Day 37: Acts 25:1-27

Governor Festus is trying to tell visiting King Agrippa and his Queen Bernice who this prisoner named Paul is and why he is being held captive. He expresses surprise that the charges levelled against him by the chief priests and the Jewish leaders were not as serious as he had anticipated. “Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.” (v. 19)

“A dead man named Jesus.”

That is how Festus views Jesus. A dead man. Just another rebel put to death by the Romans before he could disrupt the Pax Romana that they maintained with ruthless force and do any damage to the empire. Yes, Paul claims that this Jesus was alive. But obviously, Festus is not buying that story. After all, it is only a “claim!”

Oddly enough, nearly 2000 years later, the world is still full of “Festuses” who simply dismiss Jesus as no more than a dead man, just like the founders of other world religions. There are those who agree that Jesus was someone special, a wise teacher, a phenomenal miracle-worker, a great leader, etc., who still do not believe that anything happened beyond his death.

Sadly, there are even “Christians” in churches who do not believe that Jesus was raised from death. They believe that He continues to live through those who follow Him. They would describe Him as being “immortal” in this sense. But, as for Him being alive today…they’re not quite ready to go that far.

Yet, as the apostle Paul puts it in I Corinthians 15:14: “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” To get even more down to basics, without believing in His Resurrection, you cannot be saved! Here is Paul again: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

The challenge that faces us is the same that the first edition of Church in the Book of Acts faced. You may recall this episode in Acts 17, when Paul was preaching to a non-Jewish crowd in Athens. As long as he was talking about God the Creator, no problem. Everyone was with him. But, as soon as he declared the truth about Jesus, here is what happened.

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.” (vs. 32-34)

How do we “prove” to those who believe that the Christian faith is about “a dead man named Jesus” that he is alive today?

There are some who can do this via scholarly debate with persuasive logic and appeal to extrabiblical sources. However, for most of us, the best way is what we have been seeing in the book of Acts over the past 37 days. You guessed, it, signs and wonders.

Go back and read through the entire book of Acts and you will discover over and over again that it was signs, wonders and miracles that provided irrefutable proof that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead—whether it was the healing of the lame in Jerusalem (chapter 3) or Lystra (chapter 14), the raising of Tabitha from the dead (chapter 9), or the many others described in summary form (5:12-16, 6:8, 8:6-7, 19:11-12).

If Jesus is doing through Christians (little Christs) today exactly what He did when He was physically alive on this earth, then surely, He is no longer “a dead man named Jesus” who Paul, …………..(your name) and others “claim is alive”, but He is indeed alive. Today. Here’s the “in-your-face” proof.

Now it is their turn to respond–to sneer, to hear you again or to believe.

Day 34: Acts 22:22-23:11  

Paul gets into trouble again (Surprise! Surprise!) with yet another crowd turning on him, this time in Jerusalem. “Then they raised their voices and shouted, ‘Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!’” (v. 22). Before they could take matters into their own hands though, the Roman Commander comes to his rescue.

He then orders Paul to be flogged and interrogated—in that particular order. The flogging would make him more open to tell the truth when he was interrogated. That was Roman logic for you.

What happens next is rather unexpected: As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered…Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. (vs. 25-27, 29).

As we know from previous chapters, Paul is not exactly allergic to suffering. Nor is he immune to it. He had experienced his fair share of persecution along the way. Most of the time he would just take it lying down, so to speak. Yet, in this instance and also in Philippi (Acts 16:37-39), he pulls out the trump card of Roman citizenship that prevents them from laying a hand on him.

What is going on here?

Fast forward to chapter 23:6-8, when Paul is facing the Sanhedrin. “Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

Let’s be clear about one fact. The leadership of the Jews was clearly opposed to Paul and wanted to stop him from spreading the message of the gospel. Yet, before they could come at him unanimously, Paul comes up with a strategy to split them down the middle by blatantly siding with one of the two groups. Now there is a brouhaha within the Sanhedrin between the Pharisees and the Sadducees which prevents them from doing anything to Paul.

What is Paul doing here?

Sandwiched between these two episodes…in Acts 23:1, Paul makes what seems to be an innocuous statement: “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”  The response to it is shocking: At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

Paul’s response is rather harsh, wouldn’t you say? “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”

When he discovers that he has just insulted the High Priest, Paul repents instantly: “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”

What is this incident all about?

