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Acts 16

This chapter of scripture is immediately following Paul’s division with Barnabas over John Mark. Paul takes Silas and departs for his second missionary journey. Shortly thereafter Paul meets his true son in the faith, Timothy. Paul has Timothy circumcised for the sake of their ministry to the Jewish brethren. The Holy Spirit forbade them from speaking the Gospel in Asia minor and then God gave them a vision of a man in Macedonia pleading with them to come and help. Just look at how Paul and his company posture their hearts to be led by the Spirit. When something isn’t going smoothly in my life, I tend to double down and put more effort in to break through and solve the problem. Paul and his travelling companions had hearts soft enough to recognize that they weren’t to push through but were to wait for God’s leading.

The crew sails to Samothrace and then finds their way to Philippi where they find some trouble. After Paul had ministered to Lydia, they were going to go to pray, but the demons tried to distract really quick. This seems to be an extreme example in scripture, but anytime I go to pray, I seem to invite distractions. I am lucky to get five minutes of prayer before my mind starts to wander, my phone starts buzzing, and my dryer starts going off. This is why Jesus tells us to go to our quiet place where there are no distractions.

As Paul casts the demon out of the young girl, her masters realize that their chance at profit was now gone and they have Paul and Silas thrown in prison. And what do we see them do? They start singing and praying in the cold, dingy jail cell. I’m convinced many people, including myself, would say, “God, you didn’t allow us to go to Asia where we had planned to go, just to send us here to Philippi to end up in prison for casting a demon out in your name.” We would say, “God, why are you abandoning us as we are trying to do work in your name.” Paul and Silas didn’t miss the opportunity to minister. All of this was happening for a reason. All of this happened for the salvation of the jailer and his family.

As we serve Jesus, we need to keep a broader perspective of what God might be up to. Remember that your loyalty is to Jesus, not your comfort. God may put you in a crammed cubicle with a bunch of complaining coworkers, for the sake of one person you may share the Gospel with. Are you going to focus on your own comfortability and circumstances, or will you posture your heart in humility to see what God is up to in your community?

Today’s Reading: Acts 2 

Community can be viewed as a group of individuals that are coming together under a common cause or goal. Many times we think of community as our neighborhood. A group of individuals who live together and some sense of peace and tranquility. 

As we have grown, the community has decreased with the connections. Many times we can live in the same neighborhood or community and not know who lives next-door to us or who lives across the street from us. 

Several decades ago everybody knew who lived next-door and across the street and three streets over. At that point in time, the community had a connection. This is something that we have lost. I have made intentional connections with my community. Not just my neighborhood, but also the schools that my children attend and the sports teams that we participate and engage in. 

Just imagine if you do not have connections in your community. How long would you be in a community? How long could you survive? How long would you be able to engage in the community without connections?

In today’s reading, we see a community that has increased and has grown tremendously because of their connection through communication.

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.””

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭7‬, ‭9‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

During the day of Pentecost, which is the 50th day after the Resurrection, many of the pilgrims and disciples were in a place together worshiping God. The group of travelers were subgrouping into their similar languages groups. This grouping happens with us all the time, we group ourselves in like sub-groups to feel connected. The individuals were in their subgroups and not connecting with the other subgroups. They were all Jewish. They were abiding by the Jewish law and the Jewish customs but their place of origin were all  different.

 

To put into the perspective it’s as if you were at the United Nations and everybody is speaking their native tongue. Then when the Holy Spirit came in, everybody could understand each other in their own tongue without a translator. This allowed them to connect and further their community to a deeper level. They understood each other’s accents and nuances and specific words. There was no confusion. They had a community with the connection.

I love to connect with people. I love communicating and community.  I have been given the gift of being communicate with people when I do not know their language. This also fueled my quest and want to communicate with people in their own languages. From early age, in middle and high school I studied French.  In college, I studied Japanese and traveled to Japan. In grad school,  I studied Spanish and conducted several clinics in Spanish speaking countries. 

Currently in my current job I have a lot of Spanish speakers and love connecting with them. One of the nuances that I’ve learned over the last year is each country has a different form of Spanish and they have different words. So even though I know the basic Spanish, each interaction can be challenging to connect. 

Because of my passion for my patients in my passion for connecting, I cherish each interaction.

One of things that we have lost is the connection in our communities. One way that we can reconnect is by allowing God to open up our hearts to be connected with the community and be willing to be open to the opportunities. Each day you have been given some opportunities to connect. Will you be willing to open up your heart in your communities and connect with each other on a different level. How much more rewarding and fulfilling would you be with opening your connections in your community? 

Be Blessed 

John 14

“What do you love?”

