Tag Archives: Savior

God’s People, part 277: Agrippa

Read Acts 25:13-27; 26:1-32

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“For the next two years, Paul lived in Rome at his own expense. He welcomed all who visited him, boldly proclaiming the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him.”  (Acts 28:30-31, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 227: Agrippa. The Agrippa of Acts 25 and 26 was actually Herod Agrippa II, who was the son of the better known Herod Agrippa I, who was the Agrippa in power back in Acts 12. If you remember, it was Herod Agrippa I who killed the Apostle James, son of Zebedee, and who had Peter imprisoned. In Acts 25 and 26, it is Agrippa’s son, also named Agrippa, who Paul plead his case before.

One of the tricky things about reading the Bible is understanding the passage of time. Years can easily pass in a chapter or two and so, as was mentioned in the last devotion, Paul had been in prison for two years before he came face to face with Agrippa II. Of course, that also means that many, many years had passed from the death of James under Agrippa I. Now his son was the ruler and Paul was nearing the end of his ministry and his life, with only another four to seven years left to live.

Agrippa, like every other politician, did not really care about Paul, himself. He cared about keeping the peace and he about order. When he arrived at Caesarea with his sister, Bernice, he was curious to hear Paul’s defense. In fact Festus wanted him to hear him as well, since Paul had appealed to Caesar. That very appeal meant that Paul had to be sent to Rome to be tried in the Roman courts. This was problematic for Festus who couldn’t send Paul with the charge of “Jewish heresy”, which is what the Jewish religious leaders were accusing him of. Rome didn’t care about the local religious matters of the Jews. Thus, Festus wanted Agrippa to weigh in on what charges to send Paul to Rome with.

Paul, then, was invited to make his defense before King Herod Agrippa II, Festus and his accusers. Paul, the great Apostle that he was, not only defended himself against the accusations of the Jewish religious leadership, he also took the time to appeal the merits of the Gospel to Agrippa, who was a learned Jew himself and an expert “on all Jewish customs and controversies” (Acts 26:3).  In fact, Agrippa was very knowledgeable in Jewish history and was a supporter of Flavius Josephus, a famous historian living during that time period.

Agrippa was certainly impressed and amazed by Paul’s zeal and passion as an evangelist. Paul even began to rhetorically question Agrippa on his belief in the prophets, in which Paul was then going to try and show the king how Jesus fulfilled all of those prophesies. Agrippa interrupted Paul and asked, “Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly” (Acts 26:28, NLT)?

Agrippa knew where Paul was headed with his line of questioning and, though perhaps a little taken back by his boldness, he clearly was impressed. In fact, following the hearing, Agrippa confided in Festus that Paul “…could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar” (Acts 26:32, NLT). In other words, Agrippa would have let him go and, no doubt, Festus would have as well, had Paul not gone up the political chain.

Still, it was Paul’s right as a Roman citizen to make such an appeal. Agrippa and Festus, as politicians, were not going to interfere with the Roman legal process and, truthfully, they were sparing themselves a headache by sending Paul to Rome. What’s important for us to take away from this is that, even when on trial, Paul put Christ and the Gospel first; instead of spending his time defending himself, he used his time in court to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world

As Christians, every waking moment should be a moment to serve Christ. Everything we do should be a witness to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The account of Paul and Agrippa should be a reminder of not only what is at stake, but that we can and should place our faith in our sovereign God, whose plan is being carried out through us. We are the vessels of Christ. Let the Gospel fill and pour out of us into the world.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
We are the vessels of Christ.

PRAYER
Lord, fill this vessel with Your love and grace and with the Good News for all people, so that I may be a witness of You and all of Your glory to others. Amen.

God’s People, part 177: Matthias

Read Acts 1:12-26

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.”  (Act 2:1, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

MatthiasPart 177: Matthias. When looking to secure the future of a movement, one would hardly be inclined to leave it up to “chance”. One would, no doubt, do everything in his or her power to take all of the necessary steps to ensure that all things were in order. If a leader in the movement died, one would choose among the people a worthy replacement for that position. Nothing, if at all possible, would be left to chance.

Yet, when one pays close attention to what the Apostles did at the beginning of Acts, he or she will notice that the Apostles left the replacement of Judas up to the drawing of lots. Judas had killed himself due to the dishonor he felt in his betrayal of Jesus. Too guilty to continue on, Judas tragically took his own life. Need to replace him, the 11 remaining Apostles nominated two men out of 120 of Jesus’ disciples who had assembled to meet.

Yes, that is right, Jesus had far more than just 12 disciples. The 12 were Jesus’ inner circle whom he mentored to continue the movement on without him. From that can be gathered this fact: Jesus knew that he would not always be around to lead his disciples and, as a matter of fact, that was never his plan. From the time he called the 12 until the time he died and resurrected, Jesus had been preparing his disciples to be the Apostles who would carry his mission and ministry forward.

