Engaging Scripture

Is American life killing you? – Acts 11:19-30, Part 1

Are you ready for the quarantine to be done? Are you ready to get back to work? Are you ready for things to get back to normal, or least whatever the new normal will be? If so, you’re not alone. At the grocery store last week, my wife, Michelle, rolled into a checkout line with a cart-full. Another walked up behind her with just two items, so Michelle said to the lady, “You can go ahead of me.” You know how the lady responded? “Thanks, but I can wait. What will I do? Get home faster so I can clean my floor for the fourth time?”

For some of you now on quarantine for two months, it feels like life is so boring and there is nothing to do and you are missing out! My kids missed out on their spring sports seasons, and we missed being able to cheer for them. For many of us quarantine life has brought new pressures and a new schedule, and we can be unsure what to do and how to think. The result is that we want quarantine to be done, and get back to what life used to be like.

But I’m wondering if nearly two months of quarantine has caused us to forget what life used to be like. Is it possible we are remembering differently how things were just a few months ago?

A month and a half before the quarantine, I read an article [1] that haunted me. I want to read parts of it now to help us remember what life was like. The writer said that the average American, before the quarantine, was:

Enduring some type of chronic illness, over-stressed and rushed, in an unrewarding job, with little or no savings, greatly in debt, burdened by a fat mortgage, has two vehicles in the driveway with a 5 or 7-year loan on each, lots of gadgets and toys to keep you occupied, a huge TV, little free time for yourself due to your career, weekends filled with church and/or senseless entertainment, and a bathroom cabinet heavily stacked with pharmaceutical tic tacs to help cope with the emptiness of it all.

If this at all speaks to you, it’s OK. This is considered normal in America. You are a success. You’ve achieved the American Dream. Your obedience and education and hard work have paid off. Congratulations.

But the problem is that you’re miserable and shallow and quite possibly unhealthy and a little dispirited and you’ll likely die of either heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, or suicide in the not so distant future — statistically speaking.

Or you’ll make it to old age with this all too common deathbed regret — wishing you had the courage to live a life true to yourself, not the life of what others expected of you.

Despite living in the richest country on the planet with a gargantuan military (and budget) to keep you so-called “safe,” you’re frightened and unhappy more than ever before. Seems your material abundance and chronic hustle and “good citizen” ideals have done nothing for your happiness or well-being.

In fact, this status chasing, security-obsessed, hurried American lifestyle is draining you of your life energy. It’s killing you. It has been for some time. And you feel it.

Anyone remember that feeling? Or at least some parts of that feeling? Or maybe you think that we Christians avoid that. The author goes on to suggest that this has affected Christians too:

Even the devout Christians among us, as far as I can see, are more influenced by our diseased culture than the “give it all away” teachings of Jesus. Christians tend to be up there with the most materialistic people among us, which is ironic because they supposedly follow the teachings of the least materialistic human known to man. The culture of materialism and consumerism is our God. Yes, even among the devout. The cultural programming runs deep and it’s clear to see that our hearts and minds have been severed from the sacred.

Clearly the author is talking about people other people, right? Not us? Or might he be talking about us? Maybe a little bit?

He was writing before the quarantine. I wonder what he would say now that we’ve been forced to live a different existence. But even now does something remain in our hearts that still needs be shifted? I wonder if that inner cultural programming is still brewing just beneath the surface. Is it possible that at least some of our cultural desire to reopen the economy is because we’re addicted to the high we got off the American Dream or off of the busyness of life, and we’re jonesing for it again? Now stuck at home are we so unsettled because we’re with ourselves and our thoughts for the first time in years and we don’t like what we’ve found there?

My wife’ friend who is at home now, off work because of the quarantine, helping her four children with online school. This woman posted on social media, “Talking to people who absolutely hate the quarantine makes me realize that maybe their old life wasn’t stressing them out as much as mine was! I am so relieved to not have some of those pressures anymore and am looking forward to implementing some changes when the quarantine is lifted.”

It is really easy to only see the virus as a problem that needs to be solved. Surely, it is that. I am praying daily for a vaccine, for better testing, for healing, for protection for front-line workers. I want the virus to be eradicated.

May I also suggest that the virus is a solution to the problem. The virus is revealing things that we maybe have long hidden or buried or had no idea are realities in our lives. Problems. Errors. Inadequacies. Sins. Bad habits. Busyness. Materialism. Focus on self rather than on mission. If so, there is a sense in which the virus is the solution to the problem.

This week we are going to read about some folks who were passionate about the mission of God. I want us to be inspired by their lives. I know that I am and am hoping maybe you can be too. Maybe something in the article above describes your life. Maybe you want to be more committed to God’s mission. But you feel exasperated. You wonder, “How do I do it? What does it look like?” Ask God to speak to you this week as we study the story in Acts 11:19-30. Then check back here each day this week for the next four posts.

[1] https://medium.com/@erikrittenberry/the-american-life-is-killing-you-9e7e68135f4a

Breaking down walls that keep us from accomplishing the mission of Jesus – Acts 9:32-11:18, Part 5

*Photo by Francisco Andreotti on Unsplash*

Are there any “walls” you’ve allowed to keep you from fulfilling the mission of Jesus?

