Acts 12

The story of Peter’s second release from prison is filled with humor and irony. Peter is well guarded by soldiers and securely locked up. When an angel comes to loose him he appears to be in a deep sleep. He is so overcome by sleep that the angel has to give him step by step instructions on how to escape. It isn’t until later when he is free that he realizes that he is no longer in prison and he is not merely dreaming. He can hardly believe himself that he is free. All the while he is making his way to John Mark’s mother’s house to let the church know the news of his escape. There they have been praying for his release. They are so wrapped up in prayer that they don’t seem to want to believe that Peter is in fact free. A young woman named Rhoda sees him and in her excitement actually leaves him standing outside the gate. The others when hearing Rhoda’s story don’t even believe it is true. Ironically Peter keeps knocking and when they finally let him in they are all “astonished”. Two things struck me while thinking about this story. It is comforting to me that even at the beginning believers had doubts and did not always pray expecting God to answer their prayers, certainly not as fast as he did in this particular case. Secondly it made me think of the phrase “they are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good”. The Church was so into prayer for Peter that they actually missed the real Peter. They were so wrapped up in praying for something that had already been answered that they almost missed letting him in and the joy that came with answered prayer. Some people find it is easier to pray than act. This week lets pray and not only pray but expect an answer and act upon it. Let’s not miss the opportunity for action because of the opportunity to pray.

Acts 5

The story of Acts chapter 5 is a profound one in the history of the early church. It is also the background for one of my favorite CCM songs from the Resurrection Band, but I digress. In order to properly understand the events in chapter 5 we must have the proper context. In chapter 2:45 we see that after Pentecost some believers sold possessions and goods and then gave to those in need. This practice evidentially continued because at the end of chapter 4 we see similar actions. One man named Barnabas went so far as to sell a field and brought the money to the Apostles so they could give the proceeds to other believers in need.
Acts of charity were imperative in the early church. The Jewish nation had rejected Jesus the Messiah and therefore would not look favorably upon Jewish people who became followers of Jesus. Because the church, up until chapter 10, is exclusively Jewish those who chose to follow the apostles teaching would be persecuted and need to band together and share resources to survive.
This is the back story so to speak of what was surrounding the happenings when a husband and wife also sold some property. From Scripture we learn that Ananias and Sapphira sold some property, held back some of the profit, but portrayed it as the full price when they gave the money to the apostles. I don’t believe they had to give any money to the Apostles but from the context of chapter 4 they evidentially wanted whatever recognition Barnabas had received for what he had done without actually doing it. By misrepresenting what they had done in order to get human praise they became guilty of lying to God.
My impression, and it is only mine not from Scripture, is that Ananias had devised this plan and convinced his wife to go along with it. Unfortunately for Sapphira when she had the chance to tell the truth she didn’t and her fate was the same as her husband. This is a lesson for me as a husband, father, and leader. I should never allow other to become guilty with me because I am a leader. Leaders have a great responsibility to lead and others may benefit or suffer for our choices. I believe this lesson applies to all whether young or old. We all have people we influence and it is important that we do so wisely. We should always seek to please God and not ourselves and follow the example of Jesus who humbled himself to become sin for us and was willing to be separated from God the Father for our benefit Philippians 2:5-8.
The effect of the death of these two on the early church was that they were seized with great fear. Remember that the church was in its early development and the book of Acts is transitional. It was imperative that sin was dealt with quickly and dramatically so it was not repeated by others. I believe only the apostles were able to deal with sin this way and that is why we don’t see more people struck dead today for what might seem like a petty sin. The whole of Scripture teaches that God never changes but evidentially our impression of sin has. Most times we tend to look the other way when we know a fellow believer is living in sin. If we really want to see the power of God like was evident in the book of Acts I believe we must see sin for what it is and do everything we can to remove it from our lives and from the lives of other believers. Please church be the church and see sin for what it is. Sin is what separates us from God our Father and causes death both physically and spiritually.

