Forgiveness of Sins

Readings:
I Chronicles 23
Acts 13:13-43

Focus:
Acts 13:38: "You must understand, my brothers, it is through him that forgiveness of sins is now being proclaimed to you."

This is the main thing that Christianity is about. Sometimes people think that Christians want other people to follow rules, or that they want other people to conform, or that they are trying to make other people be like they are. Perhaps there are some Christians with these mistaken notions.

But the real heart of Christianity is that when people put their faith in Jesus, then their sins are forgiven. Then they are able to have eternal life. The consequences of having faith in Jesus are eternal; they are about life and death. This is why Christians care whether or not other people are Christians; they are concerned about their eternal fate.

And everyone sins. Even little things like irritability towards someone who doesn't really deserve it, or selfishness, or failure to be friendly to someone lonely, even those things are sins. As a pastor I know says, we can't ask God to ignore those little sins and let us into heaven in spite of them. Think: would it really be heaven if it were filled with people who did those things?

So, Paul and Barnabas, and all the rest of the Christians through the ages who want to tell others about Christianity, don't just want to make others be like them. They want to proclaim forgiveness of sins.

Mercy Coming from Justice

Readings:
I Chronicles 22
Acts 13:1-12

Focus:
Acts 13:11a: "Look now, the hand of the Lord strikes: you shall be blind...."

It occurred to me when I was reading this passage that Paul was not merely inflicting a punishment on the sorceror Elymas when he called down blindness upon him. Blindness was what afflicted Paul himself when God encountered him and turned him towards himself. If Paul's action towards Elymas was the first step in leading Elymas to a saving relationship with God, then it was not only justice, it was mercy.

Sometimes it's hard to see how a difficult circumstance can be God's action leading us towards something good for us. But when we look back later, we see that, indeed, it was! God works in amazing ways.

Putting God First

Readings:
I Chronicles 21
Acts 12:18-25

Focus:
Acts 12:23a: "Instantly an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he had usurped the honor due to God."

Throughout the Bible, the worst sin of all is the sin of counting oneself more important than God. In the story in I Chronicles 21, what makes God angry with King David is the fact that David takes a census to find out what his military strength might be. God wants David to rely instead on God himself for protection.

Israel is supposed to be different from the other countries because they derive their security not from armies, but from God. Yet David, normally a man after God's own heart, succumbs to military pride, views himself as the victorious leader of Israel, and takes a census to see just how vast his might is. He thinks of his own greatness instead of God's greatness.

Herod goes further and allows people to call him a god. This is of course far worse, and it results in his death.

In the 21st century we don't usually think of ourselves as gods. But we often think of ourselves before anything or anyone else, including God. It's the greatest sin I have to struggle with. And it's not trivial. God wants us to put him before everything, including before ourselves.

The best thing is that when we do that, God takes care of us and fills our cup of blessing to overflowing. David found that to be true, and I too have found that to be true, over and over again.

Guidance

Readings:
I Chronicles 20
Acts 12:1-17

Focus:
Acts 12:10b:"They came out and had walked the length of one street when suddenly the angel left him."

Peter has been in jail because Herod, the king, has begun persecuting members of the new church. The populace doesn't object, so the authorities feel bold enough to make this move. But God helps Peter escape through miraculous means.

Yet Peter's angel guide does not stay with him all the time after the escape. In fact, the angel only goes a little way, and then abruptly disappears, leaving Peter on his own to figure out what to do next.

God didn't suddenly give up on Peter. Rather, God gave him the help he needed, and then left him to deal with the situation with the gifts that he was already prepared with: his intelligence, his knowledge, and his experience, among other things.

This is the way that God may help us, too. Perhaps he will nudge us towards some sort of solution, but he won't do it all for us. He will leave a lot of the "working it out" to us. It makes life an interesting mystery to see how God helps us and what he expects us to do!

How Can We Stand in God's Way?

Readings:
I Chronicles 19
Acts 11

Focus:
Acts 11:17b:"How could I stand in God's way?"