This week as we have been studying Acts 9:32-11:18, we’ve seen how God appears to Peter in a dream, telling him to go to a non-Jew named Cornelius. In Acts 10:17-23, God’s dream to Peter comes true, as men from Cornelius show up at Peter’s house, and the Spirit directs Peter to go with them. Then in Acts 10:24-33, Peter travels to Cornelius, who welcomes Peter. Next in Acts 10:34-48, after Peter tells Cornelius the story of the good news about Jesus, the Spirit comes on the people there, and Peter baptizes them. In their conversation, Peter makes an important observation in verses 27-29 and 34-35, showing that he has interpreted the dream of the unclean animals as God intended, that God does not show favoritism, but instead loves all and wants to be in relationship with all. God wanted the Christians to break down the wall between Jews and non-Jews. Peter’s visit to Cornelius was one of the first steps in demolishing that wall.

I especially love verse 45 when we read that the circumcised believers there, who were Jewish Christians, were astonished at what was happening. They had no category in their worldview that God might love anyone else as much as he loved his chosen people the Jews. When the Spirit comes on Cornelius and the others who were not Jews, it was a huge moment for them. Just as the disciples had spoken in other languages in Acts 2, now the non-Jews, filled by the Spirit are doing the same. A very real wall existed in their minds, and it was starting to crumble. God had, from as far back as his covenant with Abraham said that through Abraham, all people in the world would be blessed. That blessing was starting to happen before their very eyes.

The story concludes in Acts 11:1-18, as Peter returns to Jerusalem to explain what happened. Look at verse 2. Peter takes some heat for entering the house of a non-Jew! It didn’t matter that Peter was the leader of the church. The kosher perspective, the Jewish chosen nation perspective, the idea that non-Jews were unclean, was so deeply entrenched in those Jewish Christians’ minds, that they felt they had to confront Peter about his actions. They think Peter has sinned, that he has gone off the rails. To them, maintaining a strong wall was vital.

So Peter has say, “Hold on. This was God’s idea.” And he explains the sequence of events for them, how God gave him the dream, and how the Spirit came upon the non-Jews. The conclusion in verse 18 shows that the rest of the Christians in Jerusalem responded by praising God. Now they too support the idea of the destruction of the wall!

As the wall crumbles, the mission to the Gentiles was fully opened. The Kingdom of God is for all. It was never just for Jews. Paul would write that in Christ there is neither Jew, nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, but all are one in Christ. This was the symbolic message God had giving to Peter in the dream. The old dividing wall of clean and unclean is gone.

We, too, need to ask: Is there anything holding us back? Is there any tradition that we adhere to that is a barrier to the advancement of the Kingdom of God? Have we put up any walls that need to come down?

Also, like Peter had forgotten or ignored Jesus’ teaching about this in Mark 7, are there truths that God has told us that we need to be reminded of? Truths about who we are in him? When you are stuck in your house, and maybe having some extra fears and anxieties, maybe feeling extra restless, or purposeless, do you remember who he said you are?

You are his beloved. You have a purpose. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, you might not be able to go about life as you are used to right now. Some of you are not able to go to work, and you miss the fulfillment and purpose you found in that. Some of you are not able to be the grandparents you normally are, and you miss your grandkids so deeply. Those things are not wrong to find purpose in. Through work, through grand-parenting, through volunteering, we can use our gifts for the mission of God’s Kingdom.

But as those things have shifted or paused during the quarantine, be reminded of the truth that you are a child of God. You are beloved. Spend time with your father. Write truths around your home. Memorize them in these moments of feeling frustrated. Peter needed to remember and refocus on some truths Jesus had shown him previously. What do we need to refocus on?

How ballroom dance helped my church see the mission of Jesus more clearly – Acts 9:32-11:18, Part 4

Are you able to tell the difference between a man-made Christian tradition and the biblical mission? Can you think of a tradition that might actually be getting in the way of you and your church accomplishing the mission?

This week we’ve been studying Acts 9:32-11:18, and in that story God gives Peter a dream trying to help Peter see that a Jewish tradition was getting in the way of the mission Jesus had given his disciples.

What Peter heard in the dream was not a new concept for him. How do we know this? Because Jesus years before had taught them so. Jesus mentions these cleanliness laws in Mark 7:1-23. In Deuteronomy 14 God said that certain animals made the people unclean when those people ate them. Jesus flips that and says, “No, it’s what is already inside you that is unclean, and it is revealed when you let it out of your heart.” In Mark 7, verses 21-22, Jesus makes a new list of what is unclean: evil thoughts, sexually immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. When you notice those actions coming out of you, that should concern you, Jesus says, not pig’s meat.

Mark even makes a brief parenthetical comment in verse 9, saying that Jesus had now declared all foods clean! But the disciples hadn’t followed that part of Jesus’ teaching. Why? Perhaps they were allowing their Jewish culture and tradition to take precedence over Jesus’ teaching.

Before we get down on Peter for needing to be reminded of what he’d heard before, of the truth Jesus had spoken to him previously, perhaps we can all admit that when we are dealing with a deeply entrenched cultural value, it is hard to see things a new way. Peter tells God that he had never, ever, in his whole life, eaten something unclean. I don’t believe Peter is exaggerating. For Peter to have a vision is shocking enough, but for the message of the vision to be an overturning of the practice of holiness, it seems wrong to Peter.

