They Had Been With Jesus

 
"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.  And they realized that they had been with Jesus."
Acts 4:13

Peter and John were on trial before the rulers, elders, and scribes after they had healed the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple.  Peter presented their defense, which really wasn't a defense, because all he did was boldly proclaim Jesus.  The leaders were amazed at the two apostles because they answered with clarity and confidence though they were untrained and not highly educated.  The only answer the religious leaders had for these two fishermen who spoke with such authority was that they had been with Jesus.

How excellent that what struck the leaders about Peter and John was not their great looks or powerful statures.  The council was not in awe of their great oratory skills, degrees, titles, or intellect.  They simply recognized that these guys had been with Jesus!

I pray this might be the same testimony of our church.  That we will be a people set apart from the ways of this world.  That the love and unity known here will be the evidence that we are a people who love and hang out with Jesus Christ!

O My Enemy?

 So Ahab said to Elijah, 'Have you found me,
O my enemy?'  And he answered,
'I have found you, because you have sold yourself
to do evil in the sight of the Lord.'
I Kings 21:20

Elijah had never pulled a sword on Ahab or physically assaulted him.  He never attempted to take his life or to rob his throne, yet Ahab saw him as an enemy.  Elijah had called the king to repent, and for the nation Israel to return to God, and because Ahab had sold himself to evil, he saw the prophet as an enemy.

In reality, Elijah calling Ahab to repent was a very loving and friendly act.  It would have been very unloving and unfriendly for Elijah to ignore and not confront the rebellion of Israel and her king.  Because Elijah would not turn a blind eye to the king's sin but called him out, Ahab hated him and considered him an enemy

You may have noticed that Christians may not be the most popular people around today.  Whenever we proclaim the Gospel it is a reminder to those who hear it that something is not right in their lives and they need to turn to God.  Like Ahab, most people don't want to hear that their lives are on a dead end road, so you might be thought of as rude, or pushy, or judgmental or even an enemy.  This should not surprise us because Jesus said it would be this way. What people might think of us makes it difficult, but ought not keep us from sharing.  Please pray everyday that in some way you will be able to with love share the good news!

What Shall We Do?

 "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
Acts 2:37

It was Pentecost and Peter had just preached the first sermon of the newly birthed church.  Peter's message was simple and powerful as he clearly explained the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  After Peter had put forth the evidence and prophecies, he stated the clear conclusion that Jesus is both Lord and Messiah.  The people were convicted and three thousand received Jesus that day!

One of the reasons you might resist the gospel is that if you truly believe the gospel, that Jesus died for your sins, was buried, and in three days was raised from the dead, it demands a response.  One cannot be ho-hum about this powerful message.  The promise of salvation, freedom, peace, and life in Christ, begs an answer.

Those who heard Peter's sermon felt a powerful conviction and wondered, "What shall we do?"  Peter told them they needed to repent and be baptized.  His charge was that if they believed the gospel, there would be a change of direction and a willingness to live for Christ.  Do you believe the Easter message?  If so, you need to repent and turn to Jesus, and give your life over to His lordship.

Don't Miss Him

"Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, that things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."
Luke 19:41,42

Jesus wept over Jerusalem because the day that Israel had longed for was upon them, and most of them missed it.  How could they have missed it?  The long awaited for Messiah had openly come to Jerusalem, as was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9, and He was not recognized.  The city was packed with pilgrims preparing for Passover, and THE LAMB of God was with them but they ignored Him.  Israel looked for another kind of king, so Jesus was rejected.

I was eating breakfast at a bagel shop, and a man sitting near me began reading headlines from the newspaper to his wife.  After reading about five headlines he set the paper down and said to his wife "what's going on?"  I'm sure most of us have echoed the same sentiment as we have witnessed world events.  The fact is, what's going on is that the world is going through birth pangs in preparation for the second coming of Jesus.  Sadly just as many in Jerusalem were clueless on Palm Sunday, many today are just as blind to God's moving in the world.

There was a small remnant on Palm Sunday who understood that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and they praised Him and blessed Him.  I want to be one of those today, who discerns the times and points to the coming of Jesus Messiah.  Lord open our eyes!

To Die Is Gain

"For I am hard-pressed between the two,
having a desire to depart and be with Christ,
which is far better." Phil. 1:23

Paul knew what he was talking about, for he had already seen that which was 'far better'.  The glory of heaven that he had seen was so far beyond his comprehension that he didn't even have the words to explain it.  In this verse, his only description of heaven still fills us with longing and wonder, for he says it is "far better".

To depart describes a ship being loosed from its anchor to set sail.  What a marvelous picture we are given of leaving this world. In these bodies we are anchored to earth, but one glorious day, we will be loosed from these anchors, and be set free to join our Lord!   To die is gain.
 

Do It Again

"When all that generation had been gathered to their Fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord, nor the work which He had done for Israel."
Judges 2:10

I had read an account of a pastor who was visiting a church in Scotland.  It was the church of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army.  Booth had begun a dynamic work of God that had reached the poor of Scotland, England and eventually spread worldwide.

The pastor entered the church and was moved by a young man standing before a portrait of Booth.  The young man was weeping and quietly praying.  This pastor edged nearer to hear the prayer and he was taken as he heard the man just repeat over and again, 'do it again, Lord'.

Our faith cannot be based on what God accomplished through our parents or grandparents. Our faith cannot rest in what God has done in previous generations. We need God's hand to be mighty among us today.  Our faith needs to be alive and vibrant...energized by what God is doing today.

The world needs the church to be alive.  This generation needs to taste His mighty work today.  May we all pray as one...'do it again  Lord'!

Head Scratcher

"And she said, 'The Philistines are upon you, Samson!'  So he awoke from his sleep, and said, 'I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!'  But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him."  Judges 16:20

Back in my high school football playing days, I had a coach who would always use little sayings to get his point across.  He seemed to understand the point he was making but half the time I had no clue what he meant.  After a play he might grab me and say, 'good job, that'll work coming or going.'  I would look at him as if I understood, but to this day I don't know what he meant.

There was one saying he had whenever someone made a mental mistake, and we all understood exactly what he meant, he would say, 'now that was a head scratcher!'  I bring up this little high school football memory because when I study the life of Samson I find myself saying quite often 'now that was a head scratcher!'

Samson had come to the sorry spiritual state of not being able to recognize that the Spirit had departed from him.  He thought he would be just as strong as he had always been, not discerning that he was now moving out in his own strength.  Samson had accomplished many mighty feats by the Lord's hand, he had known the power of the Spirit upon him, but had now digressed to the place of walking in his own strength thinking it was the Lord's strength.... 'now that's a head scratcher!'

Samson's blunder ought to serve as a wake up call for all of us.  We can never be complacent or lazy in our dependence on the Lord.  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.' (Ephesians 6:10)