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Click here to read Acts 20 on BibleGateway.com

Have you ever been compelled to do something? For example, are you now compelled to ask Mr. Google what “compelled” means?  Never fear: compelled means to force or oblige someone to do something.  You may be compelled by your parents to stop beating a sibling by the threat of a spankering. You may have been compelled by the law to either slow down or pay a reminder fee.  Perhaps you were compelled by the brownies on the counter to eat their little chewy centers.

Notice that “compelled” is different than “suggested.”  A friend may suggest that you pay for your share of the road-trip gas, but they only compel you when they lock the door and start driving away from the gas station in the middle of nowhere.  A bank may remind you to pay your loan, but they only compel you when they start garnishing your wages or taking stuff from your house.

OFF WE GO

In Acts 20, Paul is visiting some friends on his way through Greece and Turkey on his way back to Judea.  However, this is different than the other times Paul has visited.  He tells them that this will likely be the last time he sees any of them.  He’s on his way to Jerusalem, and since that is the home turf of Paul’s greatest enemies, he has a strong suspicion that things are going to get a little burnt on his toast.   His friends urge him to go somewhere else, but Paul replies that he is “compelled by the Spirit.”

When Paul says he is compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, the word actually means “tied,” as in “I am tied to the Spirit.”  In other words, I am bound tightly to the Spirit, and wherever He goes, I must go. It’s a little different than “forced,” in that you can force someone to do something or go somewhere; but when you are tied to them, they go only where you go.  It’s a relationship taken to its fulfillment.  Paul does not say he wants to go to Jerusalem, and he’s praying for traveling mercies or a hedge of protection.  He’s saying “the Holy Spirit is going to Jerusalem, and since I’m tied to Him, I guess I’m going, too.”

NOT MY WILL… 

Are you so tight with the Holy Spirit that you are forced to go where He goes?  Is your relationship with Christ to the point that you no longer say in your prayers “Jesus, please come with me,” but rather “Jesus, wherever you go, I am tied right to you.”  How many times do we pray “please, God, answer my prayer,” as opposed to “please, God, what is your heart?”

We can often get so focused on our goals and plans, that we tend to simply ask God’s blessings on what we want to do.  What a difference it would make to approach God with the attitude of “what are you doing today? Can I be a part of it?”  It’s a privilege to serve Christ; it’s not a service we provide to Him in exchange for something in return.  We are simply servants, pleased to be in the presence of our Master, wherever He might go.

Are you compelled by Christ today?

Click here to read Genesis 15 on BibleGateway.com

No question about it, the Bible has many passages that are somewhat difficult to understand. Ridiculous might be a better word. Swallowed by a big fish? Really? Coins in a fish’s mouth? And let’s not forget the ever popular maul-children-with-a-bear. Sometimes it seems like God enjoys using the bizarre to get our attention.

Yet there’s a pot of delicious Lucky Charms at the end of the Rainbow of Confusion. If we do a little bit of digging, these confusing passages not only become less confusatory, they may even be some of the deepest passages in the Bible.

MORE THAN A WISHBONE

So what’s going on in Genesis 15? Abram and God are hanging out shooting the breeze, and Abram tells God that he wants some little offspring to run around the tent-stead. God tells Abram to get a bunch of animals, cut them half, and put them in a line. Then Abram falls asleep, and a “smoking firepot with a blazing torch” moves between the carcasses. Seems like a ridiculously uninformative response for an omniscient being.

Once again, a little more info reveals the depth of what is going on here. In the ancient world, when a superior party made a treaty with a vasal, they would both take a “self-maledictory oath.” This is like bringing a curse upon yourself if you are unfaithful to the treaty. In this case, it means something like “if i don’t keep my end of the bargain, then may the same thing happened to me as happened to these animals.” Abram and God are making a deal; Abram will keep God’s commands, and God will bless Abram with children and other merriments.