Many of us have similar struggles, right? We have read or heard what Jesus wants us to be about, but we’ve got reasons why we don’t have to follow his teaching. As we’ll see, a similar lack of follow-through on the part of the disciples had much more significant ramifications that just what foods Christians can eat. God steps in, giving Peter a dream, because he has big plans for his people, and he doesn’t want their tradition to get in the way of those plans.

God is reminding Peter of what Jesus already taught back there in Mark 7, and he is taking it to a new level. You see what God is doing? He is saying, “Peter, all those lists of clean and unclean animals were for a day that has come and gone. That was kosher thinking. You are under a new covenant. I define holiness a different way now, and I want you to think not only about food, but more importantly about people, with this new mindset.” The church was allowing their traditional understanding that the Jews were God’s chosen people to keep the message of Jesus within Jewish circles.

A few years ago at Faith Church, a man in our church family approached me with a unique outreach idea. He was a ballroom dance instructor in his professional life, and he felt that if the church offered beginning dance classes for free to the community, it would be a big hit, and a great way for the church to connect with the community. He proposed that he would teach a 4-week series of classes as an experiment. Inwardly, I doubted his opinion, but I loved his creativity and initiative and said, “Let’s take the idea to the Outreach Team!”

Some people in the church felt very uncomfortable about the thought of ballroom dance classes in the church fellowship hall, because growing up, there was no dancing allowed in the church. That was the traditional viewpoint. But it is absolutely okay to dance in a church fellowship hall, provided that it is tasteful, classy dancing, which is what ballroom dancing is all about. The Outreach Team stepped out in faith, approved the idea, publicized it to the community, and to my surprise and delight, on the first night, so many couples showed up, we had to turn some away! Over the next few years that we held ballroom dance classes, I believe God opened the eyes of some of us who grew up in a no-dancing tradition. In Acts 10-11 God opened Peter’s eyes too, and what we’ll see in the next post is that the rest of the story is wonderful.

How raves and body piercings might help you understand a Bible story – Acts 9:32-11:18, Part 3

How do you feel about raves and body piercings? If the thought of them makes you feel uncomfortable, then perhaps this post is for you.

In the previous post we studied Peter’s bizarre dream about a blanket of animals dropping down from heaven. The animals were all deemed unclean by a list in the Jewish Law, but in the dream God tells Peter to kill and eat, as God was now declaring all food clean. It is hard for us to put ourselves in Peter’s shoes at that moment. But let’s try to imagine how unsettling God’s vision might have been for Peter, a man who had never in his life eaten.

Enter a thought project with me. As you read, imagine that you are sleeping and dreaming or you could be having a vision. Whatever it is, the images are vivid. Almost real. You’re in a room, and it’s lighting is somewhat dark. Music and lights pulsate rapidly. You feel uncomfortable. This is not your kind of establishment. The room is full of people dancing, and it is not your kind of dancing. Not your kind of people. You want to leave. You wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this. Your morals, your upbringing, everything about your life says, “Get out of here.” But you can’t move. You can’t close your eyes. You can wake up. It’s like a nightmare. You have no choice but to be there and take it all in. The smell of drugs. The tattoos. The garish outfits. The pounding music. And the piercings. These are the kind of people with all manner of body piercings. You feel extremely uncomfortable.

Then you notice right next to you is a table and a chair. The table has all kinds of jewelry, that kinds commonly used in body piercing. By the chair is a person with machinery. Without question, you know what they are there for. To do the piercing. Now you want to run out of there more than ever.

That’s when you hear an unmistakable voice. It is the voice of God, and the voice says to you, “Sit down, my beloved, and be pierced.” The person there who does the piercing holds up a piece of jewelry that connects the nose to the ear with a chain that hangs down across the cheek. You cry out, “Surely not, Lord! I would never do that. Only unclean or impure people would do that!” And the voice responds: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

How do you feel now? Some of you might be thinking, “No big deal…let’s go do it right now!” But my guess is a bunch of you might be feeling uncomfortable. I know I am. If God asked me to pierce my nose and ear and wear a piece of jewelry that connected it, I would seriously question the voice I just heard. I don’t think those things are evil or wrong, they just aren’t for me personally. Peter thought eating unclean meat was wrong.

So God needs to step in and remind Peter of what Jesus already taught back there in Mark 7. Peter already knew this? It seems so, and we’ll look at that tomorrow.

If God told you to break the law, would you? – Acts 9:32-11:18, Part 2

If God came to you in a dream telling you to break the law, would you do it? Through the ages, people have claimed God has told them to commit all manner of evil, including murder. I feel we’re getting on thin ice by bringing this up. Know this, God wouldn’t tell people to commit evil, as that goes against his character. But what about other laws like breaking the speed limit or trespassing? Would God tell someone to break a law like that? If so, why? As we continue studying Acts 9:32-11:18, God is about to do just that.

In the previous post, we learned how God, in a vision, revealed himself one day to a non-Jewish man, Cornelius, instructing Cornelius to send for the Apostle Peter. If you want to read for yourself what happens next, open a Bible to Acts 10:9-16.

At noon that same day in Joppa, Peter is on the roof of the house praying, and God is about to blow Peter’s mind. Peter goes into a kind of trance and he sees a sheet from heaven dropping down to earth, holding animals from that list deemed unclean by Jewish law. The voice of the Lord then commands Peter to kill and eat them, and of course Peter is repulsed. He has never, ever, ever eaten any of those unclean foods. The Lord answers, “do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

A dream of a blanket with animals? What is that all about? A couple years ago, we had a sermon series through the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy chapter 14, we learned about a list of food that God categorized as clean and unclean for the nation of Israel.

