Acts 22 recounts how God chose Paul and called him to be a witness to all men. I can't imagine what Paul must have been thinking when the Lord said to him so plainly to "Get up.. I'm going to tell you all that you have been assigned to do". Paul was told next, "the God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Lord and to hear words from his mouth. You will be a witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. What are you waiting for?" When Paul was praying at the temple, he fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking. "Quick", he said to Paul. "Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me". God was sending Paul away to the Gentiles. Paul didn't seem to understand and thought he was best qualified to be used to preach to the Jews instead. God didn't discuss it, but simply said "Go". Do we ever find ourselves thinking that we know what we should be doing, rather than what God is calling us to do? Our "qualifications" are not needed by God. In fact, maybe Paul's story is yet another example of how God's power works best in our weakness. We need to stop limiting ourselves to what we believe we are "qualified" to do for God, and fully trust in Him to gracefully provide sufficient strength and gifts we need to exercise His will. In other words, we need to stop making excuses and just obey and "Go".

In Acts 21, Paul receives more "warnings" from the brethren and also from the prophet Agabus about the significant danger he risks in traveling to Jerusalem. However, these warnings (even when from the Spirit v.4) can be viewed instead as a means of preparing Paul , rather than to hinder his plans to journey to Jerusalem. The believers "begged Paul not to go on"; but, when he said to them, "I am ready ... (even) to die for the sake of the Lord jesus", they conceded , "The will of the Lord be done". Interestingly, there is much resemblance to the last days of Jesus before his crucifixion. Like Jesus, Paul had faced the same repeated opposition from hostile Jews who plotted against him, received many warnings about the danger of proceeding to Jerusalem, declared his readiness to lay down his life, was unjustly arrested on the basis of a false accusation. When Paul was arrested in Jerusalem , the Roman guard gave him an opportunity to address the people. This was an incredible opportunity for Paul to preach before a huge mass of Jews. God had drawn together all the events leading up to this point for a special occasion. Acts says "a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and (Paul) addressed them in their own language" v.40 , sharing his personal testimony.

Acts 20 provides a biographical overview of the life and work of Paul in serving the Lord and His church. At least six times in v. 17-35 , the phrase "You know" or "I know" is used to make declarations of facts regarding Paul's life of service. Summarizing the key points: 1) Paul was with the brethren constantly 2) served with humility and endured much opposition 3) preached to both Jews and Gentiles 4) "completed" the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace 5) innocent of the blood of all men, since he did not hesitate to proclaim the whole will of God to all everywhere 6) warned of "savage wolves" that may infiltrate and draw believers away 7) supplied for his own needs and those of his companions 8) by working hard, was able to help others in need. There are also at least three challenges that Paul gave to the church leaders before his departure : 1) Keep watch over yourselves and the flock 2) Be shepherds of the church 3) Be on your guard and remember his many repeated warnings. The final quote in v.35 of Jesus is a fitting summary of Paul's life of self-less giving in the work of sharing the good news. "It is more blessed to give than to receive".

In Acts 19, Paul arrives in Ephesus and teaches the new "believers" more adequately about the message and ministry of Jesus. They had learned from John the Baptist about repentance and believing in Jesus, but had apparently not received complete instruction. Evidence of this is seen in their response to Paul's introductory question to them. They were not aware of whether the Holy Spirit had been given to them. It may have been that Paul noticed something not quite right about these "believers" in their outward demonstration of their faithful commitment to Jesus. After Paul's more adequate explanation and public baptism in the name of Jesus (v.5), they received the Holy Spirit when he laid his hands on them. Now satisfied with their complete conversion, Paul then went to the synagogue to proclaim again to the Jews the message of Jesus Christ. Maybe one lesson from Paul in this chapter can be applied for the benefit of the church today. Are there regular-attending "believers" in the church who lack an adequate understanding of the message and ministry of Jesus? If they have not moved on to faithful commitment to Jesus, maybe some need to be "re-baptized" and receive the Holy Spirit, truly completing their conversion. Interestingly, Paul took time to do this on arrival in Ephesus before proclaiming Christ in the synagogue.

