Reading 38

1 Cor. 16- 2 Cor. 3

One of the difficulties followers of Christ face is suffering. It is a question that people have wrestled with throughout the ages. C.S. Lewis captures it succinctly in the title of his book, The Problem of Pain.

We won’t get into that today other than to acknowledge it. Our starting point will be simply the fact that suffering and troubles are part and parcel of life in a fallen World. And followers of Jesus are not immune. In fact, in some ways, it would appear that those who follow Jesus are likely to see more troubles than those who do not.

In the opening of his second letter to the church in Corinth Paul acknowledges all this. He acknowledges that there are troubles, sufferings and distress. He even speaks of some personal struggles saying that “We were under great pressure” and that “we felt we had received the sentence of death.” But in the midst of this he gives us some insights regarding hard times.

First, Paul says that the troubles they went through happened for a reason, “that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead (:9).” Second, Paul writes of God as “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles (:3, 4). Not only are troubles one way of helping us rely on God, but they also help us discover the source of our comfort, too.

But that’s not all. Paul then says that God comforts us “so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” Our troubles teach us to rely on God and his comfort which then enables us to be God’s instruments of comfort to others. Maybe there really is a silver lining to every cloud.

--Nils

Reading #38 (audio)

Reading 37

1 Cor. 12-15

Hi, this is Sue and I just might get in trouble with this blog on 1 Cor. 12-15.

There’s a lot in this passage about the structure of the church. We’re baptized into Christ’s body and we all receive the same Spirit, we’re all given a spiritual gift, we’re all a part of the body of Christ, we’re all needed, we are to care for each other equally and our highest goal is to be love…No kings or high muckymucks or privileged ones. This is a picture of equality.

It is amazing that there were Gentiles and slaves in the early church. Jews accepting that God would save Gentiles was big! Accepting the equality of slaves was mind boggling!

If I’m reading this correctly, the Christians who were slaves were given the same Spirit as the free people, were given at least one spiritual gift, were needed in the body and were to be cared for as much as others.

And some of the slaves were given the gifts of leadership, teaching, prophecy, wisdom and others. Their social status as slaves meant nothing in the church. Now--some would say that God wouldn’t give those gifts to slaves…as well as other groups of people. However, it doesn’t say that here…or anywhere else.

Hierarchy, including slavery, is not God’s idea. Love and equality are his ways. From what we read here, we can conclude that God calls and gifts people without regard to social status, gender, race and often times even age. Some of the apostles were quite young.

The early church doesn’t appear to be called to a big public civil rights campaign but the structure of the body was a huge blow to hierarchy, including slavery. And today we are called to continue the shift to love and equality.

Sue

Reading #37 (audio)

Reading 36

1 Corinthians 8-11

When I was a freshman in high school I decided to turn out for track. The event I chose was the javelin, mainly because I did not have to work very hard and I got to throw something dangerous! Anyway, a few days before a meet my coach told me the 800 relay was in need of someone to run a leg. He wanted to know if I would be willing to do so. Not being good at saying no, I said I would and since I had 3 or 4 days to train I figured I would be okay.

When meet day came it was not long before I was ardently wishing I had not agreed to run the race. It was pretty much all I could do to jog 200 meters, let alone sprint, and the result was that the other team pretty much finished the race before I finished my leg. It was humiliating! (Especially so when I noticed some cute girls in the stands)

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul uses running and boxing as metaphors for the Christian life. In this section he makes it clear that discipline and self-sacrifice are necessary for living as a Christ follower. In drawing this analogy Paul anticipated that the Corinthians would think of the major games the city of Corinth hosted every two years and also of the Olympic games held every four years. It was known that those athletes wishing to participate in the Olympic games had to swear (by Zeus, no less!) to follow ten months of strict training prior to the games, and if they didn’t they would be disqualified.

Paul’s point is that if those who ran for a temporal prize were willing to be disciplined and to sacrifice, what about those whose race involves an eternal prize? The training required for the Olympic games likely had to do with honoring the games themselves. Even today we understand that. Could you imagine a coach asking a young man a few days before the competition if he would run a race in the Olympics even though he had never trained? Of course not! That would be an affront to the Olympics.

Should not followers of Jesus want to honor him in how they live and in what they give themselves too, as well? To finish well in life and to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your master!” What better prize to win than that?

Nils

Reading #36 (audio)

Reading 35

1 Corinthians 4-7

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?” (v.19) As a kid growing up in the church, I didn’t particularly like this passage. My parents would use this passage to enforce some sort of rule to restrict my behavior; for instance, this was the principle verse they used to discourage me from getting tattoos or dying my hair. I thought of it as one of those ‘kill joy’ passages that made the Christian life boring.

