The 260 Journey

The 260 Journey
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A life-changing experience through the New Testament one chapter at a time.

  1. 21h ago

    A Story With a Big Gap

    Day 110 Today’s Reading: Acts 21 In order to talk about Acts 21 today, I have to tell you a story with a big gap. Technology has made the world a neighborhood. Because of technology, people get famous real fast today. If you have a smart phone, you have a camera. And with social media, you have an audience. And if enough people watch it, you can be viral. Did you know that 42 percent of the world population is twenty-four years old and younger? If that’s true, then technology is their life. All that being possible, remember that viral doesn’t last long. It’s fake fame. They call it your “fifteen minutes of fame.” The authentic has longevity to it. It’s the difference between buying a ten-dollar, knock-off Rolex watch on the streets and the authentic ten thousand dollar one in a high-end jewelry store. Which one lasts longer? The authentic has longevity. I want to show you someone who lasted a long time because he was authentic. His name was Philip, and his story starts in Acts 6 and goes through Acts 8. Let me tell you his quick viral story and then a huge gap. He became the first deacon in the church. Then he led an all-city revival in Samaria. He also led to the Lord a number-one occult leader named Simon. Then he got into a conversation with an angel, and the angel sent him to talk to an Ethiopian, who many believe is responsible for the gospel going to Africa. Philip led him to Christ and baptized him. And for his finale . . . after Philip baptized him, he vanished! Two men went into the water, and only one, the Ethiopian, came out: “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him” (Acts 8:39). That seems to be the last time we see Philip. The book of Acts spans thirty-two years, from AD 30 to AD 62. Acts 6 (Philip’s introduction) happened in AD 31. That was when he became a deacon. By the time we reach Acts 21, our chapter for today’s reading, it was AD 59. And something crazy happened in AD 59. Philip showed up again! He reappeared after twenty-eight years: “On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entering the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who were prophetesses” (Acts 21:8-9). That’s the Acts 6–8 Philip. Today we are reading about the twenty-eight-years-later Philip. If it’s real, it lasts. I see three key words in those Acts 21 verses that make him a legacy and a legend: balance, current, priority. Balance: His home life was just as important as his church life. The passage says that Paul was “entering the house of Philip.” Philip was thirty years older and his home was a refuge for Paul on his journey. I love that when Paul needed a home to go to in Caesarea, he could go to Philip’s. Philip wasn’t some bitter, retired pastor who got burned by the ministry or the church. He was not divorced and living with his third wife. Current: Philip was not just about what God had done in his life, but about what God was still doing. He was called “Philip the evangelist.” He was not Philip the deacon or the baptizer. That was chapters 6–8 Philip, this is chapter 21 Philip. If he had the same old names, then it would have been the same old stories. If anyone would have had old stories, it would have been Philip: “Yeah, I was the first deacon . . .” Every time Philip saw a water baptism in his church, he would have said, “That’s great, but let me tell you about what happened at my water baptism thirty years ago.” But that wasn’t Philip. He was current! We need to stop with what we did and tell what we are we doing now for Jesus. We need to be current with the people in our lives. We must never make Christianity ancient when Jesus is alive and active right now! Priority: Good stuff does not come without work. I see good stuff when I read about Philip’s children. Two words stand out: virgin and prophetesses. Those are big words because they describe moral purity and calling. Those two things don’t happen on accident. Someone took time with those four girls for them to be virgins and prophetesses. Philip wasn’t just ministering to widows in Acts 6 and to an Ethiopian in Acts 8. He was influencing his daughters in Acts 21. That is a lesson for all of us. I find it interesting that the book of Acts is not called the book of Truths. It isn’t about knowing stuff; it’s about doing stuff. Knowledge of the Bible does not guarantee application or action of Bible verses. To know does not mean we will necessarily do. How do we make an impact after three decades? We pursue balance, stay current, and have strong priorities. That’s why we are reading about Philip in Acts 21. It is a challenge for all of us. It’s a challenge for me with my four children. I hope it is for you today, too.