Peter told the other disciples that he had clearly seen that God wanted to have a saving relationship with the Gentiles (the non-Jews) just as much as he wanted to have a saving relationship with the Jews. This was outside of Peter's initial comfort zone. It wasn't what he had learned about how God was to be worshipped. But God showed him that the old ritual law was no longer operative; after Jesus, only the moral law remained constant. Even if Peter and the other disciples weren't comfortable with that at first, how could they stand in God's way?

This can happen to us, too. Maybe in order to reach out to people we have to endure different types of activities or music while spending time with them than we would really prefer. Or we may end up moving somewhere we hadn't at first thought we would like, in order to take a job that we feel God wants for us. These things may not be what we thought we had in mind, but in each case, we may see that it is clearly God's will for us to do those things. How can we stand in God's way?

Like Peter and the other disciples, we will find that once we let God have his way, we will benefit from it too. It will turn out that there will be surprises of blessings that we never could have foreseen.

It Is Not for You to Call Profane What God Counts Clean

Readings:
I Chronicles 18
Acts 10

Focus:
Acts 10:15b:"It is not for you to call profane what God counts clean."

For those of us who are not Jewish, this is one of the greatest passages in the Bible. This is because it is here that Peter and the other apostles truly first understand that the good news of Jesus is not only for Jewish people. Here Peter begins to see that God loves all people in the world, no matter what their race.

God prepared Peter for this by showing him a vision, a symbol of how he was now telling Peter to ignore the former ritual law of what was clean and what was unclean, and instead only obey the moral law. (This reminds me of something I referred to a little while ago, of how God showed me how intimately he cared for me just before I got my cancer diagnosis. God may use this technique regularly; he prepares people by showing them something ahead of time!)

Because Peter was ready, he was able to accept the conversion of Gentiles (non-Jews) and baptize them as Christians. This was exciting! From this came the possibility that people like me could become Christians. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't now have the greatest hope and security and peace that a person could know, because I have put my faith in Jesus Christ. I hope this is something that everyone who reads this has.

An Introduction

Readings:
I Chronicles 17
Acts 9:23-43

Focus:
Acts 9:27:"Barnabas, however, took him and introduced him to the apostles."

Barnabas is another man like Ananias from yesterday's readings. In Jerusalem, all the Christians are afraid of Saul, since he had not so very long ago been arresting Christians. Now he says he's one of them, but they don't trust him.

Barnabas, however, takes Saul in hand and shows the rest of the disciples that Saul really is a Christian, too. After that, not only does Saul become one of the group, but he begins boldly teaching out in the open in Jerusalem.

I want to remember to be on the lookout for people like Saul, who seem to be outsiders. Maybe if I can help them become part of the group, like Barnabas did, they will turn out to be phenomenal blessings to everyone! Our smallest actions, such as helping introduce someone who needs to belong, may end up having eternal consequences.

Ignoring our Fears

Readings:
I Chronicles 16
Acts 9:10-22

Focus:
Acts 9:17a:"So Ananias went, and, on entering the house, laid his hands on him."

I've always really admired Ananias. He admits to God that he's pretty much scared of Saul. After all, Saul's the guy who's been running all over the place arresting Christians. He doesn't want to get anywhere near him!

Yet when God tells him to go to Saul, Ananias obeys. He walks right into the room where Saul is, and lays hands on him so that God can remove his blindness. Then he teaches Saul about Jesus. He overcomes his natural fear in order to obey God.

The result was that the world ended up with the apostle Paul, which is who Saul became. And Paul taught many, many people about Jesus, and it's ultimately because of him that most of us have heard the good news. Saul didn't waste any time, either. True to his personality, he went right out and started teaching people about Jesus.

It's thanks to the obedience of Ananias, in spite of his fear, that the good news started to spread to so many people. It's an example for us to follow!

Suited for the Job

Readings:
I Chronicles 15
Acts 9:1-9

Focus:
Acts 9:1-2:"Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the Lord's disciples, went to the high priest and applied for letters to the synagogues at Damascus authorizing him to arrest any followers of the new way whom he found, men or women, and bring them to Jerusalem."