“Clean and unclean” is not referring to delicious food and gross food. Instead, this list describes for Jews what is kosher or not kosher. Kosher means “fit,” but not “fit” like a person who exercises and is in shape. Kosher refers to what is “fitting” or “acceptable” to eat. Another way of describing it is “clean” and “unclean”.

Still today in Judaism, kosher law is a big deal. On a package of food, you might find some symbols indicating that food is kosher or clean. The heart behind kosher law is that Jews want to avoid anything that God has declared unclean.

God wanted Israel to be clean and holy, whereas the nations around them practiced a lifestyle and religion that was unholy.

Deuteronomy 14 verses 4-20, then, is a list all kinds of animals that are clean and unclean, very much related to the difference between holiness and that which is unholy. To our modern ears, the list might sound bizarre.

For example, Jews could eat sheep and goats, but not pig or rabbits. And they were not allowed eat insects, except for any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper, because they had jointed legs for hopping? Huh?

What gives with all these clean and unclean animals? Why does God choose some and not others? Scholars have numerous opinions about these perspectives, but the one option they all agreed on is this: some, if not most, of the unclean creatures were used in worship of other false gods, and of course Yahweh wants there to be no association between his people and false gods.

That is important to know, because that idea of cleanliness and holiness was their Jewish cultural identity for thousands of years. This is all that Peter has ever known. Furthermore, to this point, the church is maybe 3-5 years old, and frankly, those Christians hadn’t taken much initiative to follow Jesus’ command that they were to be his witnesses not only in Jerusalem and Judea, but to the whole world. Those original Christians were still thinking Jewish. They’re still thinking Kosher.

For them Kosher was not just about which foods were okay to eat. Kosher also dictated what kinds of people they would interact with. Basically, Jews would interact with Jews, and all others were “unclean.” With a few exceptions that we saw through Philip’s ministry in chapter 8, and through Saul’s preaching in Damascus in chapter 9, the Jewish Christians were also still thinking Kosher, keeping the good news about Jewish within Jewish circles. The vision that God gives Peter, therefore, is mind-boggling to Peter. God was clearly saying that Kosher was no longer in effect. As we saw in the story, though, Peter is really struggling with this. Why?

Anytime God would tell a person in a dream that he wants them to break a law, we should be struggling. Check back tomorrow as we try to put ourselves in Peter’s shoes. Maybe we would be struggling too.

Dreams during the pandemic and how God wants to partner with us – Acts 9:32-11:18, Part 1

Have you been dreaming more during the pandemic and quarantine? There have been numerous news reports of increased levels of dreaming. For me, I’m dreaming as much as I always have. From the time I was a kid, through to the present day, my mind tends to be very active while sleeping. I’ve had nightmares. Recurring dreams. Bizarre mash-up dreams where people from my past are interacting with people from my present, though they don’t know each other in real life. And I’ve had that feeling many times when I woke up thinking, “Whew…woah. I am so glad that was just a dream!”

I wonder if any of you keep a dream journal to help me remember them. I’ve thought about it, but never started one. Most of my dreams I cannot remember. Some I remember very clearly, even dreams that occurred years ago.

Not only is the content of my dreams usually wild, but it is equally fascinating to try to interpret them. Our fears come out in our dreams. Our anxieties. Our desires. Then there is another category of dream, the kind through which God is trying to get in touch with you, and those we would definitely want to interpret, wouldn’t we?

The problem is that it is difficult to know if a dream is the product of our own minds or if it is a message from God. As we continue to study Acts, we’re going to learn about a man who had an unmistakable dream from God, and the interpretation was important. If you’d like to follow along, please open your Bibles to Acts 9:32.

I want to briefly summarize Acts 9:32-43. For the last few chapters we focused on three men, Stephen, Philip and Saul, none of whom were members of Jesus’ 12 apostles. The account in Acts now returns to the man who is generally considered to be the leader of the 12 apostles, and the leader of the whole church: Peter.

In Acts 9:32-43 is Peter has a ministry of healing in two Jewish towns that leads to people becoming followers of Jesus. In verses 32-35, Peter heals a paralytic man named Aeneas, and we read that “all those who lived in the towns of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” Then in verses 36-43, Peter raises a woman named Dorcas from the dead! As you can imagine, given the fact that it was a resurrection, “This became known all over the town of Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.”

This is amazing. Peter is doing what Jesus did during his ministry, astounding miracles of healing, including a resurrection. The Spirit of God is at work! But Peter is missing something very important about the mission of Jesus, and he is about to be shocked.

First, though, the scene changes to the town of Caesarea, a Mediterranean port city just to the north. Feel free to read Acts 10:1-8 at this point.

In Caesarea we meet Cornelius, a devout, god-fearing Roman Centurion who has a vision from God, telling him to send for Peter in Joppa. I love this part of the story. God breaks into a non-Jewish man’s life and communicates directly to him. Cornelius, as we read, is a deeply faithful man. God knows this, and wants Cornelius to fully understand the truth about Jesus. It is very interesting to me that God doesn’t tell Cornelius the info, but instead God says there is a man named Peter who will tell Cornelius what he needs to know.

