Acts 27: The Shipwreck

Scripture

²⁹ Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight.

Observation

Reading the chapter this verse comes from feels like you’ve suddenly shifted into Moby Dick or something – there is so much about what the sailors do with the ship, when these and those anchors are dropped and cut, where they managed to find shelter and where they didn’t on their perilous journey to Rome. It’s very dramatic! And in the middle of it all, we have Paul, quietly telling the sailors and centurion in charge of him that everything’s going to be all right – just trust God, do what I say and you will be saved. But it was verse 29 that stood out to me, simply because of the juxtaposition of the practical with the spiritual. The sailors did what they should do with what they had around them, and then they turned what they couldn’t control over to God.

Application

What a great example. People (well, Christians!) often talk about ‘the storms of this life’, and we know that our journey through life is not all roses and rainbows. Or if it is, we’re ignoring the rose thorns! But these sailors have given us a good model to follow. They realise that Paul is right, and do their job while leaving the big stuff up to God. They don’t just rely on prayer. They don’t just rely on their own actions. They combine the two, and lo and behold, they are saved. I feel that we should do the same! It’s not easy to remember to pray sometimes – we were talking at my church housegroup this very week about situations we’ve had where someone else saying ‘have you prayed?’ is a big thumping reminder to us of something we should have done at the beginning! But also, don’t ignore the actions we can take – God gives us brain and body for a reason, so let’s use it!

Prayer

Thank you Lord, for my body and brain, and that you have given me the power of rational thought and decision-making – please help me to use those skills wisely! But also help me to call on you more often, and remember that you love to help your people when they call on you.

 

Acts 17: Scenes from Paul’s Missionary Journey

Scripture

²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

Observation

Athens was a place of communication. In this chapter, we see Paul arrive there after experiencing riots in Thessalonica and a warm reception in Berea, quickly disturbed by Thessalonican Jews who just hadn’t had enough rioting! So Paul heads for Athens, capital of Greek culture and ideology, and finds a set of people ready to listen to ideas of all kinds. The verse I’ve picked out above sounds pretty derogatory on the author, Luke’s, part, but it tells us some key things I think. I’ll get into that in a second. So anyway, Paul goes to the Areopagus, the Greek High Court, and talks to the members there about his ideas, which are enough to pique the interest of some. And, famously, he uses the empty altar dedicated ‘to an unknown god’ as the basis of his preaching.

Application

So what is it that Paul is doing? He is putting the gospel into context. He is presenting the message of Jesus in a way that those around him could understand, and he was a master at this – he always went to the Jewish synagogues, to persuade the Jews, and then to non-Jewish gatherings as well. Of course, there are still some who won’t accept it, but if, say, he had attempted to show the message of Jesus in Athens through good works and actions, he might not have got the point across. He knew this lot placed great value on talking and listening about ideas, so that’s how he did it. This idea is totally applicable today. Whatever context we live in, be it inner city estates or country villages, and whatever context we work in, be it with lots of people at a time or just one, we need to ask God to help us find ways to communicate the gospel in context. We would not say the same thing about Jesus, probably, to a curious teenager as we would to a curious 50-year-old – their spiritual context is totally different. But if we want to see people saved, we need God’s help to find the right words and actions to speak and show the truth of Jesus.

Prayer

Lord God, please be with me as I share my knowledge of you and the difference that has made in my life with the people around me – with my colleagues and pupils. But for whoever might read this, I pray the same thing for their personal context, that they might, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, find the right way to communicate the good news of Jesus.

 

Acts 9 – Paul’s conversion

Scripture

Acts 9:17

“So Ananias went to the house of Judas. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus sent me. He is the one you saw on the road on your way here. He sent me so that you can see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.””

Observation

So Ananias, Christian in Damascus, had just been told by God that Saul, a Christian-hater and persecutor, was on his way, and that, unbelievably, Ananias was to go and welcome him into his home. Understandably, he was a bit reluctant, and reminds God of what he’s heard about Saul. God reassures him, so Ananias plucks up the courage to go and meet the now blind Saul. It was the first word he speaks that really struck me – he calls him ‘brother’.

