Advent Archive: Acts 17

-Amber Allen

I can just imagine how Paul felt as he walked through Athens the first time. He would have seen countless statues of gods the people worshipped. They had gods for the sun, the water, love, and the roads; they had gods for everything. In fact, they were so worried they might have missed one, that they even made an altar to "the unknown god." Undoubtedly, this would have made Paul grieve for the state of the people and perhaps even a little angry that Jehovah God, Creator of the universe, was being reduced to an unknown. But what an example Paul becomes to us; he doesn't just remain sad and leave, he boldly goes to the gathering place of the city where all the people are and preaches Christ. He doesn't cram hell-fire and brimstone down their throats, but he also doesn’t leave them in their ignorance. He knows they are reasoners, and so he carefully presents the gospel in a simple, well-reasoned way. His words are fitly chosen and stir my heart each time I read them. Read verses 24 through 31 again and picture yourself in front of all those Greek philosophers. May God grant each of us the boldness that Paul had.
Food For Thought: What do you think the reaction of the Athenians would have been if Paul had come with a fiery, condemning message? What does this tell us about the necessity of variance in our own gospel presentation?

Advent Archive: Acts 16

Acts 16 holds the story of a woman named Lydia, “a seller of purple.” This is vital, because up until this point in the story of the young Church, the major players and influencers have all been men. As a matter of fact, the major female member of the Church mentioned to this point in Acts is Saphira who came to Peter and lied about giving to the Lord and subsequently was smitten dead by the Holy Spirit. When Lydia comes on the scene, it is a relief and it speaks to the utter confirmation that Christianity is not a male thing. The church is not just trans-cultural, it is trans-gender and as a matter of fact, Paul encourages Lydia in her personal walk and her spiritual growth. This passage stands as a monumental passage for a couple of reasons. First, this was the first direct female convert who was named, and second, it was the first confirmed convert in the continent of Europe. Up until this point, the gospel had largely been a Middle Eastern phenomenon, but now the news had crossed the sea and was now infiltrating Europe, where God would eventually call out His reformers and subsequently the rebirth of Christianity into what we know of it as today. But how did the gospel start in Europe? It started with a woman convert. Certainly, one point for the ladies team on this one. God’s gospel is for all the world. Christ died for all, Jew and Greek, male and female. Praise be to the God who offers salvation to the whole world.
 Food For Thought: What was the gender of the first convert in Europe? What implication does this have about Christianity in regards to gender?

Advent Archive: Acts 15

Acts 15:26 gives an excellent description of what faith looks like in our testimony. The passage says of Paul and Barnabas, two men of the faith, that they had “hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is truly what faith is about: treasuring God, and the Kingdom of God above all else, even life itself. The church leaders had seen these two men exhibit their faith in their reckless abandonment of what everyone else held so dear. Self-preservation is a natural human instinct. However, when it comes to faith, the call to hazard our lives for the sake of the gospel is sometimes what separates the little leaguers from the varsity crowd. This is the difference between the dinky dinosaur ride at the theme park and the massive gut-wrenching barrel-roll filled roller coaster. Stepping out from the kiddy rides takes serious faith. This is the same thought here. That serious faith is needed to hazard one’s life, and admittedly not everyone has that kind of faith. However, these men had a testimony that said they had that kind of faith. They were willing to lay down everything for the cause of Jesus. They saw that He laid down His very life for them, so what was the difference for them to hazard their own for Him. Oh, that we would have young people of reckless abandon for Jesus, who view Him as their ultimate treasure and not their own life.
Food For Thought: Read what Paul says in Acts 20:24. What phrase from that verse shows the “throw it all on the table” kind of trust in God that he had?

Advent Archive: Acts 14

Paul’s life can be summed up in a book named “The Great Redemptive Disappointments.” When he recounts his own story later in life, he will tell of all of the disappointments and shortcomings, the trials and tribulations, the disasters and sorrows. It is greatly redeemed though, because as he recounts, he will certainly point out that the suffering of this present age is not worthy to compare with the glory which will be revealed. Trials bring dark nights of pain, but that is ok, for joy comes in the morning. Acts 14 tells of the joy and sorrow that Paul faced. He entered a town called Lystra, no doubt praying that God would give him favor in the eyes of the people. When he showed up, he rejoiced at the cordial reception of the people. Soon, though, that joy turned to horror as he realized that the kindness of the people was coming from their thinking he was a god. He quickly tore his clothes to reveal that he was just human. Apparently, this disappointed them greatly. So greatly, that they eventually picked up stones and stoned him right there. So from one moment to the next, Paul went from ultimate acceptance, to utter rejection. What a tragic experience. However, Paul was unstoppable. After they left him for dead, he got up and went on to the next town to preach the gospel. This great disappointment was certainly redeemed in the Apostle Paul’s life. How do we do? Do we let failure cripple us? Do we lose sight of the ultimate when the immediate turns unfavorable? May we see Paul and with boldness through circumstance, press on.
Food For Thought: Read what Paul wrote in Romans 8:35-39. What do you imagine Paul was thinking as he was being stoned to death?

