29 July 2010 Devotion for Today "Silver and Gold Have I None" Acts 3: 1-10

 
 

Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

 6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10)

 
 

Earlier this week we visited our son who is temporarily stationed in New Orleans with the Coast Guard. We were staying with him at his hotel, which is right on the corner of Bourbon and Canal Streets. Unfortunately, while Bourbon Street in that city is definitely alive, its reputation is much deserved. Sin and dereliction was everywhere, and certainly not a street you would want to walk down at night. Occasionally, beggars will sit at the street corners or even in the ditch and ask for spare change. One that I saw was a wounded war veteran whose leg had been blown off in the recent war in Iraq. It was a heart breaking scene. As I spoke with him, tears welled in my eyes as I thought of the sacrifice he had made for our country and then to come home to a life on the streets. When he returned in January, 2006, he found that his home had been destroyed in the Hurricane Katrina disaster, and that his wife and children had left him. To cope with the misery of the years, he turned to alcohol and drugs. As I opened my wallet I was stunned to find I had no cash- not even a dime was to be found in my pocket. Sure I had debit cards and credit cards in my wallet but I was not about to part with any of those. It did not occur to me to go to a nearby ATM machine and withdraw a little bit of cash to give him. Then I thought of Peter and John as they stood over the man begging by the Temple gate in Jerusalem. They responded, "Silver and gold have we none, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk." Peter and John were well aware of this man who sat in this one place for years. Everybody knew him, but up until then, nothing had been done about him since they all assumed all the beggar wanted was other people's money. But Peter and John refused to think that way. They urged him to look at them and then prayed for him to walk- and he did!

 
 

I'll be honest, I stopped short at that point. All I did was to apologize and tell the beggar I had no money. I felt utterly helpless, but why? Did I really believe I could help him? Better yet, did I honestly believe Jesus could help him? Because I did not expect that God could cause the beggar to grow a new leg and follow what happened to the man in the Bible story above, I said nothing more and went on my way. To me, that was harder than confronting the man in the first place. I know what some of you are thinking right now. Some of you may be thinking, "you probably did him a favor by not giving him any money, since he would have probably spent it on alcohol, anyway!" Yes, that thought occurred to me also, and shame on me for thinking that; for what a judgmental spirit I struggled with, confronting that desperate vision of humanity before me. The very least I could have done is to pray for him, which I did not do because I felt too embarrassed to do so- in the likelihood of not seeing the man healed. All I could do is to choke back tears and say, "Sir, I don't have what I would like to give you, but I want you to know that God loves you." The words sounded so hollow and lame as I struggled for a better response. The encountered showed not how sick and hurting that man was, but how sick and sorry my faith was!

 
 

"That's alright, mister, don't worry about it," he said. "You have a nice day!" He pulled a brown bag with a bottle inside to his lips and I turned and walked away. But as I sit and reflect on that scene this morning, and as I no longer chastise myself, I still can't decide who to feel sorrier for, the wounded derelict veteran or myself? True, silver and gold I did not have, but I could have shared the hope and love of Jesus. Who was I to think what this man did not need to hear? Was I thinking too much of myself, rather than what this man needed? When we shrink back from situations like these, we deny God the opportunity to work to demonstrate His power. Perhaps the man might not have grown a leg or walked, but he could have gotten saved, or at the very least, found the strength to live on with hope for one more day. In spite of my lame demonstration of faith that day, perhaps he did. But the point is, who was I to deny what only God could do?

 
 

Admittedly that day was not a high point in my walk with the Lord, but it taught me several things- mainly that God has empowered me to be used by Him in every situation, and not just the ones that I choose. And God is in control of the circumstances of the encounters that I have, not me. Only God can predict the outcomes of those circumstances to bring glory to Himself.

 
 

Today let us not deny what only God can do. May He give us the faith to see beyond the obvious at least to trust Him with our limitations and meager resources. Bring glory to Him today as you trust Him in this.

 
 

Have a blessed day!

13 July 2010 Devotion for Today "Tongues of Fire" Acts 2:3-13

 
 

^{3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.}

 5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

 13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine.

(Acts 2:3-13)

 
 

The other day I was having lunch with one of my sons at a local sub shop. We were in a little bit of a hurry and when I placed my order the counter lady asked me what ingredients I wanted on my sandwich. She then asked if I wanted hot or sweet peppers, olives and pickles on my sub and not hearing all of the selections she offered I just said "yes" to all of them. When our order arrived, we said grace over the meal and started chomping away on our sub sandwiches when all of a sudden, my mouth began to burn like fire. Instinctively I reached for my drink and began gulping it down, coughing and choking back tears as I did. The more I chewed, the worse it got. Tears rolled down from my eyes and nose. Finally I had to open my sandwich and extract all the jalapeño peppers that were mixed in with the ingredients. However, the seeds from those spicy peppers had permeated my entire meal. Even though I must have consumed 3 more large sodas, my mouth burned for the rest of the afternoon. John, my son, said, "Didn't you hear the lady ask you if you wanted hot peppers on your sandwich?" I said no, but that experience taught me a lesson- I needed to listen better to people who offer me something and not assume I know what they said.

