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Devotional

God’s People, part 260: We

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Read Acts 16:6-10

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples.”  (Luke 1:1-2, 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 60: We. The people in the Bible we have been discussing as of late have been in Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, which is the second volume of a two volume account on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of the Christ and the workings of his earliest followers following his ascension into heaven. Up until this point, it was written in the third person, meaning that Luke telling of these acts of the apostles as though he was not there at the time that they happened.

With that said, something very intriguing and unique happens very subtly, and one could easily glaze right over it without even paying it any attention. But this detail is actually a rather important one and lends apostolic authority to Acts. Let’s take a look at what I am writing about. In Acts 16:6-9, let us look at how the author wrote:

“Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed north for the province of Bithynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to go there. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the seaport of Troas. That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!””  (Acts 16:6-9, NLT)

Yet, in verse 10 Luke switches to the first person:

“So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.”  (Acts 16:10, NLT, emphasis added)

What this indicates is that at this point in the journey Luke, the author of Acts, is with Paul as one of his fellow companions and missionaries. That makes Acts, from chapter 16 onward, a first-hand account of the travels of Paul. This, combined with Paul’s letters, gives us a real insight into Paul and his missionary journeys. Anti-theists and others will often question the reliability of Scriptures; however, here in Acts we have a first-hand account written down 2,000 years ago about the last two remaining missionary journeys of Paul.

If the reliability of sources like Plato’s writings on Socrates don’t get questioned, there is no reason why we should question the reliability of Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, the letters of Paul, or any of New Testament. Why? Because most of these writings were penned within 40 to 60 years after Christ died. Paul’s letters were written by him in real time, and Luke/Acts came out a mere 15 years or so after Paul’s death.

That is incredibly close to the time of the events described in terms of ancient manuscripts. For instance, Homer’s Iliad took place 400 years before Homer penned his poem recounting the Trojan War. 400 years! The earliest manuscripts we have of Homer’s Iliad are dated to the 10th century AD, while homer wrote it in the late 8th or early 7th centuries BC!!! Yet, no one spends much time questioning Homer’s existence or authorship.

On the other hand, the earliest fragment we have of a text in the New Testament is from the Gospel of John, dated to the early 2nd century AD. A mere 10 – 30 years after John wrote his Gospel. The earliest completed copies of a New Testament book dates to 200 AD, a mere 160 or so years after Christ, and the earliest completed copy of the New Testament dates to the 4th century (300s). So, the reliability of the New Testament is far greater than that of Homer’s Iliad. All of this, to say that we can trust what the Bible conveys because it contains eye-witness accounts from Luke, Paul and others and where there are accounts written second-hand, the events were so close to the people writing that it is more unreasonable to doubt their veracity than it is to not.

Let this be a challenge for us then. As Christians we need to take the Bible seriously. It is authoritative in conveying to us the way of Salvation and Christian living. Surely, there are somethings in it that no longer apply to us (e.g. laws on diet, clothing, tattoos, piercings, etc.); however, the core of the Bible is our authority and points us to Christ who died that we might have abundant and everlasting life. Let be a people of THE BOOK so that we might grow even closer to the TRUE WORD OF GOD: JESUS CHRIST. Amen.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
The WORD of God is our Lord Jesus Christ.

PRAYER
Lord, make us thirsty for your word so that we may grow even closer and connected to your LIVING WORD, Jesus Christ.

Devotional

God’s People, part 259: Timothy

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Read Acts 16:1-5

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Timothy, please come as soon as you can.”  (2 Timothy 4:9, 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 259: Timothy. Timothy is one of the names that come up a lot when it comes to Paul. In fact, there are two letters in the New Testament that are addressed to him and, therefore, bear his name. He is known as a faithful companion and fellow missionary of Pauls, and someone Paul put a lot of trust in. Most who know of Timothy, probably never gave him or how he came to be with Paul much thought.

In Acts 16:1-5, we are told that Paul first met Timothy in Lystra, which is modern day Turkey. We are also told that Timothy’s mother was Jewish; however, his father was Greek. So, Timothy grew up in an interfaith household and he was never circumcised. He was well liked the believers in Lystra and Iconium (modern day Konya, Turkey).