It was unfortunate that I thought of this verse as God’s restrictive voice. Like many other times throughout my life, I have mistaken God’s compassion and care for a harsh ruling judge. When I do this, I forget that Paul is making an important point here: that we should not separate the actions of our body from our spirituality; and that actions of the body can harm our spiritual life. In these chapters, Paul especially notes that sexual immortality harms our spiritual life. The action of uniting our bodies with anything that pulls us away from God is detrimental to our relationship with God, and it shows a dependence on something that God wants to free us from: sex, food, drugs, body image, etc.

Our bodies do strange things: they try to control us in many ways. Our bodies command us to eat and sleep and desire all sorts self-fulfillment. Our bodies are also amazing creations. They are the homes that God has given us for this life. In these past chapters, I get the sense that we should not devalue these bodies that God has given us, no matter how weak or strong we feel in them. For the life that God has given us is both physical and spiritual, and God intends for us to glorify Him in both realms.

Jim

Reading #35 (audio)

Reading 34

Romans 16-1 Cor. 3

I’ve been thinking about “purpose” lately. Specifically, I’ve been wondering about my purpose in this life and God’s kingdom. I know, I’m middle aged and have been a Christian for a long time. I guess I could have figured this out by now. Let’s just say I’m doing some review and evaluation.

Maybe I’ve been thinking about this because of reading about Jesus’ life in the gospels recently. Now there’s someone who knew his purpose! He came to show us who the Father was, announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, die for our sins and come back to life so we can have eternal life.

Then when I read 1 Cor. 1: 17, the apostle Paul caught my attention when he said, “For Christ didn’t send me to baptize but to preach the Good News.” He knew what he was called to and what he wasn’t called to.

Paul is sometimes seen as egotistical. However, if that was true he would likely think he could do everything. And yet we hear him being clear about what he didn’t need to do. He had a huge job in preaching the Good News, could move forward in that and leave other work to other people.

So, I have been pondering that, especially since I often take on too much. I have even wondered if I have at times missed my assigned tasks from God because I’m doing so many other things…that might be better done by others. Sigh…

Then I read Acts 20:24 where Paul says, “But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about God’s wonderful kindness and love.” I may not be called to full time preaching but aren’t we all called to communicate “God’s wonderful kindness and love?” “Lord, how does that look for me?”

Once again, I’ve been pondering and even asking God some specific questions. Then just today someone told me that some time we had together recently had really been helpful to her walk with God.

Hmmm…sounds like answered prayer to me. Maybe part of my purpose is to keep loving people as the need arises. As usual, God is at work…and I get to join him.

Sue

Reading #34 (audio)

Reading 33

Romans 12-15

If you had asked me as a 3rd grader how someone was saved, and able to go to heaven. I would've told you "it's by grace." I have known for a long time that it is impossible to get to heaven by being a good person. However, there was a misconception in my mind. I knew it was by God's grace that I was saved, but I thought I deserved God's grace. It wasn't my good works that got me to heaven, but it was my good works that got me grace to get to heaven. Isn't that funny how things can get twisted in our minds?
Just in the last few years have I been broken over how UNDESERVING I am. It is HARD to accept grace. I can think of specific instances where I have been unkind, just downright mean to my friends and family, and they have responded with patience and love. They are showing me pictures of God's grace, and I usually reject those pictures. I feel so horrible over how I treated them, that the last thing I want is for them to respond to my meanness with kindness. I think it would be easier for me if they yelled at me or something. Then I wouldn't feel so guilty. Grace is hard to accept because it requires humility, because grace is undeserved. Pastor Nils told a story at church where Cornerstone had put on a free car wash, and they ended up making like $200. People do not like free gifts, we like to think that we "earned or deserved" whatever we receive.

Can you think of a time where you had difficulty receiving grace? In Romans 12 vs.20 Paul says "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Paul is quoting a verse in Proverbs 25:21-22 in that passage. Think about that...

I like to think that I don't have enemies. Nope, I like everyone, I get along everyone (hopefully you can hear the sarcasm in that statement). Although enemy is a harsh term, there are people that I find it difficult to treat with love. People who I struggle to have patience with. There are times in my life where I am the one that people have a hard time loving. I'm the one who tests people's patience. When those people respond to me by feeding me, or giving me something to drink...I am broken.

I don't think this verse is telling us to take revenge by doing the action that will hurt our "enemy" the most, I think it's telling us to learn to give grace. Grace humbles and breaks people. As we show them grace, we are being pictures of Jesus. My prayer is that we can all learn to give AND RECEIVE grace.

Andrea

Reading #33 (audio)

Reading 32

Romans 8-11

In Romans 9:32, Paul explains that Israel has not attained righteousness because they pursue it as though it can be achieved by works, and not by faith. I feel as though this is something I can identify with. You see, I was raised in a Christian household, and gave my life to Christ when I was 10 years old. My family was very supportive and loving, and I was always encouraged to do my best. Being the perfectionist oldest child that I am, I translated “doing my best” to “doing the best.” And for me, it wasn’t hard to be the good little Christian girl I was supposed to be. I was a model Christian girl, and I was good at it. And while outwardly displaying humility, I was secretly satisfied and very proud of all my achievements.