    6 min

  2. 1d ago

    Nodding

    Day 109 Today’s Reading: Acts 20 Nodding off. We have all done it. In church, a board meeting, a lecture, a conference, while someone is talking, in school on all levels. I have nodded off while praying and while others are praying. My favorite nodding-off story is from one of my dear friends in Michigan. While he was at university, his friend always slept in one of their large lecture classes, so he decided to play a trick. Right in the middle of the lecture, he nudged his sleeping friend and told him the professor wanted him to close the class in prayer. And in the middle of the lecture, his friend stood and began praying, thanking God for the class. The professor stopped, the students bowed their heads, and class was over. The worst seems to be nodding off in church. Why do people fall asleep in church? Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll said that people sleep in church for five reasons: First, because of tradition: when we were youngsters and churches still had pews, we associated sermons with our moms’ laps and we were allowed to sleep on them. Second are physical factors: the church is stuffy, poorly lit, hot, not ventilated. Third are personal factors: occasionally we don’t get enough of sleep or we are on medication that makes us drowsy. Fourth is indifference: our lack of interest in spiritual things. We can get preoccupied; we start texting folks or scrolling through our social media or newsfeeds. Fifth is because of a boring preacher: poorly organized, rambling, unpassionate, not saying anything. It happens, and it happens too much in our pulpits. As the great eighteenth-century preacher George Whitefield said, “To preach more than half an hour, a man should be an angel himself or have angels for hearers.” We get a nodding-off story in today’s reading. And how embarrassing that Luke recorded this story for every generation to read across the world and across history? Can you imagine people reading your nodding-off story? This is the only time you’re mentioned in the Bible and this is the story you get? I might have registered a complaint! But then again, I am thankful it’s there. On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.” When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. (Acts 20:7-12) I love that this nodding-off story is in the Bible. Do you know that many of the Puritan preachers of the past would preach for two to three hours? Some actually appointed a person to walk around during the sermon with a giant pole (fishing-like) with a string and a wooden ball to hit people on the head who were nodding off. Can you imagine that being a ministry in your church? For some reason I think people would sign up for the wrong reasons. This is really important that we have a glimpse and not a model of what a New Testament, early-church service looked like. First day of the week, breaking bread, and a long-winded preacher. Paul preached well into the midnight hour. It’s late, so we need to go easy on the kid, Eutychus. He nodded off during the preaching, fell out of the window, died, Paul prayed and resurrected him . . . and then this is classic . . . they ate more and Paul preached more. Amazing! I love that Eutychus wasn’t chastised for sleeping during the apostle Paul’s sermon, and I love the resurrection moment after he died. This tells me that if you put yourself in the right place even with the wrong disposition, you are going to get something valuable even if you fall asleep. Even if you go to church Sunday and nod off, still go! You are going to get something—it could even be a resurrection moment. Everything worked against poor Eutychus: the preacher was long-winded, it was the middle of the night, he’d just eaten, and he was sitting on a window sill. This was an accident waiting to happen. You could say the same thing with updated language: the kids were up late, I had to work Saturday, I’m exhausted, the weather is horrible outside . . . Still show up, even being tired, because God will show up. God still has something for you, even if you nod off.

    5 min

  3. 2d ago

    What Difference Can the Infilling of the Holy Spirit Really Make? – Part 2

    Day 108 Today's Reading: Acts 19 In Acts 18 we were introduced to the first pastor of the Church of Ephesus, Apollos. This pastor had everything going on: he was eloquent, mighty in the Scriptures, fervent in spirit, committed to Bible accuracy, and spoke boldly in public about Jesus. Paul’s traveling companions, Aquila and Priscilla, heard him preach and noticed something missing in this impressive resume. They took him aside and helped him understand a baptism beyond John’s water, which he knew instinctively. They were going to introduce him to the Holy Spirit’s baptism. With his long impressive resume, did that Holy Spirit baptism really make that much of a difference? Can the infilling of the Holy Spirit really add any more to what Pastor Apollos was doing in Ephesus? You be the judge. Not by your theological bent, but by Acts 19. Our cities don’t need another church with Sunday services, our cities need people filled with the Spirit who brings change to lives every day of the week. You can have great church services and yet your city goes on being unchanged. That’s what we see in Ephesus. Acts 18 and 19 are an incredible contrast. In Acts 18 we have a preacher with an education, and in Acts 19 we have a preacher with an education and filled with the Spirit. Apollos leaves. Paul comes. Ephesus is still there, but something is about to happen beyond the Sunday service: It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. (Acts 19:1-6) For the next two years, Paul taught and preached. Miracles also came to Ephesus: God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. (verses 11-20) Let me recap: • People baptized in the Holy Spirit and prophesying (verses 2-6) • Extraordinary miracles happen (verse 11) • Handkerchiefs and aprons healing the sick and evil spirits (verse 12) • Sons of Sceva—“Jesus I know, Paul I know, but who are you?” (verse 14) • False preachers exposed (verse 17) • Jesus being magnified (verse 17) • Conviction and confession of occult practices (verse 18) • Occult books burned (verse 19) •The word of God growing and prevailing (verse 20) This is what being filled with the Holy Spirit can do. As Andrew Murray said, “Men ought to seek . . . with their whole heart . . . to be filled with the Spirit of God. . . . Without being filled with the Spirit, it is utterly impossible that an individual Christian or a church can ever live or work as God desires.” Which chapter do you live in? What kind of church do you have? Does your Christianity thrive in church but not in your city? Is it an Acts 18 church or an Acts 19 church? One has good services, the other changes a city. So you be the judge, but it seems the difference between Acts 18 and Acts 19 is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And when that happens, Ephesus is changed. Without it, you get to do church. So here’s the question: Will you pastor a church or change a city? A document, a denomination, or a diploma can give someone a pulpit, but it cannot give them the power to change a city. Only the power and infilling of the Spirit can. Corrie ten Boom once said, “Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” That’s the difference between Acts 18 and Acts 19.

