Acts 7-8 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Acts 7:1-8:40.

“And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, ‘See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ …And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:36, 38).

Obviously, preaching Christ to the eunuch included preaching baptism in the name of Christ. The eunuch himself saw water and wanted to know if anything prevented him from participating. Today, this seems like an odd question. What could possibly prevent a man from being baptized in the name of Jesus. But for the eunuch, this was an obvious question. As a proselyted Jew who had been made a eunuch in a foreign court, he had learned that he was a “second-class” Jew (for lack of a better term). He was prevented from full access to the congregation of the Jews (cf. Deuteronomy 23:1). Would it be the same for being part of the congregation of Christ? Was he prevented by what his queen had done to him?

Praise the Lord! The answer was nothing to prevent him. There are no second-class citizens in Christ’s kingdom. Everyone has full access to Christ and to the throne of God through Christ.

That was good news for the eunuch and great news for us. None of us are second-class citizens. We can all be baptized into Christ and into His congregation and kingdom. Nothing prevents us, except possibly us. If you want to be in Christ, you can get there today. Just do what the eunuch did; be baptized into Christ. (If you need help with this, just hit the “contact” link at the top left of the page and let me know.)

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS: What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking here.

——————————————-

*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Acts 1-2 (ESV) by Wordle*

Today’s reading is Acts 1:1-2:47.

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:37-38).

I’ve been cut to the heart before. How do I respond? Do I turn against the one who has cut me? Do I stop my ears and sing, “La, la, la, la, I can’t hear you”? Or do I examine myself. Do I recognize the despair my own actions have caused?

I usually want to avoid that despair because I think there will be no solution. I think things are too far gone and no one, not even God can do anything about it. But when these folks cried out, there was a solution. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive forgiveness and the Spirit’s gift. Peter had an answer to their seemingly unanswerable question, “What shall we do?”

Peace has never come by ignoring the despair of a pricked heart. It has only ever come for me when I faced it and asked the questions I thought had no answers. When I face those questions, I find that God does have an answer. He will forgive my sins. He will preserve my soul. He will protect and guide me. Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading? You can add your input by clicking here.

——————————————-

*Today’s illustration was generated by the creative tool at Wordle.net. You can find all my wordles here.

Today’s reading is Hebrews 13:1-25; James 1:1-27.

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:19-21).

I have a tendency to equate “save” with “forgive.” While being forgiven is part of being saved, the two are not completely synonymous. Being saved means being made whole, being healed, being fixed. That is what I want. I don’t simply want to be forgiven. I want to be made well. I want the sickness of my sins removed. I want the control of sin removed. I want my defects discarded. I want to be fixed. I want to be saved.

Sadly, I have learned I do not have that power. I cannot save myself. No amount of my good works will do it. No amount of my decision making will do it. I’ve tried that path but I have already let myself become sin’s slave. What am I to do? James says the word of God is able to save me.

Today, if I want to be saved, I need to be in God’s word. I need to be quick to hear it. That is, not only letting its words enter my ears but also allowing them to impact my life. I need to be slow to speak, that is, slow to say the way I think things should be and slow to speak against what I hear. I need to be slow to anger. I may not like everything God’s word says. If I give myself to anger against it, I will not attain the righteousness of God.

I don’t read the word today because God has given me homework. I read it because the word is able to save me and I want saving.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Hebrews 9:1-10:39.

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:14).

I see that I have a problem. Even though I’m in Christ and have received forgiveness, I allow my conscience to be plagued by my past sins instead of purified from them. I know there must be a balance here. If I completely forget that I’ve sinned, I will forget my need for Jesus. However, when I allow my past sins to plague me, I generally get sucked back into them because of the guilt and shame they carry.

The Hebrew writer demonstrates that Jesus’ death cleanses and purifies my conscience. The part of me that considers right and wrong and chooses to act is set aright by Jesus. As it is purified, I’m set free from the bondage of dead works in order to serve the living God. That is exactly what I want.