You have to be careful with that question. If you aren’t, you’ll provide an emotional response. When we answer emotionally, we often name the things we want to love or believe we are supposed to love.

You’ll say you love your spouse because that’s what you’re supposed to say. Duh.

But reality may tell a different story.

Instead of sitting at dinner with her, you went to the bar with your buddies. Rather than engaging in a meaningful conversation, you lost yourself in the football game.

Is that love?

Love is revealed by what we consistently give ourselves to, the things that receive our time, attention, sacrifice, and obedience.

Consider that football game. There is absolutely nothing that will keep you from watching it. Will you be late? Not a chance. You’ll move every meeting and sideline every other commitment to be there.

Put into the language of Jesus: you obey what you love.

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.”
—John 14:21 NLT

Make no mistake: your obedience gets results.

For the sports fan, it produces excitement and energy. There’s adrenaline in the competition, loyalty to the team, endless banter, bountiful statistics, and plenty of nachos.

Jesus promises something too:

“And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

Jesus will reveal himself to those who love him.

Is that a big enough reward?

Or are you looking for something more?

My mind goes to money first. How will seeing Jesus help me make more money? Will it make me more successful? More influential? Will Jesus reveal himself in a way that helps me accomplish what I already want?

But then, which comes first?

Jesus, reveal yourself to me, and then I will love you.

Or:

Jesus, I love you—now reveal yourself to me.

Perhaps both still make the revelation of Jesus a transaction. I’ll give him something if he gives me what I want.

Jesus offers a better way:

Jesus, I love you. Therefore, I will obey you.

Obedience does not purchase his love. It demonstrates mine.

And somewhere along that road of obedience, Jesus promises that I will see more of him.

The question is not simply, “Do I say that I love Jesus?”

The question is, “Does my life agree?”

Luke Chapter 24

I’m not quite sure if I am responsible enough to cover such a meaningful chapter out of the Bible.  The Resurrection?!?!?!  The day the women went to the tomb, and the body of Jesus wasn’t there?  The walk to Emmaus with a ‘stranger’?  Everyone gathered together and Jesus is suddenly just standing there in the flesh?  This is some heavy reading, let’s dive in!

The Empty Tomb:

Early Sunday morning a group of women go to the tomb.  The stone had been rolled away.  They go in to find the absence of His body.  Two angels appear and ask the one of the infamous questions widely known, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive?  He isn’t here.  He is risen”.  I don’t know about you but my goodness this is some meaningful and gut punch text.  The angels reminded them that Jesus said all of this was going to happen!!  Then it clicked.  They remembered, but who is going to believe them?

The Walk to Emmaus:

Two disciples are walking to Emmaus, about 7 miles from Jerusalem, hashing out everything that had happened over the last few days.  Jesus joins them but is cloaked as a stranger.  He walks them through the scriptures explaining how this was all supposed to happen as it did.  They finally get to Emmaus.  Once they sit down for a bite, Jesus blesses and breaks the bread and they SEE him.  And in an instant, he vanishes.  Back to Jerusalem they go.

Jesus Appears to the Group:

While everyone has gotten back together to compare notes on the day, Jesus shows himself.  They all think it’s a ghost.  Not only does he say, ‘Look at me’, he eats a piece of grilled fish in front of them to drive the point home.  He goes on to repeat scripture again about how this was all meant to go this way and instructs them to wait for Him to send the Holy Spirit, which will fill them with power from Heaven to go forward.

Like I said earlier…. a powerful and meaningful chapter beyond any of our recognition.  None of us were there, we have never experienced anything like that in our lives.  Maybe we have had some powerful and prominent moments, but nothing like this.  He said this was the plan all along.

From grief and confusion to gradual recognition and finally full-on joy and mission.  Luke describes in this chapter the idea that the resurrected Jesus isn’t always immediately recognizable but reveals himself through scripture and shared meals.  This really makes me think ahead about the next time I participate in communion at church.  Usually during communion, I think about everyone at the Last Supper.  This time is going to be a little different.  When I take the bread, I am going to be thinking about how he revealed himself AFTER he had risen.  It was always there in the scripture for everyone to follow along just like it is still in the scripture today for you and I.

To Recap: Luke 24 doesn’t end with a body in a tomb.  It ends with hands lifted in blessing and disciples running back to Jerusalem full of joy instead of despair.  The empty tomb wasn’t a mystery to be solved.  It was the announcement that everything Jesus said would happen, happened.  He wasn’t a memory to mourn or a teacher to look back on.  He was walking beside them on the road, eating fish in front of them, reiterating scripture like it was always about him.  And that is still true today.  Jesus is alive and well, not a historical figure we study from a distance, but someone present, active, and worth building our lives around.