This is very similar to the vision that Saul had in chapter 9. Remember that? Jesus appears to Saul, but instead of giving Saul much information about who he is, Jesus tells Saul to go into the city of Damascus and wait for instructions. Then Jesus, in yet another vision, asks Ananias to go meet with Saul. Now in chapter 10, God instructs Cornelius to send men to Joppa to get a guy named Peter.

Do you notice what God is doing in these situations? God entrusts his mission to his people. He certainly has the power to overwhelm us with his presence. Or if he wanted, he could communicate the story of Jesus to every person on the planet by a vision. There is a sense, then, in which he doesn’t need us. And yet, in his wisdom, he has decided to invite us to join with him in the mission of telling the story of Good News.

He wants to work with us! He desires to partner with us in spreading his goodness and truth! That is what the book of Acts has featured time and time again. It is what flows from Jesus’ Ascension back in chapter 1, that though he has returned to the Father in heaven, he has empowered and included us, his followers, his disciples, to carry on the mission. He is with us in it all as he sent his Spirit to indwell and fill us! Isn’t it amazing how God wants to work together with us for the mission of his Kingdom?

This partnership benefits God, it benefits the one who learns about him, and it benefits us, as we get to partner with him in the mission. Do you see his wisdom and his goodness in that plan? His is a far superior plan than a domineering take-over of a controlling God! That he wants to work with us to share the good news is the outflow of the love and the kindness of partnership! How much better is an apprentice situation for learning a skill than just someone telling someone how to do something? The apprentice gets their hands dirty, learning by doing. Or consider a dad or mom who does all the work and never involves the kids? How much better is it when parents invite their kids to participate in learning new skills or doing chores, even when the kids don’t want to do them? Just like that, God loves partnering with us. In Acts 9 and 10 we are seeing God at work, yes, but his is an intervention that empowers and encourages his people to reach out.

As he reached out to Ananias to go minister to Saul, God now does something similar with Peter. But Peter is shocked by what God says. Check back in to the next post to learn the surprising news God has for Peter.

Today, how is God calling you to partner with him? Has God invited you to use your gifts and abilities? He sure has! How are you joining with him in the mission of his Kingdom?

How you are vital to the mission of Jesus in our world today – Acts 9:1-31, Part 5

So often history follows the leaders, but we also need a People’s History of the Church, where we learn from the stories of the common people. There are thousands and millions of supporting actors whose faithfulness and sacrifice in small ways provides a foundation for the advancement of the Kingdom. Many people like you and I who will likely never get our names in the history books.

We’ve been studying Acts 9:1-31, the conversion story of one of the biggest names in church history, Saul (aka the Apostle Paul). But instead of focusing on Saul, we’ve been trying to focus on the supporting cast. First, I would like to nominate two candidates for best supporting actor: Ananias and Barnabas, both faithful followers of Jesus who courageously and sacrificially stick their necks out to welcome Saul and help him in his mission.

There was also an amazing supporting cast: Saul’s men, the disciples in Damascus, and the Christian brothers in Jerusalem. All of them were faithful, courageous and sacrificial.

We learn from this supporting cast that faithfulness to Christ will almost always call us to sacrifice in some way, such as our time, comfort, ease, finances. But the joy of being sacrificially faithful wins in the end.

What we see in this amazing story is that all of us have a vital role in the Kingdom. It doesn’t matter if there is a pandemic and you are mostly confined to your house. You don’t need to be a pastor or a worship leader or a missionary to pursue the mission of the Kingdom. We all have a critical role to play.

I believe this is perhaps the major question of the quarantine: how do we, the supporting cast, follow the mission of Jesus given our current situation? The method has changed, but the mission remains the same, and it is a mission for us all. Is fear and uncertainty keeping you from saying “yes” to a possible way of being sacrificially faithful to the mission of the Kingdom of God?

How are you making disciples in your own home? Parents, that is a mission for all of you. Grandparents, you can participate in this too. What can it look like to raise up the next generation, even while we are on quarantine? My family, for example, has several text threads going on with different sets of family members. I know that my kids’ grandparents are stuck in their homes, but they are daily praying for every one of us.

Parents, I know that many of you are feeling the heavy burden of facilitating your kids’ education like never before, unless you had done homeschooling before. But what about your kids’ spiritual development? You are a vital supporting cast member in that.

Then consider your neighbors and friends. Of course following the guidelines of social distancing, how can you be creative and innovative in expressing the love of Jesus to them. Saul’s disciples lowered him through the city wall in a basket! How wonderfully creative. Let’s allow quarantine to inspire us to experiment like that.

My next door neighbor has been diagnosed with Covid-19, so Michelle baked her some cookies, and we texted her that they were on her back porch, saying we were praying for her. We are talking as a family about what else we can do. Thankfully our neighbor is recovering, and this week was able to go back her job at the hospital.

We are all the supporting cast! What a privilege and honor. The mission of Jesus is our mission too! Let us be willing to live a faithfully sacrificial life for our good and gracious God. Over the years I’ve heard numerous people say that when they were feeling “stuck” in life, if they chose to step outside of themselves and reach out sacrificially into others’ lives, it helped them feel a bit less stuck as they helped someone else! Why? Because we are meant to be about other people. We are created for mission.

Let’s continue to be supporting members on a mission for the Kingdom of God. Let’s allow our perspective and our thoughts to roam just a bit more on who God is, and dwell on what is going on in families outside our four walls, and how our families might be able to be just a bit more focused on the needs of others around us. As we do that, let’s watch God work, and let’s sacrificially join him in his work.

