Saturday, July 31, 2010

riot

Acts 19 shows a bit about mob mentality. A crowd can get worked up and not know what they are worked up about! Spiritual works in a crowd are probably more heightened/obvious whether for good or for evil.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Spirit of Jesus

Acts 16:7 When they (Paul & co.) came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

Acts 16 has some interesting stuff going on as well. You have Paul being stopped from entering an area by the Spirit of Jesus. That is pretty powerful direction, don't you think? They were headed in one direction but it was not the direction that Jesus wanted them to go in. So they were obedient to the spirit of Jesus and turned. Which is good. Yes? But then they end up in another location where some really bad stuff goes down.

You see there was a girl with an evil spirit of divination and she went around after the company shouting at them for DAYS. For DAYS. And finally, Paul snapped and cast the spirit out of her. Good. Yes?

Well it got Paul flogged. And that ain't pretty.

So what do we learn from this?
-Jesus can and will direct us if we are heading in the wrong direction
-don't cast spirits out of people who don't want the spirit cast out of them
-sometimes there are really annoying things in life that you must just bear. Be patient.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Disagreement

In Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement.
We're human, disagreements happen.
Paul and Barnabas both loved Christ but disagreed about a person to take on their trip.
Interestingly, this also happened to a friend of mine who was going on a missions trip. There was a guy who some of the team felt did not have the right spirit to go and some of the team thought that taking him on the trip would be good for the guys' spiritual life. What they had to look at was the benefits for the individual versus the detriment for the group if he continued on the same path.
And everyone is not going to agree on the benfit/ detriment ratio.

"Disagreements are going to occur," says Dr. Phil. "The question is, do you go into it with a spirit of looking for resolution or do you go into it with a spirit of getting even, vengeance, control?

Paul and Barnabas decided to take different trips. As the writer of Acts (given as Luke) seems to go with Paul I guess we don't find out what happens with Barnabas. Would be interesting to know though.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

One and not the other

Acts 12 has an interesting contrast. James and Peter run into trouble with persecution. James gets killed about one sentence in but Peter gets most of a chapter about his miraculous deliverance! Kind of lop-sided!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Looking better

Acts 5 has the story about a couple who sold some property and brought some of the money to the apostles. The problem seems to have been that they SAID that it was all the money from the sale but it was not. Now, it was their land and I don't think they were obligated to give all the money (Peter seems to indicate this when he speaks with Ananias) if they wanted to give some to the apostles and keep some to buy an RV that would have been ok. But to say they had given it all, that was the problem. Of course it doesn't strike me as the sort of problem that one should be stricken dead over. But the point seems to have been taken- God expects truthfulness.

11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Peter

I have now started reading Acts. It is really impressive to look at the transformation of Peter from the gospels to Acts. Whatever was holding him back in the gospels was shattered with the resurrection!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Cut

John 15:2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Note here that no matter what you are going to be cut. That's a rather gloomy thought. But we want to be cut to grow up to be who Jesus wants us to be. We don't want to be cut off!