage and accuse Jesus of racism. True, He was sent to the Jew first, but also to the Greeks. We know from His encounter with the Woman at the Well that he was not sexist. His reference to her as a "dog" is not well understood, although I am told that the form of the word He used is diminutive, literally "little dog," or "pup." Maybe the woman was young, having had the baby at 13 or 14. Maybe she had bought into the Jewish stereotype of all non-Jews being compared to unclean animals. Whatever was going on in the back-story, we see her persistence, her faith that Jesus and only Jesus could help her.
Jesus rewards those who shed their negative stereotypes and pursue Him relentlessly. Whatever baggage you bring with you, whether it is your history, your heritage, or your humiliations, He will set you free. There is a song called "One Pure And Holy Passion" that starts with, "Give me one pure and holy passion, one magnificent obsession, one gorious ambition for my life: To know and follow hard after you." Praise God, He is able to deliver us from our past if we persist in our pursuit of Him alone.
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Day 17
When the northern kingdom fell to Assyria, some of the Israelites were victims of forced migration, removed to other places where the Assyrian empire had also conquered. The people from those other conquered countries were moved by force into northern Israel. The Israelites who were left inter-married with the foreigners among them, while the people of Judah (called Jews) kept their blood-line pure. Later, when Judah was carried off into exile, the Jews stayed together and pretty much kept true to the Laws of God and the writings of the prophets. When the Jews were allowed to go back and rebuild Jerusalem, the people in Samaria (half-bred Israelites who followed other gods) tried to stop them. So the Jewish hatred of Samaritan people had been going on for centuries by the time Jesus came.
The problem with fundamentalists is that they have a hard time with grace. In our text above, Jesus healed ten lepers. Then, in accordance with Jewish tradition and treaching, he told them to go to the Temple, show themselves to the Priests, and be officially declared "clean". The nine Jewish people, steeped in the Law of Moses, went to do exactly that--they would not officially be "clean" until they were deemed to be clean by the priests. The Samaritan, who was not so tied to the Law, noticed something remarkable. He was made whole, not because the priests ordained it, but because Jesus has spoken it. While the others held fast to the Law, the one came back and showed his gratitude. He alone knew that it was Jesus who had healed him; he alone knew that following the strict letter of the Law was just a formality--he had, in fact, already been made clean. No longer would he have to be ostracized from society, no longer would he need to warn oncoming traffic that he should be shunned or that they should turn away due to his condition. He recognized that he had been saved by grace alone, as a result solely of his faith in Jesus--remember that the ten lepers had sought Jesus out, and begged Him to heal them; they all had faith, the others also had adherence to the Law. This is why Jesus specifically told the man, "Rise and go, your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:19).
Paul said, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8-9). Praise God for grace--not just to be healed from leprosy, but to be saved from sin, death and hell. Most people look at the sick and the lame, shake their heads, and say, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." A few people actually bring God's grace to the less fortunate, and expect no thanks for themselves--they give all glory to God. The law is good; grace is so much better.
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Day 18
In our text, the woman in Samaria that Jesus approached had a wild past. She was alone at the well, during the heat of the day, because she was tired of all the other men snickering and all the women gossiping about her when she would draw her water in the cool of the day like everyone else. Jesus started talking about water, and said He was the Living Water. He spoke to her of relationships, and how she'd had five failed marriages, and at present she was living with someone. They talked together about worship practices, and she asked if He was the Messiah. When He said yes, she believed.
Her expectation was that when Messiah came, "He will tell us all things." Jesus not only met that expectation, He had exceeded it. She was so excited, that she ran into the town to tell all the others. Her message was this: "Come and meet a man who told me all I ever did." Not much of a message, I think, but it had great meaning for her. I can just imagine the conversation she had with the first woman she met in town:
"Naomi, you must come to the well. A man is there who told me everything I've ever done."
Shaking her head and snorting, the woman may have replied, "I've told you everything you've done. We all know what you've done--you're a home-wrecker. What's so special about this man at the well?"
Her excitement unabated, the first woman may have reached out and grabbed her by the hand. "Come, and see!"
Because of her excitement and persistence, the whole town came out to meet Jesus. "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'...And they said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this Man really is the Savior of the world'." (John 4:39, 42).
Praise God, it doesn't matter what your testimony is--just share it. God can use it for His glory. Don't be shy; don't be ashamed. Be like the Woman at the Well, and be genuine. Her past didn't matter to Jesus, but it was a reason for others to come to Him and believe. Your story, no matter how simple or foolish it may sound, might be just what the world needs to hear.
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Day 19
In our text, devout men from all over the Mediterranean region were there to celebrate the harvest, fifty days after Passover. The Jews called this holiday Pentecost (literally "fiftieth"). God chose this moment to send His Holy Spirit to spread the message of Christ outside the borders of Israel. You will remember that the ministry of Jesus was limited geographically to the land that God had promised Moses--what today would be Israel and the trans-Jordan. His words would soon be spread to the entire world. This was done to fulfill the Scripture, "Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples." (1 Chronicles 16:24).
Later, God would prompt men like Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and Peter to go and preach to the Gentile nations. But for now, the groundwork would be laid by having natives of these different countries together in one place, hearing the Disciples speak of the wonders of God in their own languages. Can you imagine the stories they took home with them!
Perhaps God is calling you to be a missionary. You do not necessarily have to go to Africa or South America, although those areas need to hear about Jesus. You have the same Spirit within you that came upon the Disciples in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. You only need to declare the wonders of God in your own language, to your friends and neighbors.
If you have kept up with all the posts labelled "30 DAYS OF PRAISE", you may have noticed that the people we have read about were not priests or prophets; they were not even Jews. There are many scriptures of praise from God's chosen people, the Jews. What we have studied have been outsiders, non-Jews who heard the message of God and responded. Now, going forward to the end of the month, we will see how those who praised God by carrying the message of Christ to the world were themselves outsiders, missionaries as it were, preaching to all nations and languages the wonders of God.
If you have good news, you will naturally want to share it with everyone who will listen. This is how you fulfill the Great Commission: "Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:16-20).
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Day 20
In our text, the Disciples had been told by Jesus to wait in Jerusalem just before He ascended into heaven. "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49). Peter, having just received the Holy Spirit followed by speaking in other languages, saw all the other folks who had gathered. They were confused--they had not heard Jesus tell them to wait for the promise of the Father, the Comforter, whom Jesus had said would allow them to do greater things than even He had done. Instead, they wondered whether the Disciples were drinking too much. So Peter stood up and explained what was going on.
"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will dream dreams." (Acts 2:17). The devout Jews in the crowd might have recognized the reference to Isaiah 44:3, With this background, Peter started telling them about Jesus. He was sent by God, performed miracles that only God could have done, and was put to death by the Jews. "But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him." (Acts 2:24). With that, Peter began quoting Psalm 16, which you read at the beginning of this essay.
