Monthly Archives: September 2023

From Ignorance to Restoration

Posted on September 27, 2023 | Leave a comment

ACTS 3:17 “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ 24 And (All this took about 450 years.)all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of (Ro 9:4-5) the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, (because you have obeyed my voice.”)‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ 26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

MY THOUGHTS
Peter’s shifted his appeal to the Israelites.  His first sermon was to shock these men of Israel into recognizing their personal responsibility in the death of Jesus. God had sent the Christ appointed to them and they’d killed the “Author of life” by choosing to ignore what God had clearly taught them for the last 450 years.  Peter’s words were gracious compared to his previous accusation.  “I know that you acted in ignorance,” but “God having raised up His servant, sent Him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”  Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you!

I learned more about what Peter was trying to tell those Israelites about their identity and adoption by following cross references from v25, then writing them in the sequence they appeared, but separated by “—.“  Adoption is still a promise.  We too are Abraham’s “offspring.”  The Word is truth that reveals itself to be applicable to all generations of all people even when it’s sequence and its location in the Bible is reorganized by the scholars that referenced it.

“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. — But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God — let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. — And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. — For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”
(Romans 2:28-29 — Romans 2:17 — 1 Peter 3:4 — Deuteronomy 30:6 — 2 Corinthians 10:18)

Leave a comment

Posted in 1 Peter, 2 Corinthians, Deuteronomy, Light, New Testament, Old Testament, Romans, Wednesday

Tagged , , , , ,

The Parable of Separation

Posted on September 24, 2023 | Leave a comment

Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

My Thoughts 
Remember how Genesis starts?  “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”  God was complete in that beginning but He had a greater purpose for all time — an eternal kingdom.  Jesus learned the necessity of separation in those early days of eternity as He watched His father define His kingdom by separating light from dark, day from night, land from sea and mankind from dust.

Jesus tells this parable about separation just a few days before His arrest.  It’s more than a story about judgment of behavior, it’s about relationship and firsthand experience.  Did you notice the odd truth all those contrasts in this parable revealed about those two groups?  Both groups were surprised to discover Jesus noticed their choices.  Both were surprised that what impacted their kingdom destiny in such a dramatic way was not just their choices but their relationship, or lack of it, with Jesus Himself. 

Jesus understood the inheritance prepared for the “blessed” was eternity with Himself in a kingdom created for them.  He’d seen it created firsthand.  Jesus’s warning to the “cursed” was separation from Him and a destiny of eternal punishment “in a land of forgetfulness and separation,” not inhabited” by God.  He could warn them of that absolute truth with certainty because He knew in just a few days He would briefly experience the reality of that separation firsthand.

a Leviticus 16:20-22 The goat shall bear upon himself all their iniquities, carrying them to a land cut off (a land of forgetfulness and separation, not inhabited)! AMPC

Leave a comment

Posted in Leviticus, Light, Matthew, New Testament, Old Testament

Tagged , , ,

The Whole Miracle

Posted on September 17, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 3:11 While he [the healed lame man] clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s. 12 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. 16 And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.  

My Thoughts:
For the first time in his life this lame man was strong. He’d just been miraculously healed but look at what verse 11 says, “he clung to Peter and John.” The miracle was more than physical healing.  It was the actual physical help he needed to stand on his own two feet for the first time.  That miracle was more than a sign of the “power or piety” of Peter and John’s faith, and certainly more than the faith of the crowd. What utterly astounded all the people that day was being eye witnesses of the truth of Peter’s words; “the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.”   “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus” in their presence — despite their guilty denial.  And now every time they saw that healed man stand and walk they would remember the power behind the whole miracle.  Jesus, “the Holy and Righteous One…the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead” had shown them His desire was to heal both the lame and the guilty — by faith in His name.

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, Light, New Testament, Sunday

Tagged , , ,

The Persistent Widow

Posted on September 6, 2023 | Leave a comment

Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”  6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Why isn’t this widow called The Persistant Whiner?  I find myself whining about my own prayer list that seems to get longer and longer. It’s unusual that almost immediately I see the “more” of this parable for me. This simple story of a whining widow has made me realize how easy it is to have one foot in both camps. This parable has made me aware that I’ve been praying by a wrong set of rules from a judge who cares more about goals than God.  God, forgive me, that’s a depressing “more.”

I’ve begun to think of the requests on my prayer list as if they are goals that God needs to act on so I can check them off.  The power of prayer is not the achievement of a goal but the persistent pleading for “justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night.” Lord, change my heart so my prayers follow your rules and become a persistent part of what empowers your justice, not my shorter list.  Amen

Leave a comment

Posted in Light, Luke, New Testament, Parables, Wednesday

Tagged ,

WHAT HAPPENED HERE?

Posted on September 3, 2023 | Leave a comment

Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Directed focus is what struck me about this passage.  This lame man had been at this gate most days of his life.  He certainly had directed his focus on his faith that his needs would be provided for.  He organized his friends to get him to the gate at the right “hour” after the hour of sacrifice had been completed when he could expect the people coming to pray might notice him and have generous hearts.  Peter and John  have come to pray too which is interesting. The focus of their faith is no longer praying for God to accept the Temple sacrifices offered an hour earlier.  It’s been changed into thankful belief because Jesus has fulfilled that hour of sacrifice.  That was the act of God that had changed their own expectations of faith into belief. 

After all these years this lame man was like an unnoticeable fixture at that gate.  Did he expect his faith in their alms would make life on earth more bearable for him? Of course he did. What other choice did he have?  What God did for this lame man was use Peter’s words, “look at us,” to change his focus from the unnoticeable expectations of his faith into the new and miraculous reality of a very noticeable expression of his belief, “walking and leaping and praising God.”  

“Perhaps only medical men can fully appreciate the meaning of these words; they are peculiar, technical words of a medical man. The word translated feet is only used by Luke, and occurs nowhere else. It indicates his discrimination between different parts of the human heel. The phrase ankle-bones is again a medical phrase to be found nowhere else. The word ‘leaping up’ describes the coming suddenly into socket of something that was out of place, the articulation of a joint. This then is a very careful medical description of what happened in connection with this man.”    (The Acts of the Apostles, p97 — George Campbell Morgan)  The miracle was complete, God had changed the focus on expectations of faith for “all the people” and become the reality of belief and they were filled with wonder and amazement.”

Leave a comment

Posted in Acts, Light, New Testament, Sunday

Tagged , , ,