Remember these words of Jesus from Matthew 10:16? “Be wise as serpents and innocent as doves?” Paul illustrates this advice perfectly in today’s reading.

By apologizing immediately when he realized that he had violated Exodus 22:28 (“Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people”), Paul maintains his innocence before God.

By using his Roman citizenship to his advantage and by causing a split in the Sanhedrin, Paul demonstrates the need to be wise as serpents.

The same Holy Spirit who directed Paul to act with wisdom and stay innocent will do the same for us as well. Amen?

Day 31: Acts 20:7-38

In verses 7-12, we read about a meeting in an upper room where Paul was preaching and teaching. We’re not sure when he got going, but he was still carrying on with no sign of quitting when the clock struck midnight.

Let’s conservatively estimate that the meeting started at 9 p.m. Eutychus is enjoying Pauls’ message in the closest thing to a recliner in the room—leaning against the equivalent of what we would call a window “frame” today. Even the eloquent and erudite apostle could not hold Eutychus’ attention captive for more than three hours.

If Eutychus had been sitting on the floor or leaning against a wall, hitting the ground could have passed for being slain in the Spirit. But when you nod off from your lofty perch on a window sill with no bars or screens to break your fall, you hit the bottom floor. Paul sure knocked him dead with his preaching, didn’t he?

How does he respond to this emergency right smack in the middle of Point 7 of his sermon? He puts the sermon on pause. “Excuse me for a minute, folks, while I attend to a situation that has arisen that needs my attention.” He “went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, ‘Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.’” (v. 10).

Notice the casualness of the entire episode. A guy drops dead while I’m preaching? No big deal! I’ll just go raise him up. “Don’t go away, folks! I’ll be right back to finish my sermon!”

Eutychus comes back to life.  What does Paul do next? “Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.” (v. 11). The pause turns into a midnight lunch break. Paul packs some carbs into his system, gets another shot of energy and keeps going for a longer stretch than before–until daybreak. Conservatively, let’s say he got going again at 1 a.m. and finished at 5. He finishes his seven hour, 77 point sermon and hits the road again.

What strikes me about Paul is how natural it was for him to perform a supernatural act in raising Eutychus from the dead. There was no big fuss. No panic. No cause for concern. Raising the dead was no different than healing someone of a headache.

While, on the one hand, it is a striking display of God’s power, yet, it is exactly what Jesus sent his newly-minted disciples to do on their very first ministry trip: “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.” (Matthew 10:7-8)

Raising the dead is not even given a climactic place at the end of the directives; it is sandwiched between cleansing lepers and casting out demons. It’s no big deal!

Paul says in his farewell visit with the elders in Ephesus that all he did was “preaching the Kingdom of God” (v. 25). As he writes elsewhere: “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of humanwisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power…” (I Corinthians 2:4). And again in Romans 15:19: “…in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that…I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

Signs and wonders were not an exception, but the norm. They were part and parcel of preaching the gospel of Christ. Yes, indeed, for Paul, the supernatural was so natural.

How about you, dear friend? Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” (John 14:12)

That promise was not just for Paul in the Upper Room that night. Do you believe in Jesus? If so, it is also for you right now. Amen?

 

Day 28: Acts 18:1-28

You really have to give Aquila and Priscilla a lot if credit for what they did with Apollos.

Credit for their courage. Credit for their caring. Credit for their correction.

First, for their courage.  Let’s remember the context of this incident. Apollos is the guest preacher in Ephesus. He is a teacher and a good one at that–an eloquent man mighty in the Scriptures…he spoke and taught accurately the things of The Lord…he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.” (vs. 25-26)

It takes courage to correct the guest minister at your church, doesn’t it? Aquila and Priscilla realized that Apollos knew only the baptism of John. In other words, he was teaching that baptism was only for repentance. He was not familiar with baptism in the name of Jesus. He certainly had not experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Clearly, he needed to know the complete truth.  You see, there was nothing wrong with the rest of his teaching, as we see in v. 28:”He vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.” However, there was a gap in his theology that Aquila and Priscilla promptly filled with their correction.

This is why I applaud them for having the courage to correct Apollos.

Secondly, for their caring, which is evident in the way they corrected him. “They took him aside and explained to him the way off God more accurately.” (V. 26)

They took him aside.  They did not correct him in public.  They did not embarrass him in front of the congregation. They did it in a private setting.