GOTCHA COVERED

However, Abram already knows that he won’t be able to keep this bargain. His portion of the treaty is to remain faithful to God, and to keep His commands. But Abram already knows that he’s going to fail. He’s revealed himself to be a liar, adulterer, killer, con-man, and who knows what else. Just like all of us, Abram knows that deep down he’s pretty much a despicable scumbag. He basically knows he’s signing his own death warrant.

But this is the beautiful part; God steps in. He passes through the line of carcasses alone, taking Abram’s place. What’s He saying? He’s telling Abram “yes, I know you’re going to break this covenant; but when you do, I’ll make sure the worst of the curse falls on me.” Abram didn’t need to fear; God has it in control.

Jesus fulfilled that promise on the Cross. He took the full brunt of Abram’s (and our) failure. God continues to uphold His end of the deal made with Abram, despite his failure. He was split and tortured for our inability to keep our end of the deal with God. He took our failure and weakness, our sin and selfishness, and took all the pain and curse all on Himself. Is there anything that illustrates God’s grace more?

What ridiculous thing is God doing for you today?

Click here to read Acts 11 on BibleGateway.com

Ministry can be difficult.  Look at poor Peter in today’s reading. He goes out to evangelize, has a eye-opening spiritual experience, witnesses to a completely unreached people group, sees a wonderful revival service, and then gets back home only to have his home church kick him in the spiritual cajones for “eating with uncircumcised men.” What a joyous homecoming. At least he didn’t get stoned.

OLD WHINE SKINS

The problem is that often the challenges to ministry do not come from those outside the church, but from those who are supposed to be on our side. In nearly all surveys of missionary personnel, the number one issue that missionaries deal with is other missionaries.  Many pastors state their biggest difficulty is working with other pastors.  Why is that? The truth is, this should really not be that surprising to us. There are several issues that play into this.

1) We are strongly motivated in ministry because the issues we deal with are eternal. For example, in a business, if somebody rejects your idea, you may lose a promotion or you may lose a client. For those in ministry, it could mean hundreds spend eternity in hell. (That may not be true, but that’s how it feels). In this case, the Jewish leaders believe Peter is defiling himself and throwing the gospel pearl before swine.  Peter justifies his actions by referring to a spiritual experience they all had (the Holy Spirit).

2) Ministry is intensely personal. It encompasses our whole being, our emotions, our thoughts, our actions; everything that makes us “us”. So when somebody challenges that, it can feel like a personal attack.  Notice how Peter responds when the leaders attack him; he simply relates what happened and explains his actions without focusing on defending himself.

3) Our relationship with God is truth, at least for us. In other words, we believe God has spoken to me thusly, therefore this is how God speaks to everyone. It is very difficult to accept that God speaks to people differently, and maybe the ministry that God is calling you too is not the ministry He is calling your fellow workers to. Notice that later on in this chapter, there are some groups of believers that go strictly to the Jews, and some that go to the Greeks (Gentiles). Is it so bad to accept that maybe our passion is not the passion God put into everybody else? It’s surprisingly difficult.

AND NOW THE HAMMER

4) Finally, we fear other people’s calling. This is probably the harshest reality, but one that must be addressed. We are all insecure, and those in ministry seem particularly susceptible. We want God to use us, partly because we want to be used, and partly because we want to be recognized for being used. Jack Hayford once said that all pastors struggle with the giftings of those under them; the successful pastors have learned to embrace and celebrate others (especially those under them) in spite of the struggle. In this passage, the “mature” believers, the Jews, have a problem with the idea “new” believers, Gentiles, being called into the family of God. The only answer to that is time; eventually the Church accepted the Gentiles, but it was not an overnight process. We should expect to struggle with this in ministry, but also expect to overcome it.

In short, the struggle of Peter and the Jews in Acts is the same struggle we deal with today. What do we do when God uses others? Can we accept that? Can we encourage and celebrate their gifts and talents? Or will we hold them down and exalt our own ideas about how God should work? Can we work together even when our visions are different?

Are you willing to allow God to use others?