It's interesting to me that throughout the Bible, people's personalities remain the same. It's another detail that proves the reality of what we read. These weren't just invented characters; these were real people. Peter, for example, was always ready to throw himself whole-heartedly into things: when he saw Jesus walking on the water, that made him want to do it, too; when he understood why Jesus wanted to wash the disciples' feet, he asked Jesus to wash not just his feet but his whole body; when he was on a boat and he saw Jesus on the shore, he jumped out of the boat and plunged to shore.

Saul (Paul) also shows a consistent personality. What he believes, he believes firmly, and he is so convinced that he wants to go not only to people where he lives, but also to people in other towns, and carry his message there as well. So, before he was a Christian, he was so committed that he got permission to go hunt out the Christians there so that he could destroy this belief that he found to be wrong.

Of course, as we see, God had other plans for Saul: he had chosen him to be his apostle to the Gentiles. And this is another thing that I love about seeing Saul's personality. God picked a person with a perfect personality for the job he had in mind. Saul was a person driven to carry his message far and near. That's exactly the kind of person God wanted, because he wanted his message carried to lands far and near. God didn't pick any person and then mold him into the kind of person he needed. God picked the kind of person he needed and converted him--molded him into the kind of believer he wanted.

God does this with us, too. When he has a job for us to do, he doesn't pick out a job we'll hate. He picks out jobs for us that are things that we are already suited for. Or rather, I should say, he has jobs that need to be done, and he picks us to do them because we are the kinds of people who are suited for those jobs. Or probably even more likely, God planned us and the jobs for each other. And so we will not have to grit our teeth and take on some task that we hate for God. In order to serve God, we will find that we will end up doing something that is just up our alley, like Saul did after he became Paul.

Responding Now

Readings:
I Chronicles 14
Acts 8:26-40

Focus:
Acts 8:36b:"'Look,' said the eunuch, 'here is water: what is to prevent my being baptized?'"

The Ethiopian eunuch in this passage, a high official of Ethiopia, wanted to understand what he was reading by the prophet Isaiah. When Philip came along and offered to explain it, the official was ready to listen. And when he heard what Philip had to say about Jesus, the Ethiopian official's response was basically to say, as soon as they came to some water, "This is great! Baptize me now!"

He didn't want to wait a minute longer than he had to, in order to belong to Christ. He was thrilled with everything that God had to offer him and to do through him. He was ready to commit his life.

What a great response! Whether we have long been committed to Christ, or are just beginning, may this be our response as well--to give ourselves fully and immediately to God.

General Rejoicing

Readings:
I Chronicles 13
Acts 8:2-25

Focus:
I Chronicles 13:8:"David and all Israel danced for joy before the Lord with all their might to the sound of singing, of lyres, lutes, tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets."
Acts 8:12:"But when they came to believe Philip, with his good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized."

Sometimes it feels like not very many people care about God. But there have been other times when lots of people have joined together with enthusiasm in belief and worship. Two of those times are in these readings.

When David had become king, he decided to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. It had been in a sort of temporary location due to some complicated history. When the Ark was being carried towards Jerusalem, there was great happiness, and David and many other people danced for joy. They were overwhelmed with happiness that the Ark, the symbol of God, was going to be in their midst.

When Philip went down from Jerusalem to a Samaritan town and preached, large numbers of the population listened attentively and became Christians. It was so impressive that more apostles came from Jerusalem to help out. All of them were happy in their new faith.

It's good to think about these times when there have been large groups of people rejoicing together in their faith in God. We have a connection with them; all believers are in the family of God together. In a sense we can rejoice with them, too.

Deaf to the Truth

Readings:
I Chronicles 12
Acts 7:23-8:1

Focus:
Actss 7:51a:"How stubborn you are, heathen still at heart and deaf to the truth!"

When I read about Stephen saying this to the religious authorities who had arrested him, it's easy for me to think of the people he was addressing. They were continuing in the line of both secular and religious Israelite authorities who had murdered so many of the prophets after ignoring their messages.

It is also easy for me to think of various kinds of contemporary people who seem to be heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. There are those who ignore God altogether and live for their own pleasure or profit. There are those who say they follow God but distort his message in all kinds of different ways, using it to twist his teachings or to do wrong. These are the people, I think, to whom Stephen would be speaking today.