My big secret was that I had everyone fooled. I almost never cracked open my Bible, even though I knew all the stories and a lot of verses. I memorized them because I had to memorize them. It was what good Christian girls did. I only knew the stories because they were told to me, not because I read them and investigated for myself. Though Paul was writing about the Israelites in Romans, I definitely would have been included on the list of people pursuing righteousness and salvation by works and the law, not by faith. And I was actually proud of myself and felt superior to all the others in my youth group, because I was a better Christian than they were.

My façade persisted even after I moved to Pullman to attend WSU. I had a Christian roommate, so I went to church and a weekly campus Christian group meeting. I also volunteered to help with a Sunday school program. But during the spring of my freshman year, my life of works started to feel empty and meaningless. I was living my life to please others’ expectations, not living to please God. I knew this, and still, my Bible remained shut. Continuing to live a lie seemed to be an easier path than confronting and repenting my pride and arrogance.

Until one day when God confronted me. I was taking an English Lit class about the archetypal hero’s journey and saw that the next text we would be studying were selections from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I was stunned. In that moment it hit me that God loved me so much and knew me so well that he was meeting me at the one place He knew I wouldn’t be able to ignore him: my homework. As I read, a huge burden lifted and I was able to confess that I hadn’t actually read my Bible in three years. After I finished the gospels, I continued to read, and broke down when I read in Romans 8:1 that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. I made the connection that nothing I could ever do would make me good enough to be saved. I felt comfort and relief. Like Paul writes in 8: 15-16, I am a child of God. The pressure was off to live up to people’s expectations. Now my motivation to be a good Christian girl could come from pursuing righteousness by faith and living for God.

Stacey

Reading #32 (audio)

Reading 31

Romans 4-7

I love Romans 4. I find myself encouraged by Paul’s comments about Abraham and his faith. The language of promise, grace and faith resonates within me and lifts me up. When Paul describes Abraham believing in “the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not” I find myself in awe, quietly pondering the description: “God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not!”

Even so Abraham could have chosen to not trust God. The text says that it was “Against all hope” of ever having a child that “Abraham, in hope believed and so became the father of many nations.” I like how Paul says that Abraham faced the fact that his body was as good as dead and that Sarah was beyond her childbearing years.

Faith does not ignore or hide from “the facts”. Faith is just careful to remember the most important fact—God. I suspect that had you told Abraham the fact that he was too old to have a child, he would have agreed with you. Had you expressed the fact that no woman in her 90’s and post-menopausal had given birth before, he would have said “Yes, that’s true.” Perhaps then he would have said that there is one more fact that must be considered, the fact that God had promised him a child.

You see, faith does not hide from the facts. Faith simply helps us to remember the fact above all others: That there is a God and he does not lie.

Nils

Reading 30

Acts 28 – Romans 3

Lately music has been a huge part of my life. Not in the “oh!-I-just-heard-the-best-new-artist” way and not even in the “I-just-can’t-get-through-a-day-without-my-iPod” way. I’m hearing songs that speak into my life on a level that I am connecting with deeply. There’s truth spoken in these songs that I can identify with what is happening in my life. I don’t always recognize the connection until something else reminds me of it.

For example, after reading Romans 2:4 which says “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” a song popped into my head. Have you already guessed which song I’m thinking of? It’s a song by Chris Tomlin called Kindness. Here are the words:

Kindness

Open up the skies of mercy
Rain down your cleansing flood
Healing waters rise around us
Hear our cries, Lord Let 'em rise

It's Your kindness Lord that leads us to repentance
Your favor, Lord, is our desire
It's Your beauty, Lord, that makes us stand in silence
Your love, Your love is better than life

We can feel Your mercy falling
You are turning our hearts back again
Hear our praises rise to heaven
Draw us near, Lord, meet us here

It's Your kindness Lord that leads us to repentance
Your favor, Lord, is our desire
It's Your beauty, Lord, that makes us stand in silence
Your love, Your love is better than life

Your love is Better than life
Your grace and Your mercy Is better than life
Your kindness, Lord Is better than life

I have to admit, I was never a big fan of rain, even though I grew up on the western side of the state. However, lately in my life, God has repeatedly brought to mind the idea of his grace and his mercy falling like rain. (I love how God uses things we can wrap our minds around to teach us.) If you’ve ever been caught outside during a heavy rain, you know how the rain can permeate everything. Any significant amount of time without shelter or Gore-Tex and you begin to feel like even your skin has been saturated with the rain. That’s how much I want God’s grace and mercy to be in my life. And God wants to be a downpour in our lives!