Out of those 2 men, Joseph Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias were nominated. Then to make the final decision, they drew lots. “Wait,” one might think, “they left the fate of Jesus’ mission and ministry up to chance?” The answer is, no. They did not; rather, they left the decision up to God. They trusted that whoever won out in the casting of lots was being selected by God. That was a sign of their faith and, clearly, something that Jesus must have conveyed to them along the way. It was not their decision, it was God’s.

As for Matthias, he was among those who had followed Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. He was, more than likely, among disciples who witnessed the resurrected Lord before he ascended. It is clear from Scripture that he did not witness the Lord ascend; however, he was among the 12 Apostles who received the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room in Jerusalem during Pentecost.

Not much more is known about him. Aside from that brief mention in the Acts of the Apostles, Matthias disappears off of the page without a trace and into legend. According to Greek tradition, Matthias planted the faith around Cappadocia and the region of the Caspian Sea. According to Nicephorus, he first preached the Gospel in Judaea and then in Aethiopia (modern-day Georgia) where he was stoned to death. According to Coptic tradition, Matthias brought to to The City of Cannibals in Aethiopia.

In another tradition, he traveled to the barbarians and “meat-eaters” in Ethiopia. Again, another tradition has Matthias being stoned to death in Jerusalem. Making a long and disjointed story short, no one really knows what became of Matthias following his being selected as Apostle. Chances are that, regardless of where he took the Good News to, he was likely martyred for doing so.

All of this should challenge us in the following ways. First, how goes it with your faith? Do you have faith in God enough to leave major decisions up to him? Sometimes you may, sometimes you may not? This was clearly the case with the Apostles as well. Sometimes they cast lots seeking God’s will, other times they vied for their own will and way of doing things.

Second, do you take the time to discern what God’s will is for you and/or those around you? Do you prayerfully consider God in your decisions and do you follow God regardless of the cost. Matthias and the other eleven Apostles came to understand Jesus Christ as the Lord and they followed him to the ends of the earth, forsaking all else for the sake of the Gospel. That is what we are all called to do. Reflect on this and challenge yourself to grow deeper in your faith and more faithful in your response to God.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!” ­— Saint Peter in The Act of the Apostles 2:36, New Living Translation

PRAYER
Lord, grow me deeper in my faith and more faithful in my response to you. Apart from you this is not possible, but with you all things are possible. Amen.

God’s People, part 85: Gomer

Read Hosea 3

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’” (John 8:10-11 NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

GomerPart 85: Gomer. I bet that most of you never realized that there was a person named “Gomer” in the Bible. Most people have probably not known many people with the name Gomer aside from, perhaps, Gomer Pyle on “The Andy Griffith Show.” No doubt, Gomer is not the most “well-known” character in the Bible.

What’s more, her profession did not help her go down in the annals of notability. Being a sex worker, she would have been the sex toy of lustful men, and the scorn of pious people. Her line of work was not, nor is it now, a “respectable” vocation and she would have, no doubt, been judged by the majority of society. This would have been the case, even in the wicked Northern Kingdom of Israel.

The truth is, we are just as judgmental toward such people as well. I was just listening to an conversation on CNN between Anderson Cooper, Michael Avenatti, and some other guest. Mr. Avenatti was discussing a law suit he is filing on behalf of his client, stating that she had been defamed by the president. As such, she was seeking damages. The guest next to him began to object and push back against the lawyer. He asked, “Do you think a jury is going to buy into the claim that her character had been defamed, knowing that she is a Porn Star and has starred in over 500 porn films.” Following that question, Cooper pushed back and ask, “Wait, are you saying that her character cannot be defamed because she’s a porn star?”

Regardless of your political worldview, that question is a good one. Is Stormy Daniels not a human being, beloved of God, Created in the divine image of God, deserving of being treated with dignity and respect, simply because her line of work is sinful? What’s more, what is our part in her sin? Yes, you read that right. What is our part in her sin. What makes pornography even a thing? What causes a woman (or a man) to sell their bodies in order to make money?

The fact is that pornography, like prostitution, is driven by socio-economic factors. Women, most of whom are desparate for money (for various reasons), are being exploited by other people for the sake of making money. Money they make, indeed. It is estimated that pornography is a $97 billion industry. That’s net, not gross! So, let me ask this question again. What is our part in her sin?

I want you to make note of this. Gomer was NOT rejected by God, despite her position. Some may see God’s working in Gomer’s life to be strange. He has Hosea, his holy prophet, marry her and have children with her. Not to love her, but to prove a point to Israel that they had prostituted themselves out other nations and other gods, and there were steep consequences coming as a result.