In Acts 18, Paul visits Corinth and Ephesus, where he continues to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. He is again opposed and insulted by some Jews in Corinth and was ready to dust off his sandals and move on to Ephesus. But, then the Lord spoke to him in a vision, "Do not fear, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will harm you because many people in this city belong to me". That must have been quite the timely encouragement that Paul needed, for he stayed in Corinth another 18 months teaching the word of God. Then Paul left Corinth for a short stay in Ephesus, debating again with the Jews in their synagogue. He told them when it was time for him to move on, "I will return again , God willing". This phrase, "God willing" is a favorite phrase of mine that appears a few times in scripture. Someone once said that one sure way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans for the future. At the end of Acts 18, a man named Apollos is introduced. He is described as an "eloquent speaker who knew the scriptures well". It also says that Apollos "talked with great enthusiasm and accuracy about Jesus", though he apparently was only familiar with the teachings of John the Baptist. When he was confronted with the knowledge of Jesus' life, crucifixion, and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, he humbly listened and learned. This eloquent orator and scholar did not hesitate to become the student in order to explain the ways of God more completely and accurately. Acts 18 ends by characterizing Apollos as having "proved to be a great benefit to those who, by God's grace, had believed".

Pride is a side-thorn for many of us who desire complete knowledge and ability to speak eloquently. I pray that the desires and motivations of my heart would be purely for God's glory and his purposes; and, if God willing , He would allow me to "speak with great enthusiasm and accuracy" for the benefit of those he has gracefully called to Himself.

In Acts 17, Paul visits Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, proclaiming again to the people that Jesus is the Christ. Many were persuaded and believed, but some Jews were opposed and stirred up the crowds against them. Sound familiar? The Berean Jews responded with "great eagerness" and "examined the scriptures to see if what Paul said was true." Many of the Berean Jews then believed. On the other hand, in Athens, where some philosophers met with Paul, there was much skepticism. Paul addressed their idolatry and explained that man cannot build or create a dwelling place for God in gold, silver or stone images. Paul explained further to them about Christ's resurrection and a few believed. Wouldn't evangelism and witnessing be a lot easier if everyone responded like the Beareans? Many of us would never have come to Christ, though, if the good news was only preached to those "eager" to listen and learn.

In Acts 16, Paul visited a few of the new churches again, encouraging them in their faith and "instructing them to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem"(v.4). They had planned to travel next to Asia and Bithynia , but the Holy Spirit did not permit them. Instead, Paul was directed through a vision to leave at once for Macedonia, and concluded that "God was calling them to preach the Good News there"(v.9). Paul and Silas met with a group of people on the riverbank outside the city, where they regularly gathered for prayer. The Lord opened the hearts of some of those listening. There was a fortune-telling demon-possessed slave girl who shouted to the people, "these men are servants of the Most High God and they have come to tell you how to be saved". The shouting of this slave went on for days, until Paul commanded the demon to come out in the name of Jesus and it left her. The slave's masters had hoped to become wealthy from her fortune-telling, so they became very angry and convinced the city officials to beat Paul and Silas and put them in prison for "teaching illegal customs". That night , while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God in the prison, there was an earthquake and their chains fell off and the prison doors opened wide. The guard became afraid that the prisoners had escaped, but Paul said "we're all here!". The guard was very relieved and asked them, "sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Paul explained, "believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved". Paul and Silas shared the word of the Lord with him and his household and they believed and were baptized. The guard brought them into his own house and prepared for them a meal and they all rejoiced together in God. The next morning, the city officials told the guard to set them free.

Is there a "Macedonia" that God is leading you toward in your neighborhood, at work, or even in your family. God enables us to witness profoundly to not-yet-believers simply by praising Him, despite our circumstances. Wouldn't it be incredible if a co-worker or neighbor came to you and asked, "what must I do to be saved?"

Acts 15 addresses the rising dispute among the newly converted Jews regarding whether following the old customs and traditions were required, including circumcision. In a meeting of the apostles and elders, Peter said "God knows people's hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit.. He cleansed their hearts through faith. Why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved ... by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus." James also spoke before the leaders, quoting prophesy from the old testament book of Amos, "... so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, including the Gentiles--all those I have called to be mine. " The apostles and elders demonstrated that preserving unity in the body of Christ is important, and that false teaching or divisive issues should be thoroughly addressed without delay. The leadership of churches are called to shepherd the body in a protective manner (from inappropriate burdens of false teaching) and in a loving/caring manner ( v.36 "let us go back again to each city where we previously preached, to see how the new believers are doing").

In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas travel first to Iconium, and then to Lystra and Derbe. At each city, they preached "boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders"(v.3) and great numbers of Jews and Gentiles believed. However, there were also some Jews that turned the crowds against them. While in Lystra, the people were so amazed by their preaching and healing, that they thought Paul and Barnabas must be gods and began to offer sacrifices to them. The apostles stopped them right away, shouting "Why are you doing this? We too are only men, like you."(v15). Later, the Jews again caught up to them and turned the people against them. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, nearly dead. It seems ironic that they earlier tried to present sacrifices to Paul as a god and then turned around and nearly stoned him to death in rebellion to his teaching of the Lord. Amazingly, Paul resumed preaching and encouraging the large number of new disciples in Lystra and Derbe.

