Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Heart of Worship (hint: it’s not in superstitions or money)

Read: Acts 8: 9-25

My dad’s funeral allowed me a glimpse into how superstitious so many people in Taiwan are (including Christians). A Christian friend of my mom told me that before my dad’s body is put into the crematory furnace, I must yell, “Dad, run away from the fire!” Otherwise, my dad’s spirit would suffer burns. Unfortunately, I got carried away with the emotions of the moment and forgot to call that out. Oh well. In Chinese tradition, the eldest son carries his father’s ashes. That’s fine, but as I carry the ashes, I must tell my dad when I’m crossing any threshold (i.e. doors, bridges, etc.). Otherwise, my dad’s spirit will trip over. But my dad’s funerary urn was almost as heavy as he was when he was around. So I had bigger worries (like tripping over myself) than worrying about my dad’s spirit, who I believe is by God’s side by now, tripping.

Superstitions are very problematic for Christianity because it is a very obvious sign of faithlessness. To be mortally afraid of a black cat crossing your path, for example, is a clear sign that you do not believe God has power over anything associated with that black cat. How then can you claim to truly worship an all-powerful God? In other words, you are not truly worshipping God, but something else.

Such is the problem with Simon the Sorcerer. It’s great that he believed and was baptized, but when he found out that the Holy Spirit entered the people that the apostles laid their hands on, he began coveting the power. So much so that he thought he could buy the Holy Spirit’s power! Of course, this is something the apostles would not tolerate.


This idea of buying or earning the gifts of God is not new. Many Christians fall into the trap of believing that “if I do X, then God will give me Y.” If only I did my devotions every day, then I wouldn’t have gotten a C on that exam. If only I had greater faith, my dad wouldn’t have died unexpectedly. If only I had believed in God, I would’ve made $1,000,000 on the stock market (in the middle of the financial crisis, too!). This is the heart of a heresy known as the prosperity gospel, the idea that if you had faith, God would give you all the gifts and blessings you can ever dream of! If only you believe in Jesus, according to the prosperity gospel, you could drive a BMW, have a fat bank account in JP Morgan (not Chase - that’s for “normal people”), and live in a 20-room condo and be Oprah Winfrey’s next door neighbor. Once again, to believe in the prosperity gospel means that you believe in prosperity more than God.

Obviously, none of this is kosher in any way, shape, or form. Thus, Peter issued his angry rebuke in verses 20-23. I admit, though, that it is very easy to think that the bad things in this world happen because you didn’t do something for God. When I was a senior applying to my colleges every rejection letter caused me to think, “Did I do something wrong? Maybe I skipped a day of devos that week?” The same predicament came to me when I was a college senior applying to graduate schools. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that last week... that’s why I didn’t get accepted.” But this is not right, because it means two things: (1) we worship something else more than God, and (2) we think God somehow needs something from us. Thus, quid pro quo - I obey God, God gives me Z.

No wonder Peter’s rebuke in verses 20-23 was so stern. So severe are the repercussions of this kind of error that Simon quickly repented and asked the apostles to pray that the punishments in their rebuke may not happen. So in the event we are led to this kind of “If only I do X, God will give me Y” thinking, may we repent and trust everything to God. After all, if God is for us, who can be against us?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Christ our Healer

Read Acts 9:32-43

Whenever I read stories of miraculous works in Acts, I always think they are such wonderful stories about God’s power in Biblical times. God was working through Jesus and then the disciples to show powerfully the ways He would heal especially in this case we see the healing of a paralytic in Aeneas and the raising of the dead of Tabitha (also known as Dorcas). I often then wonder what it means for us in today’s day. I don’t really see us praying to heal those that can’t move or can’t walk, and I definitely don’t see us raising people from the dead. So can we apply this passage to our daily lives? And the answer of course is yes, but how?