Yet, strange as that may be, Gomer becomes the wife of a prophet and is redeemed. She’s given a new opportunity to leave her profession and raise a family. She does not even love Hosea and, evidently, leaves him for another man. Yet, Hosea pursues her and pays the other man so that he can have his wife back. What we have here is the PERFECT example of God’s love and grace. Hosea brings her back to be with him, and invites her back into faithfulness. Gomer finds redemption through God’s unconditional love, and the hope was that Israel would one day find such redemption too.

Of course, that redemption comes through Jesus Christ who, unlike his ancestor kings, would not fall away from faithfulness to God. It is through this savior that Israel, and the world, would be redeemed and reunited with God. We have been, like Gomer, married to Christ and are being asked to remain faithful.

With that said, we can never be faithful to Christ though self-righteous judgmentalism. The challenge for us is to not point our fingers at another’s sins, as if we have not played our part in those sins, as well as others. Instead, let us embrace Christ remain faithful to Christ our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, the Lover of our Souls.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:1-2 NLT)

PRAYER
Lord, help me to reflect redemption rather than rejection. For I have not been rejected by you, but have been redeemed for your glory. Amen.

Lord and Savior

Read Mark 1:29-34

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know You are the Holy One of God. ” (John 6:68-69 NLT)

Peter-upside-down02The danger with reading stories, or even watching them on the television or in the movies, is that we tend to turn the people those stories into two-dimensional caricatures at best. This is especially true when we look at historical figures in true stories. Take Abraham Lincoln, for instance. There is so much to that particular president for us to read on and learn about. We can learn about all of his failures, his chronic depression, his doubts regarding his faith, his troubled childhood, his tumultuous marriage, his lack of self-confidence. We can learn about his courage, his rising up out of the bare-bones frontier life to become a lawyer, a politician and one of the most beloved presidents. We could read about how vastly unpopular his presidency was, how scrutinized he was, and all of the resistance he met as he led a country through a bloody civil war.

And that wouldn’t cover even a fracture of the man. Yet, even so, when we think of Abraham Lincoln, we only think of a fraction of what I just mentioned. In essence, we see good old Abe as a fraction of a fraction of who he actually is. We think of him being tall, lanky, with a weird beard. We call him “honest” abe, and mythologize him as the single man who saved the union and brought an end to slavery. That would sum up our common understanding of him is but a mere caricature.

We do the same with the people in the Bible. For instance, take Jesus’ disciple Simon. We see him as bold and brash fisherman, who may or may not have been illiterate, who often put his foot in his mouth, and who Jesus renamed Peter and is the “rock” upon which the church is built. If we add anything else to that, it is usually Peter’s fear on the water and his denial before the crowing of the rooster on Good Friday morning. In fact, we caricaturize Peter and the other Apostles so much that we think, “Well of course they followed Jesus and did nothing else. They had nothing else going for them anyway, besides fishing and collecting taxes.”

Yet, there was so much more to the disciples than that. In fact, if we look at today’s suggested Scripture reading, we find out that Peter was married and was responsible for not only supporting his wife, but also his mother-in-law. Though it isn’t mentioned, he more than likely also had children. When he said yes to follow Jesus, and through down his nets, he wasn’t just leaving fishing behind; rather, he was leaving his ENTIRE FAMILY behind. He was leaving his wife, his mother-in-law, and his children to fend for themselves. He was leaving them without any source of income, and without any means of getting food. What’s more, what happens when taxes are due and they have no means of paying those taxes.

In other words, Peter was leaving behind HIS ENTIRE LIFE because Jesus’ claim on his life was THAT IMPORTANT. Peter devotion to Christ, albeit flawed and wavering at times, was rooted deep. Jesus wasn’t just the next best prophet to him, he wasn’t just Peter’s teacher, he wasn’t just the messiah come to liberate Israel, or any such thing. JESUS WAS LORD TO PETER, and Peter submitted his life to his Lord at all costs. Ultimately, many years later, Peter ended up giving that life up literally as he was, by tradition, crucified upside down in Rome.

Today’s reflection is this: what are you leaving behind to follow Jesus? What are you willing to give up, to part ways with, to sacrifice in order to follow THE ONE WHO HAS CALLED YOU? Do you see Jesus as neat and nice guy? Do you see Jesus as a wise, sagely teacher? Do you see Jesus as a warm and fuzzy “pick-me-up” at the beginning of your week? Or do you see Jesus as YOUR LORD and SAVIOR, the one you would cross land and sea to follow at all costs? Today’s challenge is to evaluate yourself, to evaluate your faith, and to move toward more fully devoting yourself to Jesus, who is Lord of all Creation.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 6:24a NLT)

PRAYER
Lord, work in my heart that I may devote myself wholly to you. Amen.