An Intellectual Faith
I absolutely love how Jesus responds to the testing questions of the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 22. As an intellect, it pleases me to see how he logically destroys their arguments. "Render to Caesar what is Caesar" is of course the classic of these irrefutably rational arguments. But then also he silences the Sadducees with the "He is the God of the Living" argument (that is, yes, a little more faith-based argument, but logical nonetheless). This cohesiveness really speaks to the truth of the Christian faith. And of course, it's ability to minister to all, whatever their predisposition in these matters might be.
Poor Eutychus
Awe! I feel bad for my brother, Eutychus. He will, for eternity be known as the kid who slept through one of the Apostle Paul's sermons. Hahaha. How amazing is God's sense of humor that a story like this would be recorded in his Holy Word! This just shows me how real the Bible is... I mean, real in the sense of "authentic". It really isn't this "polished" religious text that was altered by scribes to fit theology, as Atheists would like to argue. It's a real book that God uses to change lives, problems and all... Amen to that!
In the Scriptures
Reading Acts 18 and Nehemiah 8 together really allows us to see a great reaction to scripture, heard properly. In Nehemiah, the situation was, having lost the scriptures for generations due to the exile, the people of Israel seem to be hearing it afresh. Troubled, though, they were weeping, only to be exhorted not to "for the joy of the LOrD is your strength. Indeed in Acts 18, we see why as Paul, and late Apollos, "expertly" showed how Jesus is the true Messiah of the Hebrew scriptures.
Wind and Storm
There is certainly a lot to be said about Peter walking on water. But the most important, I think, are to realize the following. First, even it seems like he was "testing" Jesus by asking to walk on the water too, it is nonetheless clear that he beloved Jesus' authority to allow this: he says "command me" to walk on water and I will. Second, let us not underestimate how crippling fear can be, because walking on water, he forgets that the same person who commanded him to walk on water is the same on standing before him now, and he begins to sink. Nonetheless, his first reaction was to call out for even more salvation as he remembers once again what kind of power and authority Jesus has. This, I can't help but realize is really a picture of our own faith as well. Believing, forgetting, believing once again.
Cohabiting With Weeds
I always think of a sermon Pastor Bob gave a year or so ago when I read the Parable of the Weeds. I can't remember exactly what he was saying, but the point of it was, this parable teaches that sometimes for the greater good, we have to cohabit the world with weeds - evil. This sometimes has to lead to a little bit of compromise - not in that we are giving up our position, but more like giving up the hard line stance for some progress towards good. The example he gave was the abortion debate where there remains no restrictions in Canada because the two sides - religious pro lifers and the secular pro choices refuse to budge eve a little from their polarized positions. If we could just compromise and find even a little common ground, we could at least begin to being much needed regulations in!
God Almighty
I thought that the description of the guards watching over Peter in Acts 12 was hilarious. he was secure as humanly possible, yet certainly it was no match for God. A sentry watched him, but one angel came to set him free. Such is the power of God beyond compare! Later on, this power is displayed in an even more incredible way. Herod, seeming to elevate himself above God (or at least not doing anything about the people praising him as such) is struck dead. No comparison there. What a mighty God we serve!
It’s a Miracle!
Interesting that I would be reading David Hume around the same time I'm reading Acts 9, because amazingly enough Hume, an atheist, makes a great argument that goes well win Paul's conversion. Talking about miracles, he says (probably sarcastically): "Whoever is moved by faith to assent to it (miracles), is conscious of a continued miracle in his own person, which subverts all the principles of his understanding". It indeed is a miracle that any of us believe at all, and here in Acts 9, we see one of the greatest examples of this. Saul, a Pharisee, an enemy of the church, is called by Jesus in a powerful way and is saved. Amazing!
Reciprocity – Christian Style
I remember when I first started "theological" studies during my undergrad at St. Michael's College, I was struck by a poster in one of the school's conference rooms. It was a collection of "reciprocity" sayings in various religions and cultures. I was interested to see that while all of these basically said the same thing (revealing the universalist purpose of the poster), Christianity still stood out in a major way. While all the others were written in the negative (don't do what you don't want done to yourself), Christianity was firmly positive: "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them" (Mt. 7:12). This is the true nature of love in Christianity, which considers sacrificial living to be the standard.
Anxious Thoughts
When we look at Jesus' teaching on anxiety in Matthew 6, we really must resist the urge to look at it as mere "words of comfort" - lofty thoughts that may or may not give guidance when we begin to feel anxious. We need to realize that this teaching is an imperative - a command: it begins with "do not". This is important because tied to this command not to be anxious is that oft quoted (sometimes out of context) verse, "Seek first the kingdom of God..." these two are connected! One positive, one negative. Don't be anxious, how? By seeking first God's kingdom! Now certainly that is much easier said than done. Just as we saw chapter 5 close with the words "be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." But here is the promise, "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul." Ps. 94:19 (NASB).