Here is a cardinal rule that we would do well to follow: Praise in public, correct in private. Sadly, in many instances, the exact opposite happens. Praise, if it is offered at all, is often done behind the scenes. (“We don’t want it to get to your head, you know!”) Correction often happens in front of everybody.  The one who is corrected is often humiliated. Those observing want to crawl under the rug.  And no one is edified.

Aquila and Priscilla cared enough to correct in private, as Jesus taught us in Matthew 18:15.  They deserve our applause.

Thirdly, they are to be commended for choosing to correct.  They could have shied away from confrontation and possible conflict by saying nothing. But too much was at stake. On two fronts.

On the one hand, the Ephesian Church needed to know the whole truth, which went beyond the baptism of repentance. On the other hand, Apollos, who had so many other gifts that could be used by God in evangelizing the Jews, needed to proclaim the complete gospel, which included baptism in the name of Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Aquila and Priscilla took the risk of offending him or hurting his feelings. They did not go the route of avoiding potential conflict. They cared enough to confront and convict.  They deserve our applause.

Having commended Aquila and Priscilla for their ministry of correction, we also need to applaud Apollos for receiving the correction in humility.  Because of his willingness to be corrected, “when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him.” (V. 27). Another door of ministry opened up for Apollos as a result.

Dear friend, there are times when you will find yourself in the position of Apollos, needing to be corrected.  Will you be humble enough to receive correction?

On other occasions, you will be called to offer the ministry of correction.  Will you, like, Aquila and Priscilla, correct with courage and with caring?

I hope and pray that you will.

 

 

Day 25: Acts 16:19-40

At midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. (Acts 16:25-26)

Did you hear about the recent earthquake in Chile that measured 8.2 on the Richter scale? Thankfully, the loss of life and damage to property was minimal, considering the magnitude of the quake. However, there was one unexpected consequence that caught everyone off guard.

It was reported that the earthquake caused all doors to be opened at a women’s prison in Iquique and all 293 inmates escaped.

The connection with the earthquake in today’s reading could not be ignored. An earthquake hits a prison in Philippi nearly 2000 years ago. Another one hits a prison in Chile earlier this week. The result is the same. No prisoner is held by chains anymore. Every one of them is free. In the case of Philippi, none escaped. In Chile, they all escaped.

What preceded the earthquake in Philippi? Prayer and Praise by Paul and Silas. Having just suffered a severe beating with rods, experiencing excruciating pain, they choose not to cry or complain about their predicament. They lift up their eyes to heaven, focus on Jesus and offer a sacrifice of prayer and praise.

Anyone in Paul and Silas’ condition would have prayed any one of the following prayers:

“O God, please look upon your servants with favour.”

“O God, please make this pain go away.”

“O God, please send an angel to get us out of here as you did for Peter.”

But, Paul and Silas do not stop with prayer alone. They add praise. And, all of a sudden, great power is released. The earthquake follows.

Notice that “the foundations of the prison were shaken” as a result of the earthquake. Not only were Paul and Silas now free from their chains, but so were the rest of the prisoners.

That, my friends, is the power of prayer and praise—a very potent combination.

This power is so great that it does not simply set individuals free, it shakes the very foundation of the structure that keeps them bound. When the foundation is compromised, the structure comes tumbling down.

When we began this 40 Day Fast, it was with a dual purpose. Firstly that our hearts would become more like that of our Father whose will is that “none should perish” (2 Peter 3:9).  Secondly, to quote Lou Engle: “Prayer is the Air Force that softens the enemy defenses for the ground troops to move in and take the land.” In other words, we pray that Holy Spirit will soften the hearts of those who have not yet made Jesus the Lord and Saviour of their lives, so that they will be ready to surrender their lives to Jesus when they encounter a member of the ground troops.

The magnitude of the Great Harvest which is about to be reaped is so huge that territory will be taken in large chunks. It is not only individual conversations and corporate gatherings that will result in conversions.

But, like the earthquake in Philippi, the very foundations of the structures that keep people bound and blind to the truth will be shaken.  Watch for the present scientific presuppositions that declare many addictions to be “diseases” or “unalterable conditions” to simply crumble in the very near future. We too will see “prisoners” set free in very large numbers at one time.