 
 

In our devotional passage we read about the church gathering there on the day of Pentecost, and after a mighty rushing wind filled the room where they were located, it says that they saw what appeared to be tongues of fire disseminating out and landing upon each of them. Its not because they had eaten spicy peppers at the local sub shop. This was a little flame that signified the presence of the Holy Spirit, causing each one to begin speaking in what Luke calls "other tongues." I know that this is a controversial thing and many shy away from this passage because of the varying interpretations given to it.

 
 

As I interpret this, it says that they spoke in other tongues- not unknown tongues- languages that were understood by those to whom they began preaching to in the crowds around Jerusalem. They were also languages which the disciples themselves had never learned, spoken, or understood before, yet the Holy Spirit gave them the miraculous ability to proclaim Christ in Latin, in Syro-Phoenician, in Egyptian, in Arabic, as well as in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. Perhaps those overhearing could hear the Gospel preached in his native Ethiopian or even Farsi or Hindi. We know that modern languages such as English, French, German, Italian or Spanish did not exist as such back then but if they had the Gospel would likely have been preached in those languages.

 
 

This phenomenon, is different from what is commonly known as glossalalia , which is a repetitive, fabricated or non-meaningful speech associated with religious trances or highly ecstatic state. I vividly recall how controversial this was back in the 1970s. But this is not what I believe is happening here. Rather, it is the miraculous ability to speak a known language previously unlearned by the speaker. I'm not saying that glossalalia cannot happen, I am only saying that it did not occur here in this passage. Granted, there were those in the crowd who mocked them and accused the speakers of being drunk; but that was only because they heard people speaking on other languages- not because they were hearing "gibberish." But most of those witnessing this event knew the disciples were unlearned Galileans who only spoke that particular dialect of Aramaic.

 
 

Has this happened before? I'm not aware that it has, but has this phenomenon happened since and can it happen again? Well, because we serve a sovereign God, I believe that it certainly can. I know that in my own experiences preaching in Europe in the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were times when I struggled to preach in German the people listening to me must have miraculously understood what I was saying in spite of the terrible way that I butchered their language. It wasn't because they were hearing my words necessarily, but they were hearing my heart. I uttered those inarticulate words, and He did the rest; underscoring the fact that God is still a God of miracles. The thing I want to emphasize however that God will not issue a supernatural gift when we are not making use of what He has given us right now. In other words, why would God give us a supernatural gift of imparting a language we do not already know right now when we are not making good use of the English language to preaching the Gospel that we do know?

 
 

You may only know English as your only language. Are you employing it to the fullest to the glory of God?

 
 

Prayer: Dear Father, help me to utilize the fullness of Your Spirit today that I may witness to others with simplicity and honesty. Help them to see not how articulate I am, but to see You most of all in my heart.

 
 

Have a blessed day

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

07 July 2010 "The Mighty Wind of God" Acts 2:1-4

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord^[a] in one place. ² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4)

I don't know about you, but this passage of Scripture is perhaps one of the most exciting in the entirety of the Word of God- perhaps just down a notch from the Birth narrative and the Resurrection is this spectacular appearance or entrance of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I mentioned that this entrance of the Holy Spirit was spectacular- in some ways a little bit too spectacular for some folks reading this narrative- and for good reason. Many people tend to fear that which they can neither understand nor control. The person and the work of the Holy Spirit cannot manipulated, duplicated, or contrived. And when you read this chapter from the Book of Acts, it is clear that you cannot make this stuff up!

For instance, Jesus never told His disciples exactly in what form the Holy Spirit would come when He came, only that He would come. But He began with a great noise and a mighty rushing wind. God had long been associated with wind. In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself in an emblem of breath or wind. In fact, the Hebrew Word for wind and spirit is the same. Often when God is revealing Himself or making His presence known among His people, He frequently uses sound. The sound of a howling wind gets people's attention, for it is just latent with anticipation!

 

About a month ago- very early on a Sunday morning we were all awakened by the sound of a howling wind. It sounded like a freight train, its roaring was so fierce. In fact, it was the signature sound of a tornado passing overhead. When we turned on the news we heard what confirmed our suspicions- tornadic activity was in our vicinity and had touched down over by Camden. We could not go back to sleep after that. The Holy Spirit of God creates spiritually what a tornado will create physically- although I believe without a doubt that both can be heard.

