Category: Devotions

Who do you have?

Acts 14:20 “But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe”.

Most probably unconscious and certainly looking like he was dead or near death, Paul was dragged out of the city and dumped there. In the minds of the Jewish crowd Paul was finished, his mouth shut for good, his missionary journey ended, he was dead. That’s what the enemy loves to do with people. His plan is to do that for you.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Paul was on his own? Of course, he would have died. There are times when you have to walk a journey alone, there is no other way. If you are a leader of people then you understand the loneliness of that position at times. As we continue in our discipleship then sometimes there is no Simon to carry our cross. But these are exceptions to the rule. The rule is do not be alone, it is not good to be alone is still the ancient principle. Do not do life alone and there is no need. Embrace the people around you. Bring them onto your team of life. If one friend has to walk away from you for whatever reason then find another friend to replace them.

By the early 2000’s I had built a Pastoral team of 3 plus an exciting leadership team. The 3 of us complimented each other with strengths and weaknesses, our team days were fun, we were on a journey together, raising the bar on each other, I was happy! Then within only a few years the team unravelled as one of them left to lead their own church which I fully supported and was really pleased. The other ventured into a whole new ministry and moved back to their home and family which I was again excited for and supported. I believed I had played a part in both their journeys and felt privileged to have done so. But I was devastated too. I really was. I missed them so much. Team days are not so much fun with one! Staff Christmas parties became a quiet reflective time!

I actually remember a prayer I prayed which said something like, “Lord that’s it. I will do this on my own now. I am not investing in any more team!” It is so good that at times God doesn’t listen to us!

Within a year I began building a team again. Why? Because that is what we all should do. We need people around us.

Paul built a team. They were with him at his worst hour. They gathered around him and a miracle took place. Some people are needing miracles today but the need for people to be with them, the need to share with someone, to have their burden carried by another is the greatest need. Everyone can rise again. If you are dumped to one side, left for dead, then you can get up and go again just like Paul did. One day you can have devastation, then your Saturday morning can come and you are all alone, but I still continue and need to believe in the next day. Maybe you like me are waiting for the next day. Friends with people around you, the next day does come.

This is what I have learnt and am still learning:-

To those who once walked in the promises of their God but now wallow in self-pity, bitterness and hurt – YOU CAN RISE AGAIN.

To those who have long since given up the fight, their armour and weapons of war are stored up with dust, their youthful passion for souls and their energy to give up all for one soul to find Jesus is now a faint dream, hear the wake-up call – YOU CAN RISE AGAIN.

To those who couldn’t hold on any longer, something had to give, you gave away your destiny, you broke up your potential, you ruined your desires and were ruined by new ones. You can regain your footing, it’s time to walk – YOU CAN RISE AGAIN.

To those who came under a stronghold that so gripped their life it paralysed them. An area of your life is now not functioning like it used to, you feel a lesser man, as a woman you feel your beauty has been taken, you are tarnished, you are stained and impure. But listen – get up – YOU CAN RISE AGAIN.

It may be that for the shouting it’s all over, your faith is dead, your anointing is dead, that relationship is dead, you cannot pretend anymore, you have got to be realistic and say ‘It’s over’. It’s never over till the Master has touched you and called you to get up. YOU CAN RISE AGAIN.

How? Let people back in to your life. Be in a community. Find team. Go to your intercessors. Unburden. Let people carry you. Do not be alone.

 

The enemy back in town

Acts 14:19  “Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.”

It is amazing to think you can move from being worshipped as a god to being stoned to near-death. How did that happen? It came from the enemies of Pauls past.

Your enemy will chase you down, he never gives up on you.

In 2001 I was taken to an employment tribunal by a member of my church staff, which in the end we won with no case to answer. The story was complex laden with layers of accusations and threats. Though we won, the experience nearly finished me off in ministry. The enemy played havoc with me. It was certainly the dark night of my soul. That was 16 years ago. Yesterday, someone came into my office and simply gave me a piece of information that I have never known before about the case. It was 16 years ago but by the time they had left my office all those feelings of anxiety were suddenly there. The enemy was back. It was a difficult couple of hours.

Somehow word got back to Antioch (over 100 miles away) and Iconium what was happening in Lystra and before long the religious leaders had arrived from those cities. The enemy was back.

I can imagine the conversation. Antioch would have said, “Yes we drove them from our city eventually.” Iconium would have said, “We plotted to stone them to death.” It was enough to convince the crowd to do what Antioch and Iconium had wanted to do. It is amazing how easy it is to convince a crowd to do whatever you would want it to do when the individuals in that crowd would never do it as an individual.

