God Always Fulfills His Promises! - 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 13:32-33,

“We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.’”

As Paul addressed the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, he related the gospel message with a truth about God that has withstood the test of all mankind’s entire experience: “What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled…”!

Faith is predicated on the notion of fulfilled promise. Will our Creator do what he says he wil dol? The answer to that question is as certain as our very existence itself: what God promises, he will do. He told Adam and Eve, if they ate from the tree in the garden they would die. He promised to send his Savior to the world and he did. God has made promises, and he always, without fail, thoroughly fulfills every one of them!

The basis of our salvation is faith. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, Romans 4:3, 4:9, 4:22, Galatians 3:6. Paul brings this out clearly in Romans 4:19-22, “Without weakening in his faith, he [Abraham] faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’”

Just as Abraham’s faith in God’s promises was rewarded, so is ours today, as Paul goes on to explain in Romans 4:23-24, “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.”

Nothing in all of life is more certain than the fulfilled promises of God!

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The Resurrection Of Jesus Christ Authenticates Who He Is! - 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 13:30-33a,

“God raised him [Jesus Christ] from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.”

Here is an astonishing message! Jesus has been raised from the dead!

As Paul preaches to the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, he tells them Jesus is the Savior that God had promised the patriarchs of Israel centuries earlier!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ authenticates all God has said and all Jesus taught while he was here. Whatever we learn from our Bibles is true and authoritative, as God has demonstrated to all men that Jesus Christ is exactly who he said he was when he was here - by raising him from the dead.

Our belief in this truth brings us salvation. "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9. "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:11. Our sins are forgiven and we will be raised from the dead as well!

As we read of all of the blessings that are ours through our embracing Jesus Christ in faith, and of the horrific judgment for those who reject God’s one and only Savior, we best heed what is said! “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life." John 5:24.

No Muhammad, no Joseph Smith, no other individual who has ever asserted himself as someone of importance has this authentication.

Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone has been raised from the dead, never to die again!

“I [Jesus Christ] am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.

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God Can Use Even Our Worst Impulses For His Purposes! - 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 13:27-31,

“The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.”

It is amazing to me how it is that God can use even the sinful impulses of mankind to carry out his purposes. God sent his Son into the world to provide a sacrifice to pay for the sins of all mankind.

Paul tells us in Romans 3:25, “God presented him [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

John tells us in 1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

And Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Also, in Luke 19:10 Jesus simply says, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

For those unfamiliar with their Bibles, Jesus saves us from God’s wrath, his judgment of our sins, (and every soul that has lived has sinned.) He died in our place, to take the punishment due us onto himself.

As Paul spoke to the people of Pisidian Antioch, he noted that it was the failure of the people and rulers of Jerusalem to recognize God’s Son, so far removed from God they were, that in their jealousy and hostility to the One sent from God, they asked Pilate to put him to death. Without grounds for a death sentence, they demanded that Jesus be put to death, so great was their murderous hostility. In this, God used these sinful impulses of man to bring about his own agenda, something far beyond the small-minded purposes of sinful man: in God’s great love he brought about redemption for them!

The transcendence of God is something to behold! Nothing any of us can come up with is beyond our Creator’s ability to manipulate and/or use for his own purposes!

As Paul articulates in his wonderful doxology of Romans 11:33-36, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

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 Sends His Word To The World! - 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 13:5,

“When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.”

As I read of the beginning of Barnabas’ and Paul’s first missionary trip, I see that it was “the word of God” they proclaimed at their first port of call at Salamis on the island of Cyprus.

As we continue to read of the events that took place, it was the word of God that Paul and his team carried into new territories. The message they took was not the word of the church, the word of the denomination, the word of this or that new  movement. It wasn’t the word of some new world religion or the latest teaching from some seminary or university. It was the word of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Not the traditions developed or the doctrines hammered out at the epicenter of Antioch: It was the word of God himself.

In that town we are introduced to a “sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus”, Acts 13:6. Saul (Paul) and Barnabas were opposed by this man and Paul condemned him as a man who never stopped “perverting the right ways of the Lord.”

Not the ways of Paul and Barnabas and not the ways of the church in Antioch. Not the ways of the early New Testament church, not the ways of the circumcised believers nor the ways of the Gentile believers, it was the ways of the Lord that Bar-Jesus was opposing as Paul and Barnabas brought the word of God to Cyprus.