    6 min

  4. 5d ago

    What Difference Can the Infilling of the Holy Spirit Really Make? – Part 1

    Day 107 Today's Reading: Acts 18 I had a discussion with a friend who believed the gifts of the Spirit were only for the first century and not for today, that the gifts ceased. That is called “cessation” theology. He keyed in on one gift he said he had a hard time with, and that was what “you Pentecostals call the filling of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. It’s the last and least of all the gifts and you make a big deal about it.” I responded, “Let’s assume that Paul’s list of the gifts in 1 Corinthians 12 is written in order of importance.” (That’s why people say tongues is the least of the gifts, because it’s last in the list.) “Even the least gift of God is a great gift from God. Don’t ever minimize a gift that God gives because He chose to make it number 9 on your list. I’ll take God’s number nine over any man’s number one. A low gift from God is still a great gift. There is no one who can’t be better having a gift from God, even if it is speaking in tongues. Don’t minimize God’s gift.” This is precisely what happened in the city of Ephesus, which we read about in Acts 18. This is a powerful lesson that actually goes into tomorrow’s reading as well. Ephesus was the number-one city in Asia Minor. It was known for having the greatest marketplace in the world—it really was the world’s shopping capital. It was one of the locations for the ancient Olympic festivals, in which people from everywhere would come to see the best athletes in the world compete. It was also the home for some of the most notorious criminals. The temple of Artemis (Diana), which was one of the seven wonders of the world, was an asylum for any criminal. If you committed a crime and if you made it there, you were guaranteed safe haven and off limits to authorities. (So Ephesus had the richest shopping, the greatest athletes, and the most deplorable criminals all there.) The temple also was a seller of magic charms and superstition items. They had the famous “Ephesian letters.” If you carried these papers, you were guaranteed safety for you and your traveling companions. They would also be good luck for your business or believed to get someone to love you—like a love potion. People would come from all over the world to buy little magic charms of Diana. The Goddess Diana was ugly—she was half-animal and half-human. And that temple was full of prostitutes. Ephesus had all of this—and they had a new church. This church was so important that Timothy pastored it, John the apostle pastored it, and Paul stayed in Ephesus longer than in any other city. But for our purposes, I want you to meet their first pastor, Apollos: A Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. (Acts 18:24-26) Apollos had the resume for pastoring any church in America. Everyone would have wanted Pastor Apollos. Consider his resume: he was eloquent— people loved to listen to him; he was mighty in the Scriptures—there was no false doctrine; he was fervent in spirit—this is amazing to have an educated man who is fervent in spirit. Usually education dulls the passion. He was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus. He was speaking out boldly in the synagogues. He was unafraid of popular opinion in that city. And finally, Apollos powerfully refuted the Jews in public showing them Jesus was the Christ through the Scriptures. Apollos was eloquent, mighty in the Scriptures, educated, fervent in spirit, taught the Bible accurately, and proclaimed boldly outside the church. Who wouldn’t want this man to be their pastor? That’s if you just wanted a church service or a church but not a change in the city. These are great things but not enough for where they were located. This was Ephesus and it needed more. It needed someone with a gift from God. It needed a leader filled with the Holy Spirit. How do we know that? When Paul left Ephesus, he left a husband-and-wife team, Aquila and Priscilla, there to attend the church services. They listened to an Apollos Sunday sermon, and “when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately” (verse 26). The “more accurately" goes along with verse 25—that he had been “acquainted only with the baptism of John.” The baptism of John is water baptism. So they explained another baptism, one without water but full of fire, a baptism of the Holy Spirit. A correctable educated man is very rare, but Apollos was. He listened to the visiting couple, and here’s the result of his encounter with Priscilla and Aquila: “When he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ” (verses 27-28). They encouraged Apollos to go Achaia, and he became a help to that city. But Ephesus needed help, big time help—and help was on the way. Same city, same church, but a different man—and this time, one filled with the fire of God, one filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 19, we’ll see that the apostle Paul came to Ephesus. And something happened not only in church but in the entire city. What difference can the infilling of the Holy Spirit really make? That’s Acts 19.