Even the leading Apostle was not immune from the attacks of the enemy. Unless you have had the terrible opportunity to see a stoning then there is no way of knowing the barbaric pain and torture that being stoned to death is for the individual. Today, stoning is still practiced in 15 countries of the world!

A past traumatic event, a bereavement, a failure, a regret, an abuse and a brokenness may lay far away from you today. But be aware unless you put on your daily armour as Paul would later command us to do then today could be the day when the enemy comes back. Protect your today.

 

 

 

The Word

Acts 14:18

“Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.”

Sometimes words are just not enough.

Words cannot paint the picture of a beautiful sunset or the starry sky on a clear night.

Words do not come from the mouth of the wonder of parents holding their new born baby.

Words are not needed in the centre of the gaze of two lovers.

Word are not enough when the doctor gives the all clear.

Sometimes words are just not enough.

Yesterday preachers will have preached their best words.

But today even those powerful words do not stop the day from being difficult.

Words are powerful. We are told they have power for life and for death.

Sometimes words are not enough. Sometimes the circumstance of life is beyond the power of any word. Words will not overpower it. Words will not make any change to it.

Sometimes circumstances win and no amount of name it and claim it will change it.

It is then that you realise all you have and the most important thing you have in this life is actually not words but the privilege of following and submitting to The Word.

 

 

Kindness: love and sacrifice

Acts 14:17

“Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”

Though in the past God let the nations go their own way He was still visible in many ways.

Next time you see the rain come think of this verse and think of the kindness of God.

God sent the rain to those who had turned away from Him and gone their own way. He showed kindness to the sinful. Why? Because He loved them.

The point is that God is kind towards people not because of anything He can get from them but just because He is kind. At the centre of kindness is the wellbeing of another person, it is working for what is best for the other. Ultimately this kindness wants to demonstrate His love so that we will turn from our own way and turn to Him. But even if we do not God will continue to be kind towards us because that is who He is.

Every day I have an opportunity to be like God, to put on kindness. To be kind. To think of others for no other reason than because of kindness. More of them less of me.

To love and to sacrifice.

I have an opportunity for that to be my life’s testimony.

 

The way

Acts 14: 16

“In the past, he let all nations go their own way.”

There seems to be times when God pulled away.

When revelation from Him was not being given.

When Heaven was shut.

He turned His back and His light did not shine.

The people did their own thing.

They followed many paths but not His.

Some called out perhaps but He was not listening.

That was in the past.

Look around the nations of the world today.

Could that happen again? Is it happening now?

There is a lot of talk about the state of our world today.

People have many opinions of which way the world will go.

But which way is the world following today. Their own or His?

 

 

I am only human

Acts 14: 15

“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.”

The crowd had gone crazy. The miracle they had seen led them down the path of idol worship, not of statues but of men, of Paul and Barnabas. They were bringing out animals to sacrifice to them as the gods had come down to earth. Praise was in the air, acceptance and pleasure, love and joy! This was the opposite to their treatment in Iconium. But it was wrong.

We are only human.

But I’m only human And I bleed when I fall down I’m only human And I crash and I break down Your words in my head, knives in my heart You build me up and then I fall apart ‘Cause I’m only human

(Christina Perri song)

We must know who we are as much as we know who God is.

I am only human.

I am on the Way, I have not arrived.

I do not know all the answers.

I have found Him who is worth pursuing but I do not possess Him.

I am only human.

I am incomplete, broken and scarred by years of the impurity of this life.

I know in part, I prophesy only in part, it is imperfect.

I belong to a stream of church that has at times promoted itself in the experience of God.

I have taken part in the froth, the desperate claims, the ‘awesome’, the ‘electrifying’, the manipulation afraid of anything that appears stale, dull, lifeless.

I pursue the genuine even though it takes me into desert experiences instead of the mountain-top visions.

I know failure and death more than I know success and resurrection.

I am only human.

I am a story that is not finished.

I am a Christian.

I belong to Christ.

I am being shaped by Him.

I carry good news to people who are just like me.

I am only human.

RIP

Acts 14: 14

“But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting”

Not Rest in Peace but Rip in Pieces.

When the crowd saw the miracle but didn’t hear the message they responded with trying to worship man as gods.

When the team heard the attempt of worship they ran out so that they could be seen by everyone.

They did what their culture expected anyone to do who was stirred by deep passion, grief and trouble.

When Joseph was sold as a slave, his brother Reuben tore his own clothes.

When Job and Eli had heard their children had been killed they tore their clothes.

Caiaphas accusing Jesus of blasphemy tore his clothes.

I think the seamstresses were always in employment in those days.

