Category: Devotions

Wolves are not pet dogs.

Acts 17:13 “But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.”

Paul was hounded by the pack that successfully stopped his ministry in Thessalonica. Some of them went to Berea when they heard Paul was preaching again. The ‘wolves’ would do exactly the same thing that they did before, agitate and stir up people against Paul.

I don’t know much about wolves, however…

1. Under certain conditions, wolves can hear as far as six miles away. The Thessalonican Jews ‘learned’ meaning they heard that Paul was preaching in Berea.

The ‘wolf’ of your life can hear what God is doing in and through you and he will not let you go, especially if he has attacked you before.

2. The wolves begin to eat immediately even though the prey is often still alive.

Whilst Paul was ‘alive’ preaching and being used of God, the wolves were gathering around him with one intention and that was to bring him down and to stop him speaking. We need to be aware that our spiritual wolf will try to gradually wear us down.

3. When they get a successful kill, wolves do not eat in moderation. A single wolf can consume 9 kg of meat in one sitting! Jesus said, “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves”.  ^“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock” Acts 20:28-29.

Wolves are messy, greedy and will not spare anyone. They will try to completely finish everything, nothing will be spared. So flee or fight but whatever you do then make sure you know the intention is not to spare you anything. Wolves are not pet dogs.

Tomorrow happens as a result of today.

Acts 17:12 As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

As a result …

… Of the believers in Thessalonica sending Paul and Silas to Berea

… Of Paul and Silas going straight to the synagogue on their arrival

… Of the daily preaching by the team

… Of the Bereans searching in their Scriptures themselves

Many believed!

I wake this morning the day after the ending of our missionary conference which was truly amazing with such great responses too many to list! I realise all that happened because of the many things before, again too many to list!

You get my point.

Today may just be an average kind of day and you do your average kind of thing. Or today could be quite important because you may be working for something that will happen tomorrow, but today is still not the event it is just working towards something. Today could even be a day that you were not expecting and you have had to adjust to that fact.

Average

Working towards something

Adjustment

Three words that are not headline news!

But these three words are essential. For tomorrow will come and the day after tomorrow you will be sitting with a coffee and be thankful to God not only for the results but for the ‘as a result’ moments that just had to happen beforehand. For tomorrow happens as a result of today.

 

The Bible, daily.

Acts 17:11 “Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Paul is in Berea with his Scriptures proving Christ is the Messiah.

In this backwater of a place called Berea he found people who were more advanced than the Thessalonians in that they were noble or open-minded to the Bible, they received the message of the Bible with great eagerness and they examined the Bible for themselves every day.

The purpose of our life is to be re-shaped into the likeness of Jesus. Every sermon, book, every Bible verse we read , conference we attend , experience we have can be used by God to teach us how to grow in Him.

There is a cartoon of Charlie Brown at the beach building a magnificent sand castle. When he had completed it, he stands back and admires his masterpiece. Suddenly there is a downpour of rain and it flattens his brilliant structure.

The last caption Charlie Brown is looking at the levelled ground and he says, “There must be a lesson here, but I don’t know what it is”.

Are we open-minded to be taught from the Bible the lessons of life? And will the Bible teach us to be open-minded to the Spirit leading us in our life?

That is the purpose of my devotional blogs over the years. To try and open the Bible wider and deeper, I hope some of them do just that!

In the parable of the talents 3 servants were entrusted with talents according to their ability. These talents were amounts of money. The man with 5 talents and the man with 2 talents went to work immediately with a readiness to gain and they gained 5 and 2 more respectively. But the man with 1 talent was a pessimist, he didn’t even put it in a bank to get interest, but he dug a hole and buried it in the ground. He was not expecting his talent to grow.

After a long time their master came back home. To the servants who lived their life with eagerness and who had gained for their master more than what he had entrusted them with, he said “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness…

“For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance.”

But the 3rd servant was stripped of his talent and it was given to the man with 5 talents and the master said

“Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

The parable speaks of the return of Jesus; his disciples must make use of their gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit that they have been given. But the point is they must live with a readiness. They must live expecting to produce and not hide away in negativity, like the Bereans who received with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily for themselves.