But I always need to remember that I could so easily be heathen at heart and deaf to the truth myself. I must never become complacent and think I know everything about what God has said and what he wants. It's one reason for regularly reading the Bible and thinking about it anew. It's also a reason for habitually praying, and by that I mean not making requests of God, but opening myself to hear what he has to say.

Living in close relationship with God, constantly asking him to show us what he wants us to do, is how we can be sure not to be heathen at heart and deaf to the truth.

Real Details

Readings:
I Chronicles 11
Acts 7:1-22

Focus:
I Chronicles 11:13-14a:"He was with David at Pas-dammim where the Philistines had gathered for battle in a field carrying a good crop of barley. When the people had fled from the Philistines he stood his ground in the field, defended it, and defeated them."

Sometimes when I read some of the details in the Bible it makes me realize how real these people's lives were. Eleazar son of Dodo, the person who defended this field of barley, wasn't just some named warrior in King David's retinue. We don't just hear that he was mighty in battle. We also hear that there was a specific field at Pas-dammim that had a good crop of barley, which was important to the Israelites, and that Eleazar successfully defended it.

Another detail in this chapter concerns a different one of David's fighting men, Benaiah son of Jehoiada. Among his exploits we find that once he went down in a pit and killed a lion (presumably some kind of wildcat) on a snowy day. We don't just hear that he killed a lion; we hear that it happened on a snowy day.

And then there's the list of all of David's heroes, at the end of the chapter. It includes their names, and usually their fathers and where they're from, such as "Ahiam son of Sacar the Hararite." But sometimes it's something like "Helez from a place unknown."

Why do we have these details and these items such as "from a place unknown"? Because it's real. These things really happened, and people remembered the barley field, and the snowy day. Someone had a list of David's heroes, but they didn't have all the information about each one of them, so some of them were listed with "from a place unknown."

We're not just reading myths and mystical stories. We're reading about events that happened, and they're recorded for our benefit under the guidance of a God who loves us. The overarching plan of the Bible is for God to communicate to us how much he loves us and how he wants to have a relationship with us. It's worth our reading it.

Sin from the Start

Readings:
I Chronicles 10
Acts 6

Focus:
Acts 6:1a:"During this period, when disciples were growing in number, a grievance arose on the part of those who spoke Greek, against those who spoke the language of the Jews."

Even though the brand new church of Jesus Christ was beginning with great grace and wonders, and even miracles, it did not take long before a grievance came up between different members of the church. They fell into ethnic camps and started making accusations of each other. The apostles had to settle this problem by setting up more of a church structure, in effect starting the order of deacons.

If I had naive expectations, I might have thought that the very first Christians would have been without flaw, showing us succeeding generations the ideal of what it ought to be like to be a Christian. But instead, from the very start, sin crept in. In this case, either people were taking sides, or else people thought that other people were taking sides. In either case, it was sin.

Sin crept in from the very start because Christians are just like any other people. They are part of the world, and the world is infected with sin. That's why Jesus had to come into the world, to save us from the consequences of that sin. The only difference between Christians and other people is that Christians have acknowledged that fact, have recognized that Jesus took the punishment instead of them, have given their lives to Jesus, and are doing their best to avoid sinning. But being human, they're not able to be perfect.

So Christians need to keep returning to God to confess their new sins and ask for forgiveness. The great thing is that we know that God will forgive us. But we can't let that knowledge make us complacent. We still need to try our best to avoid new sins. Not only is this better for us, but it is also better for everyone else. Thank God that although we are prone to err, he is merciful to forgive!

Rejoicing for Being Found Worthy to Suffer

Readings:
I Chronicles 9
Acts 5:33-42

Focus:
Acts 5:41:"The apostles went out from the Council rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer humiliation for the sake of the name."

Peter and some of the other apostles had just been under arrest by the authorities in Jerusalem, and they had been flogged because they had been teaching in the name of Jesus. When they are let go after the floggings, how do they leave? Rejoicing. That is amazing to me. I think if I had just been flogged, I would be feeling pretty miserable, and I would just want to crawl home and have someone take care of me. I would feel quite sorry for myself that I had had to suffer because I was a Christian.