I pray for humility and courage like Paul demonstrated in this chapter. I confess that I often allow people to compliment and praise my good works without saying "What are you doing? I too am only a man, like you". I also confess that I often put too much value in trying to win the approval of people. For Paul, even his numerous miraculous signs didn't earn him the approval of much of the crowds. But, Paul gave God the glory and needed only God's approval to remain steadfast in his courageous missionary journeys.

Acts 13 introduces Paul's missionary journeys and describes the events in Antioch, Cyprus, and Perga. As Paul and his companions moved from one area to the next, they preached without regard to Jew or Gentile. They encountered opposition most everywhere they went, Jews who tried to turn people away from the faith in Christ. But, large assemblies of Jews and God-fearing proselytes were amazed at the teaching of the Lord and believed. Acts 13:16-41 outlines the sermon that Paul preached, as to the history of their ancestors and the life and ministry of Jesus, including his death and resurrection. Paul summarizes in conclusion, " Therefore let it be know to you that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law". He follows this by quoting prophesy from Habakkuk, which says that some will never believe these truths though they are clearly demonstrated to them. Next, we see an example of this fulfilled in v.45, when the Jews had heard and saw what was happening, "they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming."

In contrast, then the Gentiles heard these things, "they began rejoicing and glorifying the Word of the Lord, as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed (v.48)". The end of this chapter in Acts describes how the Jewish leaders instigated persecution of Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their area. But, Paul and his companions "shook off the dust of their feet" and moved on. I think there is a connection here to the prophesy from Habakkuk. Apparently, the shaking of dust from the feet represents removing further responsibility for those who refused to listen. When is it appropriate for us to do this? Do we give up on some people at some point after a time of persistent witnessing? Hmmmm. Maybe "giving up" is not the right words here, but rather we should remember that it is God who changes hearts and draws people to Himself anyway.

I don't know, but He does. What do you think?

Acts 12 tells of King Herod's persecution of Christ followers, namely James and Peter. When Peter was arrested and imprisoned, Herod placed sixteen soldiers to guard him ! Maybe Herod had some concerns about the power of Peter's God. It says that the brethren prayed earnestly without ceasing unto God for Peter. Then it happened. Even 16 soldiers were not enough to hinder God's work to free Peter. Peter finds himself outside of the prison before he realized that it wasn't just a dream (that an angel of the Lord had released his chains and led him past all the guards). It must have been quite a remarkable revelation that God had actually delivered him from Herod. He then went to a house where many of the brethren had been praying for his deliverance. When a servant had opened the door and told the brethren who had arrived, their initial reaction was unbelief. They couldn't believe it was really Peter. They said to the servant, "you're out of your mind"(v.15). She insisted and they then said, "it must be his guardian angel". Peter kept knocking and when they finally let him in and saw that it was truly him, v.16 says they were "astonished".

These people had earnestly and unceasingly prayed for Peter's release, yet when God answered their prayers, they had a really hard time believing it was true. Can you relate to this? I (unfortunately) can too. I think that often when things work out according to our prayers, we fail to acknowledge and give God the glory and thanksgiving He deserves. Once the brethren finally acknowledged that Peter was really standing before them, Peter told them how the Lord had brought him out of prison and he asked them to "tell this to James and the brothers." Peter demonstrates that we should affirm God's activity in our lives by acknowledging answered prayer and sharing our praises to God with the body of Christ.

I think. He knows. What do you think?

In Acts 11, Peter explains to the apostles and the brethren how God revealed to him that all men from all nations are acceptable and welcome. God chooses whom He chooses. It is clear throughout scripture that He does this without regard to a person's merit or performance. It's difficult to comprehend that "He does not show favoritism"(10:34). The choosing of the "elect" , who will be apart of God's kingdom, is a topic that really boggles my mind. This truly is an area that I must say,

" I don't (fully) know, but (I'm sure glad )He does." What do you think?

Acts 10 provides a lesson about how God calls a man named Cornelius to salvation. Though Cornelius was a nice guy ( generous, God-fearing, man of prayer), he needed God to call him to Himself. Peter would be the one that God used to share the good news with Cornelius. In the middle of all this, Peter had a revelation from God that taught him that, "God shows no favoritism (towards Jews), but accepts men from every nation".

In this account, both Cornelius and Peter had visions from God that prepared them for the work He was going to do in their lives.

Is God preparing us for the work he is going to do next in our lives? I can recall times that , looking back, were definitely times when God was shaping me for the next season in my life. In my vocation there are several examples, and I can also see a few instances in the parenting of my children. These times of preparation are sometimes difficult, but we can humbly trust that God will mold and shape us in Christlike ways to further enable us to participate in His purposes.