Be sent always

Acts 17:10

“As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.”

I am sure they didn’t want Paul, Silas and the team to leave. This was not a commissioning service. There was still so much more that the fledgling church of Thessalonica needed. Paul would have to mentor them by letter because he couldn’t stay.

Sometimes you cannot stay. Sometimes you have to leave. Others need you to exit because if you stay it will become untenable for them to continue. There are times you have to leave people behind. Your heart may be with them and you may still write letters (or email!) to encourage, but you have to go.

Paul and Silas sneaked away at night, out of sight from the enemy. There was no grand ceremony, they just said goodbye and went.

Today I wake to day 2 of our missionary conference. These delegates know what it is to say goodbye. Missionary work is a life of goodbyes, sometimes a party is held, other times it is just a decision that has to be made quietly.

What happened to Paul and Silas? They went to the synagogue as was their way of life. They started there again. They continued in the work. They were not phased nor were they sulking that their time had been cut short. They continued.

So say your goodbyes and keep moving. Be sent always.

 

There is no bail!

Acts 17:9 “Then they put Jason and the others on bail and let them go.”

Bail: The temporary release of an accused person awaiting trial, sometimes on condition that a sum of money is lodged to guarantee their appearance in court.

Jason and the others are released but only temporarily, they will be hounded in the future, it is not over for them.

You may know this experience yourself. It cannot be an easy one.

Some today are only partly free because there is no bail once you are in the kingdom of God! Just total freedom.

The enemy of your soul has nothing on you. He cannot hold you once Jesus has freed you. He cannot put you out on bail saying he hasn’t finished with you yet. John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
You are free from trying. Free from the lists and rules of man. Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
You are free to approach God as you are not how you should be. Ephesians 3:12 “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”
So don’t let the enemy of your soul put conditions on your freedom. He has no authority in your life. He is defeated. There is no bail. You are not out temporarily waiting for further investigation. You are out totally.

Hiding from the mess.

Acts 17:8 “When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil”

Jason and some of the other new converts were before the city officials hearing a charge that they had shown hospitality to Paul and his team who were advocating another king other than Caesar.

On hearing this, the city and the officials went into panic mode. What would Caesar think when he got to know that Thessalonica had allowed a declaration of another King? More importantly, what would he do?

They are in turmoil because Paul and his team are in hiding. They cannot find them. They just see the evidence of them being there.

Hiding is the right decision at times.

Jesus hid. John 8:59 “At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds”

This may apply to only a few today. But maybe you have been on the front-line for too long and you need time out. Maybe actually it is dangerous for you and for others if you remain on show. The Spirit does call us at times to come aside and hide.

Psalm 17:8 “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”

Psalm 143:9 “Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you.”

Come aside from the mess and hide today.

Jesus the King

Acts 17: 7

“These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, ⁷ and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.”

There is another king. They were right. It was a correct accusation. The believers were announcing this. There is another king! His name is Jesus!

Philippians 2: 9-10 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

Sing we the King who is coming to reign, Glory to Jesus, the Lamb that was slain; Righteousness, peace then His empire shall bring, Joy to the nations when Jesus is King.
	Come let us sing: Praise to our King, Jesus our King, Jesus our King: This is our song, who to Jesus belong: Glory to Jesus, to Jesus our King.

 

Colossians 1:14-17 “In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

 

Jesus is the redeemer, the creator and the sustainer of life!

Jesus has power over nature.

He has power over demons.

He has power over sickness.

He has power over sin.

He has power over death.

Today storms can be stilled, demons can be cast out, sicknesses can be healed, sins forgiven, death can be overcome.

The Old Testament speaks of God as:

Jehovah-tsidkenu (Jer 23:5-6 God our righteousness) = This name reveals how only He can restore mankind to Himself. This name is found in Jesus.

