Category: Scripture Journal

The need for a guide

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HIGHLIGHT

Acts 8:30–31 (ESV): 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

EXPLAIN

After a very successful ministry in Samaria, the Holy Spirit told Phillip to go south into the desert. As he walking down the road, an Ethiopian eunuch came by in a chariot, reading from Isaiah.

The Spirit told Phillip to go to the chariot and so he asked the man if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch’s response is our highlighted text.

APPLY

There is a simple truth here that may be easily overlooked. Pre-Christians, new Christians, and even more established Christians needed guidance in the faith.

Phillip was engaged in pre-conversion discipleship.

What made this moment so powerful? Phillip was sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leadership and willing to engage others in a spiritual conversation, the eunuch was humble and willing to listen and learn, and an invitation to discipleship was given.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to be sensitive to the Spirit’s voice. May I be willing to go out of my comfort zone to disciple others. Prepare the way for me so that people are ready to hear and obey the Good News. Amen.

Give me boldness

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HIGHLIGHT

Acts 4:29 (ESV): 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,

EXPLAIN

The healing of the man lame from birth who begged outside the Temple caused a great stir. Many people came together and Peter and John recognized the opportunity to share the Good News.

The Sanhedrin heard of this and we’re greatly annoyed. They arrested them and put them in prison. On the next day, they put them on trial and asked by what authority they were healing people.

Peter responded by proclaiming Jesus to be the Messiah, that through him only we can receive salvation. The Sanhedrin were astonished, recognized that these were uneducated men, yet spoke with wisdom and authority.

They threatened the apostles not to speak in Jesus’ name any more and then sent them away. Afterwards, the apostles gathered all the church to pray. These words are part of their prayer.

After they prayed, the place was shaken, they were filled anew with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

APPLY

In various ways, people today will threaten and discourage us from living for Jesus and proclaiming him to be the only way of salvation.

We should respond by imitating the apostles’ example: pray, acknowledge God’s sovereignty, ask for Holy Spirit boldness, and continue to live and speak faithfully for Christ.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, you are God and you are in control. You see those who would oppose your will. May your kingdom come and your will be done. Help me to live faithfully, a pure and holy life before you. May I proclaim your truth boldly, for your glory. Amen.

Fix your eyes on Jesus

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Acts 3:5 (ESV): 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

EXPLAIN

This story occurred a few days or weeks after the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the believers. In other words, Peter and John saw this man somewhere between 2-3 months after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Yet Luke writes that this man was lame from birth and had been carried daily to the gate of the temple to beg. We must assume that this man had seen Jesus, or at least been in very close proximity to Jesus, before Jesus’ death.

But this man was not healed by Jesus.

Now, as this man fixed his attention and expectation upon Peter and John, ready to receive from them, the disciples shared the good news that Jesus came to bring healing – physical and spiritual.

And he was healed as he looked and reached up in faith.

APPLY

We may not understand why the lame man was not healed by Jesus, even though we read of other instances which indicate that not everyone was healed by the Master.

The lack of faith in Nazareth prevented Jesus from doing many miracles. At the pool of Siloam, Jesus walked through the midst of many seeking healing to speak to one man.

What we definitely see is that this man’s expectant faith was met by the compassionate heart of Christ. Do we fix our eyes on Jesus, expecting to receive good from him?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, may I not miss your presence in my life, passing me by, busy with seeking what I need, preoccupied with my plans. Rather, may I fix my eyes on Jesus, ready to receive your grace. Amen.

Devoted to prayer

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HIGHLIGHT

Acts 1:13–14 (ESV): 14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

EXPLAIN

After Jesus’ ascension, the believers, about 120 people, began meeting in the upper room. As they waited for the Holy Spirit to come, they began to pray.

They devoted themselves to prayer.

During the prayer time, Peter was studying and meditating on scripture and realized that Judas Iscariot’s place among the Twelve needed to be filled.

Having replaced Judas, having prayed, the believers then waited in unity… and the Holy Spirit came upon them.

APPLY

Listening to some podcasts on disciple-making recently, the point has been made that Christians in the U.S., Christians in the Western world, know little about sustained, devoted prayer.