What are you and I called to contribute to this coming harvest? If Paul & Silas’ example is any indication, we too are called to simply add Praise to Prayer. The power that is released from heaven when this happens is nothing short of earth-shaking and the results will be earth-shattering!

Will you do your part? I hope so. I pray so. Let it be so. Amen.

Day 22: Acts 15:1-21

The leadership of the early Church is forced to confront a serious theological issue that threatens to rip them apart. “Do Gentiles who become Christians need to become Jews first through the rite of circumcision or not?”

The issue is first raised in Antioch by certain unnamed men from Judaea (v. 1) and again in Jerusalem by a sect of the Pharisees (v. 5). We can learn a lot from the manner in which the leadership addressed this issue and eventually settled it.

The group in Antioch “determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.” (v. 2)

Paul and Barnabas had just returned from their first missionary journey, where they saw Gentiles come to Jesus in large numbers (chapters 13 & 14). They did not require any of them to become Jews first before they could become Christians. Needless to say they did not see the necessity of this intermediary step. They were convinced that God did not require it either.

Regardless of where they stood on the issue, they still did not want to go any further without input from the leadership in Jerusalem. Thus the decision is made that a group of them would travel to Jerusalem for this purpose.

They teach us the importance of honouring those whom God has placed in spiritual authority over us by seeking their input first. Sad to say, time and again, we see this violated at various levels of the church. Someone makes a decision independently without consulting or receiving the blessing of their spiritual authority. More often than not, this has the potential to cause confusion and/or further division. In certain cases it leads to a loss of credibility, which is often very difficult to gain back.

Even though Paul & Barnabas had great credibility with the church in Antioch, they still go to Jerusalem.

When they get to Jerusalem, the sect of the Pharisees present their case: “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” (v. 5)

There are three different responses that present the case for the exact opposite—from Peter, Paul & Barnabas and James respectively.

Peter, who saw Holy Spirit come upon the Gentiles gathered at the house of Cornelius states very simply that God, by “giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us…made no distinction between us and them…”  Then he poses a pointed question: “Why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (vs. 8-10).

Paul and Barnabas stress “how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.” (v. 12)

Finally, James provides the Council with the backing of Scriptures from Amos 9:10-11 to prove that what the others were reporting lined up exactly with God’s heart “that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name.”

Notice how, when Paul and Barnabas honoured their spiritual authority and went to Jerusalem, their position was bolstered even more—first with Peter’s testimony and persuasive words, then with James’ appeal to the prophets. Now they have the backing of the Jerusalem Church, and their credibility goes up more than before.

Dear friend, no wonder then that Scripture teaches us: “Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith…Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God” (Hebrews 13:7, 17).

We would be wise to heed these words, as did the leadership in Antioch. Amen?

Day 19: Acts 13:1-31

Following a Lenten service at a neighbouring church on Thursday, I was enjoying a bowl of hearty salmon chowder and carrying on a conversation with others at the table. Then it was time for dessert. One of the ladies was kind enough to ask if she could bring me a piece of chocolate cake. I politely declined saying that I was abstaining from sweets as part of my Lenten Fast, therefore dessert was out of the question for me.

Much to my surprise, this triggered a response from two ladies who sat across from me. “I stopped giving up something for Lent long time ago,” said one. Her neighbour completed the sentence for her: “Ever since our priest told us that we should really be adding something rather than giving up something.” “That’s why we visit the shut-ins”, piped the other one.

As much as I was tempted to respond, I chose to chow down another bowl of chowder instead.

When I came home and started reading this passage in order to prepare this reflection, I was quite taken by this description of the leadership in the church at Antioch: As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2)

“Ministered to the Lord.” This is the job description of priests in the Old Testament. “Aaron was set apart, he and his descendants forever, to consecrate the most holy things, to offer sacrifices before the LORD, to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in his name forever.” (I Chronicles 23:13)

The priests were entrusted with the responsibility of keeping the fire on the altar burning 24/7, offering sacrifices of praise to the Lord. King David made ministering to the Lord such a great priority, as we see in this passage: All the Levites who were thirty years old or older were counted, and the total came to thirty-eight thousand. Then David said, “Twenty-four thousand of them will supervise the work at the Temple of the LORD. Six thousand are to serve as officials and judges. Four thousand will work as gatekeepers, and another four thousand will praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have made.” (I Chronicles 23:3-5)

David, being a worshiper himself, recognized that everything begins with ministering unto the Lord.

