God Has Invited Us Out Of This World Into His Kingdom! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 20:2-3, “He [Paul] traveled through that area [Macedonia], speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.” The world is a hostile place toward God and those who are his. Here we read of Jews plotting against Paul in Greece. Later in the chapter, Paul reminds the Ephesian elders of the plots of the Jews against him in that city. He also tells them that the Holy Spirit had warned him that prison and hardships faced him in Jerusalem where he was headed. Paul faced hostility where he had been, where he was and where he was going. Throughout the book of Acts we see hostility toward God’s people from Jews and Gentiles alike. In Paul’s previous life he participated in this hostility himself prior to his conversion to “the Way”. In Stephen’s words, just before he was stoned, “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him”. Acts 7:52. Jesus taught, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” John 15:18-19. Those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ belong to God and as such we are hated by those who do not belong to him. They have made their choice and resent those of us who have embraced God. Many of us today may never face hostility as Paul did, but nonetheless we are despised because of our choice to join God’s kingdom, leaving them and the world behind. The reality is that those of us who have embraced God wish the others - who are hostile toward us - would embrace God as well. Of people of faith, the writer of Hebrews says, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:13-16. How wonderful the future we have in our Lord Jesus Christ! How wonderful he invited us to join him and leave the world behind! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God Authenticates The Gospel - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 19:11-12, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” How wonderful that God provided authenticity and authority to the message that Paul took to Ephesus (and the many other places as well). The veracity of Paul’s message was confirmed in so many ways by God. Did God have to provide this additional stamp of authenticity to Paul’s message through various miracles as Paul helped to lay a foundation for the expansion of the church? For those folks with thick-headed skulls like mine over the ages, God demonstrates an undeserved compassion for those of us who are a little “slow”. And look at the stamp of authenticity he provides… compassion itself! Folks cured of illnesses and relieved of evil spirits! What a wonderful God! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God's Offer To Sinners - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 19:8-9a, “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them.” As we read in Acts 18:4 and Acts 26:28, Paul approached folks with the gospel message in an attempt to persuade them. Here we see Paul “arguing persuasively” about the kingdom of God. As all have a choice to make regarding the gospel when confronted with it, we are told that some in Ephesus “became obstinate” and that they “refused to believe”. A horrific choice they made given the consequences! Jesus confided in Nicodemus as to why folks would refuse the love of their Creator and opt for his judgment. He told him, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19. This tells me a person’s theology is dictated by their morality. Men love darkness instead of light because of their own evil hearts so, they refuse to have a change of heart, a change of mind when confronted with the gospel! Nevertheless, Jesus Christ came to save these very sinners! If only all could be persuaded, but their lifestyles and heart condition holds them fast. Later John quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. How wonderful our Savior came for us! How wonderful he gave his life to ransom us from God’s judgment! What an expression of love, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us! This morning I thank God for his grace toward us that has made it possible for any of us to embrace him! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God Gives Us The Holy Spirit! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:1-7, “While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ They answered, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ So Paul asked, ‘Then what baptism did you receive?’ ‘John's baptism,’ they replied.” Paul said, ‘John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.” This is a fascinating account of something Paul encountered in Ephesus. These “disciples”, it turns out, were not acquainted with the Holy Spirit and had to be told about the need to put their faith in Jesus Christ. They had experienced John the Baptist’s ministry and had even been baptized into his “baptism of repentance” but they didn’t know the Lord yet, as evidenced by Paul having to introduce them to Jesus. This resulted in them experiencing their own “mini-Pentecost”. The account reveals that Paul ascertained who needed to hear the gospel message by whether a person had received the Holy Spirit, even if they appeared religious, e.g. to be a disciple. The foundation for this approach is given throughout the New Testament. In Romans 8:9 we read, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” In Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul says, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.” It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that evidences whether we in Jesus Christ, whether belong to God. He sends his Holy Spirit to dwell within us when we become his. We become a “new creation”, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and the Holy Spirit begins to change us from the inside out, Galatians 5:16-26. Being changed by the Holy Spirit is how we discern who a child of God is and who is not, 1 John 3:10: has a person’s life been impacted by the Holy Spirit? To me this is one of the mystical and wonderful things about our new life in Jesus Christ! God gives us his Holy Spirit and he begins his wondefful work within us! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God's Glorious Grace - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:27, “When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.” As Luke provides the account of Apollos, his encounter with Priscilla and Aquila, and his trip to Achaia, Luke observes that Apollos “was of great help to those who by grace had believed.” What catches my eye this morning is the observation that it was by grace that the folks in Achaia believed. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins. Why did he do that? Because we are told in John 3:16 that God loves all mankind and has provided a way for us to join him for an eternity. It is something we could not do for ourselves and so he sent his Son. This is what we call his grace, because Jesus paid the penalty himself and offers us salvation freely. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. Luke mentions this disposition of God to give (his grace) that resulted in the folks in Achaia embracing him in faith. The message of the gospel is a message of grace from start to finish. Mankind has turned his back on God in sin and rebellion in the face of his own judgment, and yet God, in his grace, has made a way for us. God, in his grace, has provided us his gospel message. God, in his grace, has provided equipped evangelists who take this message out to others providing the opportunity for it to be heard and responded to. God, in his grace, has provided each of us a free will to respond to that message and in his grace has made it possible for us to cross over from death to life. God, in his grace, will provide all those who respond to it a wonderful life in the resurrection. All of the elements of life itself, the ability to hear the gospel message, the capacity to reason, the volition he has provided us, as well as the gospel message itself all speak to God’s wonderful disposition toward us: his matchless and glorious grace! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

God Communicates To Man! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:9-11, “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.” As Paul was in Corinth and preaching the gospel message, the Lord spoke directly to him one night. I note the communication from the Lord, in a vision, is a verbal statement. Luke doesn’t mention if it was part of a two-way, broader conversation Paul had with the Lord or just simply this statement, but clearly this is not Paul having an “intuition” or “leading” or “feeling”. And, certainly not what passes today for "the Lord told me…", if you get my drift. This strikes me as something of an entirely different order. This is one person (the Lord) verbally speaking to another (Paul) just as any of us would have over the phone or face to face with another, in this case in a vision. I have never had the Lord speak directly to me like this. As many, I have had those moments where I feel the Lord has very distinctly laid something on my heart, and possibly even communicated to me in some fashion - but never where I could literally quote him word for word after the fact. He has never spoken to me in this way. I wonder what Paul’s reaction at the time was? I suspect that would be based on how often the Lord spoke to him. Was it just the few times we read of in Scripture, as on the road to Damascus and other times? Or was there an ongoing dialog that went on for years? Regardless, I find these comments very fascinating and wonderful as they represent a connection of the Lord with his people, a connection of heaven with planet earth. The great divide spanned between this lost and fallen world with its Creator, physical life in the here-and-now with the Eternal. A connection between life today and the resurrection to come! Awesome to think about isn’t it?! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

All We Need To Persuade Others - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:4, “Every Sabbath he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” Luke tells us when Paul got to Corinth he reasoned with the folks at the synagogue. He tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks there with the gospel message. The way that Luke writes it, he gives me a distinct impression that Paul’s way was not to just inform folks of the gospel but to persuade, to convince, to bring folks to a point where they recognized the need they had for salvation, and that Jesus Christ was the way. In his appearance before Agrippa in Acts 26:28, Agrippa accused Paul of attempting to persuade him to be a Christian. Rather than denying it, Paul tells him it was his desire to convince everyone listening to him to become what he had become: a follower of Jesus Christ. This leaves me with a feeling that the issue of salvation for many who are around me today may depend on how persuasive I might be. What a sobering thought that is! But I am reminded that it is the gospel message itself that carries the power of salvation, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”, Romans 1:16. I am also reminded, as well, that it is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction, “When he [the Counselor] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment”, John 16:8. In addition to the gospel message and the Holy Spirit, God equips each of us to be effective for him. It is his plan to use what he has revealed about himself to accomplish this, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. God has decided it will be us, the church, that will carry on the evangelistic effort. But he has not left us alone with this responsibility. Together with the Holy Spirit, he has provided all we need to be effective and productive at it! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.