We tend to pray for a purpose. Once the purpose is accomplished, we think we no longer need to pray. Or, if our prayer is not answered, we look to other methods to accomplish our desires.

The purpose of prayer is to change our heart, mind, and will to be in conformity to God’s will. How might our lives and churches be different if we truly devoted ourselves to such prayer?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to take the next step in my life to becoming “devoted in prayer”. May I learn the joy of the sweet fellowship of prayer, of submission to your will, of living for your glory. Amen.

Sent

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HIGHLIGHT

John 20:21 (ESV): 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”

EXPLAIN

This is one of the first resurrection appearances of Jesus. John tells first of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene near the tomb. Then, in the evening of that day, John says that Jesus appeared to the disciples while they were hiding in a locked room.

As Jesus was on trial before Pilate, the governor asked Jesus if he were King of the Jews. Jesus explained that his kingdom is not of this world, but Jesus had come into the world to bear witness of the truth (John 18:33-38).

Now King Jesus, having been resurrected from the dead, delegates his authority to his disciples (and by extension, all who follow him since) to go into the world bearing witness of the truth.

APPLY

We serve the King of kings. His kingdom is not of this world; therefore, we do not fight and manipulate affairs of this world to force God’s agenda upon those who do not believe him.

Rather, we are commissioned by the King to go out and share the truth: Jesus is King!

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, thank you for the mission you have entrusted to me and all your followers: to share the good news that Jesus is King. Help me to faithfully do my part in making disciples who make disciples of King Jesus. Amen.

Holy Spirit, be my guide

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HIGHLIGHT

John 16:13–14 (ESV): 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

EXPLAIN

Jesus was teaching his disciples on the night before his betrayal and his crucifixion the next day. Jesus had told his disciples that he would be leaving them, but he sought to comfort them by telling them he would send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit would empower them, teach them, and guide them. The Holy Spirit came upon the believers fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection, on the Day of Pentecost.

APPLY

The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual life, abides with us, and desires to fill us fully. While Jesus is not physically present, the Holy Spirit is that presence of Jesus, of God, with us.

He will guide us, teach us, empower us, correct us, and encourage us. Therefore, we should listen closely to his voice, cultivate our fellowship with him, and obey him always.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, which your Son sent for us when he ascended into heaven. Holy Spirit, guide me, teach me, give me wisdom and power, that the name of Jesus might be glorified in and through me. Amen.

The importance of remaining humble and teachable

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HIGHLIGHT

2 Chronicles 35:21 (ESV): 21 But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.”

EXPLAIN

Josiah was a godly king. What he did to bring the people back to God was amazing. He organized a Passover feast so wonderful that the writer of Chronicles says no other Passover was like it, from the days of Samuel the prophet.

2 Kings tells us that a prophecy was made that he would die in peace, that he would be spared the judgment of God coming upon the land.

Yet Josiah died from wounds in battle. He did die at home, but the fact that Pharaoh Neco’s archers shot Josiah and he died as a result seems difficult to reconcile with the prophecy made about Josiah.

APPLY

The question we must consider carefully, then, is if Neco truly was operating according to God’s will. Did Josiah step out of the umbrella of God’s protection because he insisted on opposing Neco, who was on a mission of God?

Neco was a pagan king, as far as we know. Yet Paul writes in Romans 13 of governing authorities being appointed by God. He says that those who resist the governing authorities, who have appointed by God, will incur judgment.

Should we be more cautious about rejecting out of hand “truth” delivered by unlikely sources? Should we adopt a more humble position, earnestly seeking to know what God’s will is, not being so quick to assume what we believe his will to be?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, in my spiritual growth help me to remain humble, always willing to listen and learn, no matter from what source you send me lessons. Amen.

When God leaves us to ourselves

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When God leaves us to ourselves

HIGHLIGHT

2 Chronicles 32:31 (ESV): 31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart.

EXPLAIN

Hezekiah was a godly king and brought about a great revival of seeking after God to Judah. A great crisis occurred when the Assyrians invaded the land, but God brought about a supernatural deliverance after Sennacherib blasphemed God.