But the apostles go out rejoicing, not only that they have suffered for being Christians, but that they have been found worthy to suffer for being Christians. Suffering is something to be worthy of! Obviously their value system is different from that of most of us. And it's something I want to learn from.

Someday any one of us may have to suffer for being Christians. If it happens to me, instead of self-pity, not only do I want to feel God's love and support for me, but also, I want to rejoice for being found worthy to suffer for the sake of the name. What a wonderful thing to be able to rejoice like the apostles!

We Must Obey God Rather than Men

Readings:
I Chronicles 8
Acts 5:11-32

Focus:
Acts 5:29:"Peter replied for the apostles: 'We must obey God rather than men.'"

Just a few days ago we read that Peter and John had been cautioned by the authorities not to teach in the name of Jesus, and they had replied that it would not be right for them to obey men rather than God. So they continued to teach about Jesus, and the community of believers grew. The power of the Holy Spirit among them was so strong that many people were healed from various sicknesses.

The reputation of the Christians and the power of the Holy Spirit became so well known that it eventually became too much for the authorities, and they had the apostles arrested again. But when the apostles were miraculously freed through God's power, they continued to teach out in the open in the temple. They did not hide in fear. So it was easy for the authorities to lay their hands on them again.

The authorities then said, basically, "What on earth is this? We told you not to teach in this man's name, but you're just doing it all the more, plus you're blaming us for killing him!" But Peter and the other apostles, although they had reason to fear, because they had just been shown that the authorities meant what they said about trying to stop them, had equally just been shown, by their miraculous freeing from prison, that God was going to be with them no matter what. So they were able to again boldly proclaim, "We must obey God rather than men."

This is the confidence that we can gain the longer we build our relationship with God, and the deeper we make it. It was something I found out when I had cancer. We know God will be with us. So we too can boldly proclaim, "We must obey God rather than people."

You Have Lied Not to Men But to God

Readings:
I Chronicles 7
Acts 5:1-10

Focus:
Acts 5:4b:"What made you think of doing this? You have lied not to men but to God."

When I was younger, I misunderstood the story of Ananias and Sapphira. I thought that they were punished because, when they sold their property, they didn't give all their money to the church. Later I realized what their real transgression was, and this made much more sense. It's true that they didn't give all the proceeds of their sale to the church, but that wasn't their offense: their real sin was that they said that they were giving all of the earnings to the church. They were trying to look good while still keeping a lot of the profits for themselves.

Did Ananias and Sapphira truly believe that God was real? Sometimes I wonder about people who do things like they did. Maybe they got caught up in the early Christian movement and found it exciting, and wanted to be important. And one way they could look really good was to be one of the biggest givers. Only they didn't really want to give all their money away, so they just pretended that they gave it all. If they didn't truly--not down deep in their hearts--believe that there was a God who cared, it wouldn't matter.

But the thing is that there really is a God who knows exactly what we say and think and do. And his opinion matters more than the opinions of any of the people in our lives. When people lie, they are lying not to people but to God. And who really wants to lie to the God of the universe?

How Can God Allow Earthquakes?

Readings:
I Chronicles 6
Acts 4:32-37

Focus:
Acts 4:32b:"Not one of them claimed any of his possessions as his own; everything was held in common."

The earliest Christians shared their possessions freely. They are a model for us when we are faced with disasters such as the earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday, January 12. Our response, if we are not already giving regularly to disaster relief, should be to make a special effort to share our blessings with those who are in such dire need. As people who love God, we help those who need help.

The earthquake in Haiti also raises questions for many about God. Why, people wonder, if God loves everyone, does he allow horrible things like destructive earthquakes to happen to innocent people?

It is terribly difficult to realize that bad things happen in the world while we have a loving and all-powerful God. Yet the fact is that God gave us (humankind) the freedom to let sin into the world. So then when we made that choice, to allow sin into the world, it caused the whole creation to become broken. This opened the door to natural disasters.

Where God shows his good and powerful nature in all of this is in how he works with people in their response to disasters, and in how he brings good even out of horrific things. God could have made it otherwise; he could have not let us have the ability to choose sin, and therefore never let the creation be broken. Then no awful disasters would ever have happened.