We are told it was “the word of God” that the proconsul of Cyprus, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear that Bar-Jesus was in such opposition against. Imagine the insanity of opposing God!

Two men, Paul and Barnabas, (three if we include John Mark), who set out on a journey to take the very words of God to mankind!

We’re talking about the words of the Creator of the cosmos: it is his communication to mankind that Paul and Barnabas are taking to these new areas!

The more I think of it the more astonishing I find it!

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God Speaks! - 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 13:1-2,

“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”

Within the fellowship that Paul and Barnabas participated in at Antioch there were prophets. I note that when the Holy Spirit told the fellowship to set apart Barnabas and Saul he did it through verbal utterance. “the Holy Spirit said…” This was no “feeling” or “leading” folks there experienced, it was a verbal utterance that presumably was delivered through one or more of the prophets that Luke introduces us to in verse one.

In my mind the utterances of God are of preeminent importance in all of life. Anyone who has a healthy fear of the Lord, a reverence for him, recognizes that all of life need stand still and heed whatever it is our Creator has to say.

Peter helps us understand the nature of prophecy and the association of the prophet with the Holy Spirit relative to Scripture. Far from Scripture being the thought of any man or even the intention of any man, we are told, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21.

“Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”! This is a reality that needs to grip my mind as I consider how much time and how much effort I am going to put into reading my Bible. To think that we have sitting on our coffee tables communication from our Creator, how can I neglect the proper treatment it rightly deserves in my life, in my schedule? Surely I don’t want to hear on that day, “I had things to say to you but you wouldn’t take the time to listen to me.”

Sobering to think of, isn’t it?

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God Manifests What He Is Doing In How He Gifts Us - 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 13:1,

“In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers…”

It is at this church in Antioch where disciples were first called “Christians”, Acts 11:26. Barnabas was dispatched from Jerusalem when the believers there heard that “a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” in Antioch. After arriving in Antioch, Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Paul (still called Saul in the account in the book of Acts at this point.) After Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch we are told they taught the believers there for a year.

At the time, they had also been sent from this church back up to Jerusalem to take a gift to help the believers there who were experiencing a famine. When Barnabas and Paul returned to Antioch they brought with them John Mark, the author of the gospel that bears his name.

As seen, there was a lot of activity taking place at Antioch, and we read in Acts 13:1 that there were prophets and teachers within the fellowship there. God was on the move and it is from this fellowship that we see Paul’s missionary enterprise being launched. God was active at Antioch, and the Holy Spirit raised up gifted people to perform the work that needed to be done. There was a need for prophets and teachers, so the Holy Spirit gifted certain ones to fill that need.

Within the early church, and throughout the centuries of church history, we see God gifting individuals to carry out work that needs to be done. In Ephesians 4:11-13 we read, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

God gifts us all for participating in what he is doing in and through the church. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good”, 1 Corinthians 12:7. With these gifts he expects us to serve one another. In 1 Peter 4:10 we read, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.”

It is in this that I find the presence of God very active in the church. He gifts us all and raises up certain ones for specific tasks. He did in the early church and he still does so to this day.

I find it fascinating to see how the Lord manifests what he is doing by looking at how he gifts his people.

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: Sovereign Over 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 12:11,

"Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

As I read the account of King Herod’s intent to put Peter to death, I am reminded of a theme that appears in the book of Proverbs. Herod had put John’s brother, the apostle James, to death and “when he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.” Acts 12:3.

The church was “earnestly praying to God for him [Peter]” and so God had other plans. We read in Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.” See also Proverbs 16:1 and 16:9. No one, not even a king can thwart the purposes of God. Even a king’s heart is subject to God, “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” Proverbs 21:1.

God is sovereign over all of his creation. We enjoy a free will only because our Creator has deemed it so. As I think of the choices we make in life, especially the ones I make, I think of the sheer insanity of not choosing that which is consistent with the will of God.

John 1:12 tells us, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”. What of those who choose not to “receive him”? Insanity! Our God is supreme in all of creation. He is transcendent and sovereign and no one, nothing, not any plan or intent, no scheme, no religion, not even if all humanity assembled to oppose him, nothing can bring even a dent against what God chooses to do.