If I am going to serve the living God today, my conscience must be purified by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If Jesus is going to purify my conscience, I need to quit dragging those dead works back into my conscience. Instead, I need to let them stay in the past, purified by Jesus and His death so that today I can serve the living God. Dwelling on those past mistakes doesn’t help me. It hurts me. Jesus has dealt with them. I need to let it go at that.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Hebrews 7:1-8:13.

“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus didn’t have to sacrifice for His own sins. He was perfect. Therefore, His sacrifice can save me. I need to remember that. Sometimes I get so distracted by my own weaknesses and sins I get to thinking that Jesus can’t help me. I’m too bad. But the Hebrew writer reminds me that Jesus can save even me to the uttermost.

So what is my responsibility? I need to draw near to God through Jesus. Today, instead of trying to demonstrate I’m worthy of saving because I’m so good, I want to work on drawing near to God through Jesus.

What do you do to draw near to God through Jesus?

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Hebrews 1:1-2:18.

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18).

For the longest time, I thought the help I needed from Jesus was forgiveness after I’ve already sinned. I do need that help, but that is not the help the Hebrew writer talks about. He says Jesus can help me when I am being tempted. I do not have to face the temptation fight alone and then turn to Jesus if I failed. Rather, when I’m in the temptation, I can turn to Jesus.

I can turn to Jesus by getting into His word. I can turn to Jesus through prayer. I can turn to Jesus by getting help from Jesus’ people. I can ask for strength. I can ask to find in Jesus whatever I’m looking for in the proffered temptation. I do not have to wait to receive God’s grace through Jesus after I’ve sinned, I can seek His grace to have the strength to overcome my sins.

I’m not facing temptation alone. I’m facing life with Jesus at my side.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 10:1-11:34.

“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

The early disciples were supposed to take this supper when they gathered together. As per I Corinthians 16:2, they were gathering on the first day of the week. I am so happy to follow this example because I need this reminder every week.

I sinned last week. That is discouraging. Sometimes it makes me want to give up and quit trying. But each week I get a reminder of what Jesus did for my sins. Further, I know that He died for my sins even though He knew the sins I would commit last week and the sins I would commit this week and the sins I would commit next week.

Thank you, God, for giving us this great memorial. Thank you for dealing with our sins and forgiving us. Thank you for the reminder.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is Galatians 5:1-6:18.

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

I want to quit sinning. I want to quit gratifying the lusts of my flesh. I want to overcome those temptations. I’m tired of the strife and turmoil sin causes. I’m tired of how sin wreaks havoc in my relationship with my family, friends, neighbors, etc. I’m tired of how sin destroys my faith in and fellowship with God. I want to get over all this. But I keep coming up short.

Paul explains the key in Galatians 5:16. I need simply to walk by the Spirit. I need to let the Spirit guide me. Instead of trying to be justified by law, which will only cause me to be severed from Christ (Galatians 5:4), I need to seek justification by the grace of God’s Spirit. I need to be led by the Spirit, not law (Galatians 5:18). That means I need to crucify my flesh, with its passions and desires. I need to put it to death and quit letting it lead me. It twists the law and leads me back into sin (Romans 7:8-11). I need to put away my conceit, my reliance upon me and the competition it produces with others. Instead, I need simply to surrender my life to the Spirit today and what He says I should do. Why? Because God’s way works.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

PS. What struck you in today’s reading?

PPS. How do you think we walk by the Spirit?

Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 4:1-5:21.

I was struck by 2 Corinthians 5:18. “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Then 2 Corinthians 5:19 says God entrusted us with “the message of reconciliation.”

To hear some Christians today, you might get confused and think the Bible message is one of condemnation. But that wasn’t Paul’s focus. Paul’s focus was reconciliation. Certainly, the scripture condemns sin and says those who remain impenitently in sin will be condemned, but the message of the Gospel is not about all the sins for which we’ll be condemned. Rather, it is the message of Jesus through whom we can find forgiveness, reconciliation and the strength to overcome our sins.

