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While She Was with Them
Monday, August 28, 2023“So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them” Acts 9:39. What wasn’t remarkable was that the Holy Spirit would work through Peter to heal a paralyzed man who had been bedridden for eight years. He had already done something that amazing with a man “lame since birth” in Acts 3. Even Peter’s shadow seemed to heal (Acts 5:15). Nor was it remarkable that Peter would raise Tabitha from the dead. Many gifts were given to Jesus' followers in the early first century to testify to the gospel (Hebrews 2:3-4). No, it’s that believers spoke more of Dorcas’ earthly accomplishments rather than the hope she had in the resurrection. Jesus didn’t do this. While consoling Martha in the death of her brother, He spoke only of the life to come for one who died in the Lord. What was Lazarus’ occupation or hobbies? Jesus gave her hope before he raised him up. And that’s what we who know hope must do for a world that has no hope—we turn their focus to things eternal. They forgot her crafts when she was presented alive.
But Barnabas Took Him
Monday, August 14, 2023“But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of the Lord” Acts 9:27. Saul had a problem … and he had no one to blame but himself. The last time he had been in Jerusalem, he had been a radical, up-and-coming student of Gamaliel who was eager to make a name for himself. When Jesus’ disciple, Stephan, was stoned, the cloaks of the executioners were laid at his feet while he gave approval to his death. Then, he was instrumental in the “great persecution” and ravaged the church from house to house. And he had left town with letters from the high priest to do the same in Damascus. That was when he met Jesus and eventually became a disciple himself, as powerful a force for God’s kingdom as he had been against it … but no one in Jerusalem knew this. So, it’s understandable that the Christians there “were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.” It took the one nicknamed “the son of encouragement” to show Christ’s love by introducing him to the ones he had tried to destroy. In this world, be a Barnabas.
No Fear of God Before His Eyes
Monday, August 14, 2023“Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes” Psalm 36:1. Evil is certainly loud … and flashy! And it abounds! Just turn on your TV or check what’s trending on social media and you would conclude that there’s not much that godly people can do in the face of such reckless hate. Has God lost? Are we truly alone? No, when Elijah felt this way after the wicked queen Jezebel threatened his life, God reassured him that He had reserved 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal. So, where were they? Scattered throughout Israel. Evil in Elijah’s day, as in David’s, had grown so prevalent that the prophet seemed like an island in a sea of wickedness. And the waves were rough. Sounds like a Christian today. But God also wanted to show Elijah that He was stronger and still in control. Calling him to stand on the mountain while a great wind, earthquake, and fire tore the world apart around him, God showed Elijah that the world, for all its bluster and darkness, was nothing compared to the low whisper. Because of the powerful presence that Elijah felt in that, he covered his face. David concludes this also: “In Your light we see light.”
If There Will Be ... in My Days
Monday, July 31, 2023“Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.’ For he thought, ‘Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?’” 2 Kings 20:19. Hezekiah is normally thought of as one of the few good kings of Judah, a faithful servant of God. After all, when the Assyrians had already taken the northern kingdom off into captivity and threatened Jerusalem, Hezekiah stood firm for the LORD. He even prayed when he was sick at the point of death and God granted him fifteen more years of life. It’s not the foolishness of showing the Babylonians the riches of his nation that makes me think he tripped at life’s finish line, but rather his reaction when he heard what he’d done: he failed to provide for future generations of God’s kingdom. Who cares what happens to the church years after I’m gone … “if there will be peace and security in my days?” And so the twelve year-old Manasseh, the most wicked of kings and born during his life’s extension, would rule for 55 years after Hezekiah’s death. What’s our attitude about the future of the Lord’s church after we’re gone? What are we doing now to keep out the Manassehs and ensure a foundation for future Christians?
You Have Seen, O LORD
Monday, July 31, 2023“They open their mouths against me; they say, ‘Aha, Aha! Our Eyes have seen it!’ You have seen, O LORD; be not silent! O LORD, be not far from me!” Psalm 35:21-22. One of the great struggles we have in following Jesus as our example and model for our lives is His sinless perfection. We know our weaknesses, and though we are not where we used to be before we obeyed the gospel, we can become discouraged when we see how far we have to go to truly walk as Jesus did. As Jesus’ ancestor and a man after God’s heart, David is an encouraging study while we keep our Savior in view. In this psalm, he is aware that his enemies are watching him closely, just waiting for him to mess up. And, while they gloat and plot against him, returning evil for his good, David sins and falls short of the glory of God—like we all do—and his enemies cry, ‘Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!’ This would be discouraging indeed if this meant David’s final downfall—and this is where many of us see our spiritual situation in the world—but David knows that other eyes are upon him. God sees and will not let His child languish. While the world writes us off, God writes our names in the book of life.