Lift High the Cross
Acts 17:22-31 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship —and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
When I read of Paul’s exploits in spreading the gospel to those who still lived in the darkness of their unbelief, I am reminded that there is an innate need in each of us to worship. The people of Athens displayed many objects of reverence, with one even being dedicated to an unknown God in the event there was a deity that had been overlooked.
But rather than being comforted by this approach, Paul used it as a teaching moment to illuminate the hopelessness of worshipping a man-made object as though it was holy. In the 21st century we can read this account and recognize the desperation in assigning god-like qualities to an inanimate object, but such an act seemed entirely plausible at the time. Until, that is, they heard of the risen Savior.
May we be vigilant in identifying those items of our own making that we have used to replace genuine worship, and may we instead lift high the cross of Jesus that the world may be transformed by His resurrection power.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
And the Gospel Message Continues
Acts 16:16-21 16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
These scriptures are packed full of experiences that shaped the church. First, if you go back to Acts 15:36 you will see a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas where Barnabas and John Mark went one direction and Paul and Silas went another.
Paul also met Timothy who later joined him on his missionary journey, he became acquainted with Lydia who was able to support the church with finances and prayer, and he had a vision that is known as “The Macedonian Call.” Ultimately, Paul and Silas ended up in jail, and around thirty years ago I wrote this little song about Paul’s experience.
When Paul and Silas were in that old jail, Beaten and bruised it seemed all hope had failed,
But Paul said to Silas, in spite of everything, sometimes you just have to sing
And they sang praises, praises when life gets you down you just have to stand and sing praises, praises, praises to the great I am.
I have found that praising God in the midst of trials is one of the best ways to overcome the enemy. Whether we are quoting a well memorized scripture or reading the Word out loud, singing a hymn of the church or one of our own making, we are, as an old preacher used to say, “giving the devil a black eye!”
May we purpose in our hearts to face each day with a song in our heart and praise on our lips.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, snd of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Hearts Cleansed by Grace
Acts 15:1-11 (WEB) 1 Some men came down from Judea and taught the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can’t be saved.” 2 Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. 3 They, being sent on their way by the assembly, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. They caused great joy to all the brothers. 4 When they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders, and they reported everything that God had done with them.
5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and the elders were gathered together to see about this matter. 7 When there had been much discussion, Peter rose up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that a good while ago God made a choice among you that by my mouth the nations should hear the word of the Good News and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, testified about them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just like he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore why do you tempt God, that you should put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are.”
I have heard all of my life that the gospel is simple. Yet, there are those still today who do not read the Bible because it is too complex, and others who insist that we add to the gospel message all sorts of rules to prove our devotion to Jesus. But these are not 21st century problems. Indeed, today’s scripture shows that the apostle Peter clarified the matter by reminding the early church fathers who objected that we are saved not by the law but by faith. So why is this still an issue?
Perhaps we have forgotten the most important thing: For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We are each a part of “whosoever,” which means the blood Jesus shed almost two thousand years ago still covers us today. We cannot earn it, we cannot pay for it, we do not deserve it, yet God’s plan still gives salvation to “whosoever will.”
May we continue to share Jesus in His fullness, telling the old, old story that never changes, and why should it?
In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tell Me the Story of Jesus
By Fanny Crosby
Lyrics
1. Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart ev’ry word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
Tell how the angels in chorus
sang as they welcomed His birth,
“Glory to God in the highest!
Peace and good tidings to earth.”
Refrain:
Tell me the story of Jesus,
write on my heart ev’ry word;
tell me the story most precious,
sweetest that ever was heard.
I HAVE REDEEMED YOU
Isaiah 43:1-4 (NKJV) 1 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Fear not, for I have redeemed you. These are some of the things God does NOT mean when he says these words;
- Do not be afraid, I will tolerate your sin
- Do not be afraid, there is no judgment nor hellfire
- Be very afraid, I will not lift you up in the waters, nor shield you in the fires
- Be very afraid, I am constantly watching to catch you doing something wrong
When God says, I have redeemed you, He means “I have heard your cries of repentance and I have bought you back from sin and death, I have gone before you, I will never leave you.”
When God says, “I have redeemed you,” He means that Jesus paid the price for your sin. He means that “I require holiness, but you cannot be holy. So I sent my very own Son to take your place. Believe on Him—trust in Him—follow Him.”
May we know, believe and understand that the God of the universe knows our names, He sees our struggles, our lives and and we are His. So, pray without ceasing, believe without doubting, and love without limits.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
God’s Amazing Grace
40 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.[b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
“Oh, how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, oh how I love Jesus, because He first loved me.” And, oh how I love this 40th chapter of Isaiah.
First, God wants to assure His people that their exile is almost over. Why were they in exile? Disobedience. Idol worship. When we turn away from God and try to find answers anywhere else, we, too, will find ourselves in exile.
Secondly, we see the hope of our salvation—Jesus! We see that Isaiah looked through time as though he was turning a page in a book and saw Jesus, both as our Savior and our King.
May we take the time during this Christmas season to celebrate the baby in the manger, to honor the One born to die for our sins, and to glorify our coming King.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 