My prayer today is that we know the rain of his cleansing flood. That we feel the healing waters rise. That we cry out to Jesus. That his kindness in fact does lead us to repentance. That he meets us, wherever we are. And that we can say his love, grace, mercy, and kindness are better than life.

Let it rain!

Cristin

Reading #30 (audio)

Reading 29

Acts 24-27

In Acts chapters 21 through 24, Luke describes events surrounding Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem and trials in both Jerusalem and Caesarea. At the end of chapter 20, Paul tells the Ephesian elders that the Holy Spirit has compelled him to travel to Jerusalem and has warned him of hardship once he arrives there. Drama is nothing new to Paul. The Spirit warns him whenever he travels from city to city that times will be rough because of his dedication to spreading the gospel, and we might be tempted to think that the primary purpose of Luke’s writings is to chronicle the difficulties and persecution faced by Paul and the other early believers because of what they are preaching—something we may also face in our daily lives. But Luke also shows us, through Paul’s actions, some practical tools that aide him in spreading the gospel.

First, he goes the extra mile to make sure he doesn’t offend the Jews by dispelling a rumor about his teachings and participating in purification rites that he didn’t have to participate in. This shows he was not only dedicated to keeping the peace in the Jerusalem church, but willing to compromise on minor details that were non-essential to faith so that, as he later writes to the Corinthians, he can become all things to all people in order to save some (1 Cor. 9:19). This example can help us keep perspective on the important things in faith and not let our personal preferences about small details divide a church body and hinder God’s work.

Then, he demonstrated an ability to meet people where they are by speaking their language. Paul did this literally after his arrest by impressing the Roman commander and speaking Greek, which showed that he was an educated and cultured man, earning him protection and permission to address the crowd. When he spoke to the Jews, he used their native Aramaic, which let them know that he was a devout Jew himself and had utmost respect for the laws and customs. Like Paul, we can speak different languages to connect with people, but we can also modify our English vocabulary to relate to all the unique personalities around us.

When Paul did address the crowd, before diving into his testimony, he established common ground with the Jews so that they would listen to him. He let them know where he was from and who he was trained by in the law, and explained that he was such a zealous Pharisee that he persecuted Christians to their death. He also named names so that people could investigate this truth for themselves. He did all this so that they could then hear what God had done in his life and how he had been changed forever.

These three examples can be very useful to us in spreading the gospel, but the one thing that captured me most and that was present throughout these four chapters is Paul’s awareness of and obedience to the Holy Spirit. Before traveling to Jerusalem, many believers prophesied that Paul would be in danger there. They thought that the warnings they received from the Spirit meant that he shouldn’t travel there, and so they urged him not to go. They were fearful for his safety and perhaps fearful of losing someone in a leadership role, just as they had lost Jesus. But Paul knew that he had to be obedient, even in the face of hardship, opposition, and pain. He truly wanted to please God just as Jesus had done, and as a result the Spirit enabled him to be a witness to the Jews who wanted to kill him as well as powerful people in the Roman government. By being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leadings, we too can know God’s will, be obedient, and then be confident that in times of trial and trouble, we will never be alone.

Stacey

Reading 29 (audio)

Reading 28

Acts 20-23

In Acts 20-23, Paul continues his travels to see the believers. He makes his way to Jerusalem, where he is seized by angry crowds and beaten. When Roman soldiers stop the crowd, Paul seeks permission to speak to the people who had just tried to kill him. He uses the opportunity to tell the crowds how he came to Jesus. Although he must have been bruised and bloody, Paul chose to focus his attention on teaching the people. He reminded the crowd that he had been a leader, had persecuted Christians—had even been a Pharisee. The crowd listened for a time, until Paul told how he had been sent to the Gentiles to spread the good news. The people could not accept this. Their own prejudice against the Gentiles deafened them to what Paul was trying to say. In fact, the very mention of Gentiles stirred the crowd into a frenzy, until they were “shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air”—throwing a tantrum.

This passage reminded me of the times I have thrown “tantrums” with God. I listen to him up to a point, until he says something that I have a problem with, a prejudice against. Then I stop listening—refuse to listen, actually. But when I set aside the obstacle, and focus instead on what God is telling me, I often realize that the thing that most concerns me isn’t really that important. Instead, God’s “big picture” is far more important. If I focus on that, I find that I no longer need to hold on to my objections. The crowd that listened to Paul had the same problem. They were so upset that Paul brought the good news to the Gentiles that they didn’t even consider the good news. The important point wasn’t the Gentiles, it was the gospel.

It is easy in our lives to forget to take off our blinders. We become so intent on the things that are “important” to us that we can’t focus on what is truly important. But if we were to really listen to what God is saying, and set aside, even briefly, our objections and tantrums, how might our lives change? Might we also see that what God is trying to tell us is far more valuable than our own prejudices and desires?