Now That's Entertainment

I heard a great quote the other day about how we do "modern church". It went something like "most modern churches are like a rock concert warming up for a comedian". It struck me as ironic and confirmed my presumption that modern church is really Christian entertainment. We call it a "Worship Service" but let's be honest it has very little to do with the acknowledging the "worthship" of the Most High, the Creator of the Universe. I think most of us go to church simply out of habit because it is the right thing to do on Sunday. This coupled with some of the questionable business side of things going on lately cause me to wonder is this really what Jesus intended for His church. Compared to the examples we find in Scripture and specifically in the Book of Revelation, what we today call worship is like comparing an 8-Track player to an iPod.

XM Radio The Torch 31

Although this is not a theological post PER SE, it is of Christian concern. For those of you who don't already know XM satellite radio has decided to cancel their edgier Christian rock station channel 31 The Torch. Please take a minute and sign the online petition and let XM know what you think of this decision. http://www.petitiononline.com/xmtorch/

Salvation

What is God's intent for man's salvation? My experience is that most Christians think of salvation as a matter of heaven or hell. Salvation to them is only in relation to the eternal destiny of man's soul. My current study of the story of man's creation it seems to me that salvation is much more. In the beginning it appears God created man and intended for them to have a relationship. This relationship was broken by the disobedience of man. The intent of the Creator was then to restore the original relationship. This was done by making Christ sin for us. Christ bore our sin in his body and through acceptance of Him we can have a restored relationship with the Creator. If my thinking is correct salvation is for today not simply the future. It seems to me that salvation is for those who desire to have a relationship now with their Creator and not simply to get a "fire insurance" policy for the future.

Catechism 13-15

I was preparing for our Adult Bible Fellowship and thinking about the Westminster Catechism questions 13, 14, and 15 which has to do with Adam and Eve and the first sin. At first it seems like the first sin was almost petty. It is like a child snatching a candy when he knows he shouldn't. But upon further reflection the first sin is tragic and not petty at all consider the following:

1. Man had the complete freedom to do right and obey God. He had no propensity to disobey and even Satan could not make him disobey but only cause man to doubt what God had said was correct.
2. Man was forewarned of the consequence of disobedience. It was not a surprise the he went and hid from God after he disobeyed. He knew what it was obey and instead he chose to disobey. When he disobeyed he knew what was coming so he went and hid from God.
3. The person man disobeyed was the person he knew to be God and the creator of everything, and everything God had decreed as good.

Because of these I have concluded that the first sin is surely tragic and not petty at all. Thankfully the second Adam, Jesus, came to obey and fully keep what Adam could not. Thanks be to God who has sent his Son who knew no sin to become sin for us.

March of the Penguins vs. The Grizzly Man

Recently I have been thinking about the uniqueness of man and specifically as created in God's image. Modern thinking is that man is just an animal. Two movies I recently saw reaffirm to me that this modern thinking is false. The two movies were March of the Penguins and Grizzly Man. The main subject in the first are obviously penguins. The second movie focused primarily on a man and how he lived with and ultimately killed by a bear. When a penguin is attacked by a predator the other animals not being attacked scatter. This is a natural instinct for self preservation. In contrast when the grizzly man was being attacked and eaten by a bear his companion attempted to help him by hitting the bear with a frying pan. Even as he was being eaten he begged his companion to flee for her own life. She did not and was also killed and eaten by the bear. I believe whether you want to admit it or not this innate response of mankind to help the helpless is a support that there is something different in man. The story of man's creation in the first couple chapters in the Bible in Genesis stated clearly that man is different from the other animals because he has the "imago dei". This is the theological Latin term meaning the image of God. If you accept the Biblical account then man was created in God's image that is what separates man from the rest of animalkind. In this so called modern age it is high time that man start reflecting the image of God and stop acting more like an animal. For more on the imago dei see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imago_Dei

Catechism Question 1

This year I have been spending a lot of time studying the Westminster Shorter Catechism. We have been reading a study guide by G.I. Williamson as part of the kids schooling. I have also been teaching a Adult Bible class on Sunday mornings based on the Catechism. The first question and answer familiar to most Christians. It states that the "chief end" or ultimate goal of man is to glorify God. I don't think the catechism intends that we should try to make God glorious or more glorious for that matter. God is already glorious period end of story! I believe the catechism intends to remind us that everything we do in life, even the mundane, should ultimately give God credit. First Corinthians 1:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.