Acts 6 offers an interesting look into the first church. Jews with a Greek cultural background were being bypassed in the daily distribution of food for widows among the first believers, a group numbering several thousand Christians by this time. The response by the apostles was to select a group of seven men of integrity who could oversee this need, allowing the apostles to continue their spiritual leadership of teaching and prayer. In the end, the account states, “So the... Read more
"If it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." -Acts 5:39 Read more
We live in a world where many suggest or teach many or even all ways lead to heaven. But reading Acts 4 throws a curveball at this type of thinking. The earliest Christians were very clear that Jesus had communicated only one way to be redeemed and reconciled with God. This way is Jesus. Verse 12 makes clear: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must... Read more
Acts 3 primarily focuses on a miracle. As a result, many readers (myself included in the past) have overlooked one additional key aspect shared. We read in verse 15: You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. Peter and John did not just believe Jesus returned to life; they say him, heard him, and touched him. This insight is also transferable to our lives. We believe in the risen Christ,... Read more
Acts 2 is one of the most exciting chapters of the New Testament for Christians. Why? It marks the birth of the church, our spiritual family. It begins with prayer, continues with a miracle and a message, and concludes with the conversion and baptism of over 3,000 new people into the Christian movement. The man who denied Jesus three times the night of Christ’s arrest stood courageously in the center of Jerusalem and told all who would listen that Jesus... Read more
I love the Book of Acts because it serves as a sequel to the Gospel accounts, especially the Gospel of Luke. The first chapter begins with the resurrected Jesus preparing to ascend to heaven. Before he does, he says: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This promise would soon be fulfilled. Ten days... Read more
As Jesus spoke with Peter after his resurrection, he called his apostle friend back to leadership and ministry. Despite Peter’s denials on the night Christ’s arrest, Jesus had a plan for his future. But Peter had something else in mind–his friend John. John 21:20-22 reads: 20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to... Read more
John 20 offers a clear message of the Christian faith: Jesus is alive. More specifically, John provides several eyewitness accounts of people who saw Jesus after his resurrection. The first person to see Jesus? Mary Magdalene. Jesus could have chosen Peter, John, his mother Mary, or anyone else he desired to appear to first. Why Mary Magdalene? We don’t have all of the reasons to answer this question, but one observation that came to mind as I wrote out this... Read more
The crucifixion of Jesus reminds us of the great pain he endured in this life on our behalf. Betrayed by one of his followers, turned over to the government by his own people, and sentenced to death though innocent, Jesus ended his earthly pilgrimage with the darkest hours of his life, filled with pain, completing his final breaths with the words, “It is finished.” This phrase in John 19, “It is finished,” serves as a potent lesson that even those... Read more
In John 18, we find perhaps the most intriguing question in all the New Testament. Pilate, the man responsible for handing Jesus over to his death, asked, “What is truth?” Pilate knew what it meant to have truth twisted to fit a situation. He was well aware that the Jewish leaders had handed Jesus over out of jealousy. Yet he was not sure what to make of this man from Nazareth who claimed to be the truth. In the end,... Read more
Holy Writ
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