Ajith Fernando wrote in a commentary that “With both healings Peter clearly places the emphasis on Christ as the healer. The first time he says, “Jesus Christ heals you” (v. 34); the second time, before speaking, “he got down on his knees and prayed” (v. 40). After Aeneas’s healing we are told that “all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (v. 35). 2 After Tabitha’s healing Luke says that “many people believed in the Lord” (v. 42). We do not know whether Aeneas was a Christian, but Tabitha certainly was; this fact indicates that miracles in the church were performed not only on unbelievers but also on believers. second time, before speaking, “he got down on his knees and prayed” (v. 40). After Aeneas’s healing we are told that “all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (v. 35). 2 After Tabitha’s healing Luke says that “many people believed in the Lord” (v. 42). We do not know whether Aeneas was a Christian, but Tabitha certainly was; this fact indicates that miracles in the church were performed not only on unbelievers but also on believers.”

Therefore, I want to focus on miraculous healing for believers. The healing of Tabitha (vv. 36 – 41) shows that healing ministry can occur in a pastoral setting, that is, outside the evangelistic setting, where it generally occurs in Acts and nowadays gets a lot of suspicion. Another passage gives us instruction on how to see prayer from the elders for members of the church. So as we turn to James 5:14-15, James outlines the proper procedure in his letter. It states, “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up”.

So first, the person must see the sickness and notice that he/she needs help. The person then calls on the elders of the church to pray over them. The elders are then to pray and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. It is through the power of Christ that this can be done. When the prayer is offered, it says the sick will be made well. This needs to be seen in light of what God is going to do. What kind of healing needed to be done? We look to much to physical healing, which God can obviously do. But sometimes it is spiritual, emotional, or psychological healing that needs to be done.

Pray for better understanding of God’s call for healing and asking the Spirit to see Christ at work even today.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Evidence

One of my roommates in college had quite the amazing testimony of God’s redeeming grace. Born as the middle of seven children, my roommate quickly followed his older brother down a path of rebellion, joining a gang during Jr. high. After regularly participating in vandalism, he soon followed his gangmates into robbery and drug dealing. Consequently, he was caught by police, and sent to a juvenile camp for troubled youth. It was there that he was introduced to Jesus. After accepting Christ as his Savior, my roommate left behind all of the behaviors and pleasures of gang life to follow Jesus completely. This meant no turning back. In high school, he felt God calling him into full time ministry, went to Moody Bible Institute, and now serves as a Jr. High youth pastor at his church. What a testimony of God’s grace! I imagine though, that the people that knew my roommate when he was in jr. high, the people that knew the gangbanger and not the youth pastor, might be surprised at where God has brought my roommate today. In fact, if you told any of those people what my roommate was doing now, they probably wouldn’t believe it unless they saw with their own eyes the changes God has made in my roommates life. I think that’s what it was like for the Apostle Paul after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Read Acts 9:20-31

Paul had just been healed from his blindness, both physical and spiritual. His eyes having been opened, he begins to preach and teach in the synagogue in Damascus, then returns to Jerusalem and preaches there as well. What is the initial reaction to Paul’s conversion? His complete turnaround? Its met with skepticism initially. Even with Barnabas vouching for Paul, it wasn’t until Paul started preaching boldly to the Jews about Jesus that the believers could see the change in him. Now, it wasn’t that Paul wasn’t changed until his actions changed. Paul’s life was very much radically altered the day Jesus knocked him on his butt on the road to Damascus. But for everyone else, the evidence of Paul’s conversion came when his actions reflected that.

For the vast majority of you, you would say that you follow Christ. That’s awesome. It fills me with excitement that there is a generation of students that Jesus has taken hold of, that desire to live for His glory. But perhaps our challenge is to ask ourselves “Are my actions evidence that my life has been changed because of Jesus?” I can proclaim all I want that I follow Jesus, but if there’s no evidence of that in my life, can I really say that I follow Him?
Maybe this was a sobering devotional for you, a wake-up call to start living out the new life God has given you. I want to remind you that God gives us the grace and strength to follow Him each morning, if that’s what we desire. If that’s what you want, take some time today to ask God to give you the grace you’ll need to demonstrate with your life that you have been radically changed.
I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back. No turning back.

Friday, September 25, 2009

A Blind Man Sees

Sometimes, we try to do things our way. We may be very successful or unsuccessful. But that's not important because either way God will intervene.