The leadership in Antioch is very aware of this priority. They realize that as a “royal priesthood” all of us who are part of Jesus’ family need to make it our priority as well.

As they minister unto the Lord (with worship and praise), they open themselves up to receive direction from the Holy Spirit. It is worth noting that they fasted as well.

Dear friend, the purpose of every Fast that we ever undertake is to really fix our eyes on the Lord more than we normally do when we are not fasting. This is why in our churches we have been stressing the need to take some quiet time every day and simply sit in silence before the Lord and focus on Him and Him alone.

If we do not make ministering to the Lord our first and foremost priority, we could easily fall into the trap of ministering to others and neglecting our first love. What a shame that would be!

Yes, by all means, go visit the shut-ins, heal the sick and minister to the needs of others. But, make sure that your first priority is to minister unto the Lord.

As the leadership in Antioch discovered, it is in those times of ministering to the Lord that He often ministers to us!

May this be your experience as well. Correction. Make this your experience as well.

Day 16: Acts 10:24-48

In yesterday’s reading from Acts 10:1-23, we saw how God speaks to both Peter and Cornelius about the other. They both act in obedience. Cornelius dispatches a group to go get Peter. Peter goes, taking with him a group of Jewish believers. After exchanging pleasantries, Peter gets right to his mission.

He delivers a very simple message, introducing Jesus to this group of Gentiles. He highlights the healing ministry of Jesus. Then he mentions his death and resurrection and lets them know that “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Please note that Peter does not issue an altar call. He does not call for them to do anything, not even repent. But, something totally unexpected happens. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Holy Spirit does not wait for Peter to even call on Him to fall on them. Of course, the Gentiles had no idea of what was happening. But the Jewish believers are totally flabbergasted, because things are not taking place in their proper order.

Let’s flashback to the Day of Pentecost. Interestingly enough, Peter did not issue an altar call then either. They were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)

Holy Spirit is once again at work, just as Jesus promised in John 16:8: “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” 

Remember Peter’s reply to their question: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

Notice the order. Be baptized first, then you will receive Holy Spirit.

Yet, here at Cornelius’ place, Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles without giving Peter a heads-up, leading him to say: “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

Notice the order once again. Receive Holy Spirit first. Then be baptized.

Looks like someone forgot to inform Holy Spirit that it was supposed to be the other way around 🙂

I guess, when you’re God, you can do it in whatever order you choose to and mess up our neatly constructed theology, huh?

Recently, my spiritual father Steve Long was invited to be the “faith healer” on a show focusing on alternative methods of healing along with other panelists including a chiropractor, acupuncturist, Reiki practitioner and a naturopath.

When it was Steve’s turn, he asked for a volunteer who had pain. The co-host, Denise Donlon admitted she had back pain at that very moment. Steve then asked the other host, Conrad Black, to lay hands on her back while she repeated after him: “This healing belongs to me because of what Jesus has done. I receive my healing now in Jesus’ name.” Much to her surprise, the pain completely left Denise’s body.

You may or may not be aware of this, but Conrad Black is the former CEO of the Hollinger media conglomerate who recently spent three plus years behind bars for defrauding his investors and obstruction of justice.

Holy Spirit conveniently chooses to ignore his shady reputation and uses him to minister healing right in front of a television camera. You can watch the episode here: http://thezoomertv.com/videos/alternative-medicine/ (around the 17 minute mark).

If Pastor Steve Long had laid hands on her, that would be one thing. But using Conman, I mean Conrad Black…ah, Holy Spirit, there you go again, messing with us. I guess we’d better get used to your ways, eh, God?

Day 13: Acts 9:1-22

Put yourself in the moccasins of Ananias. As a follower of Jesus in Damascus, you are fully aware of Saul’s mission to arrest people like you and throw you in jail. Clearly you are not aware of the encounter that Saul had with Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Would you be excited about being in the same room as the premier persecutor of Christians of your time? Would a lamb relish the thought of being left alone with a hungry lion?

That is why Ananias is so startled when the Lord tells him in a vision: “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

 

That Saul? The one whose very name struck terror in the heart of every believer? No way, Jesus!

