Acts 5:1-11 If you’re keeping score at home (that is, following the 1928 Prayer Book lectionary), you’ll notice that I’ve pulled a fast one on you. I’m reading and meditating on Acts 5:1-11, instead of 5:12-28. Furthermore, tomorrow, I’ll be doing 5:12-42, and not just verses 29-42. Why? In reality, it’s the compilers of the 1928 Prayer Book lectionary that have pulled a fast one by conveniently skipping over the story of Ananias and Sapphira. But not me. They have... Read more
Acts 4:23-37 Compared to the early church – you’re all a bunch of secularists! (And so am I.) First, a word about secularization. I’ve done a lot of reading about the sociology of religion and have begun to now read church history more earnestly. To my surprise, the Church is always in a mess. But, by the grace of God, it’s always the Body of His Son and the means by which He serves and rules on earth. We normally... Read more
Acts 4:13-22 “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” This is my favorite verse in the Bible. Yes, yes. I know that I’ve said in the past that it was Psalm 27:4, I mean Ephesians 2:6, er uh Matthew 16:24. No, no – I mean 2 Corinthians 4:7 and 2 Corinthians 12:9. Alright, alright! Would you believe that Acts 4:20 is my favorite verse today? I really do like this verse. I’ve been found to... Read more
Romans 8:12-18 There is a lot of talk today about spirituality. Everyone is seeking it. Everyone wants it. But what is it? One definition that has been offered by a scholar who teaches classes on spirituality is that spirituality is “Striving for self-transcendence by seeking ultimate meaning.” Now who wouldn’t want that? Doesn’t everyone want something more from life? Don’t we all want to transcend or go beyond ourselves and to live by what we think is most important? But... Read more
Acts 4:1-12 “By what power or by what name have you done this?” When it comes to the apostles Peter and John healing a lame man and being asked by the rulers, the elders, and the scribes to give an account of this miracle, we expect them to say, “By the name of Jesus Christ (whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead), this man stands here before you whole.” But if that same question were to be asked... Read more
Acts 3:11-26 “The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach . . . .” In Luke’s Gospel he faithfully recorded all that Jesus began to do and teach, but here in the Acts of the Apostles he faithfully records what Jesus continued to do through His Body here on earth. “The Acts of the Apostles,” a title which is not in the original manuscripts, might better be titled “The Teaching and... Read more
Acts 3:1-10 Have you ever noticed that God seems to especially visit those who are spiritually prepared, especially those who have devoted themselves to a life of prayer? Do you remember how Hannah was in bitterness of soul and prayed to the Lord, weeping in anguish, and pouring out her soul before the Lord? Because she had come before the Lord, in His house, and poured out her soul before Him, He heard her and answered her prayer. Hannah and... Read more
Acts 2:37-46 “So continuing with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people.” This is perhaps the happiest picture of a church in the entire New Testament. It images for me what I desire to find in the Church, which is the house of God. I can dissect it phrase by phrase to analyze why this picture... Read more
Acts 2:22-36 “I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Joel 2:30-31; Acts 2:19-20). And on the Monday after Ascension Sunday in the year of our Lord two thousand and eight, the Lord spoke to my spirit and began to show me the wonders... Read more
Acts 2:1-21 Who doesn’t want to be like the early church?! I know I do. Who wouldn’t want supernatural signs of the presence of God such as speaking in foreign tongues and having tongues of fire over one’s head and having 3000 people turn to Christ in one day?! Who doesn’t want the unity, the joy, the growth, and the excitement? Then why don’t we have these things? There are 2 general answers. On the one hand, we could all... Read more
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