When David wrote Psalm 16, the prevailing thought of the day was that when people died, they were left in the grave. In an inspired moment, David believed that God would raise people from the dead. He was secure in the thought that men who lived holy lives would be resurrected, and that they would spend eternity with God. How many people had read that during the thousand year period between the time of David and the time of Jesus, without realizing that it was prophetic in nature.
Peter got it. He understood the "God moment" that David was having in his quiet time. Peter used that Psalm to show that the death and resurrection of Jesus had been foretold in Scripture, and that now these who had gathered together in the upper room were experiencing the joy of the promise fulfilled. Jesus had given up His Spirit in death (He "gave up the ghost", as they say), but God re-animated His body before it could see decay. Now God was sending His Spirit--the same Spirit that had filled His Son--to endwell all believers. The occasion was marked with signs and wonders. Those who were there were caught up in this wonderful worship experience, so wonderful that it birthed the Church.
Chances are, when you go to church on Sunday, you will not have the same mind that those people had, but you have the same Spirit. You may not have the same experience and history, but you belong to the same Body. Praise God, "for in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body--Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free--and we were all given one Spirit to drink." (1 Corinthians 12:13). No, the men were not drunk with wine, but they were not exactly in control of themselves. You had to be there.
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Day 21
In our text, the disciple Philip felt led by the spirit to walk down a road south of Jerusalem. As he was walking, he saw a chariot ahead of him. It wasn't moving very fast, so Philip picked up his pace and caught up to it. Inside the chariot, a man from Ethiopia (an important man--secretary of the treasury in service of Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia) was reading a scroll, and scratching his head. Philip approached the chariot, and listened to him read aloud. Philip recognized the passage in Isaiah, but could tell from the tone of the man's voice that he wasn't really comprehending what he was reading. Philip offered to explain it to the man, and was invited into the chariot with him.
The passage that he was reading was Isaiah 53:7-8: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb befoe 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." The man asked Philip, "Who was the prophet talking about?" Philip had the opportunity to show how the Old Testament passage foretold the life and death of Jesus. He explained that Jesus, the Messiah, had come to earth to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, be arrested and tried, and put to death on a cross, but then come back to life and ascend into heaven. Those who believe in Him mark their belief (and their obedience) by the act of baptism, which depicts the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The man asked if he could be baptized. Philip said he could, if he believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Would you be comfortable if God asked you to share with someone like this? Do you have the Bible knowledge to take a difficult passage of Scripture, and show how it leads to Jesus? Another Disciple, Peter, wrote this: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15). When the Ethiopian man had been baptized, he did not have time to thank Philip for showing him who Jesus was--God wanted Philip in another place right away. So the man was left alone in his chariot, with his driver, praising God and rejoicing for His marvelous gift.
Jesus said in Luke 15:7 that angels rejoice over each and every sinner that repents. We lift our thanks to God when a member of our family is saved. How much more do you and I share in that joy if we are the one God uses to lead that person to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. Let us give the angels reason to rejoice, and join them in praises given to the Father as we are led by the Spirit to freely tell all people about the Son.
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Day 22
Peter stood before the Jewish council to make a defense. He pulled no punches. "It is by the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead that this man stands before you healed. He (Jesus) is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone'." (Acts 4:10-11). The Old Testament reference was Psalm 118:22. The Jews could not refute it. So they threatened both Peter and John not to preach in the name of Jesus any more, and they let them go.
"Upon their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. In defiance of the orders that had been given, they prayed that God would "Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." (Acts 4:30) Once they made this commitment, the Bible says the ground started shaking, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. After that, they all spoke the word of God boldly.
God give us the boldness to speak in Your Name, even if it costs us our freedom. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit to enable signs and wonders, so that we can speak your word boldly, just like these new believers in Jerusalem had done.
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Day 23
No sooner had they wrapped their minds around this paradigm shift than they hear of Peter. He is preaching to the uncircumcised Gentiles. Not only that, but he is staying at the house of Simon the Tanner. Tanning animal skins was a profession that no self-respecting Jew wanted. It meant that you had to touch the carcasses of dead animals, something that was strictly prohibited in the Law. Practicing Jews wanted to stay away from people who had touched unclean or dead animals, because touching an unclean person made them unclean, as well.
Peter stated his case: he told of a vision he said was sent by God, warning him not to call any person unclean. Then he recounted the Gentile response to his first sermon outside a Jewish synagogue. Those people believed and received the Holy Spirit just as the Jewish believers had done at Pentecost. With that evidence, the Jewish believers welcomed their Gentile brethren, and did not demand that they become circumcised or follow the Jewish law. I am so glad that we don't have to become Hasidic Jews before we can become Christians.
Realizing that Jesus had come to save all people, the Jewish Council broke out in praise to God for His unending mercy and grace. We, too, can praise God that a person doesn't have to be a Baptist to be saved, or a Pentecostal, or a Catholic. All can come to repentance.
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Day 24
One of the greatest ways to show God how much we love Him is to share the message of the gospel. The word "gospel" actually means "good news." Yet how many of us look at the Word of God with no more joy than we have if reading the morning headlines. I have been in dry periods of my own walk in which the Word of God was no more than a historical text. I would get more excited reading about the American Civil War than I would get reading about God becoming man and dwelling among us, offering His very life in exchange for the punishment of our sins, and being raised on the third day to give us a hope of a resurrection in Him.
Sometimes we get to the point in our Christian walk where the Gospel is no longer "new". When it is no longer new and fresh, we tend to forget that it is good. Sometimes it takes watching a new believer, who is extremely excited in his newfound faith, to shake us out of our doldrums. In our text for today, Paul was preaching to Jews and Gentiles who had gathered in a city called Antioch, in a region called Pisidia. A few chapters before, in Acts 11, we are told that believers were first called Christians in Antioch, another city by the same name. (If you are confused, think Springfield, the hometown of a fictional character--it could be in Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Oregon, or many other states.) Anyway, the believers in Antioch were so changed in their habits and holiness that unbelievers mocked them, calling them "little Christs".
In the other Antioch, in Pisidia, there was persecution. Jewish zealots had followed Paul and Barnabas from town to town, trying to get the Jews in those cities all worked up because they believed Paul to be preaching heresy. So becoming a believer, and taking on the name and mind of Christ, cost them something. We don't think of that as "good", do we? But their hearts were changed as a result of Paul's preaching and of God's divine election. Read verse 48--"All who were appointed for eternal life believed." If you are a Christian today, it is only by God's grace; He chose you before the creation of the world to know Him and to follow Him joyfully.