As God says in Isaiah 55:10-11, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent 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!

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God's Wonderful Heart - 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 12:8,

“Then the angel said to him, ‘Put on your clothes and sandals.’ And Peter did so. ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,’ the angel told him.”

There is something here in this account of Peter’s escape from jail that touches my heart about the heart of God. As we follow the account of Acts 12 we read of the first apostle martyred, James the brother of John. As Herod persecuted the church and saw how his killing of James “pleased the Jews” he proceeded to do the same with Peter. As I read it, I find this to be a very vivid and dramatic account. Peter is thrown into jail but the church was “earnestly praying to God for him.” Two forces pitted against one another for the life of this great apostle.

I can't help but note that the church at John's mother's house was up during the night praying for Peter, no doubt filled with anxiety over Peter's plight and seeking the Lord for his deliverance. For his own part, Peter was simply fast asleep, chained between guards at the prison. I'm not quite sure what, but this does tell me something about Peter!

On this night we find Peter stripped of his clothes and bound with two chains between two soldiers with sentries at the entrance. An angel appears and tells Peter to get dressed and miraculously leads him out of the jail. The account tells us that the chains binding Peter’s wrists “fell off”. The angel leads Peter past the guards that have been assigned to keep him secured. A gate opens by itself to let them through and Peter is freed.

As many do, I find this a very exciting and fascinating account to read. And embedded within this story is something the angel does that touches my heart, and is certainly an expression of God’s heart. When the angel appears, wakes Peter and has him get dressed, in the midst of this miraculous and dramatic encounter in this fallen world with the heavenly presence of God’s angel, the angel tells Peter to wrap his cloak around himself! Maybe it is just me, but to see the angel’s concern for Peter’s comfort as he leads him out into the cold night air in the midst of this incredible drama, shows a tenderness and a care for Peter by this angel that I find remarkable. Surely this very minor detail exposes the great heart of God for Peter in this angel's care for him.

I am sure this is viewed as a somewhat insignificant comment by Luke in his recounting of the event. But for me, it is precisely these comments that speak so much of the heart of our wonderful loving 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!

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God And Prayer - 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 12:5,

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.”

Here we see the clash of two wills. King Herod intended to have Peter put to death after he saw how much it pleased the Jews when he had John’s brother, James, put to death. James was the first known apostle to have suffered a martyr’s death and Herod intended to do the same with Peter.

But the church did not want Peter put to death, and not having the power to stop it themselves, they were “earnestly praying to God for him.” They made their appeal to God to spare Peter’s life, and as we read the account we see their prayers answered. So startling was this answer to prayer that, when Peter showed up at the door where a number of disciples were praying for him, they initially assumed the servant girl, Rhoda, who had answered the door, was out of her mind when she told them Peter was at the door.

Much has been said of the expectation we should have when we pray, and this account is often used as an example of what it looks like when we don’t have the faith that God will answer our prayers, “when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.” Acts 12:16. Why should they have been astonished?

I see something else here as well though, which commends these believers to me. We are told in 1 John 5:14, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” These believers were praying according to God’s will. Apparently God was not done with Peter in this life and he was pleased to respond to the believer’s prayers to spare his life.

It is fascinating to me to read the verse in John’s letter. There are those times God wants us to participate with him in the actions he takes by us requesting those things that need to be done, that are according to his own will. There may be many things we pray for that do not coincide with God's will, but the clear implication here is that some things might not happen if we don’t pray for them.

What might have happened if the church had not prayed for Peter? What might happen if I do not bring those things to God in prayer that I know are according to God’s will? And, for that matter, am I engaged in those things that lead me to know what his will is in the first place?

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: Worthy To Suffer For! - 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 12:1,

“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.”

There are a variety of reasons why members of the Kingdom of Heaven may endure difficulty or suffering in this life. Living in a lost and fallen world that continues to struggle under its Creator’s judgment is cause for difficulty or suffering for all mankind, whether they are God’s children or not.

Some in the church suffer because of poor choices they might make, stumbling in sin, etc., as we reap what we sow.