But in his wisdom that is so much greater than ours, he knew that wouldn't be as good. We can't understand it. That's because we aren't God. All we can do is know that God is the definition of goodness and justice, and work to help those who have been affected by disaster.

And this world isn't the final answer. There is a world to come that will make this world look dim and pale and hard to remember by comparison. What we can do is work in this world to help others while waiting for that new world.

Is It Right in the Eyes of God for Us to Obey You Rather than Him?

Readings:
I Chronicles 5
Acts 4:13-31

Focus:
Acts 4:19a:"But Peter and John replied: 'Is it right in the eyes of God for us to obey you rather than him?'"

After Peter and John had brought about the healing of a man over 40 years old who had been unable to walk since birth, they were arrested and put in prison overnight. The authorities did not like it that this healing had been done in the name of Jesus, but did not feel they had the power to punish Peter and John, since the people were favorably impressed by the healing. So they just told Peter and John not to speak in the name of Jesus again.

Peter and John were not intimidated. Their loyalty was to a greater power. They said, basically, "Do you think God would like it if we ignored him in order to do what you say? Would he approve of what we were doing if we behaved that way?"

That kind of choice is before us all the time. People or circumstances ask us to behave in ways different from what God asks of us. But is it right in the eyes of God for us to obey the world, society, our friends, our family, rather than him? Would God like it if we ignored him in order to do what our friends, our family, our culture says we should do? If we really believe that God is real, we must consider this. If God is more to us than a nice idea, then is it right in the eyes of God for us to obey anyone rather than him?

No Other Name

Readings:
I Chronicles 4
Acts 4:1-12

Focus:
Acts 4:12:"There is no salvation through anyone else; in all the world no other name has been granted to mankind by which we can be saved."

It was through the name of Jesus that Peter and John had been able to heal a man who had been born unable to walk. When they were arrested because of this, and asked in what name or power they were able to do this, they answered frankly: it was in the name of Jesus, and only in his name. There is no other name, they said, that has this power. In fact, there is no other name by which we can be saved.

This is an exclusive claim that Biblical Christianity makes, but it is not an exclusivist claim. Being saved by the name of Jesus Christ brings joy and freedom. This is something that we would like everyone to have and to know in their lives as well--everyone, without exception. If only everyone would take the gift that Jesus offers!

Bringing You Blessing

Readings:
I Chronicles 3
Acts 3:17-26

Focus:
Acts 3:26:"When God raised up his servant, he sent him to you first, to bring you blessing by turning every one of you from his wicked ways."

Lots of people think that Christianity is about a bunch of rules, and that Christians are interested in telling other people what they can't do. This is far from the truth. In reality, Christianity is a relationship with God, and it is about the joy that brings, and freedom from being dragged down by sin.

But it is true that Christianity involves turning away from doing wrong things. Yet this is not something that makes life less fun. It's not like Christians are sitting around bored, wishing they could go out and party like their non-Christian friends. Instead, when Christians live the new life that they have in Christ, it brings them great blessing. The joy and freedom they experience is so great that they would never want to return to their old ways. They didn't know what it would be like until they had tried it. But once they did, it was so much better! If only everyone knew how great this life is.

Why Be Surprised?

Readings:
I Chronicles 2
Acts 3:1-16

Focus:
Acts 3:12a:"Peter saw them coming, and met them with these words: 'Men of Israel, why be surprised at this?'"

A man who has been crippled from birth has been begging next to a well-known gate for years. He himself is well known because of this prominent position by the gate. When Peter and John come by and he draws their attention, instead of giving him a gift of money, they heal him so that he can walk.

Naturally the crowd becomes aware of this healing and comes running up astounded, but Peter greets them with the words that they are not to be surprised. It is nothing less than what God can do.

We are so often like that crowd. We expect too little of God. Miraculous healings are not commonly seen now, and possibly were used more by God at the time that Jesus is on earth. But God is capable of doing anything that he wants to do. He is, after all, God. We should not be surprised when God does something unexpected, answers a prayer in a seemingly impossible way, or changes circumstances in a way that we might have thought impossible. God can do whatever he wants. Why be surprised?