Kerry

Reading #28 (audio)

Reading 27

Acts 16-19

In Chapter 16 of Acts, Luke recounts the story of Paul and Silas being arrested and put into jail in Philipi. It’s quite a story, beginning with casting a demon out of a female slave, a riot, severe beatings and imprisonment. It ends with prayer and singing hymns, an earthquake, prison doors being thrown open and a jailer (along with his family) becoming a follower of Christ and being baptized into the faith. Oh my gosh! Can you imagine being a child and listening to grandpa Silas recount that story around the table or at bedtime?

What caught my eye this time was what precipitated these events. In verse 16 Luke tells us that a slave woman with a future-predicting demon had followed them around for days shouting “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” What she was saying was true, but apparently it was how she was doing it that caused problems, because of what Luke says next: “Finally, Paul became so annoyed that he turned around” and commanded the spirit to come out of her. Which it did.

I found myself chuckling atthe thought that the Apostle Paul acted because he was “annoyed”. It doesn’t sound very spiritual. I can see him in my minds eye, putting his hand to his forhead, then rubbing his eyes as he sighs and says, “I am so sick and tired of this. Demon, in Jesus’ name, get out of here!”

Now his acting from his irritation led to some rather unfortunate events, like getting beaten. But the end result was the salvation of a number of people and a story that inspires. How in the world could that be? I grew up with a brand of Christianity that touted self-control in all things, that irritation and annoyance weren’t spiritual because the truly spiritual were always unruffled. But not the Apostle.

I thank God for Luke including this statement that Paul “became so annoyed” because it reminds me that it is okay to be human, to be real. It does not excuse things that I might do, but it doesn’t diminish who I am, either. In fact, because Paul became so annoyed the events were set in motion that resulted in such amazing things. Had he kept everything tightly reigned in, it would never have occurred.

My point is this, God made Paul who he was with his strengths and weaknesses. He knew Paul’s temperament and his inclinations, good and bad, and even so God used Paul. God even worked through his failings. And that gives me hope that God is big enough to work through me when I follow Jesus. Even with my shortcomings and failings.

--Nils

Reading 27 (audio)

Reading 26

Acts 12-15

These four chapters in Acts are filled with miraculous accounts of God’s hand. Peter is rescued from prison by an angel of the Lord. Almost the whole city of Pisidian Antioch “gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:44). Paul heals a man who was lame from birth (Acts 14), and the crowd calls Paul and Barnabas “gods” which breaks their hearts. In Chapter 15, Paul and Barnabas get into a disagreement. With so many topics to think about, it is amazing to me that one line of one verse is what captured my attention.

For the last two years, I’ve prayed “Lord, teach me to fear you.” I’m sure we can all think of times in our lives where we’ve prayed things, not knowing fully what we were asking for, or what the process would entail. Such is the case with this prayer. I moved to Spokane for Nursing school 1 ½ years ago, and little did I know that God would use my time in Spokane to teach me a lot of what it means to fear Him. Fear of the Lord has been described as “reverence”, or “awe.” I wasn’t sure what that would look like in my life. What does it look like for me to Fear the Lord? To come before him with reverence for his character?

I found a powerful picture of fearing the Lord in Acts chapter 13. In the Old Testament, Israel was God’s chosen nation. God blessed his people, often using other nations (Gentiles) to teach his people lessons. God’s regard for the Gentiles seemed harsh. He used them, but they were not his people. I would be bold as to say that Gentiles did not experience God’s blessing or love as the nation of Israel did.

With that in mind, I want to share with you Acts 13:16. In this passage, Paul and his companions have sailed to Pisidian Antioch where they entered the synagogue. Paul stands up in the synagogue and says “Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!” WHOA! Did you catch it? Let me say it again, “Men of Israel, and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!” Gentiles who worship God?! At this point, Paul has not yet shared the gospel of salvation through Jesus. The Gentiles didn’t yet know that God loved them too, that Jesus came for them too! No, at this point, they still thought of God as the God of the Israelites. Yet, this passages says, you Gentiles who worship God. These men, who were not receiving the love and blessing of the Lord, were still choosing to be in the synagogue, hearing about the God of the Israelites! Why? Because they knew this God was right. He was God of all gods, King of all kings, worthy of their worship. Regardless of how they felt, of how God related to them, simply because God was worthy, powerful, strong, true, they worshiped him. That is a picture of fear of the Lord that we all need more of.

To worship the Lord even when we aren’t experiencing blessings, to worship God even when life isn’t fair…that is fear of the Lord. Lord, teach us to fear you. Give us a more accurate picture of who you are, how strong, powerful, true, worthy and righteous.

