Tag: The Gospel

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A Captive Audience

Daily Reading

Acts 27-28

Daily Thought

At long last, Paul arrived in Rome and lived there “two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him” (Acts 28:30). Paul, under house arrest, was chained to a Roman guard, but the way Paul looked at it, the guards were chained to him. You could look at prison as an obstruction to evangelism, but for Paul, obstacles are better seen as opportunities–“Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen” (Luke 28:28). They had to! Think of all they heard, a captive audience to Paul’s stories of Jesus.

The Book of Acts does not end, it stops. The disciples continue taking the Gospel to the world, but Luke is done writing. He puts his pen down as Paul is “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Luke 28:31). Paul is in chains, the Gospel is not, and Luke has written of its progress from the streets of Jerusalem to the seat of Caesar in Rome, but it’s not over. It is just getting started. The book of Acts closes as the door to the world opens wide to the advance of the Gospel. Two thousand years later, it continues and we have become part of and participants in this grand and ongoing story of God’s Kingdom come.

Daily Prayer

Father God, may we set our eyes on Christ, Your Son. Jesus, the Name above all names, the One who saves us. May I let go of my ways, submitting to You. It is by Your grace that I am saved, Your gospel, Your goodness, Your glory.

May I speak of You at all times, seeing opportunities when no one would think they exist. The chains of Rome did not stop the gospel, nor should anything stand in my way. May I be bold, continuing the acts of the disciples into the 21st century.

Amen

Daily Question

How much time does someone have to spend around you until they hear about Jesus?

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I Got You

Daily Reading

Acts 9-10

Daily Thought

Firm in his belief that he was serving God, Paul was pursuing and persecuting Christians as far away as Damascus, a six-day journey. One saint in Damascus knew of his reputation and feared his coming, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem” (Acts 9:13). But on the road to Damascus, God confronted Paul. Paul had thought Jesus a fraud, when from heaven, Jesus spoke to Saul, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5).

Oops. 

Paul met Jesus and his life turned upside down–which was now actually right-side up. 

I came home from college the summer following my freshman year and ran into a high school friend named John, but we called him “Animal.” An all-city nose guard, he was crazy on and off the football field. A wicked wit, he often spoke in rhyme, funny and filthy. “Hey Animal,” I smiled, anticipating a barrage of profanity, blasphemy, and debauchery. Instead, I got Grace. I got the Gospel. I got to hear about his friend, Jesus Christ. 

“John, what happened?”

“I got Jesus.” 

And Jesus got John.

Paul got the Gospel and Jesus got Paul. Repentance means to turn around, go the opposite direction. Paul repented. “All who heard him were amazed and said, ‘Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name?’ But Paul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ” (Acts 9:21-22). Boy, did he turn around!

Nice people might make nice Christians, but watch what happens when God gets ahold of a person of unbridled passion.

Daily Prayer

It’s amazing grace, my God. I was a sinner, and You changed me. Now, I am a saint. May I never forget the transformation, and may I never tire of telling the story.

The goodness, the righteousness, the holiness of Your Son is now mine. I still sin, I know I do. But no longer am I a sinner. I am a child of God, not by anything I have done, but by the work of Jesus Christ. May the passion I used to display toward worldliness and wickedness be given to godliness all the more.

Amen

Daily Question

How can people tell that Jesus got you?

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A Free Gift

Daily Reading

2Corinthians 10-13

Daily Thought

Paul has a paternal relationship with the Corinthians, he is dad and they are his children, and parents provide for their kids, not the other way around, “for children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children” (2Corinthians 12:14). Jack’s mom came downstairs to start breakfast one morning and found a bill from her twelve-year-old son on the kitchen counter: mowing the lawn – $6; drying the dishes – $1; raking leaves – $6; cleaning garage – $7; total owed – $20. She smiled and made his breakfast. That afternoon, Jack came home from school and found next to a plate of cookies, an envelope with a twenty dollar bill inside and a note from his mom: washing clothes – nothing; vacuuming room – nothing; cooking meals – nothing; driving everywhere – nothing; baking cookies – nothing. Love, Mom.

This is the heart of Paul, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2Corinthians 12:15), love with no strings attached. Any price tag attached to love devalues it.

Daily Prayer

I thank You, God, for Your grace, for the righteousness that comes from Your Son, for the power that comes through Your Spirit. You love is worth everything, but the cost of love is borne by the lover, and that is You, “for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.”

Sometimes I get the idea that I have something to offer You, something You need. I should remember, and I shall remember, that everything I am is because of You. Everything I do, may it give You pleasure and bring You glory. And everything You have given me, may I share it freely, because it cost me nothing and You everything.

Amen

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Let There Be Light

Daily Reading

2Corinthians 1-4

Daily Thought

Light remedies darkness, and in the beginning “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). But there is another kind of darkness, a darkness in the heart of humanity, for “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). Our world is veiled in darkness, explains Paul, because “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2Corinthians 4:4).

Paul remembers how the face of Moses shone when he descended from Mt. Sinai, “because he had been talking with God” (Exodus 34:29). Moses had been on the mountain forty days and forty nights, and so bright was the glory on his face that he wore a veil to dim the glow. “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed,” writes Paul, “and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2Corinthians 3:16, 18). 

When I was a kid, my brother and I would shut our bedroom door and turn out the lights and play catch with a rubber, glow-in-the-dark ball. The longer we held the ball near the light, the longer and brighter it would shine in the darkness.

“You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:14, 16

God’s answer is still, “Let there be light.”