Click here to read Ezra 8 on BibleGateway.com

Have you ever put your foot in your mouth? Not physically, of course. That’s just gross. Unless you’re a baby, then it’s adorable. Of course, babies can get away with all kinds of gross stuff and be cute; try babbling and drooling when you’re sixteen to impress a girl. Babies get all the breaks.

“Foot in your mouth” means you say something without thinking, and then come to regret it. We’ve all done this. “Hey, when are you due? Oh, you’re not pregnant? Nevermind me, I’m just going to back slowly away.” “Man, that was a pointless meeting. Who plans these things? Oh, you did? Umm…I’m sure it was very informational for some people.” Don’t worry, though. Regretting what we said isn’t a new thing. Look at Ezra.

OPEN MOUTH, INSERT SANDLE

Ezra is planning to take a bunch of people from Babylon back to Jerusalem, a nice leisurely journey of over 900 miles across bandit-infested desert (no shrieking eels, at least). As he’s discussing his plan with the King, Ezra confidently says “Don’t worry, God will take care of us. No problem.”

Then the time comes to depart, and Ezra realizes what he did. He now has to take 1500 or so people (not soldiers, mind you, just a bunch of fatties who spent their lives living in the Babylon metro area) on foot across the headquarters of Robbers-R-Us. Ezra is having second thoughts; maybe a soldier or two from the king would be nice. But now he can’t, because he was so sure God will protect them. Now what? Ezra comes up with the only solution he can: beg God for protection.

Ever put yourself in that situation? Ever put God on the line? Sometimes we look at this as a bad thing; we don’t want to put God to the test after all. But is that really why we shy away from these statements? Or are we more afraid that if God doesn’t come through, we’ll look like idiots? Is it our humility or our pride that prevents us from confidently declaring what God will do?

THE HOLY FOOL

The Bible is full of people making bold statements about God. God will defeat you, Goliath; God will set his people free, Pharaoh; God will protect me in the lion’s den, king. Strangely enough, God always seems to back these people up.  Ezra and the fatties made it safe and sound in the end.

Maybe being a little foolish is just what God is looking for. He seems to delight in supporting people who make bold, and sometimes ridiculous, statements about Him. Are we able to do that? Or are we more comfortable hanging back and “humbly” saying, Thy Will be done? Which is more pleasing to God?

Are you willing to put your faith in God on the line?

Click here to read Acts 7 on BibleGateway.com

“That’s the last straw.” Have you ever wondered what the last straw really is? Like, for example, when one is hypothetically eating a couple dozen cookies, there comes a point when one knows “hmm…this was a mistake.” But at what point did that happen? Was it the 6th cookie? or the 13th? How would you know?  There’s a time when your kids are fighting that you cross over from “ok guys, time to stop.” to “ok, now I have a hankering for some spankering.”  What is the point when those little tushies cross the line into spatula targets?

In today’s chapter, we find out the last straw for many non-believers.  Stephen, a leader in the early church, is giving a quick history lesson to the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem.  He tells them how God has protected and guided the Jewish people through their history, and how great their country was in the past.  Then he drops the hammer: they are just like the “bad guys” of the past, attacking and betraying God’s prophets.

THE LAST STRAW

Notice that the Jewish leaders may get mad at Stephen when he rebukes them, but he doesn’t actually sign his own death warrant until he brings Jesus into it. Though they can’t have been real excited about him comparing them to the worst of their ancestors (not to mention the ultimate insult: “stiffneck”), they seem content to just be angry with him. But when he says he sees Jesus standing in heaven next to God, then they scream, cover their ears (la la la, i can’t hear you), and drag him outside to stone him.  What’s the difference? Why is it suddenly a stoneable offense?

In a word: Jesus.  People are generally ok with us talking about God. You can have debates about creation and evolution, comparing religions, or taking “In god we trust” off of money, and people can generally remain fairly calm. But once Jesus comes into the picture, specifically that He is Lord (that is to say, that we must submit our wills to his), then you will find people suddenly get very aggressive. Everybody likes to pray “God bless America,” but you don’t hear “Jesus, take my life” quite as often. Why is that?