How to encourage others in tough times – Acts 9:1-31, Part 4

Do you have a nickname? I love nicknames. I don’t believe I’ve ever had one that stuck, though.

Sometimes nicknames meander through a progression, like the nickname Michael Scott gives Daryl Philbin on the TV show, The Office: “Michael refers to him as “Mittah Rogers”—a nickname which began as “Regis” (as Darryl’s last name is Philbin, a reference to Regis Philbin who is producer Michael Schur’s father-in-law), then “Reeg”, “Roger” and then finally settling on “Mittah Rogers”.”

Many nicknames are like that, based on the person’s actual name. But in the next part of our study this week of Acts 9:1-31, a man who we met earlier in Acts re-enters the story, and this man had a nickname that was about to make a huge difference in Saul’s life.

After his disciples help him escape, Saul now heads to Jerusalem, which is a bold move. This is the one place where you’d think he should not go. Jerusalem, the headquarters of the Jewish leaders, who by now might have heard from Damascus how Saul betrayed them, and how Saul escaped. Or maybe Saul got to Jerusalem first? We don’t know. What we’ll see is that Saul’s choice to travel to Jerusalem is basically doomed from the start.

When he arrives, he tries to join up with the Christians, but they, too, and I would say rightly so, are super suspicious of him. He had previously persecuted them. How would you feel if the bully who over and over and over again hurt you, shows up one day asking to be your friend? How would you feel if the co-worker who betrayed you and lied to you, now says they want to work together on a project? You would think, “No way, buddy!” You would think to yourself, “This guy is a menace, and he has hurt so many people, and he has hurt me, and I am not letting him near me. I am going to be wise and impose boundaries on him.” And none of us would blame you for that.

Those disciples in Jerusalem were thinking like that. Or they might have been thinking, “Nice try, Saul. Go back to your Pharisee buddies. You’re not changed. This is a trap.”

That bring us to the next candidate for the best supporting actor award in this story, Barnabas. We met him before in chapter 4:36-37. Back then he sold a field and gave it to the apostles to help those in need. His name was Joseph, but he was called Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement,” perhaps a sort of nickname. It sure fits. Barnabas loved Jesus, and sought to live the way of Jesus, which is the way of sacrifice. Here in chapter 9:27, Barnabas is willing to take a sacrificial risk on Saul.

He brings Saul to the Apostles, and vouches for him. What an encouragement! Saul is finally welcomed, and he continues his bold ministry in Jerusalem!

But in verse 29, the Grecian Jews, the same ones that were so opposed to Stephen in chapter 6, now come against Saul, trying to kill him. Are you noticing a pattern in Saul’s early days as a Christian? Twice now he has people wanting to kill him. Jesus was right in verse 16 when he told Ananias that Saul was going to suffer for Jesus. Saul had to flee for his life in Damascus, and now again in Jerusalem. So some Christians brothers take Saul to Caesarea, which was a Mediterranean port city to the west of Jerusalem, and from there Saul caught a boat to Tarsus, his home town. Again, the supporting cast saves Saul’s life. They are faithful and sacrificial to the call of Jesus to be all about the Kingdom of God where they are at in their lives.

The author tells us in verse 31 that with Saul gone, the threat now transformed into an ally, the church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and growth.

This is an astounding story that features the work of God in Saul’s life, and the faithfulness, sacrificial love and obedience of the people of God in supporting the mission, even when they were quite afraid and uncertain because of Saul’s reputation. There would have been a lot of very real and valid reasons for them to not step out of their routine and step up in obedience to God in this. But they chose faithful sacrifice to the Kingdom.

Are you choosing likewise? What does faithful sacrifice look like for you? It can and should look like encouragement of those who are struggling. How are you being an encourager?

How a big basket teaches us to pursue Jesus’ mission during the pandemic (or any other time)- Acts 9:1-31, Part 3

Are you thinking differently about any aspects of life because of the coronavirus pandemic? I am. As I, and every single other person, was wearing a mask in the grocery story the other, it struck me how rapidly things change. Three months ago, if you told me that scene was about to happen in just three months, I would have said, “Not a chance.” But the virus has changed us. While it remains to be seen how many changes will remain after the virus, no doubt many will. I heard a news report today about how necessity is the mother of invention, detailing new products that have already been developed during the pandemic. One is a hook that people can use to open doors so we don’t have to touch door handles, which are big culprits for carrying the virus. But what about the mission of God? Are we thinking inventively about that? Should we? Or has our response been something like, “Well, church is closed, so I’ll just watch online and I’m good to go”? In other words, have we checked out of the mission? Have we interpreted the mission as “going to church”?

But here’s the thing…going to church was never the mission. As we’ve discussed many times on this blog, the mission of Jesus is making disciples. Today we’re going to learn how some people’s creativity and innovation, even in the middle of a crisis, propelled the mission of Jesus to make disciples…and it features a big basket.

This week we have been studying Acts 9:1-31, which is the account of the dramatic conversion of the Christian-killer, Saul. But we have been keeping the focus on the supporting cast. In the previous post, we learned about the the gracious, sacrificial outreach of a Christian living in the city of Damascus, named Ananias who not only trusts that God has transformed his once-enemy, Saul, into his “brother,” but Ananias also heals Saul, gives him the Holy Spirit, and baptizes him.