Think about your own conversion experience. Thank God for His mercy in saving you from hell. Then thank Him for sending someone to tell you about Christ. Finally, thank Him for always having you on His heart, even before the foundation of the world was laid.
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Day 25
The message they brought was that Christ was the exact replica, or impression, of God Himself. He was not just a man who bore "the exact representation" of God, but One who also exhibited "the radiance of God's glory." Jesus Himself "sustains all things by His powerful word." According to John 1, Jesus is the very Word of God, through whom all creation was spoken into existence. This manifestation of God, this Word, came to dwell among us. He came to show us the glory of God in person.
Let God impress His truth upon your heart. Guard your heart, yes; but do not be so hard-hearted that God cannot leave an imprint of Jesus there. The more we are influenced by Jesus, the more sharply defined His image is in our lives. When we walk like Him and talk like Him, then we draw unbelievers to Him, to the glory of God the Father.
We are often called His children. A child will mimic his natural father in his formative years, and later in life will find himself using figures of speech and thought patterns original to his father. Let us become the "spittin' image" of God the Father, through our contact with and our impression of His Son, Jesus Christ.
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Day 26
If Jesus is Lord of your life, then He is your hope of salvation, in this world and the next. God promises to restore a natural order in Heaven that was originally present on Earth. At the end of creaton, God said, "Let us make man in Our image, in Our likenss, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."...God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creautre that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:26, 28).
Right now, we are below the angels in God's hierarchy of creation, but one day we will judge them (1 Corinthians 6:3). We will take our rightful place under God but ruling over all things. Many think that Heaven will be fellowshipping with those who have gone before, and maybe that will be for about 15 minutes. The greatest amount of time, I believe, will be on our faces before the Majesty of God. Then God will give us jobs to do, tasks for which He made us and specially equipped us. Our employment will be doing all that He asks without question, without wavering. Just hang on till we get there.
Remember what Jesus said? "In this world you will have trouble, but fear not: I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). Never mind the worries of this world. Take no thought to the persecution and even death that may come for being a follower of Christ. Hebrews 2:9-10 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering." Jesus suffered a lot; if we suffer a little, we identify with Him all the more.
Remember Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Need I say more?
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Day 27
From time to time I fantasize about what I would do if I won the lottery. I tell myself that I could do so many things for God with all that money--I'd feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless. But deep in my heart I know I'd pay off all my bills and hoard the rest, so that I'd never go into debt again. A lot of people in this country, mostly young people, complain about "income equality." I confess I don't see the problem with what someone else has--if God blesses them, and they earn 10, 100, or 1000 times what I do, how does being mad at them pay my bills? I think those people who complain about "the one per cent" are really jealous that it's not them who are rich. They're like me when I think about winning the lottery--on the surface it's about income equality, but deep down it's wishing you had more to spend on yourself (as if making Bill Gates or Warren Buffett dirt poor would help me pay my bills--NOT!). They don't realize that if you have a car, a cell phone, and more that two changes of clothes and shoes, then you are richer than 99% of the people in developing countries, people who work for a dollar a week.
In our text from Hebrews, the writer reminds us that Jesus is all we will ever need. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. King David said, "I was young and now I am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread." (Psalm 37:25). He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), so He can take care of you. Sure, you may lose your job, but God will provide if we put our trust in Him. Our car may be repossessed; we may be evicted from our homes; our credit cards may be maxed out and worthless to buy more stuff--but that's all it is: stuff. My hope is not in the things that money can buy. My hope is in the One who paid it all for my salvation.
"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15). He who knew no sin took our sins upon Himself, and died so that we can enjoy eternal life instead of the eternal death and hell we deserve. Words can't begin to describe that kind of love. Our physical needs--food, clothing, shelter--are nothing in comparison. In His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus said we shouldn't worry about what we will eat or what we will put on, for life is more than food and clothes. Just as He meets the needs of the birds and flowers, He can meet your needs as well.
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Day 28
If you've ever worked construction, you know how heavy the stones can be. It is important for the stones to have a solid foundation. An ornamental wall will have a prominent part of the foundation that may have a date or someone's name etched into the stone. This cornerstone will show who built the wall, or it might show for whom it was built or to whom it is dedicated.
In our text, Peter quotes from Isaiah 28:16, clearly drawing a line from the prophet to the Messiah. JESUS is the foundation of our faith. JESUS is the one to whom the Church is dedicated. As Peter had written in the verses just before, we, "like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:3). Jesus is the one who supports us in our spiritual endeavor to please God and dwell in His presence. Without a foundation, without a cornerstone, the building would fall. In the same way, without Jesus, who descended from heaven to dwell among us, our attempts to ascend to heaven would be futile.
Another important feature of a stone wall is the capstone. When my son was a young and inexperienced driver, he came to me and admitted hitting a brick mailbox with his truck. He and I went to the scene of the accident, and thankfully the structure was still standing. He had moved the capstone off center, so he and I carefully lifted it back into place. Without the capstone, the dark space between the bricks was exposed. It was full of insects and spiders. Without the capstone, the structure could have filled with rainwater or debris from the road. When we replaced the capstone, it was complete, flawless and functional, beautiful to behold.
Peter quoted Psalm 118:22, where David clearly foretold the Savior being rejected by men and crucified. We know He was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, promising to prepare a place for those who believe in Him. So not only is Jesus the cornerstone of the foundation, He is also the capstone, the finisher of our faith. In Revelation 22:13, Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." What better way to praise Him than to acknowledge His hand from the beginning through the end. In architectural or construction terms, He is the Cornerstone and the Capstone, the Bottom and the Top.
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Day 29
John's writings focused on a popular heresy of his day called Gnosticism. Basically, the Gnostics divided each person into two entities, the physical and the spiritual. If one believed that he dwelt in the spiritual realm, then he was free of sin, because sin was only possible in the physical realm. If you denounced all things physical (such as material wealth, and many times food and water), then you could enter into an elevated or divine realm in which you could identify with God. While Gnostic asceticism caused many in the 1st century to respect them as holy or spiritual people, John's message was that they were dead wrong in their belief.
John specifically rebukes this heresy in 1 John 1:8, saying "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." How do we then get to the place described in verse 7, of walking in the light just as God is in the light? He explains it perfectly in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Many Gnostics committed sin in their physical realm, but denied the all connection to the physical in their pursuit of the spiritual. Paul wrote, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). Praise God, we do not have to be perfect to reach Him. We do not have to rely on some mystical mumbo-jumbo to aspire to a higher spiritual sensitivity, some day reaching Nirvana (a Buddhist term, which is only slightly different from gnostic belief.)