    7 min

  5. 6d ago

    Sixty Miles’ Worth of Jealousy

    Day 106 Today's Reading: Acts 17 Quaker minister and advocate of religious freedom, who also founded Pennsylvania, wrote about the dangers of jealousy: Jealousy is a kind of civil war in the soul, where judgment and imagination are at perpetual jars [odds]. . . . Nothing stands safe in its way: nature, interest, religion, must yield to its fury. It violates contracts, dissolves society, breaks wedlock, betrays friends and neighbors. Nobody is good, and everyone is either doing or designing a mischief. It has a venom that . . . bites. On our 260 journey today we find Paul ensnared in the consequences of jealousy. Paul had just finished preaching in Thessalonica and he left to preach in Berea—and jealousy was about to enter the picture: The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 17:10-12) His trip from Thessalonica to Berea was a sixty-mile journey. Sixty miles to walk and preach the gospel. While he was there, he was seeing success. It says that “many of them believed.” But then another group made the sixty-mile walk. Not only does love and mission make you walk sixty miles, hate, jealousy, and anger will make you walk that far too. The Jews of Thessalonica were walking after them to mess up Paul’s journey. They hated Paul in Thessalonica. They were so jealous of him that they wanted to make his life miserable sixty miles from their hometown: “When the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea also, they came there as well, agitating and stirring up the crowds” (verse 13). This all started in their hometown, which we read about in verses 5-7: The Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people. When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also.” Instead of letting it go and saying, “At least they are out of our city,” their jealousy made them walk sixty miles. It takes about forty-five minutes to walk three miles if you’re walking at a brisk pace (you do the math) . . . that’s at least fifteen hours of walking. They couldn’t let it go. They couldn’t be happy that Paul and Silas were out of their town. They had to go and wreak havoc in the other city for them. That is the power of jealousy. There is a distinction between jealousy and envy. To envy, or covet, is to want something that belongs to another person. The tenth commandment says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17). In contrast, jealousy is the fear that something we possess will be taken away by another person. Although jealousy can apply to our jobs, our possessions, or our reputations, the word more often refers to anxiety that comes when we are afraid the affections of a loved one might be lost to a rival. We fear that our mates, or perhaps our children, will be lured away by some other person who, when compared to us, seems to be more attractive, capable, and successful. Jealousy is a form of hatred built upon insecurity and fear. What were they afraid of? They were losing their influence to the gospel and they projected it on Paul. It was really Jesus, but Paul was the spokesperson, so their insecurity and fear made them go after Paul. The story is told of a great English preacher, F. B. Meyer, and his struggle with jealousy when another great English preacher, G. Campbell Morgan, returned to England after being in America. Meyer admitted to some friends, “It was easy to pray for the success of Campbell Morgan when he was in America. But when he came back to England and took a church near mine, it was something different. The old Adam in me was inclined to jealousy, but I got my heel upon his head, and whether I felt right toward my friend, I determined to act right.” F. B. Meyer’s jealousy is that insecurity that said, You are close, now I don’t want you to do so well. Do well in America but not around the corner. As R. T. Kendall wrote in Jealousy, “It takes minimal grace to weep with those who weep; it takes a lot of grace to rejoice with those who rejoice.” That second part—rejoicing with those who rejoice—reveals the heart. Rejoicing with those who rejoice is saying they got blessed and you didn’t, and that you’re okay with that. Can you and I be joyful when other people are blessed by God? That is a sure sign of jealousy being defeated. Those sixty-mile walkers did not like all those people believing. Instead of rejoicing that lives were being changed, they saw it as Judaism no longer holding the leading voice in their lives because Jesus was. Let’s make it a point today to rejoice with someone. How do we rejoice someone? By loving them. The presence of jealousy means the absence of love. Paul reminds us in the love chapter: “Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else” (1 Corinthians 13:4, TPT). That’s love . . . when you refuse to be jealous.