What Are We to Do?

Readings:
I Chronicles 1
Acts 2:22:47

Focus:
Acts 2:37:"When they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Friends, what are we to do?'"

I love the way these people responded when they heard the message the apostles gave about Jesus. Their response was simply, "What are we to do?"

Often when we read the Bible we think of objections to or arguments about what we have read, or reasons why what we have read doesn't apply to us. Or we think of it as a nice story that we forget immediately after reading it.

But the best response of all to the story of Jesus--to the Bible--is to think about it and then to say to ourselves, "Now, what are we to do because of this?"

Everyone Who Calls on the Name of the Lord

Readings:
II Kings 25
Acts 2:1-21

Focus:
Acts 2:21:"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord on that day shall be saved."

God had allowed first the kingdom of Israel, and then the kingdom of Judah, to go into exile because of their sinful disregard of his ways. And throughout history many bad things have happened and will happen, ultimately all because of the warping of God's creation that happened when sin entered into the picture.

Yet God will not let that be the last word. On the day of Pentecost after the Resurrection of Jesus, he provided his Holy Spirit to guide and nurture believers from that time forward. And whenever anyone turns to him in sincereness of heart, God will answer. He will not turn anyone away who truly seeks him.

New Beginnings

Readings:
II Kings 24
Acts 1:12-26

Focus:
II Kings 24:12:"King Jehoiachin of Judah, along with his mother, his courtiers, his officers, and his eunuchs, surrendered to the king of Babylon. The king of Babylon, now in the eighth year of his reign, made him a prisoner."
Acts 1:26:"They drew lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was elected to be an apostle with the other eleven."

The kingdoms of Israel and Judah fell greatly into sin. Time after time, God sent prophets to them tell them to repent, and to warn them, so that they could avoid disaster. But they wouldn't listen, and eventually God showed his "tough love" for them by sending them into exile. The lines of the kings of Israel and Judah came to an end, or so it seemed.

When the religious and political leaders felt threatened by the sway that Jesus held over the people, one of his apostles, Judas Iscariot, betrayed him to them. His remorse after he did this was such that he then went out and killed himself. The group of 12 apostles, matching the number 12 of the patriarchs of Israel, had come to an end, or so it seemed.

But God is a God of new beginnings. He can always make something new and good happen when we turn to him in a desperate situation. A twelfth apostle was supplied and the work of the new church continued, despite what Judas Iscariot had done. God can renew any situation.

Why Stand There Looking Up into the Sky?

Readings:
II Kings 23
Acts 1:9-11

Focus:
Acts 1:10b-11a:"...all at once there stood beside them two men robed in white, who said, 'Men of Galilee, why stand there looking up into the sky?'"

When Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples were stunned and gazed after him, undoubtedly trying to figure out what exactly had happened. But the angels who appeared to them after that directed them as to what they should actually be focusing on: they should not be concentrating on where Jesus has gone, but rather they should be moving forward and doing the work that Jesus has left for them.

That is true for us as well. We should not spend our main focus speculating on the details of how and when Jesus will return, but rather we should spend our main focus doing his work here before he returns. Why stand there looking up into the sky?

Follow Me

Readings:
II Kings 22
John 21:20-25

Focus:
John 21:22:"Jesus said, 'If it should be my will that he stay until I come, what is it to you? Follow me.'"

In the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis, the lion Aslan represents Jesus. Often one of the children who are the main characters will ask Aslan questions about another character in the story, such as what might happen to that character, or why something happened to the character. Aslan will usually say, in response, something along the lines of, "That is not your story." Then Aslan will tell the child what that particular child needs to know for his or her own story--for his or her own path in life.

This is what Jesus is saying here. Jesus says, in effect, that what he wants us to concentrate on is following him. We should not get hung up on speculating what might be in God's plans for others. Instead, we should just follow Jesus. "Follow me" is also what Jesus said to Peter earlier, recorded in verse 19, after asking him three times if Peter loved him. This is what Jesus really, really wants us to do. And when we follow him, the consequences are that things will work out better not only for us, but for all those around us as well.

