Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 26 September 2014 "God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles"Daily Scripture: Acts 14:19-20 Then some Jews from Antioch and Iconium caught up with them and turned the fickle crowd against them. They beat Paul unconscious, dragged him outside the town and left him for dead. But as the disciples gathered around him, he came to and got up. He went back into town and the next day left with Barnabas for Derbe.
Plenty of Hard Times
21-22 After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy: “Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times.”
23-26 Paul and Barnabas handpicked leaders in each church. After praying—their prayers intensified by fasting—they presented these new leaders to the Master to whom they had entrusted their lives. Working their way back through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia and preached in Perga. Finally, they made it to Attalia and caught a ship back to Antioch, where it had all started—launched by God’s grace and now safely home by God’s grace. A good piece of work.
27-28 On arrival, they got the church together and reported on their trip, telling in detail how God had used them to throw the door of faith wide open so people of all nations could come streaming in. Then they settled down for a long, leisurely visit with the disciples.
Reflection Questions:
In Lystra, the plotting against Paul became action. "They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing he was dead." Luke didn't explain how it happened, but wrote, "When the disciples surrounded him, he got up and entered the city again." After preaching in Derbe, Paul and Barnabas went home—amazingly, by way of Lystra, Iconium and the other Antioch, encouraging the Christian converts in each city. When they got back to Antioch in Syria, they reported, not mainly their troubles, but "how God had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles."
Paul appointed elders for each church. Scholar N. T. Wright said, "All Paul did was to come through town, a few days or weeks after his first preaching, to appoint 'elders,' to fast and pray and lay hands on them, and then to move on. Apart from the odd letter, and a follow-up visit in a few years' time if they were lucky, that was it. They were on their own. But they weren't, of course. The whole movement…is built on the belief that Jesus is Lord over the church as well as the world, and that by his spirit he calls, he equips, he guides, he warns, he rebukes, he encourages. It's his business." How about in 2014—are the pastors, staff, lay leaders and members of Resurrection "on our own"? If Jesus is Lord over this church, in what ways do we experience that
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I ask you anew to be the Lord of my life. I ask you to be the Lord of my church. I ask you to give me ears to hear your leading, and hands willing to do what you call me to do. Amen.
Insight from Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.
With the election in Scotland last week, a popular meme, “Wait. What?” was generated playing on the movie Braveheart. (A meme is just a picture/phrase frequently generated with slight variations, for some humorous/subtle point.)
(AP) – Scotland Votes to Remain Part of Great Britain
(Pictures in your Insight twice in a row? Impressive – Editor. Our teen-aged son patiently showed me how. I expect his future car will bear the bumper sticker: “Proud Son of a Father Who Can Finally Manage Basic I.T. Skills” – DL.)
Of course this theme of “Wait. What?” isn’t all that new. It could be like the teenaged boy with the deal to get $5.00 for every “A” on his report card who comes home proudly exclaiming, “Dad, through some hard work & perseverance, I managed to save you 15 bucks this semester!” “That’s great son, good job….Wait. What?”
Or it could be like the young wife chatting with her husband as he watches TV, “I went to the Doctor today. It wasn’t psychosomatic after all.” “Hmm. That’s nice. Wait. What?”
Today’s Scripture, provides several examples of this same “Wait. What?” phenomenon. Let’s take a brief look. Preceding our verse selection we learn that Paul & Barnabas came upon a man born lame & healed him so he could walk. The crowd and even the priest of Zeus offered sacrifices to Paul & Barnabas thinking them as some gods on earth. Paul & Barnabas are appalled at this reaction & quickly admonish the crowd saying, “We are mere humans like you.” The crowd is still enthralled with Paul & Barnabas until some of the religious leaders persuade them that Paul & Barnabas were actually blaspheming God with their actions. Wait. What? One moment they proclaim Paul as god-like & the next moment they are jostling in line to be the first to stone him?
So, then “they stoned Paul & dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up…” Wait. What? Was Paul dead or merely stunned? What did the Disciples do, if anything? Why was Paul stoned & not Barnabas, too? This whole scene is mysterious. (Nice time to be succinct, Luke.)
Then we read, “He (Paul) got up & went back into the city.” Wait. What? What would possibly possess Paul to go back into this hornet’s nest?
Finally we read, “The next day he & Barnabas left for Derbe.” Wait. What? I hurt my thumb & I’m using special tools to open jars for days. Paul has just been stoned within an inch of his life & the next day he embarks on a 55-mile journey?
Good grief. What are we to make of these irrational circumstances? I would submit that the Bible is full of these “Wait. What? Moments” like Jesus telling us the first shall be last, or the meek shall inherit the earth, or to forgive His persecutors for they know not what they do, in short, because God loves pleasant surprises.
I think God relishes the unexpected instances that occur in our own faithwalk as well, like the man who once devoted his spare time to golf, but now eagerly looks forward to working with Resurrection’s Disaster Recovery Team, or the self-described “middle-aged homebody” who goes on a mission trip to a foreign land, loves it, and is excitedly planning her next adventure, or the boy who desperately covets a new cell phone but, instead, chooses to donate his birthday money to the Backpack Ministry.
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