Others suffer for some purpose of God, as did the blind man who was born blind, not because of his own sin or the sin of his parents. Jesus told his disciples he was born blind that God’s work might be displayed in his life, as he healed him miraculously to demonstrate his compassion and authenticate the message of the coming Kingdom of God, John 9:1-12.

Others have been called by God to martyrdom as a testimony of their commitment to God, revealing what true faith looks like, “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered”, Romans 8:36.

There is possibly another cause for suffering that we see on display here as we read of King Herod’s treatment of the church when he had the apostle James put to death, the first apostle martyred. His brother speaks of it in 1 John 3:12-13, “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.”

There may have been political reasons why Herod took the action he did against the church, but I have to think he was also fueled by this dynamic we read of in the account of Cain’s murder of Abel in Genesis 4.

There are those of us who have thrown our lot in with the Kingdom of Heaven and joined God in his tent. On the other hand, there are those who, for whatever reason (Jesus, in his conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 spoke of those who refuse to come into the light because their evil deeds would be exposed), have rejected God’s offer, remain outside of God’s tent and live in hostility toward those of us who are within.

How is it that God allowed the early church to suffer? The church willingly participated in God’s agenda, working together with him to carry out his purposes. In this way the church very effectively communicated the greatness and glory of God as One who was worthy to suffer for.

After all, wasn’t God the one who harbored a love of unworthy mankind that prompted him to send his Son to suffer in mankind's place?

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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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?

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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!

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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!

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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!

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Who Are You, Lord? - 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 9:1-5a,

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.”

We are introduced to Saul at the beginning of chapter eight, where Saul attended the stoning of Stephen as a participant in witnessing his death. Following, we read that Saul “began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” Acts 8:3. After the killing of Stephen, Saul had become obsessed with crushing this new movement in its infancy. In my own speculation, I suspect Saul (who would later be renamed “Paul”, selected by the Lord to be an apostle to the Gentiles and who would go on to establish fellowships throughout the Mediterranean and southern Europe and write half of the books of our New Testament), was beguiled by the experience he had on the day Stephen was martyred.

We are told on that day the Sanhedrin looked “intently at Stephen” and saw his face was like the face of an angel, Acts 6:15. Stephen very boldly indicted the entire leadership of the nation of Israel and all of its forefathers: “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers…” Using their own Scriptures against them he proved incontrovertibly they had persecuted every prophet God had sent them. Not only that, but they had betrayed and murdered the very one the prophets spoke of who was to come! We read that Stephen exclaimed to Saul, and the others, that he was looking into heaven itself, seeing the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand! As they stoned Stephen Saul heard him ask the Lord not to hold this sin against them – a plea for Saul’s own benefit.

Without overlooking the assumption that the spiritual dark side must have influenced Saul prior to Jesus confronting him, I don’t think you just go home after a day like that and not reflect on it. As I say, I think it must have been something that Saul struggled with and at some point it became the source of his obsession with destroying the church. Either everything Stephen said was true, or he represented a very malicious new threat against the leadership of Israel. Either way Stephen represented something very dangerous from Saul’s perspective. Unfortunately for Saul, he interpreted things exactly the wrong way and set out to crush the church. And now this! In his further efforts to rape the bride of Jesus Christ, he is brought to his knees as a bright light flashed around him with a voice that spoke to him from heaven!

When Saul asks the pregnant question, “Who are you, Lord?” it becomes the question of the ages. Many may assume they know who Jesus Christ is, but as Saul found out, all assumptions will be confronted with the truth, either today or at the end of the age. Woe to the man who does not gain the truthful answer to this all-important question while it is still today!

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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Life: Centered On Jesus Christ, Not Me- 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 9:1-2,

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.”

We live in a day where from many corners of the church what gets preached is that God will rescue you from all your troubles. Are you in debt? God can take care of it. Are you sick? God will heal you. Is your marriage on the rocks, your spouse sleeping around? Are your kids in trouble with the authorities? God can give you the victory! It is all about my happiness in this life and what God can bring to the table to help me achieve that.