Daily Prayer

My God, Your light shines in this dark world and reveals what is good and pure and right. May my life be a reflection of Your glory. May my life shine in such a way that people know I have been in Your presence. May Your church do Your works in this world so that You are known and loved and followed.

Amen

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A Captive Audience

Daily Reading

Acts 27-28

Daily Thought

At long last, Paul arrived in Rome and lived there “two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him” (Acts 28:30). Paul, under house arrest, was chained to a Roman guard, but the way Paul looked at it, the guards were chained to him. Obstacles are better seen as opportunities. “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen” (Luke 28:28). They had to! Think of all they heard, a captive audience to Paul’s stories of Jesus.

The Book of Acts does not end, it stops. The disciples continue taking the Gospel to the world, but Luke is done writing. He puts his pen down as Paul is “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Luke 28:31). Paul is in chains, the Gospel is not, and Luke has written of its progress from the streets of Jerusalem to the seat of Caesar in Rome. The book of Acts closes as the door to the world opens wide to the advance of the Gospel and we are part of the story of God’s Kingdom come.

Daily Prayer

Father God, may we set our eyes on Christ, Your Son. Jesus, the Name above all names, the One who saves us. May I let go of my ways, submitting to You. It is by Your grace that I am saved, Your gospel, Your goodness, Your glory.

May I speak of You at all times, seeing opportunities when no one would think they exist. The chains of Rome did not stop the gospel, nor should anything stand in my way. May I be bold, continuing the acts of the disciples into the 21st century.

Amen

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Immediately

Daily Reading

Mark 1-3

Daily Thought

Mark writes a fast-tempoed, action-oriented Gospel of Jesus Christ. In it, everything happens “immediately” (Mark 1:10, 12, 18, 20, 21, 23, 29, 30, 42; and that’s just chapter one). 

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” ~Mark 1:9-11

The pace of Mark’s Gospel creates an urgency, not of action, but of choice. Jesus calls his disciples and says, “‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him” (Mark 1:17-18). Jesus healed many, cast out demons, and preached in the synagogues, and in no time at all, “people were coming to him from every quarter” (Mark 1:45). No good deed goes unpunished, however, and immediately the religious leaders put their own spin on Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons” (Mark 3:22). They did not like Jesus.

God’s command, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy,” was a favorite of the Pharisees; “On it you shall not do any work” (Exodus 20:8, 10). The Pharisees listed 39 categories of work, no cooking, no washing, no harvesting, etc.; then added one for Jesus, “No healing.” There were six other days to heal, so Jesus could easily avoid conflict, but Jesus always demands a choice. It was the Sabbath and he immediately found a man with a withered hand. “Come here,” he said, and brought the man in front of the Pharisees. “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” Are you for me or against me? But they were silent (Mark 3:3-4). They made a choice, because silence is choosing. They were against him, and “the Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him” (Mark 3:6).

Jesus begins in Galilee “proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” ~Mark 1:14-15 

Time to choose.

Daily Prayer

God, the desire of my heart is to follow You, to reflect You in all that I do, and to declare You in what I say. I will not be silent, or silenced by others, but I will stand for You and declare the wonders of knowing You and living in Your creation.

Your Law teaches me to love You and care for others. May my actions speak as loud as my words, but may that not stand alone. I serve in Your Name, but no one will know that unless I tell them. Strengthen me, God. Keep my heart soft and gentle, but bold.

Amen

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More Than Justice

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 18-20

Daily Thought

Justice is matter-of-fact, “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), or if “he is righteous; he shall surely live” (Ezekiel 18:9). Plain and simple, and just. There is a problem with this, though, a problem for us. 

The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one. ~Psalm 14:2-3

Do we really want justice? Ezekiel began listing Israel’s sins, “defiles his neighbor’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, lends at interest, and takes profit” (Ezekiel 18:11-13). He could keep going, and he could have been listing ours.

God saw Israel’s sin and ruled rightly, “I would pour out my wrath upon them and spend my anger against them” (Ezekiel 20:8, 13, 21), yet, time and again, God gave mercy, “I withheld my hand and acted for the sake of my name” (Ezekiel 20:22). When Moses asked God his name, God told him, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14). God defines justice but justice does not define God. God is who he is, and while he is just, he is far beyond. When God looks down from heaven and sees our sin, justice is due, but God came down from heaven and, for the sake of his name, brought more than justice, and that is the Gospel, that is Jesus, that is “the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

In Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Jean Valjean took shelter in the Bishop’s home. He also took the silver. When he was caught by the Constable, Valjean was returned to the Bishop for justice. “He claimed that you gave the silver to him,” mocked the Constable. “Yes, of course I gave him the silverware,” replied the Bishop. “Thank you for bringing him back. Release him.” Then turning to Valjean, the Bishop handed him more, “You forgot the candlesticks, Jean Valjean. They are worth 2,000 francs. Why did you leave them?”

“You shall know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel, declares the Lord God.” ~Ezekiel 20:44

The Bishop glared with terrifying love, “Jean Valjean, you no longer belong to evil. With this silver I’ve bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. Now I give you back to God.”

Daily Prayer

My Lord, my God, You have shown a love unimaginable. You bought me with Your love, a love that sacrificed what is most precious to You. You made Your Son sin, not sin of His own doing, but my sin and the world’s sin. He bore it all, sin and the just consequence. He died, separated and forsaken by You, because You cannot look upon sin. But sin could not hold Him, and He rose again, the first of more to come, of which I am one, I will be raised again to eternity.

I am Yours, God, bought fully by the blood of Your Son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. I welcome the rain of justice upon me because I have the reign of Jesus over me. I am, therefore, a living sacrifice to You, showing the world Your good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Amen