I want to focus on that today. The message of the Old Covenant was condemnation. The Old Testament condemned everyone under sin (Galatians 3:22). Our message is that of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. The fact is most of us know we stand condemned. We need to hear how we can be reconciled.

Jesus is the way for that.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?

Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 2:1-3:18.

I know I’ve preached on 2 Corinthians 2:11: “…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” Another translation says “schemes.” Satan is cunning, baffling, wily. He has tricks up his sleeves, ready to make us fall. I’ve preached on this passage and gone all over the Bible finding examples of his trickery. I’ve looked at the fall of Eve in the garden. I’ve examined the temptation of Jesus. I’ve looked at the betrayal by Judas and the denial by Peter. I’ve examined passages that talk about Satan the roaring lion. But I guess I’ve forgotten to look specifically at the context of the verse these lessons were based on. Now don’t get me wrong, I think there was some benefit in those sermons and classes I’ve taught. I don’t think they were wrong or unscriptural. I’m simply saying I missed something.

In those lessons, I usually talk about all the sins Satan tries to get us to commit. Satan will try to tempt us to immorality, idolatry, adultery, theft, hate, and on and on. However, did you notice that the specific problem Paul is addressing is the lack of forgiveness? It seems the immoral man of I Corinthians 5 had repented and the same Corinthians who had been boasting in their acceptance of the sinner were now having the opposite trouble. They weren’t accepting the penitent.

Satan certainly has many schemes to get us to go commit sin ourselves (and this verse applies to those as well). However, in its specific context, Paul is talking about Satan’s scheme to keep us from forgiving others when they sin. What division and trouble that causes for those of us who won’t forgive and for those who aren’t receiving the forgiveness.

I’m reading What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey right now. (Yes, that was an affiliate link. What can I say? 2 Corinthians 2:17 said I shouldn’t peddle God’s word. It doesn’t say anything against peddling Yancey’s word.) He tells the tremendously tragic story of Daisy, Margaret and Michael, a story that truly demonstrates Satan’s schemes of unforgiveness (pp 75-81). Daisy was born in 1898. Her dad was an alcoholic who caused all kinds of turmoil for the family. When Daisy had grown, she had promised she would never speak to her father again. When he later repented and sought forgiveness, she had none for him. Her “ungrace,” as Yancey calls it, had hardened her. She never turned to drink, but she was a driving taskmaster in her own family, perhaps in an attempt to keep her kids from being like her father. “She ruled her own family with a milder form of the tyranny she had grown up with.” Her daughter Margaret once came to her apologizing for something she had done wrong. Daisy’s response was simply, “You can’t possibly be sorry! If you were really sorry, you wouldn’t have done it in the first place.” Margaret determined to be completely unlike her mother. Yet as her children became teenagers she felt like she was losing control. Specifically with her son Michael who seemed to really get under her skin. He seemed a bit of a rebel. She threatened him. She kicked him out of the house for smoking pot. She reported him to a judge. She wrote him out of her will. Nothing got through to Michael, finally one day she said, “I never want to see you again as long as I live.” They’ve been living this out. Michael eventually came out of the rebellion, got married. But the marriage didn’t work. One day when Michael was talking to his friend, Philip Yancey, he said of his ex-wife, “I hope I never see her again as long as I live!” What a chain of sin. What a chain of unforgiveness. Over 100 years of family turmoil that might have been avoided if Daisy could have found the grace to forgive her earthly father the way our heavenly Father forgives us. Right now, there appears to be no end in sight.

Do you see Satan’s designs? His schemes? If he can keep us from forgiving each other, look at what he can accomplish through us. Look at what he can do to our families, our children, our grandchildren.

I fear this passage because I know Satan’s schemes about immorality, drugs, idolatry, covetousness, etc. But sometimes I come up with reasons why I don’t need to forgive someone. Maybe I need to study Satan’s schemes a little more deeply. I don’t want to fall prey to them.

Keep the faith and keep reading,

ELC

P.S. What struck you in today’s reading?