Application

To me, this is an amazing act of courage and boldness on Ananias’ part. He overcomes all his worries about this dangerous man, and welcomes him as a brother first of all, which must have spoken volumes to Saul about what it meant to be a Christian. God calls us to this kind of Christian boldness in whatever aspect of life we are currently in. The sensible choice for Ananias was to hide his Christianity and stay indoors, but he follows the Lords’ instructions boldly and fearlessly – can we do the same in our Christian walk, no matter what areas of life he calls us into? I pray that I can, and I am grateful to God that being a Christian in the UK today doesn’t get me killed, because that is not the case everywhere in the world.

Prayer

Father, thank you for the right to worship you as I want to in this country, and I pray for endurance and boldness for Christians in other parts of the world where making a stand for their faith is a dangerous thing to do. Thank you for the example of Ananias, who stepped out in boldness and spoke with love to welcome Saul as a brother – give me the same boldness to stand up for what I believe when required.

 

Acts 19-20

Short post today – mainly for comedy value!

Acts 20:7-9

On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.

Observation

People may have fallen asleep while I’ve preached, but I’m delighted to say that none of them have died in the process!

PS It’s okay after this - Eutychus was raised from the dead!

 

Acts 5-6

Scripture:

 

Acts 5:38-39 – “In the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

 

Observation:

 

Praise God for the wisdom of Gamaliel. The verses above are from a speech that this member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish council, gave in response to the crisis brewing because of the apostles’ actions in Jerusalem. He compared their movement to two others that had failed due to leaders being killed and then the followers dispersing after a while. Hoping that the same would happen with Jesus’ disciples, he encourages the Sanhedrin members to leave them largely alone, and see what happens. Maybe this was short-sighted (but hey, we can praise God for that!), but the last line of the speech is so perceptive. If God is determined to do something, no human can even hope to stop it.

 

Application:

 

How can this be applied? I think it’s in the area of prayer that we can use this lesson – if we’re seeking God’s will in our lives and the lives of those around us, and our prayers line up with his will, then they are very worthwhile indeed. As a Christian of many years, I have gone through times when I thought prayer was a total waste of time, just a boring activity that I had to go through. I’ve also had times when I’ve really seen its power – those times get forgotten so easily! When we join our prayers to God’s determination to get certain things done, then we will see those prayers answered.

 

Prayer:

 

Lord, may my prayers match up with your will for my life and the people I pray for. Help me to remember the times when I’ve really seen prayer work, and believe that you listen and act, no matter what I see around me or what I hear from others. Help me to increase my faith in You.

 

Acts 9-10

Scripture

 Acts 9:17

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

 Observation

 Okay, some context. Saul, Christian-hater and persecutor of anyone who even smells like they might believe that Jesus was the Messiah, has just had his conversion experience – Damascus road, blinding light, voice of Jesus, the whole works. He still goes to Damascus, but can’t function without his sight – we’re told he didn’t eat or drink anything for 3 days. At the same time one of the believers, Ananias, gets told by God in no uncertain terms to go and find this man who’s been torturing and killing his co-believers in Jerusalem, and welcome him into the fold. In v13-14 we learn that Ananias was unsurprisingly unsure about whether this was wise or not – but obedient to God, he goes and lays hands on him. And his first word to Saul is “Brother”.

 This is amazing boldness in my opinion – Ananias not only overcomes his urge for self-preservation, but speaks to Saul without prejudice and with openness, no matter what was going on in his head. How mature, how brave, how Jesus-like!

 Application

 Not only is the boldness of Ananias impressive, but also his trust in God, and his ability to hear God and perceive the value of someone who, until now, had done everything he could to make the Christians’ lives hard. There are so many things to admire here, and to seek to live up to.

 Prayer

 God, please change my heart to make it more like yours, and more like Ananias’ in this moment. Help me overcome fear when speaking to people about you, and help me to hear your voice about those I am in contact with; also, please would you enable me to see the value YOU place on people, especially the ones I find hard to like, and not my own value. Amen.