LORD OR NOTHING

Notice that Stephen doesn’t just claim that Jesus is a great teacher, that He is a prophet, or even the Messiah.  He sees Jesus “at the right hand of God,” ruling with complete authority.  The idea of Jesus as a moral teacher is pretty popular these days, but Jesus didn’t come to be a teacher.  He came to be a sacrifice, to be a King.  Can we accept that? Or is that the last straw for us as well? Is it too much to give Jesus complete control of our lives? Would we rather just pick and choose the good teachings (at least the ones we agree with).

Are you willing to talk about Jesus today? Not about your “religion,” your “faith,” not about your “beliefs”, not even about “God,” but about Jesus as the Lord of your life. Will you stop considering your dreams and desires, and talk about giving up your desires to serve Christ?  Can you approach life like James: “If it is the Lord’s will…”

Are you willing to give up your rights, and maybe your life, to see Jesus at the right hand of God?

Click here to read Genesis 6 on BibleGateway.com

Have you ever read a book on optical illusions? If so, why? You know the pictures are lying to you. Dirty little weasels. And yet you just keep turning page after page, knowing that you hold in your hand nothing but a bound pack of lying Lyersons.  Do we enjoy being fooled? Do we get some thrill from feeling like a moron? Or is there just an inborn distrust in us that doubts our own perceptions.

Uncertainty is part and parcel to the human condition. We know that what we “know” is real, yet we can’t always bring ourselves to believe it. Sometimes what we know is easy to say, yet hard to believe. For instance, do we really believe God is loving? If that’s the case, then every single one of his actions must be informed by His love. We know God is Love (it says so in the Bible somewhere), yet we really suspect is a vindictive jerk.  Can our perception be changed? In other words, as we read through the Bible, is it possible to consider every act of God a loving act? You wish for an example? Very good.

LESS IS MORE

In Genesis 6, we read how God looked around and saw the growing wickedness of people after the Fall. God says “My Spirit will not strive with man forever. Their days will be 120 years.” There are lots of interpretations for this verse, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume the traditional interpretation: the lifespan of men will be cut to 120 years at maximum. Prior to this point, men (and women we assume) lived for hundreds of years. Usually people see this as a punishment, like a spanking with the mortality spatula. We used to live for hundreds of years, and now we only get roughly a hundred years, if we’re lucky.

So, let’s consider this passage in light of God’s love. Is it possible to see this as an example of God’s goodness instead of a punishment?

To start, we need to establish the reason we were created. In light of other passages, it seems clear that we were created for fellowship with God. Before the Fall, God used to walk with Adam every day, just hanging out, drinking some Dew and chewing a banana or two. But then the fall came. We were no longer able to see God face to face. The punishment for sin was death; not immediate physical death, but spiritual death culminating in eventual physical death.

THE TRUTHS WE CLING TO

If that’s the case, man was condemned to live out his life without God’s fellowship. We could not fulfill the purpose we were created for. The result of sin is death; hence, the only way we can be back into that relationship with God is to pass through death. Therefore, the longer we were alive, the longer we are out of that relationship. Instead of enjoying God’s full presence, we were condemned to a life of weeds, toil and suffering.

In his mercy, God shortened that time that we would have to be without Him. By shortening our lives to 120 years, God brought us back into His presence, into full joy, into the complete fulfillment of our creation, hundreds of years sooner.

That sounds just like a loving God to me.

Click here to read Genesis 3 on BibleGateway.com

Ah, the holidays.  In many parts of the world, we are only partway through the “twelve days of Christmas.” (December 25 to January 6).  That means we are right in the middle of the high-risk time for the infectious epidemic known as spoiledbratitis.  In the weeks leading up to Christmas, somehow children are miraculously well-behaved; smiles are wider, obedience is quicker, bottoms are less swattened.  Yet we’ve all see these same children not one week later returning gifts at Walmart or Toys-R-Us, and it seems as if all the demons of the brimstone netherworld have taken up residence in their little adorable spastic bodies.