Even when I don't know, He does. What do you think?

In Acts 9, Paul, even as he was "still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples", was declared by God to be "My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and the people of Israel". WOW! It's a demonstration of how God loves us first and doesn't choose to love individuals based on their merit. I've read this many times before, but never saw the connection to Rom 5:8. Have you ever had an experience where a loved one or friend (used by God) roughed you up a little to knock some sense into you in order to change the direction of your life? I can remember a few of those times when I was a teenager. I can identify with Paul in some of those stinging moments of my life, when I needed something like a "flash of light" to cause me "fall to the ground" and I was "told what you must do". When I read the part of Paul's conversion when "he opened his eyes and could see nothing", I wondered if the reason He was blinded for a time, was so that he would quickly learn to depend on God to "tell him what he must do". After Paul regained his sight, he spent time with the disciples, "at once began to preach in the synagogues", and "grew more and more powerful, proving to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ". Paul was once an enemy of God and was transformed into a very important instrument of God.

For many years, I have prayed for my younger brother. The usual stuff, like health and safety and direction for his life, but mostly that God would change him like he did Paul. Knowing my brother , I prayed that God would bring a believing woman into his life that would be a great influence in opening his mind and heart to God. I prayed this for many years, and God finally did answer the prayer, but not the way that I expected! God brought my own mother to Jesus first, thoroughly changing her life, and she has been a powerful influence on my brother.

I don't understand His ways, nor his plans , but this much I know. God is good!

Even when I don't know, He does ! What do you think?

Acts 8 next tells us about Phillip being led by an angel of the Lord to meet up with a high-status Ethiopian royal official. Phillip encounters this Ethiopian man reading aloud from Isaiah and is led by the Spirit to address him, saying "Do you understand what you are reading?" The man's reply to Phillip here is paramount. The man said "How can I, if there is no one to explain it to me?" This is a clear lesson in how God puts us in places and positions us to be used by Him. Phillip obeyed the Spirit's leading and explained not only the meaning of the Isaiah passage, but Phillip then used many other passages to share with him the gospel of Jesus. Afterwards, he asked Phillip to baptize him and he went on his way rejoicing in the Lord. Thinking about this passage, I can't help but wonder how many occasions I have disobeyed the Spirit's leading and missed opportunities to participate in the work of God's purposes. Are there lost souls waiting for you and I to be obedient and bold enough to follow the example of Phillip? I do recall a time when I was 17 and a co-worker told me he had been reading Revelation and trying to understand the existence of God. This man had no experience with church or God's word, but had decided that he wanted to try to understand the bible. He knew that I was a Christian and attended church. One night, he and I were working a late shift and I felt compelled to go to my car and get my bible. After work that night, we talked about Revelation, and then also went through much of the new testament ( the life of Jesus, salvation, answered prayer, forgiveness, and some other stuff). He began to go to church and later told me he planned to attend seminary and wanted to someday be a pastor. These are the moments in life when we have a chance to be used by God, if only we don't quench the Spirt.

Rather than backing up, I'm going to just start with where I am reading currently. ( I've been slowly reading through the NT this year.) Acts 8 speaks of a guy named Simon whose aim was to impress people with his own greatness through the use of magic trickery. But, then came along Phillip who was teaching the good news of Jesus and the kingdom of God. Many people believed and were baptized. The scripture says that even Simon believed and was baptized in the name of Jesus. Simon then continued to follow Phillip. Then the apostles came and prayed for the new believers ( including Simon) and layed hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Ok. Let's summarize what happened to Simon so far. He was obviously lost in his sin with a worldview of life. Then he heard the good news and believed, becoming a follower of Jesus. He was baptized and received the Holy Spirit. Wow ! It seems God had really transformed Simon ! Now, what happens next? Simon says to the apostles , "Hey guys-- If I give you some money, will you show me that trick, so I can lay my hands on people and do that too?" Simon then received a scolding rebuke from Peter . Peter said, "... your heart is not right before God. Therefore, repent of the wicked intentions of your heart... For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity." Huh? Is this the same Simon? I thought God already done fixed his heart once already. Oh, that's right. Sanctification takes a long long long long time. Simon's old ways will continue for quite a long while, but he will surely be on the right path towards heaven. I often have too high of expectations of Christian friends and family, thinking they will always do the right thing or act in a loving manner. Only God will not disappoint. I once told my daughter that there will be times when I will disappoint her in my words or actions and I told her I was sorry in advance. I told her that I desperately want to behave just like Jesus, but the process of my sanctification can't be hurried or completed any faster by my own efforts. God is the author and perfector. He alone causes our spiritual maturation. I have discovered there is much peace in trusting in His sovereignty.

Even when I don't know, He does. What do you think?