Read Acts 9:1-19

Saul, here, was a pretty successful Jew. He persecuted Christians with every breath that he took and with every action that he made. It was pretty intense. And he justified his actions in the name of God. And he was just minding his little business when Jesus just comes down and just takes away his sight just like that. No questions asked, it just happened.

Reread Acts 9:4-9

This was his physical sight that was taken away. But not only was he physically blind, Saul was spiritually blind. He was not able to see the truth of Jesus being the Son of God and the crucifixion as well as resurrection of Jesus. So God gave him a little nudge saying, “Hey Saul, this is the real deal.” And what is Saul's response? When Saul had his sight restored by Ananias, he also overcame his spiritual blindness and now understands the truth. Not only does he convert, but he also gets baptized. Baptism is not just dunking someone in water, it's making a public declaration of your own faith.

God is working in big and small ways by pushing and nudging people along in their faith. But it is up to us whether we want to see those changes in our faith happen.
“... The Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 9:17

Pray that you may overcome your own spiritual blind spots.

Pray that you may be filled with the Holy Spirit so that God can strengthen your faith.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Two-Way Call

Today is “Steven’s Special Devo Day” where I get to write about anything I want, which I think is pretty cool. Therefore, I want to take the time today to talk about something that I find is critical in our walks with God, but is often overlooked; I want to stress the importance of listening to God in prayer. Often times, we pray in a monologue and then move on, and for me praying became just a task off the to-do list. We should really strive to converse with God, so that our experience with Him is so much more intimate. Imagine this. You call your mom, and you say, “Dear ma, my best friend wronged me today, and I don’t know what to do. How should I go about this? Should I forgive him?” Then “CLICK” you hang up. That’s pretty absurd right? Well when we pray, most of the time we don’t give God a chance to respond. Trust me, He has a lot to say to you whether it’s advice or a simple, “I love you”. Going back to the scenario, the next logical thing your mother would do is call you back right? But do you answer it? Before I started listening, I would ignore the call. Sometimes, however, I pick up and God would say, “Boy did you just hang up on me?” and I’d be like, “IDK did it sound anything like this? CLICK.” This means that I would open myself up to God and then do the exact opposite of what he wants me to do, like fall to temptation or choose to not forgive that friend. Thus, when we pray, it is important that we listen to the voice of God.

John 10:27
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

You’re probably wondering, “Steve, how do I know I’m hearing God and not showing the first symptoms of insanity?” well first, I want to point out that God does not necessarily speak audibly listening to Him means to open yourself to Him and still your heart. I guarantee you that after a bit He will reveal Himself to you. For example, once I prayed to Him to guide me on the ACT’s because I was so nervous, and after praying and listening for a while an overwhelming sense of ease and relaxation overcame me. Basically, God told me to relax and stop fretting, to let go of my anxiety. He didn’t set my couch on fire and talk to me burning-bush style (although that would be pretty cool). So, when you pray, after you say Amen, listen for a bit. Hear His voice in whatever form it takes. Be still and know that the God who created you and loves you has something important to say to you. When you first hear that voice calling back, trust me, it’s addictive. Go ahead, get high on the Holy Spirit.

To Know and Follow After God

Read: Acts 7: 1-22

Yesterday you’ve read that the great Stephen had been arrested on trumped-up charges of blasphemy. Thus, he was brought before the Sanhedrin. The charges were simple: “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place [the Temple] and against the Law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” (Acts 6:13-14)

What follows begins St. Stephen’s eloquent defense of his faith. But before we get impressed with the depth of his knowledge, we need to keep in mind that all Jewish students back then had to memorize the Old Testament. So Stephen knew the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as how Moses came to be. What was unique and divinely inspired about his testimony is that he understood the role each “hero of the faith” played in the grand narrative of God’s story. Indeed, God’s story is not a huge rulebook about right living, but about a great God and His not-so-great people who live out their faith for His glory (i.e. worships Him).

I just heard that the Bears beat the Packers not along ago, a very good news indeed (apologies to our northern neighbors). Let me ask you, assuming you got both, which is important in playing football: talent or passion? For me, I’d say passion. Sure, a team with talented players is good and all, but imagine playing football with technical perfection except without the passion. I’ll guarantee you that it won’t be as fun as watching a passionate team play football. Good football, as it is with many things, is not the same as passionate football.