Many people today admire diverse religious leaders, such as the Dalai Lama, the Ayatollah Khamenei, and the Pope. They don't necessarily subscribe to any of the religious beliefs represented by these so-called holy men; subsequently they mistakenly believe that whatever their faith, they can aspire to heaven, or at least avoid hell, because they are devout in whatever belief system they may espouse that day. God has given us His Son as the only avenue to Himself. All these other religions, no matter how sincere their believers, will lead them nowhere.
Praise God that He has given us a way of Salvation. Thanks to Jesus, who came as God in a man to die for our sins, who was raised from the dead and lives forever at the right hand of God. Praise God that even when we sin (we know that all sin separates us from a holy God), we can confess our sins and be forgiven. We can't just pretend that we don't sin, or that our sinful acts are separated from "the real me" because of some claim to a spiritual dimension. If we are ridiculed by the world for thinking this way, bring it on.
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Day 30
Did you know that by law, an adopted child cannot be disinherited? He cannot be disowned, disavowed, or disenfranchised from the forever family. By a judge's Court Order, the adoptee has all of the rights and privileges of a full-fledged son or daughter of the new father and mother. There is nothing that can change it. Many parents explain to their adopted children (when they are old enough to understand) that he or she (the child) was no accident, but that they were chosen to be in their new forever family.
In the same way, God chose us. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons throught Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." We cannot be snatched out of the Father's hand. We cannot be cut off from His love.
Many times we will get off track, thinking about our past, or brooding over some sin we have committed. We think ourselves unworthy of the Name, and we fear we may be thrown away because of our past. We place ourselves in the Cinderella mold, thinking that God loves Jesus, sure, but He can't possibly love me in the same way. We get caught up in a works theology, thinking we must earn our place in His forever family. Brother, Sister, this must not be!
Listen to what God says about that: "For all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." (Romans 8:15). In the Hebrew language, "Abba" is one of the first words a baby learns to say. In English we might hear our children say, "Da-Da", which as the child grows, becomes "Daddy."
If we can learn to think of God as our Heavenly Dad, we can grow in intimacy with Him. We can trust Him to never leave us or forsake us. We can trust Him when He says He is preparing our forever home with Him.
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Day 31
John 16:33 says, "These things have I spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Nothing in the cosmos has any authority over the Spirit of God that lives in you. As long as you stay under the authority of Christ our Lord, then He will fight our battles--we need only to be still (Exodus 14:14). Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, "Take My yoke upon you, for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Why do you think His yoke would be easy? Because when you are yoked together with Christ, He does all the work; you only need follow Him.
In 1970, singer/songwriter Carole King wrote, "When this old world starts getting me down And people are just too much for me to face I climb way up to the top of the stairs And all my cares just drift right into space." Her description of getting above the hubub of life "Up On the Roof" is incomplete unless you spend that time in prayer. When we commune together with the Father in the Name of the Son, His Spirit gives us peace. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, we have this assurance from God Himself: He's got this.
The last verse of Carole King's song Up On The Roof starts like this: "So if this world starts getting you down, There's room enough for two up on the roof." If we can go to our own "upper room" (like the one the Disciples had gathered into and prayed in Acts chapter 2), we know that there is room for God to come and comfort us, to console us, to strengthen us, and to send us out with a renewed purpose. There is no confidence like God-confidence.
You don't have to wear a red cape, be faster than a speeding locomotive, or leap tall buildings in a single bound. You can overcome in the Name of Jesus because He wore a scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28) when He was arrested and tried and crucified on your behalf. You can have the assurance that God is already there when the train pulls into the station. You can call on His Name and He hears you from the heavens. We can sing with the Psalm-writer, "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26).
Day 17
"One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him--and he was a Samaritan." (Luke 17:15-16)Have you ever been called a fundamentalist? That term usually has negative connotations, because although they hold to the fundamentals of their faith, they are usually hyper-judgmental of others. Such was the case with the Jews in Jesus' day. They held firm in their faith, and tolerated the Gentiles. They followed the law that said if a sojourner (i.e. "foreigner") lived among them, they were to show kindness to them. The Jews showed no kindness whatsoever to the Samaritans, however. The rift dated way back to Old Testament times, just after the reign of Solomon. You'll remember that Solomon married pagan women, and allowed them to bring their gods to Jerusalem with them. As a result, God allowed the nation of Israel to split into two, with different kings. The ten tribes of Israel set up their own capital at Shechem, and later moved the capital to the city of Samaria, located between the southern area of Judah, and Galilee in the north. Judah, the southern kingdom, kept Jerusalem as its capital.
When the northern kingdom fell to Assyria, some of the Israelites were victims of forced migration, removed to other places where the Assyrian empire had also conquered. The people from those other conquered countries were moved by force into northern Israel. The Israelites who were left inter-married with the foreigners among them, while the people of Judah (called Jews) kept their blood-line pure. Later, when Judah was carried off into exile, the Jews stayed together and pretty much kept true to the Laws of God and the writings of the prophets. When the Jews were allowed to go back and rebuild Jerusalem, the people in Samaria (half-bred Israelites who followed other gods) tried to stop them. So the Jewish hatred of Samaritan people had been going on for centuries by the time Jesus came.
The problem with fundamentalists is that they have a hard time with grace. In our text above, Jesus healed ten lepers. Then, in accordance with Jewish tradition and treaching, he told them to go to the Temple, show themselves to the Priests, and be officially declared "clean". The nine Jewish people, steeped in the Law of Moses, went to do exactly that--they would not officially be "clean" until they were deemed to be clean by the priests. The Samaritan, who was not so tied to the Law, noticed something remarkable. He was made whole, not because the priests ordained it, but because Jesus has spoken it. While the others held fast to the Law, the one came back and showed his gratitude. He alone knew that it was Jesus who had healed him; he alone knew that following the strict letter of the Law was just a formality--he had, in fact, already been made clean. No longer would he have to be ostracized from society, no longer would he need to warn oncoming traffic that he should be shunned or that they should turn away due to his condition. He recognized that he had been saved by grace alone, as a result solely of his faith in Jesus--remember that the ten lepers had sought Jesus out, and begged Him to heal them; they all had faith, the others also had adherence to the Law. This is why Jesus specifically told the man, "Rise and go, your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:19).
Paul said, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8-9). Praise God for grace--not just to be healed from leprosy, but to be saved from sin, death and hell. Most people look at the sick and the lame, shake their heads, and say, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." A few people actually bring God's grace to the less fortunate, and expect no thanks for themselves--they give all glory to God. The law is good; grace is so much better.
