Month: July 2014

God Can Use Hard Times To Get Us Where He Wants Us – Acts 23:1-15

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From my reading in Acts 23:1-15 in the One Year New Testament.

God has a plan for you.

Many times God’s plan looks a lot different than the plan you choose. God is an expert at using even the most difficult circumstances to put you where he wants you.  This happened to the Apostle Paul.

He had a longing to go to Rome to preach, but it took being arrested put on trial before Cesar’s court in order to get him there!  When he was in trail in Jerusalem he had a vision from Jesus.

“That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” Acts 23:11

God used Paul’s imprisonment to spread the gospel to Rome.

Last summer I had a chance to go to Rome and see the prison that Peter and Paul were placed in. It is amazing that Rome became the central hub of Christianity for many years!

While Paul was in Rome he was able to encourage believers and preach the gospel with Caesar’s guards!

“And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ. And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.” Philippians 1:12–14

Through hard circumstances Paul was brought to the most influential city in the world to be a part of what God was doing there. He was a witness for Christ and encouraged the believers to preach boldly there!

What got Paul to Rome was not pleasant, but sometimes God allows us to go through suffering in order to accomplish his purposes.

If something in your life is exceptionally hard, you never know what plan God might have for it.  Keep living for him and share the gospel with those around you.  Your testimony in hard times will be a light to non believers and inspire other believers!

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Baptism Is Not A Graduation, It Is An Initiation – Acts 22

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From my reading in Acts 22 in the One Year New Testament.

Today I witnessed a baptism at my father’s church. (See picture above)

The testimonies of the people whose lives that were changed moved me and reminded me why I do what I do. Baptism is an amazing step for those who just received Christ, but is it also an inspiration to the church.

Especially among those new to the faith, there is a misconception that baptism is like a graduation.

Perhaps this is because usually when we celebrate adults it is because of something they accomplished. They think that they have to “get their lives together” to make sure they are ready to be baptized.  In the Bible baptism virtually always happens right after someone is saved!

Baptism is not a graduation, it is an initiation.

Many cultures have initiations into manhood or womanhood. When I was in Kenya on a mission trip I heard that in certain tribes in order to become “a man” you have to kill a lion with a spear!  Compared to that baptism is EASY!

Baptism is the Christian’s initiation.

When you go under the water you identify with Jesus’ death on the cross and burial. When you are raised out of the water you are symbolically joining Christ to walk in new life.

If you have received Christ, you have already been cleansed spiritually and reborn.  Baptism is a way of showing the world what has already taken place on the inside.

Note: Baptism itself does not save you!

Baptism is a celebration your salvation but it is not something you must do to get salvation.

You don’t have to know everything or have it all together to be baptized.  You just need to have decided to follow Jesus!

Ananias said this when the Apostle Paul was converted,

“What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16

Once someone is truly saved there is nothing to wait for!

If you have an adequate understanding of the good news and accepted it then it is time to get dunked!

I believe that having regular baptisms is a way to keep the vision for reaching people in front of the church and a great way of helping the new believers feel initiated.

If you have never been baptized talk to your pastor today and get dunked!

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Give God The Credit For Your Ministry Success – Acts 21:18-40

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From my reading in Acts 21:18-40 in the One Year New Testament.

God is the one who changes lives!

He deserves the glory and honor for whatever success we achieve in ministry. Paul set a good example of giving God the glory in his ministry report.

“The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry.” Acts 21:19

Paul told about what GOD had accomplished and not what Paul had accomplished.

We should not try and take credit for something that God has done. This is a very important distinction to make for ministry leaders.  Now it is important to acknowledge that we do have an important role to play and he does use us.

But we should be quick to celebrate what God has done and not brag about how great we are.

Giving God the glory will keep the focus where it should be, on God and not on us!

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Are You Ready To Suffer and Even Die For Jesus? – Acts 21:1-17

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From my reading in Acts 21:1-17 in the One Year New Testament.

The Apostle Paul felt that he needed to go to Jerusalem.  He was warned on several occasions that if he went to Jerusalem there would be trouble!  Here is Paul’s response.

“Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 21:13

Could you say the same thing? When following Jesus is inconvenient are you willing to obey him?

 Are you willing to sacrifice your life and even die if it meant following Him?

Jesus asks us to take up our cross and follow him. For some the idea of dying for Jesus is glamorous but living for him is sometimes even harder!

It is easier to talk about dying for Jesus than it is to actually live for him!

I challenge you to start obeying Jesus no matter how hard it is now so that if you are ever asked to lay down your life for him then you will be ready.

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One Message, One Mission, One Life, Make It Count – Acts 20:17-38

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From my reading in Acts 20:17-38 in the One Year New Testament.

God has given you one life on this earth.

He has given Christians one primary message that will change people’s lives forever. Jesus has given us one mission that is worth giving our lives for. The Apostle Paul explained his message and mission in passionate terms to the Church in Ephesus right before leaving them.  First he reminded him of his message…

“I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.” Acts 20:20-21

One Message

Paul’s one message should be our one message.  The gospel! Those of us called to preach especially should never shrink back from preaching it.

The good news Paul preached included turning from sin, turning to God and having faith in Jesus. If you don’t preach that people must turn from sin and to God then you are preaching a different gospel than Paul.

One Mission

Paul had a specific mission given by God, but I believe we can learn from his passion.

“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Acts 20:24

Paul didn’t care about his own life.  What he cared about what fulfilling the mission God gave him.

Are you wholeheartedly pursuing the mission God has given you?  If not why not?  

Have you been pursuing your own personal mission instead of God’s mission for your life? 