I’m reading and re-reading the book of Acts to see how God catered to the personal success and happiness of the believers in the early church but I keep running into passages like the above. They faced real persecution because they were believers, not because they ran up credit card debt with irresponsible spending habits. They faced imprisonment because they were active in promoting the gospel wherever they went, not because they were cheating on their taxes. They faced threats and expulsion from their society not because they were sleeping around or insisting their religious symbols be displayed in the public square but because they continued to proclaim that Jesus was the Christ, sent to save them from God’s wrath for the sin in their lives. They were scattered not over a quarrel amongst themselves over what color to paint the church nursery but because the religious authorities sought to stamp out the early church as the gospel was being spread.

Despite the threats and persecution the early church faced we are told, “It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.” Acts 9:31. What I see in the lives of the early church is a group of folks who had a focus on God’s agenda and what God wanted accomplished. They lived in the fear of the Lord. I am convinced that a good view of God brings to us a new outlook: he is the center of life, not me. His agenda is what counts in this life, not my own personal happiness and fulfillment. Possibly this is why we are told, “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.” Hebrews 3:1. And, “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Colossians 3:1b-2.

Our God is our magnificent, majestic and multi-splendored Creator worthy of our fear, respect and reverence, full of love, mercy and kindness! He is not my errand boy to provide for however I might define a life of success and personal fulfillment for myself. I suspect this might be a difference between the folks I read of in the book of Acts and what I see that passes for "successful Christians living today."

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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Encountering God And Rejoicing - 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 8:36-39,

“As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.”

As the gospel began to spread, we read of an Ethiopian eunuch that Philip shared the gospel with. While we find the circumstances surrounding the account to be astonishing, there is an observation here to be made that I never want to lose sight of.

An angel of the Lord tells Philip to go down a certain road. That is pretty amazing by my standards. I don’t know that I have ever heard an angel speak to me. Then the Holy Spirit talks to Philip and tells him to go to a certain chariot, in which this Ethiopian eunuch is riding. Likewise, I don’t know that the Holy Spirit has ever audibly told me to do something as specific as to go to a vehicle.

Then, following the exchange between the two of them, we are told that the “Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away” and was next seen in Azotus. It makes me think of the “transporter” in the Star Trek series. Quite an astonishing account! But what grabs my attention is the heart and soul of the account: the Ethiopian eunuch went on his way rejoicing because of what happened to him!

The passage of Scripture the eunuch asked Philip to explain was from Isaiah 53. In that passage we are told, “He [the “servant”, Jesus Christ] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Just like us, this eunuch was lost in his sin, estranged from God and facing God’s certain judgment. Now that he had heard the good news contained in Isaiah’s prophecy and explained by Philip, this man had found forgiveness for his sin, a healing in his standing before God and the promise of a wonderful hope in the resurrection! This man went on his way rejoicing!

We go on our own way rejoicing as well! We have received everything this eunuch received and have every cause for rejoicing as he did. It is only when I allow the things of this life to crowd out my clear view of the wonderful hope I have, that my rejoicing dims. What an important point to pray for today: Lord, help me to set my heart and my mind on things above where Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of God! Help me to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our 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!

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God Provides For The Proclamation Of 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 8:4-8,

“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.”

As the gospel message began its march from Jerusalem out to the rest of the world, Samaria was its next destination. As Jesus gave direction prior to his ascension into heaven, he said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Now, following the proclamation of the gospel in Jerusalem on Pentecost and the days following, at the temple and to the Sanhedrin, and the nation, the gospel moved on to Samaria.

I note the Lord provided a great persecution in Jerusalem to help scatter the believers with the gospel message. He also provided well equipped folks, like Philip, who were instrumental and effective in proclaiming the message. Miraculous signs: paralytics and cripples were healed and evil spirits were driven out of many. The Lord also provided the approval, endorsement and authority of the new fledgling community of believers in Jerusalem to the gospel message, in the sending of key leaders, Peter and John, to Samaria.

This is what I see in this passage: God provides! Despite whatever our agenda is in this life from day to day, God has his own agenda of having the gospel proclaimed to the world. Here we see clearly how he provides in the accomplishment of it. He has chosen to carry on his purposes in a fascinating collaboration with believers, using them as the vehicle to take his message to the world and providing them with all they needed to accomplish just that, and sometimes in surprising ways.

How wonderful our Lord has decided to include us in his purposes, to make us his partners in what he is doing in the world. And what is even more wonderful, is the many ways in which he provides us all we need to accomplish what he desires in the proclamation of his gospel message!

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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