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Day 18
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"...Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me everything I ever did." (John 4:29, 29).Have you ever thought you couldn't share your faith because you couldn't find the words? Evangelical Christians borrow a lot of terms from the courtroom: Sharing your faith is called "Being a Witness" or "Witnessing". This only means you tell what you know. Witnessing is best done by giving your Testimony, another legal term. It only means that you tell what happened to you. I always envy those with an exciting testimony, like they had a wild past, full of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, then Jesus saved them from certain destruction. They always make becoming a Christian exciting, because they were saved from an exciting past. My testimony is boring; I was raised in a Christian home, and decided to give my life to Christ at age seven. I had not lived long enough to do anything dangerous, or exciting, or enticing. It's almost hard for me to believe that my salvation is as valid as someone who experienced more of a life of sin than I did.
In our text, the woman in Samaria that Jesus approached had a wild past. She was alone at the well, during the heat of the day, because she was tired of all the other men snickering and all the women gossiping about her when she would draw her water in the cool of the day like everyone else. Jesus started talking about water, and said He was the Living Water. He spoke to her of relationships, and how she'd had five failed marriages, and at present she was living with someone. They talked together about worship practices, and she asked if He was the Messiah. When He said yes, she believed.
Her expectation was that when Messiah came, "He will tell us all things." Jesus not only met that expectation, He had exceeded it. She was so excited, that she ran into the town to tell all the others. Her message was this: "Come and meet a man who told me all I ever did." Not much of a message, I think, but it had great meaning for her. I can just imagine the conversation she had with the first woman she met in town:
"Naomi, you must come to the well. A man is there who told me everything I've ever done."
Shaking her head and snorting, the woman may have replied, "I've told you everything you've done. We all know what you've done--you're a home-wrecker. What's so special about this man at the well?"
Her excitement unabated, the first woman may have reached out and grabbed her by the hand. "Come, and see!"
Because of her excitement and persistence, the whole town came out to meet Jesus. "Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in Him because of the woman's testimony, 'He told me everything I ever did.'...And they said to the woman, 'We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this Man really is the Savior of the world'." (John 4:39, 42).
Praise God, it doesn't matter what your testimony is--just share it. God can use it for His glory. Don't be shy; don't be ashamed. Be like the Woman at the Well, and be genuine. Her past didn't matter to Jesus, but it was a reason for others to come to Him and believe. Your story, no matter how simple or foolish it may sound, might be just what the world needs to hear.
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Day 19
When they heard this sound (as of a mighty rushing wind), a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" (Acts 2:6-11).Have you ever thought of being a missionary to a foreign land? Perhaps someone you know is in the mission field. Or maybe you have met a foreign missionary who spoke at your church. Some of them take years to learn the language and customs of the country before even setting foot on their soil. Once they get there, the message they are sent to preach is simple: they are to declare the wonders of God. As people respond to their message, the missionaries can then teach from the Scriptures, and introduce them to Jesus, God's only Son.
In our text, devout men from all over the Mediterranean region were there to celebrate the harvest, fifty days after Passover. The Jews called this holiday Pentecost (literally "fiftieth"). God chose this moment to send His Holy Spirit to spread the message of Christ outside the borders of Israel. You will remember that the ministry of Jesus was limited geographically to the land that God had promised Moses--what today would be Israel and the trans-Jordan. His words would soon be spread to the entire world. This was done to fulfill the Scripture, "Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples." (1 Chronicles 16:24).
Later, God would prompt men like Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and Peter to go and preach to the Gentile nations. But for now, the groundwork would be laid by having natives of these different countries together in one place, hearing the Disciples speak of the wonders of God in their own languages. Can you imagine the stories they took home with them!
Perhaps God is calling you to be a missionary. You do not necessarily have to go to Africa or South America, although those areas need to hear about Jesus. You have the same Spirit within you that came upon the Disciples in the Upper Room on the day of Pentecost. You only need to declare the wonders of God in your own language, to your friends and neighbors.
If you have kept up with all the posts labelled "30 DAYS OF PRAISE", you may have noticed that the people we have read about were not priests or prophets; they were not even Jews. There are many scriptures of praise from God's chosen people, the Jews. What we have studied have been outsiders, non-Jews who heard the message of God and responded. Now, going forward to the end of the month, we will see how those who praised God by carrying the message of Christ to the world were themselves outsiders, missionaries as it were, preaching to all nations and languages the wonders of God.
If you have good news, you will naturally want to share it with everyone who will listen. This is how you fulfill the Great Commission: "Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:16-20).
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Day 20
I saw the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fee me with joy in your presence. (Acts 2:25-28)Have you ever been blessed by a time of intense personal worship and closeness to God, and then tried to explain it to someone who was not there? Sure, they'll smile and nod, and say, "Mm-hmm. Praise God. That's so great for you." But you know in your heart that they don't have any idea of the depth and breadth of your communion with God at that particular mountain-top experience.
In our text, the Disciples had been told by Jesus to wait in Jerusalem just before He ascended into heaven. "I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:49). Peter, having just received the Holy Spirit followed by speaking in other languages, saw all the other folks who had gathered. They were confused--they had not heard Jesus tell them to wait for the promise of the Father, the Comforter, whom Jesus had said would allow them to do greater things than even He had done. Instead, they wondered whether the Disciples were drinking too much. So Peter stood up and explained what was going on.
"In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will dream dreams." (Acts 2:17). The devout Jews in the crowd might have recognized the reference to Isaiah 44:3, With this background, Peter started telling them about Jesus. He was sent by God, performed miracles that only God could have done, and was put to death by the Jews. "But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him." (Acts 2:24). With that, Peter began quoting Psalm 16, which you read at the beginning of this essay.
When David wrote Psalm 16, the prevailing thought of the day was that when people died, they were left in the grave. In an inspired moment, David believed that God would raise people from the dead. He was secure in the thought that men who lived holy lives would be resurrected, and that they would spend eternity with God. How many people had read that during the thousand year period between the time of David and the time of Jesus, without realizing that it was prophetic in nature.
Peter got it. He understood the "God moment" that David was having in his quiet time. Peter used that Psalm to show that the death and resurrection of Jesus had been foretold in Scripture, and that now these who had gathered together in the upper room were experiencing the joy of the promise fulfilled. Jesus had given up His Spirit in death (He "gave up the ghost", as they say), but God re-animated His body before it could see decay. Now God was sending His Spirit--the same Spirit that had filled His Son--to endwell all believers. The occasion was marked with signs and wonders. Those who were there were caught up in this wonderful worship experience, so wonderful that it birthed the Church.
Chances are, when you go to church on Sunday, you will not have the same mind that those people had, but you have the same Spirit. You may not have the same experience and history, but you belong to the same Body. Praise God, "for in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body--Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free--and we were all given one Spirit to drink." (1 Corinthians 12:13). No, the men were not drunk with wine, but they were not exactly in control of themselves. You had to be there.
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Day 21
And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they cam up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:38-39).What would you do if someone came up to you and asked what you thought a passage of scripture meant? It might depend on who it was, and where they were from. Obviously, if your Sunday School teacher was asking the question about a passage she just read, you might be more comfortable than if, say, your boss came and saw you reading your Bible in the lunchroom.