And it is the same with Christianity. The members of the Sanhedrin were technically perfect in their adherence to God’s law. Flawless. But they forgot that their faith is not supposed to be about the Law but about God. Thus, in our passage we see Stephen begin with the Old Testament saints before Moses. Abraham, who did not have the Law, obeyed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. If you read verses 1-22, you realized that there was no mention of the Ten Commandments, or any of the 700+ laws in the first five books of the Old Testament.

Are we to say, then, that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, etc. were not righteous because they didn’t follow the Law? Of course not, because they followed God, and that’s what counts! God is all that mattered to these great heroes of the faith. And so it must be for us.

Last week I wrote about Marcionism, a heresy. Next week (spoiler alert!) I will write about another heresy, the prosperity gospel. But the other side of the spectrum is fundamentalism, where being a Christian means following a set of rules. No alcohol, no dancing, no this, no that, no nothing. Ladies must wear skirts going below their knees. Dating is only reserved for 20-some-year-olds. How long the list goes depends on your denomination.

Being a witness for Christ is to be Christian. The adjective “Christian” first came to be in Antioch, the meaning being “little Christ”. Indeed, we’re called to be little Christs. When people see us, they shouldn’t just go, “Oh, he doesn’t swear.” or “Oh, she doesn’t do drugs”, but they should go, “These people are Christians.” It is for this reason that St. Paul, who was present when Stephen was stoned, would write later on that all the rule-following and technical qualifications he had were worthless compared to knowing Christ. May we, like Paul and Stephen, find that nothing in this world, even our lives, are worth knowing Christ Jesus as our Lord.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Philip and the Ethiopian – No such thing as Fate

A few years ago, I had the privilege of going to Venezuela on a mission trip. I went with this team that worked with the local church to do evangelism around the neighborhood. It was hot and tiring as we walked the streets sharing the gospel. One of the customs of South American countries is “siesta”. So after lunch, everyone takes a break from work. I decided to lay my head down for a little bit in the chapel area of the church as I was exhausted. As I was lying down, I noticed however that my translator was playing with this young girl. They were playing with their hands and making all these motions. A little more time past and I noticed they were still playing, when all of a sudden my translator came running to me and was really excited. She told me that the little girl had just accepted Christ. I was shocked as I just thought they were playing with their hands, but apparently she had been talking with her in sign language as she was deaf. Reflecting on this, I just had to thank God for the ways He led us there. The Spirit brought our team there to have a divine appointment with this young deaf girl. It gave so much more meaning of the parable of the lost sheep as God was pursuing this young girl and brought our team with one of our members being able to sign, to share the gospel with this young girl. We continued to see the ways God gave us more and more divine appointments with people there, and each continued to show me that the Spirit leads and these things don’t happen just by coincidence. There is no such thing as fate.

Read Acts 8:26-40

God used an angel and the Spirit to lead Philip to have this divine appointment with this Ethiopian eunuch. He was an important official in charge of all the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians. He was very interested in understanding more about God but was unclear about what the passages in Isaiah meant. The passages for Philip were clear that it was talking about Jesus and the good news of what Jesus has done for us. However, the Ethiopian would not have known unless God sent Philip to explain it to him. God gave this divine appointment to allow the Ethiopian to understand.

We see in this passage that God wants so desperately to use us to deliver His message. He just wants us to be available and ready to see with His eyes. God will give us divine appointments that will give us the opportunities to be a witness for God.

A few things to consider about Philip -

· Philip knew the Scriptures and had a close relationship with God in order to explain it to the Ethiopian.

· Philip was willing to follow the angel and the Spirits leading to meet with the Ethiopian.

· Philip was bold to ask the Ethiopian a difficult question

Now think about your situation. Are you committed to learning and knowing more of the Scriptures to be able to explain it well to others? Ask questions to others and invest in spending time reading the Word. Are you listening to God and seeing the opportunities God is putting before you to share the gospel to help those around you grow in their walks with God?