Once Jesus answers his objections, we are told that “Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

 

As a result, Ananias has the distinction of being the one who baptizes Saul, the terrorist who goes on to become an evangelist, Paul, the greatest apostle of all time.

Ananias was not eager about his assignment, but he was willing to act in obedience.

Not that long ago, our dear friend and contributor to DWOD Ron Mills had a word for my wife, Sulojana. The gist of the prophecy was that God wanted Sulojana to come out from her comfort zone (behind the scenes supporting me) and be out in front of everyone (while I receded into the background).

Those who know Sulojana well are aware that she would rather be be in the shadows than in the limelight. When she received these words from Ron, she was not exactly excited about them. (At least I don’t recall her jumping up and down and doing a Hallelujah breakdance!)

Noticing the expression on her face, Ron said with a smile, but in a firm voice: “You don’t have to be eager, you just have to be willing.”

Ananias was not the first one in the Bible to be recruited for a job that he was not eager to do. To give you just a couple of illustrations…

Consider Jonah. God told him to go to Nineveh. He chose to go in the opposite direction to Tarshish. This decision gets him into more trouble than anticipated. Ultimately, Jonah learns that you don’t need to be eager, just willing.

Or take Esther. She is not exactly excited about going to the King’s court uninvited and risk getting executed. But Mordecai makes it clear that she does not have to be eager, just willing. She calls a fast, goes to the court, finds favour…and the rest is history.

Is it safe to say that many of us who follow Jesus are not particularly eager about evangelism? It pushes us out of our comfort zone. We risk rejection. We could even face persecution. Yet, it is exactly what Jesus commissioned us to do. So, it is not a matter of whether we are eager or not. What really matters is whether we are willing.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15)

How about you, dear friend? Are you willing to obey, even when you’re not eager? If the willingness of Ananias and Esther are any indication, it is certainly worth the risk. Amen?

Day 10: Acts 7:17-53

Most of today’s passage reads more like a history lesson taught by Stephen to a group of leaders who would be very familiar with the facts. The bulk of his talk centers around the life of Moses. Stephen begins with Moses’ birth and works his way chronologically through significant episodes in his life, before and after assuming the mantle of leadership. 

However, the purpose behind this rehashing of a familiar story is to point out that Moses was rejected by his own people (vs. 35 & 38). Stephen then goes on to say that this was a familiar pattern in the history of the Jewish nation. The most recent example, of course, was their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah. Listen to how he confronts them with this reality:

 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.” (vs 51-53).

Stephen lets them know that the consequence of their rejection went beyond simply rejecting the message and/or the messenger. They were actually resisting the Holy Spirit.

Would someone knowingly resist the Holy Spirit? Not likely, eh? But, Stephen says that in rejecting those whom God sent—be it Moses, a prophet or Jesus—they unwittingly resisted the Holy Spirit.

This is rather subtle, but it is something that should give us pause. Surely, none of us would resist the Holy Spirit, if we were aware that this is what we were doing. However, is it possible that in rejecting those through whom Holy Spirit works, we could be guilty of resisting Him unawares?

Perhaps the word they deliver hits us the wrong way.

Perhaps they interpret a passage of Scripture differently than we do.

Perhaps they do a prophetic act that shakes us up.

Perhaps it is signs and wonders which we have not seen before that startle us.

My friend Henry Nwaneri once made the statement: “It is easy for us to trust Holy Spirit by Himself, but not as easy to trust Holy Spirit in another person.” Isn’t this lack of trust one of the reasons why divisions come about in the Church? We expect Holy Spirit to show up in a particular way to which we are accustomed. When that does not happen, we suspect that it may not be really God or worse that it could be of the devil.

Yet, Jesus makes it very clear that Holy Spirit is like the wind which “blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” (John 3:8). He can be unpredictable. He is certainly uncontrollable!

This is why in the passage we read two days ago, wise old Gamaliel issues this caution to the members of the Sanhedrin: “Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)

He did not want them to be guilty of resisting Holy Spirit. Yet, sadly, history proves that this is exactly what they did. As Stephen pointed out, they had quite an unenviable track record of doing this down through the ages.

So, dear friend, as you complete the first quarter of the Fast today, would you ask Holy Spirit to show you if you have in any way ended up resisting Him when you chose to reject one of His anointed ones? Repent. Forgive yourself. Ask their forgiveness, if possible. Receive forgiveness. And keep on advancing into your destiny.