In our text, the disciple Philip felt led by the spirit to walk down a road south of Jerusalem. As he was walking, he saw a chariot ahead of him. It wasn't moving very fast, so Philip picked up his pace and caught up to it. Inside the chariot, a man from Ethiopia (an important man--secretary of the treasury in service of Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia) was reading a scroll, and scratching his head. Philip approached the chariot, and listened to him read aloud. Philip recognized the passage in Isaiah, but could tell from the tone of the man's voice that he wasn't really comprehending what he was reading. Philip offered to explain it to the man, and was invited into the chariot with him.
The passage that he was reading was Isaiah 53:7-8: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb befoe 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." The man asked Philip, "Who was the prophet talking about?" Philip had the opportunity to show how the Old Testament passage foretold the life and death of Jesus. He explained that Jesus, the Messiah, had come to earth to be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, be arrested and tried, and put to death on a cross, but then come back to life and ascend into heaven. Those who believe in Him mark their belief (and their obedience) by the act of baptism, which depicts the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The man asked if he could be baptized. Philip said he could, if he believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Would you be comfortable if God asked you to share with someone like this? Do you have the Bible knowledge to take a difficult passage of Scripture, and show how it leads to Jesus? Another Disciple, Peter, wrote this: "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15). When the Ethiopian man had been baptized, he did not have time to thank Philip for showing him who Jesus was--God wanted Philip in another place right away. So the man was left alone in his chariot, with his driver, praising God and rejoicing for His marvelous gift.
Jesus said in Luke 15:7 that angels rejoice over each and every sinner that repents. We lift our thanks to God when a member of our family is saved. How much more do you and I share in that joy if we are the one God uses to lead that person to a saving knowledge of Christ Jesus. Let us give the angels reason to rejoice, and join them in praises given to the Father as we are led by the Spirit to freely tell all people about the Son.
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Day 22
After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them,because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. (Acts 4:21-22)Have you ever faced persecution for your belief in Jesus? Peter and John were arrested outside the Temple, where they had gone to worship God, because they had healed a crippled beggar in the name of Jesus Christ. "Silver and gold I do not have," Peter told the beggar. "But what I do have I will give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise and walk." The Jews, who believed in one God, also believed that Jesus was not God. Yet they could not question what had happened--a man who had been lame for forty years was suddenly walking and leaping and praising God.
Peter stood before the Jewish council to make a defense. He pulled no punches. "It is by the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead that this man stands before you healed. He (Jesus) is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone'." (Acts 4:10-11). The Old Testament reference was Psalm 118:22. The Jews could not refute it. So they threatened both Peter and John not to preach in the name of Jesus any more, and they let them go.
"Upon their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. In defiance of the orders that had been given, they prayed that God would "Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." (Acts 4:30) Once they made this commitment, the Bible says the ground started shaking, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. After that, they all spoke the word of God boldly.
God give us the boldness to speak in Your Name, even if it costs us our freedom. Give us the power of your Holy Spirit to enable signs and wonders, so that we can speak your word boldly, just like these new believers in Jerusalem had done.
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Day 23
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18)Have you ever cornered someone, or called someone out, saying, "What were you thinking?" Peter found himself in this very spot, having been called before the Jewish Council of Believers. These folks had grown up Jewish, and they had the religious heritage of discriminating against those who "left the reservation." You recall the centuries-old feud between the Jews and the Samaritans. It had probably taken all they had to convert from Judaism to Christianity. Think about it: their religious upbringing was that God is One; they believed that God is Spirit; they believed that no one could see God and live. And here comes Jesus, saying "if you have seen me, you have seen the Father," and "I and the Father are One."
No sooner had they wrapped their minds around this paradigm shift than they hear of Peter. He is preaching to the uncircumcised Gentiles. Not only that, but he is staying at the house of Simon the Tanner. Tanning animal skins was a profession that no self-respecting Jew wanted. It meant that you had to touch the carcasses of dead animals, something that was strictly prohibited in the Law. Practicing Jews wanted to stay away from people who had touched unclean or dead animals, because touching an unclean person made them unclean, as well.
Peter stated his case: he told of a vision he said was sent by God, warning him not to call any person unclean. Then he recounted the Gentile response to his first sermon outside a Jewish synagogue. Those people believed and received the Holy Spirit just as the Jewish believers had done at Pentecost. With that evidence, the Jewish believers welcomed their Gentile brethren, and did not demand that they become circumcised or follow the Jewish law. I am so glad that we don't have to become Hasidic Jews before we can become Christians.
Realizing that Jesus had come to save all people, the Jewish Council broke out in praise to God for His unending mercy and grace. We, too, can praise God that a person doesn't have to be a Baptist to be saved, or a Pentecostal, or a Catholic. All can come to repentance.
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Day 24
"We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers, he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus."...When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13:32-33, 48).Have you ever felt moved by the Spirit to go outside your comfort zone and do something for Him? We talk a lot about praising God with our words. If His praise is continually with us, we will want to praise Him with our actions.
One of the greatest ways to show God how much we love Him is to share the message of the gospel. The word "gospel" actually means "good news." Yet how many of us look at the Word of God with no more joy than we have if reading the morning headlines. I have been in dry periods of my own walk in which the Word of God was no more than a historical text. I would get more excited reading about the American Civil War than I would get reading about God becoming man and dwelling among us, offering His very life in exchange for the punishment of our sins, and being raised on the third day to give us a hope of a resurrection in Him.
Sometimes we get to the point in our Christian walk where the Gospel is no longer "new". When it is no longer new and fresh, we tend to forget that it is good. Sometimes it takes watching a new believer, who is extremely excited in his newfound faith, to shake us out of our doldrums. In our text for today, Paul was preaching to Jews and Gentiles who had gathered in a city called Antioch, in a region called Pisidia. A few chapters before, in Acts 11, we are told that believers were first called Christians in Antioch, another city by the same name. (If you are confused, think Springfield, the hometown of a fictional character--it could be in Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, Oregon, or many other states.) Anyway, the believers in Antioch were so changed in their habits and holiness that unbelievers mocked them, calling them "little Christs".
In the other Antioch, in Pisidia, there was persecution. Jewish zealots had followed Paul and Barnabas from town to town, trying to get the Jews in those cities all worked up because they believed Paul to be preaching heresy. So becoming a believer, and taking on the name and mind of Christ, cost them something. We don't think of that as "good", do we? But their hearts were changed as a result of Paul's preaching and of God's divine election. Read verse 48--"All who were appointed for eternal life believed." If you are a Christian today, it is only by God's grace; He chose you before the creation of the world to know Him and to follow Him joyfully.