The toy wasn’t new enough, the phone wasn’t advanced enough, the necklace wasn’t sparkly enough, the new bike was the wrong color, the new tablet is too small, the pants are too long, the dress is too poofy and the book is too booky.  How could ye ole present-giver be so monumentally stupid as to purchase such a worthless piece of eggnog.  If only Mom and Dad had listened to them, they would know exactly what to get.  Some people just shouldn’t have kids.

BILLY’S GARDEN HAS BETTER FRUIT

We might smile and shake our heads (or “accidentally” smack them with our cart as they pass), but have you ever considered how many times we approach God like a spoiled child?  If only He would listen to us, everything would be fine.  It’s only his crazy rules and archaic view of the world (after all, he’s been around forever, how could he possibly know what the best iPhone is?) that make life so difficult.

Look at Adam and Eve in today’s reading.  Not only do they disobey God’s rules about the Eden produce section, the reason they do it is to “be wise…like God.”  Interesting plan.  Even after they screwup, they decide to “fix” the problem on their own, and get some matching fig leaf ensembles.

But when God comes, he tells them the truth.  Their way is not good enough; they will be like God , yes, they know good and evil.  But now they can no longer stay in Paradise.  Similarly, they were right to try to cover their sin, but their way was not enough.  Plants were not enough to cover up their shame; it took the death of a life, an innocent life, to provide a covering for their sin.

HEAVENLY DADDY

Too often, we try to tell God how to be God.  We see all the evil around us – God should do something about that.  My child is dying – God should heal him.  There’s a hurricane coming – God should stop that.  God didn’t do what I thought he should – He must not be God. If He doesn’t do what we want, we throw a tantrum.  “You’re not my mom anymore; I’m gonna run away; I’m gonna go live with Janie’s mom.”  “You must not be God, I’m not going to church anymore, I’m gonna check out other religions/gods.”  Are we really so much different than that lil angelic demon-spawn at Walmart?

Are you able to let God be God? Are you able to look at the way things are and say “I still trust you.”  Are you able to say “I don’t know why I can’t have this fruit, but I’ll take Your word for it.”  Or do you have to know the reason why? Is God only God if He meets your expectations?  Will you still follow when He doesn’t make sense that you can see? Can you accept that He loves you and wants the best for you?

Can you accept that an unreasonable God might have the best reasons after all?

Click here to read Ezra 2 on BibleGateway.com

There’s a lot to be thankful for in this modern world.  The Interwebs give us access to just about any information we need at the touch of a button, not to mention the occasional dancing fox or two.  We can cross the globe in a few hours, only to discover that we don’t really like “authentic” Chinese food after all (hello, eyeball stew).  Not to mention refrigeration; raise your hand if you miss the rancid meat of the days of yore.   Can you imagine food poisoning when you’re locked in a suit of armor? Ish.

The New Year is usually a time when we look ahead and envision all the new joys and conveniences that are sure to come our way in the next twelve months.  It’s good to get a fresh start. Even the Bible reminds us that God’s mercies are new every morning. There’s something comforting to know that no matter what we’ve done in the past, God can start over with us at the point we are right now.

SANTANA’S SAGACITY 

However, all the appreciation and anticipation of the New doesn’t mean we should just forget what happened in the past.  In our chapter today, we read about several families that come to Jerusalem after the Babylonian Exile and claim to be Israelites, yet over the years their families have lost their records.  Whether they never believed that the Jews would ever return or just simply forgot to keep track, the end result was that they could not prove they were of the right family to serve in the temple.  They had let the day to day worries of life take precedence over who they were in God, and had lost the opportunity to be close to God’s presence.

God repeatedly tells us to “remember” throughout the Bible. Even one of the Ten Commandments says to “remember” the Sabbath. What does it mean to remember? Does that mean to just not forget what day Sunday is (or Saturday if you’re a scholar and/or somewhat a pretentious jerk).  Does God think we won’t be able to remember to take a day off every seven days? Clearly there’s more to it than that.