    6 min

  6. May 27

    A Painful No Can Lead to an Incredible Yes

    Day 105 Today’s Reading: Acts 16 Welcome to one of the most important New Testament chapters, Acts 16. This chapter is the reason we meet for church, and it all started with God saying "no" to the apostle Paul. Let me tell you that my “no” story changed the direction of my life. In the summer of 1983, I had the opportunity to go on two mission trips. The first was to Jamaica and the other to Detroit. Without praying, I said yes to Jamaica. I thought the sun, beach, and sand was the best place to minister. Then I did something that changed everything—I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to do. God said no to Jamaica and yes to Detroit. If left to me, I was heading to the Caribbean; if left to God, I was heading to one of the most impoverished inner cities in the country. Didn’t make sense . . . yet. That summer mission’s trip changed my life. What I thought would be two months between semesters at university, ended up becoming thirty years of my life and a call to ministry. And it all started with hearing no to Jamaica. That is not only my story, that is Paul’s story in Acts 16. God was doing great things in Asia, and Paul was on his second missionary journey. While he was starting to make plans for his “Jamaica,” he heard God’s no twice: They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. (Acts 16:6-7) Two no’s, then the yes from God: Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:8-10) Two thoughts for us to remember: 1. God is a father and fathers say no. 2. No is not rejection but protection. Remember, Satan always says yes. Sometimes you have to hear some no’s before you get a yes. If you have never heard no from God, then your relationship with Him is suspect and you’re probably not talking to Him. When He does say no, it means He has something bigger and better for you. For Paul, that bigger and better was that God had a global strategy for the church, one He mapped out way back in Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Jerusalem was covered in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. Acts 8 moved the gospel into Judea and Samaria through the great persecution: “On that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. . . . Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:1, 4). Part 3 of the Acts 1:8 strategy had yet to be fulfilled—until we hit chapter 16. This was the gospel going to Europe and eventually around the world. If Paul didn’t listen to God and did what was comfortable by staying in Asia, then your church and my church wouldn’t exist today. It was so much easier to stay in Asia, but God had something bigger in mind, and so God said no. Thank You, God, for saying no to us, and especially to the apostle Paul.

    4 min

  7. May 26

    The Best Of Men Are Still Men at Best

    Day 104 Today’s Reading: Acts 15 I’ll always be thankful for my friend and mentor, Dr. R. T. Kendall, who during a critical time in my life quoted these words from an unknown source: “Always remember that the best of men are still men at best.” We all have our faults and flaws, even the greatest Christian leaders. In today’s reading, we will see how true these words are. First let me tell you a revival story from the First Great Awakening in the 1700s that shook two continents. The awakening was spreading from England to a nation soon to form (the United States of America). What God did during that time became the DNA for the language used in our foundational documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Though the revival was great, it was not without controversy. Two great preachers and close friends, John Wesley and George Whitefield, who played significant spiritual roles during that time often found themselves in sharp disagreement with each other. Both men led countless thousands to faith in Christ, but they were at odds theologically. Whitefield had traveled to the American colonies and when he returned to England, the men had a heated confrontation. Wesley wrote of the event: “He told me that he and I preached two different gospels; and therefore he would not only not join with or give me the right hand of fellowship, but was resolved publicly to preach against me and my brother [Charles], wheresoever he preached at all. The best of men are still men at best. Before Whitefield came to the end of his life, he asked Wesley to preach his funeral sermon. Wesley agreed, and while there, a woman approached and asked, “Dear Mr. Wesley, do you expect to see dear Mr. Whitefield in heaven?” After a lengthy pause, Wesley responded solemnly, “No, Madam.” “Ah, I was afraid you would say so,” she said. “But,” Wesley continued, “do not misunderstand me. . . . George Whitefield will stand so near the throne that one like me will never get a glimpse of him!” Just like the first Great Awakening, the first missionary journey of the church to take the gospel beyond Jerusalem had problems between its leaders: After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. (Acts 15:36-40) The greatest Christian of his time (Paul) and the greatest encourager of his time (Barnabas) had a sharp disagreement. The best of men are still men at best. I heard someone say it like this: “The church is like Noah’s ark. The stench on the inside would be unbearable if it weren’t for the storm on the outside.” Many times we stink, but the world is really stormy. Paul and Barnabas only traveled together on one of the three missionary journeys because of this fight. The sharp disagreement between them was based upon whether to take the young disciple John Mark with them. Earlier, the young man seemed to have gotten scared and deserted the dynamic duo. Paul thought John Mark’s actions should get him fired, but Barnabas wanted to give him a second chance. When things are emotional, people tend to become illogical. The disagreement over John Mark became emotional and illogical. Sharp disagreement implies the emotional; separating and going different ways is illogical. When we read how this disagreement ended, it’s good for us to consider some questions: Who do you have in your life who will tell you the truth? Who can disagree with you without the situation becoming disagreeable and defensive? Can your spouse, best friend, family member challenge your opinion—spiritually, politically, racially, socially—without it turning into a shouting match? Here’s the truth: when you are shouting over a differing opinion, it isn’t the opinion that is revealing, it’s the yeller being revealed. Two quick thoughts to use for the times someone disagrees with you: First, get the second side of everything. Job 11:6 says that “sound wisdom has two sides.” You are not able to see everything and you are not able to know everything. Go in trying to find the truth not trying to be right. Second, surround yourself with wise people, those who feed your soul, not your ego, those who won’t be afraid to disagree with you, who will force you to practice getting the second side. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” (NLT). Prominent 1920s attorney Dudley Field Malone said it this way, “I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.” I am happy the Bible records the argument of the apostle and the encourager, but not so happy about their separation. In the end, God used Paul and Silas on the other two missionary journeys, however, I wish we would have seen a resolution instead of a separation between the two. But it really is true . . . the best of men are still men at best.