Advent Archive: Acts 13

-Alan Obrien
Acts 13 is a long chapter – 52 verses – and a lot happens in here! One of the biggest things to note is that in this chapter Paul’s ministry begins. Up until this point, Acts has primarily focused on Peter. But from here on out the focus of the book will be what God is doing through the converted church-murderer, Paul! That excites me because if God is willing to use “Saul” and turn him into “Paul,” He is capable of doing some pretty amazing stuff with you and me! But what made Paul so great? Notice with me, like in the last devotional I wrote on Acts 7, that as Stephen boldly preached Christ, Paul will now do the same. I want you to notice what happens when the Gospel is preached. The Gospel is a unique tool in the hand of God. Paul told us in Romans 1:16 that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. What Stephen and Paul both knew was that they in and of themselves had no ability to save anyone. They understood that only the preached Gospel could bring people to Christ. So they preached it boldly and unashamedly! When you read through Acts 13, notice the way some believe and some don’t. The ones who don’t believe get very angry and end up blaspheming God (v.45). As for the ones who do listen and believe, they love the Gospel and find an indescribable joy in Christ (v.48, 52)!
Food For Thought: Which one are you? Do you love the Gospel? Has it brought joy into your life yet?

Advent Archive: Acts 12

-Amber Allen
This is a super-cool and super-gruesome chapter, all at the same time. Acts 12 gives the miraculous account of Peter being liberated from a jail cell by an angel alongside the events of James being murdered, the jail keepers being put to death, and Herod falling down dead and being eaten by worms. But even though the Bible holds no details back on these adventurous accounts, the main theme of this chapter is not just miracles and murders but rather how in control our sovereign God is. You have to wonder why the Lord let James be killed by Herod, but performs a miracle to let Peter escape. I wonder why the jail keepers had to lose their lives over which something they had no control. I wonder why, after all the countless, horrible deeds Herod does, God took his life over a haughty speech. The actions are not ours to judge or question. God gives and God takes as He pleases. Every move He makes is fair and just. So, it was the perfect thing for James to die, for Peter to escape, and for Herod to get eaten by worms. These are all the fairest and most perfect moves for the accounts to take. It's a call to us to trust that God is in control in everything, and that His ways are perfect.
Food For Thought: Read Mark 10:35-40. In what way was this fulfilled in Acts 12?

Advent Archive: Acts 11

-Amber Allen
I think when you first read the beginning of Acts 10, you get a very low view of the Jewish men. They get onto Peter for having meals with non-Jewish people, and it makes you think they have really adopted a "holier-than-thou" attitude, doesn't it? If you keep reading though, Peter goes on to explain how he had this dream about the animals, and although he thought they were unclean, God said to eat them because He had sanctioned them as clean. Peter then took this dream to mean that it was 'ok' to fellowship with the Gentiles, because God gave the 'ok.' So although at first it looks like these men really have a super low view of the Gentiles, we see that it took a dream and a direct message from the Spirit for Peter to be 'ok' with it. The men really had more of a problem with the breaking of the Jewish rule then with Peter fellowshipping with non-believers. Even though these men are just concerned with following the law and are not projecting their superiority, their philosophy is really sad. The rules that they have spent their lives following mean more to them than people--than sinners dying and going to hell. It would be as sad as a doctor letting someone die on the operating table because something about the procedure violated his medical rule book. Today, let's be glad that we don’t have to live in the blindness of the law and that as grace-recipients we can become grace-bearers and share the good news of Jesus with anyone and everyone.
Food For Thought: Before his vision, was Peter any different than his Jewish counterparts, or did it take the opinion-shattering revelation of a loving God to free him? In what ways are we sometimes overly judgmental on those around us? What should our reaction to them be instead?