Redo

Readings:
II Kings 21
John 21:15-19

Focus:
John 21:17a:"A third time he said, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?'"

In this famous passage, John recounts how Jesus gives Peter (Simon Peter) a chance to start over. Earlier, before the crucifixion, as Christ had predicted, Peter had denied three times that he knew Jesus. When he realized that he had done this, he had been miserably disappointed in himself, and had gone out and wept bitterly. After doing such a thing, he must have felt that Jesus could never trust him again.

But when he sees Jesus several days after the Resurrection (having plunged enthusiastically through the water to greet him), when the two of them have a moment to themselves, Jesus asks Peter three times, "Do you love me?" By the time Jesus asks him a third time, Peter feels hurt; why would Jesus ask him three times? Wasn't once good enough? It must not have been until later that it dawned on Peter that Jesus had given him three chances to undo Peter's three denials. And Peter did; he affirmed three times that he loved Jesus.

This is the kind of Savior, the kind of God, that we have. Even after we have done the worst that we can do, he is willing to give us a chance to undo that, to erase our past misdeeds and start over again. All we have to do is turn to him, be sorry, and ask for help making a new start. It's an awfully good deal.

Throw the Net This Way

Readings:
II Kings 20
John 21:1-14

Focus:
John 21:6:"He said, 'Throw out the net to starboard, and you will make a catch.' They did so, and found they could not haul the net on board, there were so many fish in it."

There are so many things to think about in this passage and the following verses, sometimes it's hard to know what to concentrate on. For example, I love the image of Peter just throwing himself into the lake in order to get to Jesus as fast as he can. That's how Peter always was--he plunged in wholeheartedly.

What strikes me about this passage at the moment, however, is how the disciples had been fishing all night, and had caught nothing, after all their hard work. What they had done on their own had been fruitless.

But when they follow the directions of Jesus for what they are to do, everything is different. Suddenly the results of their work are incredible and overflowing! Giving Jesus control makes an amazing difference.

It may not always be so obvious and overwhelming in our lives. But when we let Jesus be in charge of what we do, the results, whether long-term or short-term, will always be better, more satisfying, and more fruitful, than anything we could achieve on our own.

Having Life by His Name

Readings:
II Kings 19
John 20:19-31

Focus:
John 20:31:"Those written here have been recorded in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this faith you may have life by his name."

In this verse John writes down the main purpose of the Bible. God wants us to have life. He inspired the various writers of the Bible to put into words what he wants to communicate to us: that he loves us, that we are to obey him, and that when we fail, he will take the punishment for us--but that it won't end there; he will overcome death. All of this is so that, when we acknowledge that we have failed, and acknowledge what he has done for us by taking this punishment, and turn our lives over to him, then we can live life to the full and have eternity with him.

It is freedom to give our lives to him. It is happiness and peace. It is what I would want for everyone that I know.

A God Different from All Others

Readings:
II Kings 18
John 20:1-18

Focus:
II Kings 18:35:"Among all the gods of the nations, is there one who saved his land from me? So how is the Lord to save Jerusalem?"
John 20:17b:"Go to my brothers, and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

The king of Assyria had already conquered many Middle Eastern countries, among them the kingdom of Israel. Now the Assyrians were besieging Judah, and the king of Assyria sent an intimidating message to be read in Hebrew, the language of the common people, before their city walls. He scorned the God of the Judahites, saying that this God was no better than the gods of any of the other peoples he had conquered, and that he would conquer them as he had conquered the others.

But the king of Assyria did not know that this time, he was facing a real god. With the exception of the kingdom of Israel, the other kingdoms he had conquered had worshipped false idols made of wood, metal, and stone. In Judah, however, the god that was worshipped was the living God. And this God had power that the king of Assyria had not even dreamed of.

This God had so much power that he could come himself in the form of a little baby, taking upon himself human flesh, and grow into a man, and then die a painful, humiliating death, in order to take upon himself the punishment for every human being's sins. And then after that, this God had so much power that he could rise from the dead.

This is a God that we can give our whole hearts, our whole lives to.