What happens next is wild. If you want to see for yourself, look at Acts 9, starting in the middle of verse 19, and read through verse 22.

Saul spends time with the Christians there in Damascus, more supporting cast members. They also could have feared for their lives and shunned Saul, but they sacrificially do the opposite. They embrace the work of God in Saul’s life and welcome him. Amazing! They sacrificially put the mission of God first, in the midst of possible fearful and confusing changes.

Then it gets even crazier. Right away Saul starts preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. Saul doesn’t wait. He doesn’t travel to Jerusalem to spend time with the Apostles first. He just starts telling the story. I find that so interesting. Bold. Risky. But that is Saul, and we’re going to hear a lot about him in the weeks and months to come as we continue reading Acts.

The people in Damascus are freaked out. I get it. There was a dramatic 180 degree turn in a Saul’s life. He went from being the greatest threat to Jesus’ church, to being a bold preacher of Jesus. We read that he grew more and more powerful in this, proving to them that Jesus was the Messiah.

The Jews in Damascus, we learn in verses 23-25, are particularly baffled by Saul. Saul was their shining star! What happened to him? Could he really have changed his mind? They must have been very disappointed and angry! He was doing their dirty work, and now he has turned on them? They are not having it, so they plot to kill him, but Saul’s followers help him flee, dropping him in a basket through an opening in the city’s wall. The author of Acts flies by this so quickly, but this is some intrigue, right? Can you imagine? Let’s take a closer look.

First of all, the supporting cast are called “his followers.” We know in verse 23 that he had been in Damascus “many days,” so it seems Saul had time to raise up followers. But still, doesn’t it seem quick for Saul to gather followers? He’s a brand new Christian. Even if he was in Damascus for a couple weeks, or even a couple months, it seems like he would be far too soon for him to have followers. Is there any way we can know how long he was there?

There is! In Galatians 1:17-18 Paul writes that three years passed between his conversion and his trip to Jerusalem. But he didn’t spend all of those three years making disciples in Damascus. He tells the Galatians that he went to Arabia during that time as well, but we don’t know what part of Arabia or how long he spent there. At some point, he says, he then went back to Damascus, which he also writes about in 2 Corinthians 11:32, including the basket story. So we don’t know precisely how long it took Paul to have followers, but that isn’t the point. What the author of Acts, Luke, wants to highlight is that he had followers!

Interestingly, that word “followers,” in verse 25 is the same word as “disciple” in verse 19. So verse 25 could be translated as referring to “his disciples.” This is where Saul is a great example for us. We don’t know if he was intentionally obeying Jesus’ command to make disciples, or maybe he was such a natural-born leader that people followed him. The point is that Saul had such a thoroughly transformative encounter with Jesus, that he lives out the mission of Jesus: Make disciples!

Second, in our closer look at the basket story, those disciples are more amazing supporting cast members. They were aware of needs and of what needed to happen and they saved his life, helping him to stay on mission, even at a possible threat to their own lives. I wonder what those followers were thinking? Did they have to answer questions the next day about Saul’s whereabouts? Did the Jewish leaders know they were friends with Saul? Yet, these followers play an important role in the story, right? They are so creative and innovative, helping Paul escape in a basket, dropped through a hole in the city wall, so the Jews who were watching the gates of the city wouldn’t see him leave.

After his disciples help him escape, Saul now heads to Jerusalem, which is a bold move. This is the one place where you’d think he should not go. Jerusalem is the headquarters of the Jewish leaders, Jewish leaders who could have easily heard from Damascus how Saul betrayed them, and how Saul escaped. Or maybe Saul got to Jerusalem first? Check back in to the next post as we find out what happened to Saul in Jerusalem, with our eye on the amazing actions of the supporting cast.

Today, remember the disciple-making heart of Saul. He wasted no time in sharing the good news story of Jesus and helping others join in the mission of Jesus. Saul was a disciple-maker, and he is a wonderful example for us. How are we making disciples? I encourage you to evaluate that in your own life.

Finally, reflect on the sacrificial creativity and ingenuity of his disciples. They were willing to risk their lives for Saul. How are you being sacrificially creative and innovative for Jesus? During the global pandemic, though much of life is shut down and we are quarantined, we still have Jesus’ call on our lives to make disciples, but we might have to think differently about that mission. Just as Saul’s disciples helped him escape in a basket through a hole in the wall, how can you think out-of-the-box to make disciples? Take some time now and pray for God’s Spirit to invigorate your creativity and thinking. Start writing down ideas for disciple-making. And then go for it!

When Jesus asks you to help your enemy – Acts 9:1-31, Part 2

Who in your life is very difficult? Who bothers you? Who is that person you really try to avoid? Maybe it is more than one person. Let’s start by thinking about that person. What makes them so distasteful to you that you want to avoid them? Keep that in mind, because today we meet a man who was asked to do the incredibly risky, go help his enemy.

This week we’re studying Acts 9:1-31, which is all about the astounding conversion of the Christian killer Saul. But instead of focusing on the lead role, Saul, we are paying special attention to his supporting cast. In the previous post, we saw Jesus break out of heaven and intervene in Saul’s life, and we watched as the men in Saul’s posse, ignoring their own bewilderment, sacrificially helped him out. In today’s post we meet the first candidate in the story for best supporting actor, a Christian named Ananias living in Damascus. If you’d like to follow along, please open your Bible to Acts 9:10, and there we read that Jesus appears to Ananias in a vision.