Think about your own conversion experience. Thank God for His mercy in saving you from hell. Then thank Him for sending someone to tell you about Christ. Finally, thank Him for always having you on His heart, even before the foundation of the world was laid.
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Day 25
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1:3).Have you ever had someone make such a profound impression on your life that you started talking like them, writing like them, and thinking like them? No one is sure who wrote the book of Hebrews, but if it was not Paul himself (and the writing style differs slightly from Paul, but not the theology), then it must have been someone very close to Paul. Some believe that it was originally written by Paul, and then translated into Greek by Luke. Some say it was written by Barnabas, who travelled with Paul in his first missionary journey. Some say Priscilla, a disciple of Paul; others dispute a female authoriship. Martin Luther said it could have been Apollos, whom Paul mentioned was preaching against the Jews, but who had to be discipled in his Christian walk by none other than Aquilla and Priscilla (Acts 18:26). Whomever it was, they were heavily influenced by Paul and his writings.
The message they brought was that Christ was the exact replica, or impression, of God Himself. He was not just a man who bore "the exact representation" of God, but One who also exhibited "the radiance of God's glory." Jesus Himself "sustains all things by His powerful word." According to John 1, Jesus is the very Word of God, through whom all creation was spoken into existence. This manifestation of God, this Word, came to dwell among us. He came to show us the glory of God in person.
Let God impress His truth upon your heart. Guard your heart, yes; but do not be so hard-hearted that God cannot leave an imprint of Jesus there. The more we are influenced by Jesus, the more sharply defined His image is in our lives. When we walk like Him and talk like Him, then we draw unbelievers to Him, to the glory of God the Father.
We are often called His children. A child will mimic his natural father in his formative years, and later in life will find himself using figures of speech and thought patterns original to his father. Let us become the "spittin' image" of God the Father, through our contact with and our impression of His Son, Jesus Christ.
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Day 26
For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man that You remember him? Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet. (Hebrews 2: 5-8).Have you ever felt overwhelmed by worldly things? I'm not talking about sin here. You may experience a rise in blood pressure when a weather bulletin is broadcast. You may feel dizzy when looking down from a great height. Some people in the world worry about where their next meal will come from. Some in the world may worry that they may BE dinner for the animals that prowl around at night beyond their village.
If Jesus is Lord of your life, then He is your hope of salvation, in this world and the next. God promises to restore a natural order in Heaven that was originally present on Earth. At the end of creaton, God said, "Let us make man in Our image, in Our likenss, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."...God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creautre that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:26, 28).
Right now, we are below the angels in God's hierarchy of creation, but one day we will judge them (1 Corinthians 6:3). We will take our rightful place under God but ruling over all things. Many think that Heaven will be fellowshipping with those who have gone before, and maybe that will be for about 15 minutes. The greatest amount of time, I believe, will be on our faces before the Majesty of God. Then God will give us jobs to do, tasks for which He made us and specially equipped us. Our employment will be doing all that He asks without question, without wavering. Just hang on till we get there.
Remember what Jesus said? "In this world you will have trouble, but fear not: I have overcome the world." (John 16:33). Never mind the worries of this world. Take no thought to the persecution and even death that may come for being a follower of Christ. Hebrews 2:9-10 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering." Jesus suffered a lot; if we suffer a little, we identify with Him all the more.
Remember Romans 8:38-39, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Need I say more?
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Day 27
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because the Lord has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)Have you ever run out of money? I'm not talking about spending all that you took with you, and having to hit the ATM so you could keep on having fun. I mean thirty-five cents in the bank, car running on fumes, eating beans and ketchup til payday flat broke. Now think back--when that happened, did you stay up nights worrying about it? Or did you praise God for what you did have: a car that runs; a job that pays more than minimum wage; your health; a Savior who loves you dearly.
From time to time I fantasize about what I would do if I won the lottery. I tell myself that I could do so many things for God with all that money--I'd feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless. But deep in my heart I know I'd pay off all my bills and hoard the rest, so that I'd never go into debt again. A lot of people in this country, mostly young people, complain about "income equality." I confess I don't see the problem with what someone else has--if God blesses them, and they earn 10, 100, or 1000 times what I do, how does being mad at them pay my bills? I think those people who complain about "the one per cent" are really jealous that it's not them who are rich. They're like me when I think about winning the lottery--on the surface it's about income equality, but deep down it's wishing you had more to spend on yourself (as if making Bill Gates or Warren Buffett dirt poor would help me pay my bills--NOT!). They don't realize that if you have a car, a cell phone, and more that two changes of clothes and shoes, then you are richer than 99% of the people in developing countries, people who work for a dollar a week.
In our text from Hebrews, the writer reminds us that Jesus is all we will ever need. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. King David said, "I was young and now I am old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread." (Psalm 37:25). He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), so He can take care of you. Sure, you may lose your job, but God will provide if we put our trust in Him. Our car may be repossessed; we may be evicted from our homes; our credit cards may be maxed out and worthless to buy more stuff--but that's all it is: stuff. My hope is not in the things that money can buy. My hope is in the One who paid it all for my salvation.
"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15). He who knew no sin took our sins upon Himself, and died so that we can enjoy eternal life instead of the eternal death and hell we deserve. Words can't begin to describe that kind of love. Our physical needs--food, clothing, shelter--are nothing in comparison. In His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, Jesus said we shouldn't worry about what we will eat or what we will put on, for life is more than food and clothes. Just as He meets the needs of the birds and flowers, He can meet your needs as well.
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Day 28
For in Scripture it says, "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame." Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone." (1 Peter 2:6-7).Have you ever seen someone build a stone wall? It could be a fence between two neighbors, or something with letters affixed to it as a sign in front of a school or church. It could even be the facade of a building. A well done stone wall is beautiful and secure.
If you've ever worked construction, you know how heavy the stones can be. It is important for the stones to have a solid foundation. An ornamental wall will have a prominent part of the foundation that may have a date or someone's name etched into the stone. This cornerstone will show who built the wall, or it might show for whom it was built or to whom it is dedicated.
In our text, Peter quotes from Isaiah 28:16, clearly drawing a line from the prophet to the Messiah. JESUS is the foundation of our faith. JESUS is the one to whom the Church is dedicated. As Peter had written in the verses just before, we, "like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:3). Jesus is the one who supports us in our spiritual endeavor to please God and dwell in His presence. Without a foundation, without a cornerstone, the building would fall. In the same way, without Jesus, who descended from heaven to dwell among us, our attempts to ascend to heaven would be futile.
