The Lord's hand was with them - 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 11:19-21,

“Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”

I suspect many of us might feel something was not right if some misfortune as this befell the church today (the killing of Stephen). “Maybe God is not with us? Maybe Satan has the upper hand here?”

I am quite certain that many in the early church felt something was horribly wrong when Stephen, the first martyr, was stoned to death and the church was scattered. I think if I were in the circumstance recounted above, I would have been one of those wondering how such a thing could happen to God’s elect!

Clearly, from the advantage of having Luke’s account here in the book of Acts, we see God himself using these events to spread the gospel message to new geographic as well as demographic regions.

I know I couldn’t have seen it at the time, but from our vantage, with Luke's account, I can. “The Lord’s hand was with them”, whether it seemed that way or not.

To me this speaks volumes about our transcendent and sovereign God! He just may be doing things I don't understand to bring about the great things of his redemption of mankind.

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!

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God Extends His Invitation To All - 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 11:18b,

“So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”

Here in our country, we live in a day of an entitlement mentality. We think in terms of having certain rights and equal access to opportunities. Politicians these days talk of the rights of “every American to have access to affordable medical care”, etc. You get the drift. If anyone has a shot at something, we ought to as well.

Sometimes I think this mentality has had an impact on our appreciation and gratitude for what God has done for us. A full understanding and perspective on the level of the importance of our access to the promises of God to Abraham may have been diminished with an entitlement mentality. So much so, that when we Gentiles of today read the above, our thought might be a less than appreciative one, “Gee, that’s big of you to say so… ‘even the Gentiles…’!”

And yet, the apostle Paul reminds us that God has every right to do whatever he wants with anyone. As we read in Romans 9:15-18, “He [God] says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.” In this passage Paul is making the point that God has chosen that all those who embrace him in faith, he accepts, and those who don’t will be condemned. But the point is made very well that God can choose whomever he wants.

Did God have to extend his invitation to Gentiles? Did he have to extend an invitation to anyone for that matter? The more I think of such things, the greater I find my appreciation, gratitude, and love grow for our God who has decided to extend his invitation even to me!

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!

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You Can't Oppose God - 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 Svyd 11:17b,

“Who was I to think that I could oppose God?”

Peter made this statement to the Jewish believers when he explained his actions in visiting the house of Cornelius the centurion, a Gentile. In making this statement he placed those questioning him in the very difficult position of having to stand in opposition to God if they were to condemn Peter’s actions. Not a position many of us would want to place ourselves in.

Yet, as I consider my own life, I am sure there could be any number of things that are not consistent with what God wants. Am I in opposition with God relative to this or that in my life? Sobering to consider for sure.

As I think of these things, the motivation I feel for not wanting to find myself in opposition with God lies in the very nature of God himself. Our God is a transcendent being, sovereign over all in creation. The magnificence of his glory resides in the perfection of his multi-splendored qualities.

He defines what love is and has communicated it to us through sending his Son to die a horrible death to pay for our sins. He is the perfect example of mercy, kindness and grace. He is also a God to be revered and feared. Holy and righteous, with divine justice, he decides what is right, just and fair. He will determine the ultimate end of all of creation. Our eternal destination and happiness lies with him. He gave us life and will determine what our future will be. All this with just a word from his mouth.

As I think of such things, do I ever want to find myself in opposition to 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's Magnificent Love Becons Us All! - 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 11:9,

“Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”

This is such an amazing thing to me. Mankind has turned its backs on God, sinned and rebelled against him. The horrifying account in Genesis 3 tells us of our progenitors heeding the Serpent in the Garden of Eden and willfully choosing to reject their Creator in favor of a temptation.

Since that time we have collectively demonstrated the ensuing wickedness of our hearts – the development of a diabolical sin nature that stirs our every impulse to continue to reject God and pursue those things that are anti-God.

Given these circumstances, it is astonishing to me that God loves us at all, that he has a kind and merciful bent toward us to the point of sending his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I guess the most astonishing thing to me of all is not just that God has extended his call to the Gentiles, but that he has any room in his heart for mankind!

What a heart this is! A God-sized heart full of kindness, mercy and love for us. We all deserve his wrath for turning our backs on him and yet he holds his arms out to us, beckoning us to come to him.

His invitation to mankind speaks of a magnificent love, and of his willingness to forgive us all who have sinned against him if we are willing to heed his call!

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.

The Gospel Message Carries Power - 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 10:39-43,

"We are witnesses of everything he [Jesus] did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
 
As I read about Peter preaching the gospel message to Cornelius and his household, there are a couple of things that come to my mind.

The first is that Peter claimed to be an eyewitness to Jesus’ resurrection and is now giving his testimony of that. This testimony is documented by Luke here in Acts and also elsewhere in Peter’s writings.

Peter makes reference to the testimony of “all the prophets” as well as God’s chosen “witnesses”. Today, we have the benefit of all of this testimony in Scripture.

Secondly, as Peter does, Paul speaks of the inherent power of the gospel message itself, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…”, Romans 1:16.

This power is on display as the gospel makes its inroad to the Gentiles in this event captured for us in the book of Acts, as Cornelius and his household embrace our Lord through faith upon hearing the gospel message.

The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is imbued with power by God! What a message to share!

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!

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God's Love: Available To All Mankind - 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 10:34-35,

“I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.”

In this passage, Peter says he now realizes this truth, that God's love is available to all mankind. This was a foreign thought to the early church, comprised of only Jews: Gentiles could be saved!

This chapter is of huge importance to me as a Gentile! One of the most moving passages of all Scripture to me is, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'” Romans 9:26 (where Paul quotes Hosea 1:10).

How wonderful it is that our merciful heavenly Father has included all mankind in the pursuit of his redemptive purposes!

There is no group, no demographic, no cultural segment that is excluded from God’s love, from his wonderful invitation, from eternal life, from the promises he made to Abraham! All mankind is free to embrace the Son of his love, whom he sent for us out of his kindness, love and mercy!

What a wonderful God we have!

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 Invites All Mankind! - 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 10:9-16,

"About noon the following day as they [Cornelius' messengers] were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 'Surely not, Lord!' Peter replied. 'I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.' The voice spoke to him a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven."

 
What a vision! In it, the Lord tells Peter that he intends that the Gentiles be called through the gospel message, it is not for the Jews only. Using the concepts of "clean" and "unclean" relative to dietary restrictions imposed by the law God gave Moses, he explains that all men of the earth are invited to the kingdom of God. No one is to be considered unworthy of the gospel - we are all unworthy!

As Peter says later about this vision, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” Verses 34-35.
 
As a Gentile, that includes me! How wonderful that God does not show favoritism, but has called all mankind! I take this for granted so easily - but not so the first believers who were all Jews: it wasn’t clear to them at all that anyone outside the Jewish nation would be invited to God's family for all eternity.
 
And to think, it didn’t have to be this way. God could have called only the Jews. But, as we read in John 3:16, “for God so love the world…”! I am also reminded of Paul’s speech at the Areopagus in Athens in Acts 17:30, “now he commands all people everywhere to repent”!
 
What a wonderful God we have that has called all people to himself through his gospel message! He loves us all and he wants us all! All he asks is that we put our trust in him by embracing him in faith!

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.