Andrea

Reading 26 (audio)

Reading 25

Acts 8-11

I often find it difficult to talk to others about my faith, especially when talking to people who don’t share my same beliefs. At the same time, it is to those who do not know Christ that his message needs to be spread. The question is, how can I do this without putting someone off or turning them further away from Christ? I worry about saying the wrong thing or even being rejected for my beliefs. If the time were to come to share my beliefs with someone I want to be ready. Phillip is given the perfect opportunity to talk about Jesus Christ. I think it is so amazing that God leads Phillip to the very spot where he can be used to bring someone to Christ. While it doesn’t seem that God leads us as directly as he led Philip, God does place us in situations where we can share our faith with others. Because of this, we need to be ready to talk about Jesus and how he has touched our lives.

The message of God’s grace is for all people, as the lord showed to Peter. In ACTS 10:34 Peter speaks this powerful message “that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Often, prejudice and bias against certain groups get in the way of our ability of doing god’s work. I believe this message is important as it is sometimes easier only to associate with others who are like us. God calls us to reach out to people from different backgrounds, races and ethnicities, just as he called Peter to go to the home of a gentile. At the time, this was very difficult not only because of the prejudice against gentiles but also because it was forbidden by Jewish law. Today the restrictions are not always so clear but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t there. Most of us would find it very difficult to talk to someone who was Muslim about our faith or even those friends who are born-again atheists. But God calls us to relationships with everyone not just those who are sympathetic to our faith. His call is universal.

When we are called by God to speak to the people, we listen. Just like Phillip and Peter, it isn’t what we believe that is important but it’s what God has told us to do. I pray that God would give me the strength to follow his will even when it means sharing his message with a difficult crowd.

Dina

Reading 25 (audio)

Reading 24

Acts 4-7

The followers of Christ in this passage faced a great deal of persecution. But what is astonishing to me is that they rejoiced in it. In Acts 5:41, it says the apostles left the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they had been worthy enough to suffer for Jesus. To feel honored to suffer is something foreign to the people of America. We will try our best to limit our suffering as much as possible. The culture tells us to just go with the flow and don’t rock the boat.

The disciples were definitely rocking the boat. They were trying to sink the boat of the old way of thinking. The apostles were not doing it quietly either. You can’t proclaim Jesus affectively without being bold. The followers of Jesus did not care what the consequences were of there actions. Stephan knew what God wanted him to say to the Sanhedrin and he said it with gusto knowing in full that they would be overcome with anger. But he wasn’t thinking of their anger, he was thinking of the mission God had given him. So should we focus our ambitions on the mission.

I admit, I am usually thinking of how my friend will probably look at me differently if I ask him about God, but I pray that God will keep me focused on the commission He has given me to be bold with the good news. No matter how my friend reacts whether it’s with arguments, apathy or he falls on his knees right there and believes in Jesus (I wish that would happen sometimes), I should not regret my actions, for I should know that I was doing what God ask me to do. And in that I will rejoice, and I will rejoice even more when I do see what God can do through me when I do follow Him without thinking what the world will think, but thinking instead of what can I do for my father.

Grant

Reading #24 (audio)

Reading 23

John 21—Acts 3

I love superhero stories—I really do. And I don’t think I am alone: I mean, I can’t be the only person that made a cape out of my bed sheet and jumped off the back of the living room couch, truly believing that I could fly into the kitchen and grab a cookie from that unreachable cookie jar. Unfortunately, I stopped thinking I could be superman and focused on how I could be ‘guy-that-goes-to-work-everyday’ man. Hence, God’s word became less a wondrous book of exciting events and more of a practical and ordinary guide to living.

There is nothing wrong with seeing the practical parts in the bible, but the end of John and the beginning of Acts are anything but ordinary. Jesus rises from the dead and hangs out with his buddies and cooks for them; he gathers his league of disciples and gives them superpowers (i.e. the holy spirit) before he flies up to heaven; these apostles went about preaching God’s word and demonstrating the same superhero qualities as Jesus did during his ministry.

I admit, though, that I often look at passages such as these and mentally omit all the miraculous moments. I’ll focus on the content of conversations and not the fact that these conversations were taking place during some crazy situations. Take, for instance, Acts chapter two: the holy spirit descended on the apostles. It must have been an amazing sight. However, that practical part of me wants to respond like the people who just thought the apostles were drunk. When I think that way, I forget that most of the bible’s accounts of God’s demonstration of his power are through the supernatural to show his mastery over His creation. I get skeptical because I think that the supernatural doesn’t occur anymore—it’s just in books and movies. Yet, I have never met a Christian that hasn’t felt the holy spirit at one particular point in their life to help them make a crucial decision, lead them when they were not confident, or guide them in helping others, etc. Just as Jesus chose these ordinary men to wield extraordinary powers, we have extraordinary powers available to us if we ask God. So go grab your bed sheet, tie it around your neck like a cape, and ask God for the power of the Holy Spirit. You’ll be surprised how incredible life will become!