 

Charles Spurgeon once said "I would be the last to depreciate meetings in which there is nothing but holy silence, for I could wish that we had more reverence for silence and it is in stillness that the inner life is nourished. Yet the Holy Spirit does not work for the advancement of the kingdom of God by silence, alone, for faith comes by hearing. There is a sound as of a mighty rushing wind when the Word of God is sounded forth throughout whole nations by the publishing of the Gospel. If the Lord had not given men ears or tongues, silent worship would have been not only appropriate, but necessary—but inasmuch as we have ears, the Lord must have intended us to hear something."

 

What is more is that Spurgeon was quick to say that the Holy Spirit continues to operate and reveal Himself as such. You will note the effect that this wind had. The sound came on this occasion, no doubt, to call the attention of the assembly to what was about to occur—to

awaken them and to fill them with awe! There is something indescribably solemn about the rush into their midst- not just from a corner of the skies, but like a down-draft from heaven: showing us that the true Spirit, the Spirit of God, neither comes from this place nor that—neither can

His power be controlled or directed by human authority—His working is always from above, from God Himself!

 

The work of the Holy Spirit is, so to speak, the breath of God, and His power is always, in a special sense, the immediate power of God. Coming downward, therefore, this mysterious wind passed into the chamber where the disciples were assembled and filled the room. An ordinary rushing mighty wind would have been felt outside the room and would probably have destroyed the house or injured the inhabitants if it had been aimed at any one building—but this heavenly gust filled, but did not destroy the room—it blessed, but did not overthrow the waiting company! The wind came and was noticed, it was felt, but it did not totally overwhelm the people who came nor did it scare them half to death. At the same time, wind makes change. Jesus said in John 3 "The wind bloweth where it listeth." And perhaps this is why the people are most fearful of the work of the Holy Spirit the most. Change scares people. They like their comfort. They like things predictable. They don't like things out of the ordinary because it is too unsettling. But the Holy Spirit is no one to be afraid of, neither should we be afraid of the affects of Him.

 

Next time I will get into the tongues of fire, and until then, have a blessed day!

01 July 2010 Devotion for Today "Holy Hands in Prayer" I Timothy 2:8

 
 

 
 

^{8I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. ( I Tim 2:8)}

 
 

As I write this morning the oil well continues to pump its black crude into the Gulf of Mexico. For two months now it has been spewing this filth into the water, ruining the ecosystem for decades to come. It makes me weep that they cannot seem to bring it under control. The news tells us that they are trying desperately to bring relief wells to intercept the flow, but I fear what will happen if these efforts do not work. I pray every day about this and trust God that one day soon they will be able to contain this pollution. I cannot imagine what the poor people who live on the Gulf Coast will have to contend with in years to come. I pray for them also.

 
 

As I reflect on this oil spill- the worst in our world's history, I cannot help but wonder (and I'm not saying that it is) if this is not God's punishment upon our nation for our unholiness and disregard for who God is and our rejection of Him. To me, it is almost like God is telling us: "Ok, so you want to focus on your greed and materialism? Have you made oil your god? Well I'll give you so much of it you will never want to see another drop again!" I know that God is not vindictive, but He does direct our attention from time to time to refocus our eyes upon Him.

 
 

Maybe after this we will want to do all we can to decrease our dependence not just on foreign oil imports, but upon any kind of oil whatsoever. But its our greed and our relentless focus on materialism that has brought us to this disaster. We can't just lay all the blame on BP and the oil companies. Our desire and demand for this oil created this market through which this disaster occurred. This oil is, I think, a symbol of our sinfulness. As crude spills into the Gulf of Mexico, the crudeness of sin and evil pours from our collective hearts and pollutes the world around us. We are swimming in it every day, and seem to be content to do so more all the time.

 
 

I applaud the efforts of those like the Coast Guard and others are doing to try to stop and contain it. But I also think that we need to focus on prayer because ultimately only God can stop this disaster. The way He will respond, I think, is as Paul instructed Timothy in this passage: "to lift up holy hands in prayer." Holy hands- not "holier than Thou hands." Hands that are connected to people who have a sincere thirst and yearning for God who want to put as much room between God and sin as possible. Hands of people who are not tarnished and stained by sin. We need to desire a greater depth of holiness- to be more like God and to be pleasing to God; not just treat God as a hobby or just come to Him whenever we need Him but to live for Him in His holiness everyday.

 
 

Let's lift up these hands and pray that God will make them more holy. We do so not to compare our worth to others around us, but to point people to a God who expects this attitude from us. God help our nation as we celebrate our Independence this week to be independent from the materialism that creates disasters such as this oil spill.

 
 

Have a blessed day!