    6 min

  8. May 25

    A Strange Response to a Miracle

    Day 103 Today’s Reading: Acts 14 C. S. Lewis wrote, “Miracles in fact are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” Lewis was saying that a miracle was retelling the big story that God exists and God is good. Seeing a miracle should help us to see the big letters. Unfortunately, as we find in today’s reading, Lystra missed it. Acts 14 is about a man being able to walk for the first time. It’s a miracle! But the chapter shows us more: it shows how the people who can walk are lame. They are crippled in their worldview. The people in Lystra saw a miracle and end up worshiping the guys who performed it: While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking. When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes. (Acts 14:8-12, NLT) A man walks who had never walked. God healed him. And when the town saw it, they responded with a wrong conclusion—that Paul and Barnabas must be gods. And they decided, “Let’s praise these guys.” So Paul had to speak to their false conclusion: Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” (Acts 14:15-17, NLT) Verse 17 is so important. Paul was explaining the reason Lystra blew it when the man was healed: God had left them evidence of His existence and His goodness. When it rains, it’s because God is good. When they had good crops, that was from a good God. Émile Cammaerts was right in these profound words: “The first effect of not believing in God is to believe in anything.” Because the people of Lystra missed God’s evidence, they had to come up with their own gods—and this day it was Paul and Barnabas. Paul’s words are not just important for Lystra to know but for our world to know. This is so important: we see something amazing happen and we praise people and leave God out of the mix. People know how to blame God for the bad but they don’t know how to praise God for the good. That was Lystra, and that’s happening today. Some years ago, I was flying home only to have my flight canceled because of a weather-related issue. Huge thunderstorms grounded all the flights. The other passengers and I would have to wait until the storm passed, which looked to be the next morning. When I asked the gate agent if the airline would cover the expenses of my night in a hotel, her response was, “We only cover that when it’s mechanical. When it’s an act of God, you are on your own.” I laughed when I realized what she’d said. She was saying God exists! But He exists only when bad stuff happens, and the airline isn’t responsible for His storms. When the good stuff happens, though, the airline did it. When storms happen, passengers have to pay. Insurance companies and airlines call storm-related damages acts of God. But they forget that the sunshine is from God too. In 1970, the Apollo 13 mission was almost a catastrophe. Apollo 13 was the third mission NASA was sending to the moon, but after an oxygen tank explosion onboard en route, they had to abort the mission. This is where the famous “Houston, we’ve had a problem . . .” line occurred. Many people only know about the event from watching the iconic movie Tom Hanks starred in and Ron Howard directed. The part the movie did not show us was that the president of the United States, Richard Nixon, came on television and asked the nation to pray for the astronauts’ safe return. And this is what happened: the capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean and was put on an aircraft carrier. And when the astronauts were safely aboard the carrier . . . don’t miss this . . . the president praised American space technology for the return of our astronauts. He asked us to pray, and when God answered that prayer, he praised human skill and technology. He should have just called NASA Zeus and Hermes. It was just a few years later that Watergate occurred and that president resigned in disgrace. God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.

    5 min
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A life-changing experience through the New Testament one chapter at a time.

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