Jim

Reading #23 (audio)

Reading 22

John 17-20

I love reading through the gospels. I’ve probably read them more often than any other part of the Bible. I love hearing the words of Jesus and being a part, however briefly, of the journey the apostles make. The four gospels repeat many of the same stories, but they all have a slightly different focus. For a long time, I would skim over the sections that I had read in earlier gospels, half wondering why the stories were repeated, sometimes with very different details. But a few years ago, I read through the gospels in a chronological Bible, which rearranges the scriptures from all the books into the order they occurred. Reading the familiar stories from the four gospels side by side gave me a different understanding of each story, and helped me understand that different details were given by the writers of the gospels because they were writing to different audiences and had different emphases to make.

As I read through John 17-20, I encountered familiar sections from the other three gospels. But I was especially struck by how John dealt with Jesus on the cross. John devotes such little space to the final moments before Jesus died: “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

As I read this section, it really bothered me that John spent so little time on the Lord’s last moments. As I pondered this more, I realized that in all the times I’ve read through the gospels, I’ve always been very saddened by Jesus’ time on the cross. Even as I read about his resurrection and the time he spent with the disciples, I’ve held on to that sadness. I’ve missed the joy that the Lord’s resurrection brought to the disciples. But John’s refusal to dwell on the brief moment of death, and his insistence on devoting more time to what occurred after that moment, brought me to a realization: Jesus dying on the cross is sad, but that is not the final emotion of the story. It is important to take seriously what Jesus did for us, but we shouldn’t let sadness color our view of everything that occurred after. Jesus went to the cross willingly so that we can have eternal life and the peace that comes from living within God’s will. That isn’t something to be sad about—it is something to rejoice in! So now, as I read through the end of each gospel, I’m going to remember to release my sadness, and rejoice with the disciples as Jesus comes back to them and ascends to heaven to prepare a place for all of us.

Kerry

Reading #22 (audio)

Reading 21

John 13-16

In these four chapters we encounter Jesus issuing his final instructions to his disciples. As I read through these few pages, I got a sense of the urgency in Jesus words. He knew that the end was coming soon, that his time on earth was almost past, and that the hardest part lay just ahead. I can hardly imagine what the disciples must have been thinking and I wonder, what would I have thought to hear so plainly the voice of God?

As Jesus speaks, John lets his words absolutely fill these pages with scarcely any commentary or interruption. The disciples sat in utter silence as Jesus tells them of betrayal, denial and an end to all they’ve known. On that night Jesus spoke with a certainty that the disciples had not heard before. No more parables, no more mysteries. Essentially, he was saying if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen God. The disciples had been following Jesus for almost three years so it’s fairly obvious that they believed in His message but to hear it stated so definitively. That must have been pretty difficult to digest.

I think it is the clarity of these chapters that really amazes me. So often I have trouble hearing God’s voice and I envy the disciples that they were there on that night. But I also remember that even then the full message was hard to understand. It wouldn’t be until after Jesus had left that his words would fully sink in.

Sometimes it’s hard to know if you are hearing the voice of God at all and other times he’s speaking so plainly that you overlook such an obvious message. Either way it’s important to pay attention, hang on his every word and trust that while you may not understand it now God’s divine plan will make sense in the end.

Aaron

Reading #21 (audio)

Reading 20

John 9-12

At the beginning of Chapter 9, Jesus and his disciples encounter a man who has been blind since birth. The disciples ask Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” And Jesus answers, “Neither… this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

That the work of God might be displayed in his life. Can you remember a period in your life when you were in the midst of a hard time and the question kept creeping up in your mind, “What did I do to deserve this?” I’ve had those times… and I usually didn’t stop to think that it was happening so that the work of God might be displayed in my life.

Honestly, during tough times, I’m usually too focused on me to see anything else. But if we can begin to see the trials in our lives as occasions for the work of God to be displayed in our lives, what hope that can bring. What confidence that can give. We are a showcase of God’s art. His creation. And he’s chosen to use each one of us to display his work. Our lives are a living gallery of his work.

We are each a testament to the character of God. His constancy: he will never leave us – he’s promised that to us. His love: he cares about each of us individually and knows our burdens. His providence: he supplies for our needs daily, whether money for bills, clothes on our back, or food on the table – it all comes from him.

And yet with all God’s goodness and faithfulness we see in our lives, there are the hard things, the tough times, when it feels like your world is falling apart or the situation you’re in just isn’t changing. So how do these two things co-exist? You know God is good. His character is unchanging and at the same time, life is hard.

I can’t help but be reminded of Romans 8:18 and 8:28 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us…. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

God works. He is working. Things happen in our lives so that his work might be displayed. The trials we go through are not worthless… they’re opportunities for God to work.