However, after only 15 years of reigning, Hezekiah became sick and God sent him word that he would die. Hezekiah wept bitterly and God determined to grant him 14 more years.

Sometime later, envoys from Babylon arrived and Hezekiah foolishly let them see everything in his kingdom. God then sent word that in the future, Babylon would conquer Judah.

Our text explains that when the Babylonians came, God did not proactively intervene because he wanted to test Hezekiah to know what was in his heart.

APPLY

The thought that God might leave us to our own devices is terrifying. Yet we must wonder if God does this more often than we might want to think.

Yet we know God’s good and faithful character. How might have things been different if Hezekiah had sought God for wisdom when the Babylonian envoys had first arrived?

Similarly, we should proactively seek God for wisdom and guidance instead of waiting for him to intervene in our lives.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, please teach me now the habit of seeking you always so that when times of testing come my first response is to look to you. Amen.

The heart of worship

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HIGHLIGHT

2 Chronicles 30:20 (ESV): 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people.

EXPLAIN

King Hezekiah determined from the very first moment of his reign over Judah to serve God. He began by cleansing the Temple and restoring worship there.

Then, Hezekiah determined to celebrate the Passover. He sent couriers not only throughout Judah, but also Israel calling the people to celebrate this festival.

There were some logistical problems. Not enough priests had consecrated themselves, so they had to change the date. But the king and the assembly thought God would overlook this change, seeing their heart to celebrate the Passover once again, a festival that had often been neglected.

The time came and a large group gathered in Jerusalem, but the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for those who were not ceremonially clean. Many had not taken care to follow the proper regulations.

But Hezekiah prayed for the people and God forgave and healed them, as the highlighted verse notes.

The people celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, and then kept the feast for another week.

The spiritual impact was astonishing. The people then went back through all the cities of Judah and destroyed the various idols and altars to false gods.

Hezekiah appointed divisions of priests and Levites to oversee worship at the Temple. The people began to bring in tithes and offerings until there was a large amount of contributions left, much more than was needed by those attending the worship of God.

God prospered Hezekiah, because the king sought to follow God fully.

APPLY

In this scripture we see the heart of worship. Yes, the people worshipped at the wrong time. Many of the people were not properly prepared to worship. But most important was that people wanted to worship God again.

God did not deny the people fellowship and communion with him because they got the day wrong nor even though they were not ceremonially clean. God’s heart rejoiced that his people recognized their need for him and wanted to reconnect with him.

And as a result, the people’s hearts were changed. They determined they would serve God once again.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to understand the heart of worship. Thank you for your grace that accepts and changes me, even though I am unworthy of you. Amen.

Copying the world

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HIGHLIGHT

2 Chronicles 28:22–23 (ESV): 22 In the time of his distress he became yet more faithless to the Lord—this same King Ahaz. 23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.” But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.

EXPLAIN

After the reigns of Joash, Amaziah, and Uzziah, three kings who were blessed as they followed God but all ended their reigns badly, Jotham rose to the throne. He was a godly king, but the people as a whole followed corrupt practices.

His son, Ahaz, then reigned. He was a wicked king, making metal images for Baals, offering pagan sacrifices, and also making his sons pass through these offerings (or burning them as offerings).

Ahaz suffered a great defeat by Syria and Israel. He sought a treaty with Assyria, but they caused him trouble instead of helping him. In the midst of all this, Ahaz became more faithless, deciding to worship the gods of Syria, by whom he had been defeated, hoping that these false gods would be appeased and help him.

APPLY

The example of Ahaz should teach us to stop and carefully consider our actions, and our path in life. Ahaz lived and ruled wickedly, but instead of recognizing God’s hand against him, he thought by worshipping the false gods of those who had defeated him, he might somehow succeed.

When the Christian looks with envy at the success of the world, and then seeks to emulate the world’s thinking, strategy, methods and more, is he or she following the example of Ahaz?

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to keep my eyes on you, and never be fooled into thinking that copying the sin of the world is the way to success. Amen.