Now, let me pause here for a moment. As has been previously written in this series, Paul fought for Gentile inclusion and he was adamant about not forcing Gentiles to get circumcised. An entire council was called on it in Jerusalem and the Apostles all eventually agreed with Paul, according to Luke in Acts. They even sent Paul, Barsabbas, and Silas to read a letter rebuking those who were opposing Paul and letting the churches know where they stood as Apostles.

Yet, here in Acts 16:1-5, we not only see that Timothy was uncircumcised, but that Paul had him circumcised out of deference to the Jews in the area. Why would Paul do this? This seems to be out of character for him, does it not? Why would Paul go against everything he just fought for and won.

It is here that we see something that is almost completely lost in modern Christianity. COMPROMISE. For Paul, everything came down to LOVE. That is obvious in 1 Corinthians 13 and here we get a glimpse of the application of Paul’s theology. In 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote:

“When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:20-22, NLT)

So, it becomes clear that Paul had Timothy circumcised so that the Jewish believers would accept Timothy as one of their own and would send him with Paul with a blessing. To Paul, it did not matter whether Timothy was circumcised or not, but it did matter to not cause others to stumble or to cause unnecessary division. If Timothy was serious about journeying with Paul, he would have to concede this as a compromise of LOVE.

Of course, we know that he did. Timothy had the maturity to not only understand Paul’s reasoning, but to see it through. Timothy proved to be a most faithful servant and Apostle. He was young, but filled with God’s wisdom and Paul advised him to never allow someone to question his authority because of his age. What’s more, Timothy is listed as the co-author of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. Paul wrote about Timothy to the Philippians saying, “I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare”  (2:20, NLT).

So, what can we pull from Timothy’s life, ministry and example. In this age of extremes and proud stubborness, I think it is important that we not only acknowledge Timothy’s ability to find the balance between loving compromise and bold resoluteness in the Gospel message. Let us be challenged to do what we must to win whoever we can for Jesus Christ. If that means we need to make some sacrifices and compromises, than amen! So be it; however, let us, like Timothy, never compromise the Gospel message or our role in spreading it.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Virtue knows that it is impossible to get on without compromise, and tunes herself, as it were, a trifle sharp to allow for an inevitable fall in playing.” – Samuel Butler

PRAYER
Lord, keep me resolute in my faith; however, open my heart to holy and loving compromise so that I do not become a stumbling block to others seek you out. Amen.

Devotional

God’s People, part 258: Silas

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Read Acts 15:40-41

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate ‘Yes,’ he always does what he says.”  (2 Corinthians 1:19, 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 258: Silas. As with many of these people mentioned in Acts and in Paul’s epistles (letters), there is not a whole lot that is historically known about the life of Silas. We are not told who he was, where he came from, what his trade was, or anything apart from his association as being a fellow missionary with Paul. In fact, even Silas’ name is uncertain. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, he is exclusively referred to by the Greek name, Silas. In Paul’s epistles, and in the first Epistle of Peter, he is named Sylvanus.

There is little doubt among scholars that Sylvanus and Silas are the same person. It could be that Sylvanus was the Romanized version of the Greek name Silas. Or it could be that Silas was a Greek nickname for Sylvanus. Regardless of what name he actually went by, Silas was a Christian who, along with Judas Barsabbas, was considered highly as a leader and a prophet.

After Paul and Barnabas separated, Paul chose Silas to be his partner and fellow missionary. While Barnabas traveled to Cyprus with John Mark, Paul and Silase embarked on Paul’s second missionary journey, which started off by traveling and ministering to churches in Syria and Cilicia. The account in Acts says that they strengthened churches in those areas.

Of course, that was where their missionary journey began, not where it ended. Paul’s association with Silas begins in Acts 15 and continues through Acts 18. In those chapters, we learn of the successes they had as well as the trials and tribulations. It was on this missionary journey that they met and converted Lydia who housed them during their stay in Philippi. Because she was located in what is now considered Europe, she is often referred to as the first European convert. Whether she was the first or not, she certainly was the first documented European convert.

Of course, Paul and Silas were both imprisoned while in Philippi and Lydia offered them to stay at her house following they were released. While in jail, though, an earthquake broke their cell doors open; however, they did not try to escape. As such, they became a powerful witness to the jailer who also converted to Christianity. They traveled and were met with resistance in Thessalonica, they convereted many more people in the more receptive city of Berea, and they debated with philosophers in the Areopagus in Athens, Greece.