So the next time I find myself asking, “What have I done to deserve this?” I’m going to ask “What is God displaying in my life?” because I want to be a living gallery for his art work to those around me.

Cristin

Reading #20 (audio)

Reading 19

John 5-8

One of the first things I was taught in my Ski Patrol training was the importance of identifying myself to a hurt skier and asking if I might help. At first glance it seems kind of silly to ask a hurt skier if he or she wants help. If they are hurt, surely they want help! Perhaps surprisingly, that is not always the case. There are times when a person doesn’t want help, for whatever reason, and the Ski Patrol has to respect that. In John 5 we see Jesus in a similar scenario.

In the beginning of the chapter John tells us that Jesus had gone to the pool of Bethesda which was considered a place of healing. A great number of disabled people would come to the pool daily in hopes that the water would be stirred by an angel. If that happened, whoever got into the pool first would be healed.

When Jesus arrived at the pool he saw a man lying there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Why this man stood out to Jesus, I don’t know. He just did, and Jesus engaged him in conversation, asking him “Do you want to get well?” This is certainly different from the Ski Patrol question, “May I help you?” Yet it was similar, too. Although Jesus could heal the man (as no Patroller can) he still asked him first if that is what he wanted.

But I find myself asking a different question. Didn’t Jesus know the man had been ill a long time? Didn’t the man get carried to the pool on a daily basis in hopes of healing? If so, it almost seems as though Jesus was making insensitive small talk.

Yet, just like a good Ski Patroller, Jesus was giving the man an option and as such it became a very penetrating question. Did the man really want to get well? Sometimes people with infirmities become used to them and actually begin to be identified by them. To become well would not only change them physically, but in every other way, too. If the man by the pool was healed, he certainly would be able to live a normal life. Others would no longer have to take care of his needs. He would be expected to do that for himself. He had not held a job in at least 38 years. He would need to find one now, but what would he put on his resume? Socially all of his relationships would be changed. In short, to be made well would radically change this man’s life. Could he adapt? Would he?

What seems like an insensitive question, “Do you want to get well?” turns out to be piercing. “Do you want to get well?” There are times when the answer to that question is not as easy as it looks. Usually the answer is yes. But sometimes what I really want is to simply get rid of the pain, not the actual cause of the pain. Yet Jesus came not to just take away the pain, but to truly make us well. And the choice is ours to make.

Nils

Reading #19 (audio)

Reading 18

John 1-4

After reading through the first four chapters of John, I felt the Lord speaking to me about what it means to have faith. It was clear to me that every chapter in this reading deals with faith, whether it was the story of Jesus in the temple courts, the proclamations of John the Baptist, the teaching of Nicodemus, or Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well. The Apostle John clearly intends to illustrate what faith means, to teach his readers about believing in Jesus.

I struggled with this concept a lot recently. During the past few months, I’ve been experiencing a crisis of faith because I’ve been unemployed. To write a blog with a coherent point has proven challenging as I still try to reconcile my situation with my knowledge of Jesus. However, the more I ponder this reading, the more I learn and the deeper my faith grows.

My experience this summer parallels the stories told in John 1-4. It is difficult, initially, for people to believe in Jesus and what he says. In chapter 4, verse 48, Jesus says that unless people see signs and wonders, they will never believe. Now I have seen Jesus’ work in my life, but it’s so easy to forget those experiences. The challenge is to believe him even before the situation is resolved. How many times has he already proven himself? How many times has he said he’ll take care of me?

The answer is…more than enough. Every time I face a crisis, I start to wonder and doubt. And every time, I learn again that Jesus will do what he said. He never changes. He always takes care of me. He will do the same for you.

Kevin

Reading #20 (audio)

Reading 17

Luke 21-24

When we read the Bible on our couches with a soda or cup of tea, it can seem so normal or even blah. But today’s reading of Luke 21-24 features a lot of “WOWS!” and wild times.

Here are some of the wild events in this passage:

Satan entered Judas who then betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders…both of which are amazing! We worry about persecution and discrimination from the secular society but this was from his faith community.

Knowing what was ahead for him and while he was in the garden, Jesus was more than a little stressed. He was in such agony that “his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” Wow!

When the mob came to arrest Jesus, one of his disciples slashed off the ear of a high priest’s servant. Not only did Jesus heal the ear, he told his disciples not to fight. Amazing!

Then poor, impetuous Peter actually does deny Jesus three times. The horror of what he did hit hard and he cried bitterly. What a humbling experience!

I can understand taking a stand for truth but it was out of jealousy that the religious leaders whipped the crowd into a frenzy. They not only roared for Jesus to be killed, they also demanded that a murderer be released.

And in the midst of all of this insanity, hatred and violence, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.” 23:34 WOW!!

Forgiveness, mercy, love…strength that we will never understand…but for which we can be thankful.

Sue

Reading #17 (audio)