Matthew 1 may begin with a genealogy, but its message is deeply personal: God has been present and working through every generation, every unexpected circumstance, and every imperfect person to bring Jesus into the world.

The chapter culminates in one of the greatest promises in Scripture: “They shall call His name Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” God’s presence is not merely something we hope to feel; it is a reality revealed in Christ.

Joseph shows us how to live with an awareness of that presence. When confusion and disappointment entered his life, he listened for God’s direction and then obeyed. His obedience did not come from having every answer—it came from trusting that God was at work.

Three practices help cultivate that same awareness today. Prayer creates space to listen rather than react. Worship reminds us that God is faithful even when our circumstances are unclear. Obedience trains us to recognize and respond to His leading, just as Joseph did when he took Mary as his wife.

Today, we should remember that Immanuel is still true: God is with you. Before we react to a difficult situation, pray. When uncertainty rises, we should worship. When God makes the next step clear through His Word, we should obey.

Prayer: Lord, help me slow down enough to recognize Your presence. Give me ears to hear, a heart that worships, and the courage to obey You today. Amen.

 

Psalm 91

The first four verses of this psalm read, “1He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 3Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. 4He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”

A common theme among the Psalms is that God is our refuge. He is our safety and our defender. We see in this psalm, that he is our fortress as well. A fortress and a refuge provide safety and rest to those who trust in the provision. If I show up to a fortress that has holes in the walls and a compromised roof, I likely won’t trust in the provision of safety that fortress will provide. Rather if the fortress is locked down and guarded, I will go inside and find rest. Let me tell you that refuge in God is like the latter. It is a good place to find rest.

The question arises, do you seek rest from God, or other sources. God desires us to be productive people and to steward the resource of our time well. He created us to work and to have dominion. With that said, productivity and efficiency can easily become your focus especially if where you live is anything like northern VA. How much can I fit in my day? Where can I fit this meeting? Honey, do we have a free evening this week? Fast paced morning, working lunch breaks, and phone calls on the way home. Where do I find my refuge?

If I am being honest, I don’t always go to God as my refuge and strength. I fall for the lie that turning on the baseball game will give rest to my soul. It might give rest to my mind and my body, but it does not provide rest for my soul. Connecting with my Creator in His Word and in prayer gives rest to my soul. Sitting at his feet gives rest to my soul. Listening to worship music on my drive home gives rest to my soul. Leaving my phone in the kitchen and praying with my wife after a long day gives rest to my soul.

The question stands, where do you find refuge? Trust in the Lord.

Today’s Reading: Psalms 27

“Light, space, zest— that’s GOD! So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing. When vandal hordes ride down ready to eat me alive, Those bullies and toughs fall flat on their faces. When besieged, I’m calm as a baby. When all hell breaks loose, I’m collected and cool.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Many of us are celebrating Labor Day. This is the day that has been categorized as the last day of summer. The beginning of the fall. This day is also become synonymous with final barbecues and family gatherings outside while the weather is nice and warm (hopefully not too hot) 

One of the true meanings of Labor Day is the celebration of the protections that we have as workers and laborers. Because of Labor Day, we have a weekend and a five day work week. Because of Labor Day, we have children who get to go to school and who are protected from industries and exportations at a young age. We are protected from employers over utilizing us without the complete and fair compensation. Even though it’s not at its  completion or perfection, it is still a work in progress.

In Psalms 27,  God is showing us our protection in many ways. David is worshiping God because of his protections. David’s heart is for God. The one thing that David wants  most of all in the world is to be with God. He does not want the fame and fortune and the esteem of being a king or a hero, he only wants to be close to God.  

“I’m asking GOD for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭4‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Because of David’s  love and his want to be with God, God answers David with protection. This protection is just not for times of heartache, or times of trouble or times of distress. 

• This protection is for peaceful rest at night. 

• This protection is for being able to walk without fear of retribution or death at anybody’s hand. 

• This protection is long lasting because of his relationship with him. 

The good news is that we have the same protection from God. We are able to be protected from things we cannot even see. There are many issues and problems that we see daily, but God protects us from the things that we do not even know we need protected from. He sees the things that are in front of us years from now. We are living in protection of things that could have harmed us today, but because of his protection, he shielded us from these things.

When we have a relationship with God, he protects us. He protects those who are near us. He even protects us when we go against His will. He protects us because he loves us. This is a reason to celebrate him daily. He has protected us from so many things that we didn’t even know we needed to be protected.

Allow us to enjoy and celebrate the protections that we have been granted:  be safe and blessed.