Jehovak-m’kaddesh (Lev 20:8 The Lord who sanctifies) = He lives within us to empower us to live holy lives. This name is found in Jesus.

Jehovah-Shalom (judges 6:24 God is Peace) = God has brought peace and contentment and satisfaction between Himself and us. This name is found in Jesus.

Jehovah-Rophe (Isaiah 53 God heals) = He cures or heals not only in physical terms but spiritual and moral. This name is found in Jesus.

Jehovah-Jireh (Genesis 22:14 The Lord who sees) = He knows our needs and makes provision. This name is found in Jesus.

Jehovak-nissi (Exodus 17:18 God my banner) = God is our battle deliverer. This name is found in Jesus.

Jehovah-rohi (Psalm 23 God my Shepherd) = He feeds, leads, protects and cares for us. This name is found in Jesus.

All these names are found in Jesus. Yes, He is another king. But the truth is, He is the only King. He is the King of Kings. And you wake to His presence every day!

Chaos

Acts 17: 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: ‘These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here …

Can you imagine this?

It just sounds chaotic doesn’t it?

It’s not exactly seeker-sensitive.

Here is Paul and his team planting a church in Thessalonica and here they are causing mayhem. They would be on their way soon but those new believers, converts to Christianity, would remain to form churches which had their foundations based on persecution. How they would have needed Paul’s letter of encouragement to them later where he commended them for their faith.

We are introduced to Jason. We do not know him except he with others had become believers of Jesus. Their houses were searched, they were manhandled and dragged before the authorities, they were shouted at. Did they sign up for this when they gave their lives to Christ? Yes they did.

I received a text yesterday from one of our Pastors in India: “Amidst great opposition and challenges we had an overwhelming meeting the last two days. The Spirit of the Lord moved mightily and people were delivered instantly.”

Today, as you read this blog, some of our church planters from an Islamic nation who had been arrested last week are being tried for apostasy.  Please pray for them.

I have come to see more and more that God can be found in chaos. In fact He works powerfully in that place.

To those in trouble today, God is with you and we on the banks of safety pray for you.

 

Jealousy

Acts 17:5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.

Be careful of Jealousy.

Jealousy can make you the odd one out. Everyone else can be happy but jealousy means you are not one of them.

Jealousy can leave you needing to make plans for pain. Jealous people do not necessarily know they are jealous and their plans are often seen as just but they bring hurt.

Jealousy can direct you to mix with people you wouldn’t normally be with. Jealousy blinds character.

Jealousy doesn’t mind how much damage it does. The more damage the better because it reflects on the riot within the heart.

Jealousy makes you react quickly. In a short time they had formed a mob, started a riot and rounded up the accused.

You won’t be affected by all of the above but we all get jealous at some point in our lives and it would be good to protect yourself from the above.

 

Seasons of success

Acts 17:4 “Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.”

Some … a large number … quite a few.

Our days are like that aren’t they?

Days where we have some success.

Days when we have big breakthroughs.

Days when it is somewhere in between … quite a few.

The sooner we settle in our minds that this variety is actually okay, the better.

Revival-victory-miraculous-divine-exchange breakthroughs do not happen every day.

In 2 weeks I will be attending my denominations annual conference which I have done so every year since I became a Pastor in 1992. Throughout those years I remember well being prepared to give the answer to people who would hail me down like they were perhaps stopping a taxi cab, ‘how many are in your church now Paul?’ and ‘how many have you seen saved this year?’ Well intentioned questions maybe but it often caught me fumbling between ‘some’ and ‘quite a few’. Often I was tempted to throw a curve ball by lying and saying ‘Haven’t you heard? A large number, too many to count!’ But I didn’t.

You see, the truth is, I didn’t like ‘some’ nor ‘quite a few’. I wanted to be ‘large’. Because that’s success, right? In the eyes of man, yes.

Don’t let man define your success in life. Today may only be a ‘some’ day but it can be a great day nevertheless!

Don’t let man tempt you to exaggerate just so they feel comfortable in your presence.

Know that whatever season of success you are in, it is just that, a season.