Today we see Barnabas and Paul doing the exact same thing.

What passionately moves you today? Injustice? Grief of a loved one? Evil acts?

I am sure all of those things still move us.

The missionary team ripped their clothes because the worship due to God was being directed to them. Their ministry was being seen more than God. They were becoming more important. They were becoming greater He was becoming less. The message had not been heard only what they had done. Their evangelistic efforts had failed on the crowd even though their popularity had soared. Perhaps it is like a church growing numerically because of the amazing programme within it. The church gathers large followers but no one wants to be a disciple of Christ.

God tells us in Joel 2:13 not to rip our clothes but our hearts. Maybe we need to be more heartbroken over our successes that appear so but are actually temporary and worth nothing in the sight of God.

Maybe we need to RIP.

Acts 14:13

“The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.”

How can the man and the crowds respond so differently?

They all heard the message from Paul. Paul saw one man had faith and he could see that this man could be healed. The large crowd however were focusing on the miracle and not what they had heard.

The sight of miracles are often more important than the hearing of the message. Preaching is okay but let us get on with the power show. But it is the message that will keep us near the Lord. Faith comes by hearing not seeing.

 

gods from men

Acts 14:12

“Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.”

The result above all results! An ecstatic crowd respond really well to this miracle of the lame man.

Granted their theology was wrong, but what a response! Theology can always be ironed out later. This is a wonderful moment to embrace their joy. After having such rejection in Iconium here the team were in Lystra being likened to the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes.

Zeus was living in Barnabas because he is the older man and not as vocal as Paul, he is carrying a superior dignity. Zeus (the Romans used the name Jupiter) is the most powerful of all the gods and seen as the father of them and men. Hermes (the Romans used the name Mercury) was living in Paul. Hermes is the messenger of Zeus, he is the god of eloquence and presided over orators.

It is wrong but it would be easy for Barnabas and Paul to explain that it is not the Greek gods that are inside them but the God of all gods. Surely this is the great opportunity now?!

The favour of man is wonderful and a great opportunity for God to be glorified also. So we embrace it. We don’t let people see our pursuit but it is there in the deepest recesses of our heart. We long to please, to make people smile, to impact for the good. Well, that is one way of saying it. The other is that we long for the drug of praise. Some preachers have taken this drug all their life and they retire as addicts searching for one more hit.

Being likened to someone greater than us is a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to give glory to God. So we embrace it. We secretly want to be the best, better than we are now and better than anyone else. No one must know this. We don’t show ambition, not in Christian circles, we show servanthood. But in the hidden place we want to be better, greater, bigger, we want to be noticed, appreciated, likened to someone before us who had achieved what we are trying to achieve.

Our anointing attracts worshippers and this is a great opportunity for us to divert the worshippers towards God. So we embrace it. We long to see change in people, for people to be transformed and come to God, for the power. The anointing does this. The anointing in us does this. We battle with the truth that we like people looking at us, following us, revering us, in wonder of what we are carrying something. We do like this.

We still make gods of men today.

 

 

Power

Acts 14: 11

“When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

It does not read “When the crowd heard the message of Paul …” Why?

Man has always wanted a god in human form. Hinduism and Buddhism have a word for this, ‘Avatar’. It means ‘descent of God’. It believes that every Avatar has a specific message for mankind.

However, in Greek mythology their gods most important quality was power. The god Zeus was the power of the thunderbolt and kingship and Hermes was the god of commerce who was the protector of thieves and travellers who could trick the other gods. Many more gods were worshipped because of their power.

Repeatedly throughout the year the newspapers will report of some star whether that in sport or leadership being a god. They will either praise them for being one or complain that they are acting like one. But it will be to do with their power and ability.

Man craves power. “When they had seen what Paul had done”.

We must be careful what we long to see.

Years ago I was fond of singing a worship song, ‘More love, more power, more of you in my life.’ I wasn’t too sure if I really needed more of His love but I was wanting some action for sure.

“You have lifted up the shrine of your king, the pedestal of your idols, the star of your god which you made for yourselves.” Amos 5:26

What gods are we in danger of making today? It is the still the same as all those years ago in the mythology. We want power. We will forget whatever the preacher has said, we will forget Truth for Power. We are more inclined to make a god of Power and not a god of Truth. We want to see not hear. We pray to our God for things to see, to move, for Him to descend and do and act and change. We are not as concerned about what we hear.

Was it a powerful church service yesterday? What does that mean? “Nothing much happened today” What does that mean?

We know what it means. We seek power.

What would you like to have: Hear an exhortation of God or see a miracle from God?

Let us be seekers of the God of Truth and not crave the power of an avatar.