We're Gonna Rock This Town

 

Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose.

Acts 16:26

This verse comes in the middle of an amazing story, and has nothing to do with God answering prayer.

Paul and Silas had freed a slave girl from demon possession. Her owner (who was using her to "tell fortunes") was upset about losing his source of income, so he dragged them into the town square and trumped up some charges against them, until they were beaten and thrown into the deepest, darkest part of the city jail.

There they sat, feet in stocks: white-collar criminals treated like thugs.

But they didn't cry out to God in anguish. They didn't call down fire from heaven to destroy their oppressors. They didn't even ask God to free them.

What were they doing just before the earthquake hit? According to verse 25, "About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them."

And I know those prayers didn't include "please free us," because when the doors of the prison flew open, and the manacles and chains burst asunder, nobody got up and ran out.

Paul and Silas took their chance at freedom and turned it into an opportunity to talk with the jailor about Jesus...resulting in that jailor and his whole household being saved.

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Truth is...The next time you're feeling low or wrongly accused or beaten up by your circumstances, don't lash out or complain. Try spending some time worshipping the One who controls earthquakes. Who knows what might happen and what good might result?

Giving a Future Apostle the Side-Eye

 

When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple.

Acts 9:26

It's hard to blame the Jerusalem Christians for being a bit leery of Saul of Tarsus.

The last time they had seen him, he had promoted himself from coat-checker at Stephen's stoning to judge-jury-executioner on his way to Damascus, warrant in hand, ready to round up and jail every Christian he found.

So when he shows back up in Jerusalem trying to be all "Hey! Shalom shalom, my brother!" they were, naturally, sceptical.

He hadn't changed his name to Paul yet. He hadn't travelled throughout Asia Minor and the coastal regions of the northern Mediterranean planting churches yet. He had yet to set pen to papyrus to write a quarter of the New Testament. 

I'm so glad those Jerusalem believers got beyond their distrust of Paul's past. I'm even more glad that Paul didn't let their scepticism destroy his bold faith.

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Truth is...Mutual funds and stock portfolios will tell you that "Past performance is no guarantee of future results," but that also applies to everyone you meet...and you, too.

I Wonder About Simeon

 

It had been revealed to [Simeon] by the Holy Spirit
that he would not see death
before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.

Luke 2:26

The prophets of Israel had been silent for 400 years. The promise of Yahweh that he would send a deliverer who would make all things right was getting harder and harder to hope for.

"How long, O Lord?"

And while it must have been personally encouraging to Simeon to know that it was all going to finally come to pass in his lifetime, I do wonder about a few things:

• What was Simeon's age when he was told by the Holy Spirit that he would live to see the Messiah? How long had he been waiting since he was given this news?
• How was Simeon told? Was there writing on the wall? Was it a strong feeling or thought that just wouldn't go away?
• Did Simeon tell other people about his special standing as the countdown clock to the Messiah?
• And if he did, what was their reaction to this news? Was he a revered elder, looked up to by everyone...or was he the crazy old man who hears voices in his head, avoided and whispered about by young and old alike?

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Truth is...I am probably asking these kinds of questions because I'm not sure I'm all that good at differentiating between the Holy Spirit and my personal convictions, opinions, and wishes. That's also why it's important not just for me to be in the Scriptures, but for the Scriptures to be in me...fueling my ability to recognize the voice of God when I hear it.

Parable of the Panamanian Potty

A righteous person who yields to the wicked
is like a muddied spring or a polluted well.
Proverbs 25:26 (CSB)

Several years ago, I was on a short-term mission trip in Panama and visited a primitive island village off the northern shore. Think palm-thatched roofs over half-walled huts and muddy paths between each structure.

The community commode was a hut on stilts, situated over the river, with a hole in its floor. It is important to note that the washing of clothes and the drawing of drinking water took place UPstream from that primitive waste disposal facility.

I remember wondering at the time, though, whether there were any other villages further upstream.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...As unpleasant a thought as it is to possibly be bathing in someone's sewer, imagine the stomach-churning irony of a person who claims to be a Christian, giving testimony of God's transforming power while allowing their own private/personal sin to have its way in their life.

Nobody's perfect, but . . .

Money Can't Buy Everything

 

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Luke 18:26

The disciples were taken aback.

Confused might be a better word.

All their lives, they assumed that if a person had wealth, it was a sign that God was pleased with them. Health and wealth meant you and God were on excellent terms. Sickness and poverty were the Lord's punishments when you sinned.

And then, this young, politically powerful, financially well-off guy comes to Jesus and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (v18)

Jesus gives him the standard, expected response about following the commandments, but the rich young man feels the need for something more:

“I have kept all these from my youth.”

Seeing that his original question was sincere and not just another attempt to trap him in some kind of blasphemy, Jesus then lays out a plan of action that, for this wealthy man, sounds a lot like "Take up your cross":

“You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Apparently, this crosses some kind of line, and the guy's face drops as he turns and walks away.

This leads to Jesus saying the line about it being easier for a camel to thread its body through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get to heaven.

That's when the collective jaw of the disciples goes slack and they sputter, "But, but, but...if the rich...the people who God obviously favors, can't enter the Kingdom . . . what hope in the world does ANYbody have??!?"

Jesus tempers their panic with this bit of truth:

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...Jesus doesn't ask everybody who wants to follow him to take a vow of poverty. That was for that particular man at that particular time. It's all about priorities. If anything is more important to me than following Jesus, am I really following him at all?

Besides, my entrance into heaven doesn't depend on what I do, but on what Jesus has already done.

Bread Broken, Promise Spoken

 

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:26

Communion.

The Lord's Supper.

The Eucharist.

We have given it lots of different names and observed it in lots of different ways.

Weekly. Monthly. Quarterly. One annual hullabaloo.

But whether you use matzo and wine or saltines and Welch's, one truth remains: Jesus was executed on a Roman cross, and what was meant by the Jewish leaders to silence him once and for all ended up amplifying his Good News until it reverberated in the hearts of every nation, tribe, and tongue.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

Truth is...Some of that spreading of the good news remains unfinished, so let me be clear. The death of Jesus covers the debt of every sin I’ve committed or ever will commit. His resurrection from the tomb foreshadows the unending life that awaits me in Yahweh’s presence. As for the phrase, “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes,” it carries a promise: Jesus is returning.

And all this can be true for not just me, but for you, too.

Do you believe this?

Anger Management

 

Be angry at sin (at immorality, at injustice,

at ungodly behavior), yet do not sin;

do not let your anger cause you shame,

nor allow it to last until the sun goes down.

Ephesians 4:26 (AMP)

As it usually does, the Amplified Bible helps deepen our understanding of this verse beyond what so many other translations say: "Be angry, yet do not sin."

It's good to be reminded what it's okay to be angry about. Too often, we see Jesus overturning tables in the temple and think, "See? I can be mad at Tim for taking the last slice of pizza!"

Jesus was upset with the moneychangers and bird-sellers because they were making it difficult for people to worship Yahweh, not because the color of the tablecloths clashed with the drapes.

AND...he didn't grumble and brood about it, spreading discontent. He took action, not letting it fester and worsen with the passage of time. Before the sun set, he addressed the issue clearly.

Anger management made simple.

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Truth is...I've often heard people pray, "Lord, break our hearts with what breaks yours." Maybe we could also pray that what angers God would raise our hackles as well.