I need us to stop right there. We could move past this quickly because dreams and visions occur in this story as if they are just everyday happenings. It seems to me the author of Acts presents it that way, like it is no big deal. “Hey Ananias!” and Ananias responds, “Oh, hey Jesus, what’s up?”

It reminds me of the rise of group video chats in recent years, and especially now during the pandemic. We hop on Zoom and can have a school class with 20 other people. Faith Church has been worshiping using Zoom. Just doing what has become normal. Could you imagine what people even 25 years ago would be thinking if they could look into what would be the very near future and see Zoom? Their minds would be blown.

I think we should be equally amazed when we hear that Jesus appears to Ananias in a vision. I mean, was Ananias afraid? Excited? Freaked out a bit? Or was this so run-of-the-mill that he felt it was normal? Did Jesus check in on guys like Ananias regularly? We have no indication that it was a common thing, so it strikes me as fascinating how the author of Acts writes this as if it was common. Or maybe the author, Luke, just knew so well all that God is capable of that nothing surprised him anymore.

Take a look at Jesus’ instructions to Ananias. Jesus cracks me up here: “There is a guy from Tarsus named Saul, he’s in town, and I want you to go to him, because I gave him a vision that you were going to heal him of blindness.”

Jesus totally plays off the fact that Saul is the Christian killer! Instead Jesus tells Ananias, “Saul is just some guy from Tarsus who is praying.” As if this Saul guy is some unknown religious blind guy who needs help. And Jesus says, “I gave him a vision, too, that you are going to heal him.”

Heal him? This is wild stuff. Was Ananias healing people on a regular basis or was this news to him? If God came to me in a vision, I would be shocked. If he told me to heal someone, I would be doubly shocked. If he told me to heal an evil man, I would be triply shocked.

Ananias’ response is great. You can tell he doesn’t want to disrespect Jesus at all, and yet he has a very different way of describing Saul: “Lord, I have been hearing about this guy, and he is a monster. He’s here in Damascus to arrest us disciples.” Read between the lines, and you can get a semblance of what might be going on in Ananias’ heart and mind. He could be thinking that Saul is just faking. Or he could be thinking to himself, “Jesus has to know who Saul really is, right? But what if he doesn’t know? I have to make sure. I have to mention that this is THE Saul who is a Christian killing machine. Does Jesus really want me to go to help Saul?”

Of course Jesus knows what he is doing, though, and what he says in verse 15 and 16 is amazing. “Go, Ananias. I have a mission for Saul.” Basically Jesus is saying, “I know what I’m doing.” Then, as if to assure Ananias that Jesus was quite aware of how awful Saul had been, he says, “I will show Saul how much he will suffer for my name.” It could sound like an ominous statement, and in some way it was, because it turned out to be very true in Saul’s life, as he would suffer a lot for the mission of Jesus in years to come. In fact, that suffering already started with the blindness, and there is more suffering in store for Saul before we finish chapter 9.

Jesus’ command was enough for Ananias, and he goes to the house where Saul was staying.

At the house, we learn about another supporting cast member. Saul is staying at that house of a man named Judas. We don’t know anything about him, except that he apparently allowed Saul to have shelter. While it is a very brief reference, it is more evidence of people being sacrificial to support Saul.

Back to Ananias. He must have been a huge lover of Jesus. No doubt it would be amazing to have a vision where Jesus comes and talks to you, like Jesus did for Ananias. I would like to believe that if I had a vision of Jesus, I would instantly obey whatever he told me to do. But I also know how fickle I can be.

Ananias, though, is a rock. He obeys Jesus right away, despite his misgivings about Saul, who was obviously a horrible guy. Consider how sacrificial Ananias is. He walks right into the enemy’s lair, face to face with the man who is evil personified. Was Ananias shaking at all? Even with the vision from Jesus, was Ananias thinking, “I have a bad feeling about this”? Was he anxious?

OR maybe Ananias is wrestling with some anger? Think about it. This is a chance to get revenge. He could have hidden a sword in his cloak, and whipped it out to kill Saul. He could have thought, “Jesus has given me the opportunity to avenge the church for all the persecution Saul did!”

Instead Ananias trusts Jesus, in the midst of not fully understanding what is going on, in the midst of possible fear, in the midst of possible anger, he chooses to trust and to stay on the mission of God’s kingdom. Ananias’ greeting to Saul confirms that: “Brother Saul.” He could have accused Saul of being a killer, an ungodly man, or a whole host of other names. Instead, because of what Jesus told him, Ananias now calls Saul, “Brother.” What a picture of trust and of grace.

This gracious response continues as Ananias heals Saul, gives him the Holy Spirit, and baptizes him. Then Saul breaks his fast, and what happens next is wild. Check back tomorrow to learn about that.

For now, think about the gracious transformation Jesus brings to lives. The enemy has become the brother. That’s what his Kingdom is like. Taking the broken and making it whole. Saul is transformed, and Ananias affirms it. How might that relate to your life? Is there an enemy in your life that needs to be transformed to brother or sister? Are you struggling with someone who is difficult for you? Perhaps someone who has hurt you or hurt someone you love? What will it look to bring the grace of Jesus to them?