Remembrance in the Bible has less to do with forgetfulness and more to do with elevating something to a position of importance within your thinking. When God “remembers” Israel in Egypt, that doesn’t mean that they slipped his mind. It means that the time was now ripe for the next step of his plan.  When God tells us to “remember,” He is saying “keep this at the center of your mind.” When the Israelites didn’t keep God at the center of their lives, they “forgot” their destiny.

THIS DO…

In what may be the most important moment of Jesus’ life, he turns to his disciples and says “remember me when you do this.” Jesus is saying “elevate me and what I do tonite” to a place of honor in your lives. This is not a reminder from Siri that you need to take some bread and wine this morning at church. This is Jesus telling his followers that nothing is more important than His sacrifice and our relationship to it. Jesus knew that the troubles and worries of life would come along and distract us from what was really important. He implores us to remember.

This year, as we look forward to what God will do in the twelve months, let’s not forget what He did this past year. Let’s “remember” Christ.  Take a minute and think about the prayers you prayed this year.  How many did God answer (even if not in the way you wanted)? How may of those things you were so worried about actually happened?  What happened this year that brought you closer (or farther) away from God?

If we remember, this may just be the year that God calls us into his service or deeper into his presence.  Isn’t that what the New Year is all about?

Click here to read Acts 1 on BibleGateway.com

A new year upon us, my friends. And there was much rejoicing in the land. Whoopadeedoo.

As with any new year, you may be tempted to make this year better than last. You should just drop that notion right now. The odds are it will be pretty similar to last year, at least the parts you can control. Just same ole same ole; an endless day after day of under appreciation, aggravation, and petty annoyances.  Sound depressing? Take heart, my friend. Let’s see what the Bible says to us to start out our year. I betcha a leftover Christmas turkey (only dark meat though) that God has something to turn that frown upside down.

EENY MEENY MINEY…

In Acts 1, we read the story of the replacement of Judas. Obviously, you can’t just have eleven disciples. That would just be awkward. So Peter gets up one day and calls on who’s hanging around praying to pick someone to to replace Judas, but how to decide who it should be? After all, who wouldn’t want to be one of the Twelve? You get to carry leftover baskets, push annoying children away from Jesus, and have a brutal martyrdom to look forward to.  There’s gotta be a pretty long line for that gig.

To thin the field, the disciples propose a simple criterion: the new Twelver had to have been a follower of Jesus from the time of His baptism to the Ascension. Think about that for a moment. There was somebody (actually, two somebodies, at least) that had been a follower of Jesus for over three years. They had seen him raise Lazarus; they had seen the feeding of the five thousand; maybe they were one of the Seventy-Two that were sent out to be Jesus’ witnesses. Yet for all that, they were never allowed to be one of the “Twelve,” the inner circle, the ones Jesus ate with, hung out with, taught, and entrusted with his greatest missions.  In fact, we hear nothing about them at all in any of the Four Gospels.

Have you ever felt left out? That you give and give, and nobody appreciated you? That other people always get the credit and the attention? That you are always on the outside looking in? Imagine Matthias and Joseph Barsabbas following Jesus, always looking over the disciples shoulders, watching them get in the boat to watch Jesus walk on water, watching them walk off with Jesus to enjoy the last Passover. And yet, even after always never making the cut, they stuck it out. Day after day, week after week, year after year. They were still there with the disciples praying, waiting for the “promise of the father” in the Upper Room.

THE CLOCK STRIKES

Suddenly, Peter calls them forward. They haven’t been forgotten after all. The disciples (and we can assume, probably Jesus) had noticed them all along. They had seen their faithfulness. They were recognized and one was brought into that inner circle.

This year, there may be circumstances beyond your control. You may feel like you are following Jesus more closely than others, and yet they get the recognition and the praise. They may get the glory for putting on that special event, while you get blisters and a sore back from setting up and tearing down all the chairs and tables. You might go home at night and read all the praise raining down on people on Facebook, while your status gets two likes, one of which is your mom. Remember Matthias. Our mission is not to be the great, or even the known. We are called to be faithful. That’s all. Stay as close to Jesus as you can, for as long as you can. That’s our calling.

And who knows. This may be the year your name is called.