Paul was passionate about sharing how everyone they can experience God’s grace!  All believers are all to play a role in spreading this gospel to others. Everyone is not called to do what Paul did, but we all should do something!

Life is to short to waste is trying to make life here perfect. It never will be, so why try!

One Life, Make It Count

Paul made his life count!  You can feel his passion dripping off these words. His life was lived on purpose. He was even willing to face suffering and death in order to make his life count for Jesus.

I want to encourage you to realize the urgency of this one message and mission,  that without Jesus people will spend eternity in Hell.  We can make a difference in people’s lives for eternity! Let’s make this one life count!

One message, one mission, one life, make it count!

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Why I Believe In Ministering As A Team – Acts 20:1-16

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From my reading in Acts 20:1-16 in the One Year New Testament.

I love working with teams of people to do ministry.

I have been blessed at this point with seven people on staff and it is a joy to share the load.  We all get to celebrate a lot more because when one person succeeds we all do!

Some ministry organizations don’t really believe in the team approach.

They spread people out to cover more ground, but in doing this sometimes people get lonely and depressed.  I even heard of an organization that wouldn’t let brothers minister in the same city!  You wouldn’t want James and John ministering together that might get crazy.

Jesus had a crew go with him every where and even the Apostle Paul had a crew,

“Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.” Acts 20:4

We don’t know the exact number of guys Paul had on his team but at least seven or eight including these men, Luke and Silas.

Paul was very gifted, but knew his work would be better accomplished with a team.

This year the Miami Heat had the best player in the NBA, LeBron James. But they didn’t win the Championship because they didn’t have the best team. The San Antonio Spurs had the best team!

Not only is working with a team more effective, it gives the leader an opportunity to multiply himself.

Paul was intentional about passing on what he knew to other men who would be able to pastor and plant churches. Bringing people with you as you minister is in my opinion the best way to train because they get to learn to do ministry first hand.

If God has put a ministry on your heart, don’t just run out and do it yourself, do all you can to recruit a team!

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The Gospel Threatens Our Idols – Acts 19:21-41

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From my reading in Acts 19:21-41 in the One Year New Testament.

When we take the good news of Jesus seriously our idols are worthless.

Often people have something to loose when idols are threatened.

Marketers thrive on idols.

Comfort. Popularity. Fun. Success. Happiness. These are all potential idols that advertisers promise when you by their products. These things are not bad in themselves, they are bad when they are put above all else and ultimately above God in our lives.

An idol is anything that takes the place of God in our lives.

In Ephesus Paul encountered people who literally lost business because Paul was preaching that Jesus was the one true God and all other idols are false! A silversmith named Demetrius lost a lot of business because his silver idol business was suffering! Here’s what he said,

“But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!” Acts 19:26

This was bad for the idol business and it ended up starting a riot! If the god’s were not really god’s then what is the point of them!

When Jesus enters our lives there is no room for idols.

Are there any idols in your life that you need to get rid of?

If so, make like the Frozen girl and let it go!

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Join The Greatest Movement Ever – Acts 19:1-20

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From my reading in Acts 19:1-20 in the One Year New Testament.

The good news has been spreading and will continue to spread until Jesus comes back!

Paul experienced the contagious nature of the good news in the provide of Asia.

“Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.” Acts 19:9–10

Paul taught in the lecture hall and the gospel spread through out the whole region.

People must have come in, received Christ, and went back to preach to their hometowns. This is the power of spiritual multiplication.

There is no way that everyone in the province of Asia at that time could have heard Paul speak in that hall.

So the only way the gospel could have spread that rapidly is for ordinary Christians to take the good news back to their homes. 

After some other dramatic events later in the same chapter the way the gospel was spreading is described like this,

“So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.” Acts 19:20

What a privilege it is to be a part of the message spreading widely and changing people’s lives.

If you are a part of that then you are a part of the greatest movement in the world.

If you are not already a part of spreading the good news then what are you waiting for?

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Fully Engage The Vision God Has Given You – Acts 18

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From my reading in Acts 18 in the One Year New Testament.

If God has given you a vision then it is your duty to carry it out diligently.

Jesus said some very encouraging things to Paul,

“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.” Acts 18:9–11

Jesus encouraged Paul to speak out for him and promised He would be with him.

When God calls us he will go with us.

These instructions are specifically to Paul, but I do believe that if God has called you to a city then usually there are people there who belong to Him whom he wants you to try and reach.

The lesson I take away from this passage is that Paul obeyed.

He spent the next year and a half teaching the word.

If God calls you to do something, not matter how hard it is don’t give in to fear, don’t get discouraged, speak out, and obey God because he wants to use you.

You may never know all the lives you can touch simply by following the vision God has given you!

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God Put You In This Time And Place For A Purpose – Acts 17:16-34

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From my reading in Acts 17:16-34 in the One Year New Testament.

I am currently on a mission trip in the Toronto area of Canada.

The city where they minister is a very unique place, where over 60% of the people are foreign born.  My parents were called to this strategic time and place for a purpose. Every one of us has been placed where we live for a purpose. In the middle of a speech to people in Athens Paul said,

“God began by making one person, and from him came all the different people who live everywhere in the world. God decided exactly when and where they must live. God wanted them to look for him and perhaps search all around for him and find him, though he is not far from any of us.”  Acts 17:26-27

You are where you are, when you are, because God put you there!

This is a life changing thought. The people around you are the people that God has given you to reach. The opportunities in life that he has put in your life are unique to you. The technology and opportunities of this time in life are here for a reason.

This truth should infuse our days with purpose. The opportunities was have in this generation are unique!

Live in this truth today. Seize the opportunities you have to worship God and bring others along in this time and place!

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