Another important feature of a stone wall is the capstone. When my son was a young and inexperienced driver, he came to me and admitted hitting a brick mailbox with his truck. He and I went to the scene of the accident, and thankfully the structure was still standing. He had moved the capstone off center, so he and I carefully lifted it back into place. Without the capstone, the dark space between the bricks was exposed. It was full of insects and spiders. Without the capstone, the structure could have filled with rainwater or debris from the road. When we replaced the capstone, it was complete, flawless and functional, beautiful to behold.
Peter quoted Psalm 118:22, where David clearly foretold the Savior being rejected by men and crucified. We know He was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven, promising to prepare a place for those who believe in Him. So not only is Jesus the cornerstone of the foundation, He is also the capstone, the finisher of our faith. In Revelation 22:13, Jesus said, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." What better way to praise Him than to acknowledge His hand from the beginning through the end. In architectural or construction terms, He is the Cornerstone and the Capstone, the Bottom and the Top.
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Day 29
This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkenss at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7).Have you ever been ostracized, black-balled, or otherwise excluded from a group? John the Apostle was in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost, when the Church was born. He was likely the only one of the 12 original disciples still living when the Temple of Jerusalem was burned, and Jews and Christians alike disbursed throughout the known world. John, according to tradition, ended up in Ephesus, where he wrote three letters in the Bible that bear his name. He would later be exiled to the Greek island of Patmos, where he would write the book of Revelation.
John's writings focused on a popular heresy of his day called Gnosticism. Basically, the Gnostics divided each person into two entities, the physical and the spiritual. If one believed that he dwelt in the spiritual realm, then he was free of sin, because sin was only possible in the physical realm. If you denounced all things physical (such as material wealth, and many times food and water), then you could enter into an elevated or divine realm in which you could identify with God. While Gnostic asceticism caused many in the 1st century to respect them as holy or spiritual people, John's message was that they were dead wrong in their belief.
John specifically rebukes this heresy in 1 John 1:8, saying "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." How do we then get to the place described in verse 7, of walking in the light just as God is in the light? He explains it perfectly in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Many Gnostics committed sin in their physical realm, but denied the all connection to the physical in their pursuit of the spiritual. Paul wrote, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23). Praise God, we do not have to be perfect to reach Him. We do not have to rely on some mystical mumbo-jumbo to aspire to a higher spiritual sensitivity, some day reaching Nirvana (a Buddhist term, which is only slightly different from gnostic belief.)
Many people today admire diverse religious leaders, such as the Dalai Lama, the Ayatollah Khamenei, and the Pope. They don't necessarily subscribe to any of the religious beliefs represented by these so-called holy men; subsequently they mistakenly believe that whatever their faith, they can aspire to heaven, or at least avoid hell, because they are devout in whatever belief system they may espouse that day. God has given us His Son as the only avenue to Himself. All these other religions, no matter how sincere their believers, will lead them nowhere.
Praise God that He has given us a way of Salvation. Thanks to Jesus, who came as God in a man to die for our sins, who was raised from the dead and lives forever at the right hand of God. Praise God that even when we sin (we know that all sin separates us from a holy God), we can confess our sins and be forgiven. We can't just pretend that we don't sin, or that our sinful acts are separated from "the real me" because of some claim to a spiritual dimension. If we are ridiculed by the world for thinking this way, bring it on.
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Day 30
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason that the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. (1 John 3:1).Have you ever adopted a child, or have you known someone who was adopted? The adoptive parents have a unique love relationship with their adopted children, because, although they were not present at conception, they are willing to love that child unconditionally. It does not matter whose child it was; from the moment of adoption on into eternity this child will forever be a part of the new family. They will enjoy the new family's name, the new family's home, the new family's protection, and the new family's unconditional love.
Did you know that by law, an adopted child cannot be disinherited? He cannot be disowned, disavowed, or disenfranchised from the forever family. By a judge's Court Order, the adoptee has all of the rights and privileges of a full-fledged son or daughter of the new father and mother. There is nothing that can change it. Many parents explain to their adopted children (when they are old enough to understand) that he or she (the child) was no accident, but that they were chosen to be in their new forever family.
In the same way, God chose us. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, "For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons throught Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will." We cannot be snatched out of the Father's hand. We cannot be cut off from His love.
Many times we will get off track, thinking about our past, or brooding over some sin we have committed. We think ourselves unworthy of the Name, and we fear we may be thrown away because of our past. We place ourselves in the Cinderella mold, thinking that God loves Jesus, sure, but He can't possibly love me in the same way. We get caught up in a works theology, thinking we must earn our place in His forever family. Brother, Sister, this must not be!
Listen to what God says about that: "For all who are led by the Spirit are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the spirit of sonship, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father. The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." (Romans 8:15). In the Hebrew language, "Abba" is one of the first words a baby learns to say. In English we might hear our children say, "Da-Da", which as the child grows, becomes "Daddy."
If we can learn to think of God as our Heavenly Dad, we can grow in intimacy with Him. We can trust Him to never leave us or forsake us. We can trust Him when He says He is preparing our forever home with Him.
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Day 31
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)Have you ever felt overwhelmed? If your world ever starts to cave in on you, you must remember the words of this verse. "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." The Greek word translated "world" is actually "kosmos", where we get the words cosmopolitan (of the world) and cosmonaught (explorer of worlds in space). It encompasses not only our world, but every known world. It is kind of encouraging that nothing in the cosmos has overcome the One who made you, because the One who made you also made the world and everything in it.
John 16:33 says, "These things have I spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Nothing in the cosmos has any authority over the Spirit of God that lives in you. As long as you stay under the authority of Christ our Lord, then He will fight our battles--we need only to be still (Exodus 14:14). Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, "Take My yoke upon you, for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Why do you think His yoke would be easy? Because when you are yoked together with Christ, He does all the work; you only need follow Him.
In 1970, singer/songwriter Carole King wrote, "When this old world starts getting me down And people are just too much for me to face I climb way up to the top of the stairs And all my cares just drift right into space." Her description of getting above the hubub of life "Up On the Roof" is incomplete unless you spend that time in prayer. When we commune together with the Father in the Name of the Son, His Spirit gives us peace. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, we have this assurance from God Himself: He's got this.
The last verse of Carole King's song Up On The Roof starts like this: "So if this world starts getting you down, There's room enough for two up on the roof." If we can go to our own "upper room" (like the one the Disciples had gathered into and prayed in Acts chapter 2), we know that there is room for God to come and comfort us, to console us, to strengthen us, and to send us out with a renewed purpose. There is no confidence like God-confidence.
You don't have to wear a red cape, be faster than a speeding locomotive, or leap tall buildings in a single bound. You can overcome in the Name of Jesus because He wore a scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28) when He was arrested and tried and crucified on your behalf. You can have the assurance that God is already there when the train pulls into the station. You can call on His Name and He hears you from the heavens. We can sing with the Psalm-writer, "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." (Psalm 73:26).