From there Silas traveled with Paul to Corinth. Corinth was not an easy place for Paul to win converts or to establish a church. As his two existing epistles to the Corinthians indicate, Paul was deeply troubled and perplexed by that church. Acts records that after a while of preaching in this city, Paul “kicked the dust off of his sandals” and left Corinth. It appears that Silas may have stayed behind to continue ministering to the Corinthians; however, this cannot be certain. What is certain is that after Acts 18:5, Silas is never mentioned again. I do not think there was a rift between him and Paul, but his staying behind may have been planned and intentional.

The acts of Silas, friend and fellow missionary with Paul, should inspire us all. Here was another person of God who was willing to lay aside his life and place in society, and follow Jesus Christ at great cost to himself. He was imprisoned, threatened, and nearly lynched; however, his faithfulness led him to, along with Paul, establish the beginnings of the church in what is now modern day Europe!  We too can be just like Silas. The challenge for us is to open our hearts to Christ and to follow him where he leads. Are you willing to do this?

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“By faithfulness we are collected and wound up into unity within ourselves, whereas we had been scattered abroad in multiplicity.” – St. Augustine of Hippo

PRAYER
Lord, Help me to remain faithful like Silas, even when it is hard to do so. Amen.

Devotional

God’s People, part 257: Judas Barsabbas

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Read Acts 15:22-35

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”  (Galatians 2:16, 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 257: Judas Barsabbas. There isn’t too much known about Judas (also known as Barsabbas), other than that he seen as a prophet and that was chosen along with Silas to accompany Paul on a trip to churches in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia to read a letter that came out of the Council of Jerusalem. Clearly, Judas must have been someone who was known and respected by the Council as well as churches, and so they chose him along with Silas to carry out this important mission.

Since there isn’t much known about Judas himself, let’s discuss the council first, and then it will be clear what Judas’ mission and role was. Up to this point, Paul had been preaching an unrestricted Gospel to the Gentiles. What does this mean? It means that Paul felt that the Gentiles should not be bound to or restricted by a Law that they were not born under.

Therefore, Paul reasoned, a Gentile could enter God’s covenant through faith in Christ. For him, the Law all pointed to being in right relationship with God; however, none of us, not even Jews, follow the Law perfectly. Christ is the only answer to that problem, for he did follow it perfectly and became the sacrificial Lamb of God for us all. Christ is the One who saves, not circumcision. Thus, while Paul was an observant Jew, he put aside such traditions when it came to the Gentiles. This became a MAJOR controversy among Jewish Christians, who felt Paul was abandoning the Torah and the very faith of Christ himself.

Some of these Jewish Christians took it upon themselves to oppose and counter Paul’s teachings in the communities he had established Gentile churches. They were telling the Gentiles that they HAD to get circumcised if they were to have any part in Christ. This enraged Paul and the controversy grew to the point that the Apostles and Elders of the church called together a Council to weigh in on the matter. In the end, according to Luke in Acts, the council agreed with Paul and wrote a letter to be read to the churches. This letter stated that the Apostles had no part in countering Paul’s ministry and that, officially, Gentiles DID NOT have to adhere to circumcision.

This was a MAJOR win for Paul who had been advocating for this from the beginning. Judas and Silas were to accompany him to read this letter to the churches. As for Judas, he was also known as a prophet. In other words, he was someone who was known to have been gifted with the ability to prophesy by the Holy Spirit. His being one of the ones to deliver the message would only lend credibility that this decision was not just that of the Council, but of Christ.

As we can see, the earliest Church was not always a cohesive group. They had quarrels, disagreements, cliques, and even backstabbers. We often look back to “old time religion” as if they were on a higher pedastal than where we find ourselves today; however, that is not the case. The only real difference between then and now is that they TRULY looked to God to guide them in their decisions and, when push came to shove, they humbled themselves and opened up to the possibility of change. We should be challenged to model ourselves after that approach to the Christian witness. Holy compromise and the middle way (via media) are essential in the Body of Christ.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences.” – Rev. John Wesley

PRAYER
Lord, though we be of different mind on different issues, help us to be of one heart and to live in LOVE with our sisters and our brothers. Amen.