Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. (Ephesians 1:9-10 NLT)
Observation
I have many more questions than answers about what eternity will be like. But I’ve been surprised of late (and challenged to expand my thinking) by the preponderance of Scriptures that speak of “the earth” as part of God’s plan for eternity.
Oh, I’ve known many of those Scriptures for years. But I’ll dare to admit that my vision of eternity has probably been shaped more by the words of others than the Word of God. Popular culture, of course, portrays the Christian perception of eternity as some mundane existence marked by a whole lot of harp strumming and cloud sitting. (If that’s all there is, it’s no wonder nobody cares that much to go!) But even “Christian” culture seems to limit God’s plan for our eternities to “gates of pearl” and “streets of gold” and visions of heavenly worship services.
Don’t misunderstand—those images have rich appeal for me! I love to be with the people of God. I love to celebrate the goodness of God. But many Biblical references give a glimpse of something much greater, involving and including the earth—and us as part of it—in God’s plan for eternity. Revelation 5:10 declares that God “has made [us] to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and [we] will reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:10 NIV). 1 Peter 3:13 says plainly that “in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (1 Peter 3:13 NIV).
In today’s “scripture focus”—a summary statement about God’s “mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure,” (Ephesians 1:9)—the Apostle Paul includes the earth, as well. Rather matter-of-factly, Paul announces God’s plan for eternity. Bottom line, “…this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 1:9-10 NLT).
I understand it is a renewed earth. I understand it becomes “the home of righteousness.” (Indeed, that’s part of the beauty of it, yes?) I also understand that we’ve generally neglected to consider the earth and God's plans for it when we think about eternity, and I suggest that’s worth pondering. “Everything in heaven and on earth under the authority of Christ.” Cool, huh?
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Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
“Men, you should have listened to me in the first place…”
(Acts 27:21 NLT)
Observation
Don’t you hate it when you offer good counsel that is completely and utterly ignored? Me, too. Surely if I’ve offered the advice, it ought to be followed, right? “In my former life,” someone said, “I must have been a king, because I like it when people do what I say!” And as I’ve been known to say, “When people get to where they ought to be, they end up where I’ve been all along!”
I’m thinking, today, of what my attitude should be and what course of action I should take when my “good counsel” is ignored. That doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. So it’s interesting to read about these circumstances where Paul’s counsel to wait until spring to continue on this journey to Rome was summarily dismissed as the wrong course of action.
It must have been tough for a person so used to being “in charge” to be so completely subject to the decisions of others. It must have been difficult for Paul to see his advice disregarded. And I suppose the Scriptures don’t specifically say what Paul’s attitude was, but I don’t imagine that he went off to his corner of the ship to sulk. It’s more likely—especially based on what happens next—that Paul devoted a good bit of available time to seeking God. Because after several days of wind-tossed sailing, Paul is able to affirm that the crew should have listened, but is also able to share God’s promise…
“None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night, an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me…” (Acts 27:22-23 NLT)
I want to write, “I love it when a plan comes together!” But it wasn’t a plan—at least, it wasn’t Paul’s plan. And perhaps it wasn't even God’s plan that the ship try to make the journey before winter. God’s will is not always done “on earth as it is in heaven.” Perhaps God’s will was not done here when Paul’s ship left Fair Havens (v. 8) against his advice. But that’s how “big” God is…how powerful our Sovereign Lord…that—ultimately—He “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (Ephesians 1:11 NIV).
So…what’s a fellow to do when his good counsel is ignored and there’s nothing to be done about it? “Steady as she goes, mate! Hold your course.” God remains large and in charge at the helm of the ship—His ways in all your days can be trusted.
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Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
“But the accusations made against him weren’t any of the crimes I expected. Instead, it was something about their religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive.” (Acts 25:18-19 NLT)
Observation
The words quoted in the Scripture focus above are those of Porcius Festus. (Don’t like your name? Things could be worse!) As the newly appointed governor in Caesarea, Festus has inherited Paul’s case and is a bit perplexed as to what to do with it. He’s explaining the case—as best he understands it—to King Agrippa…and the wonderful thing is, he understands it really well. He describes it as all about “religion and a dead man named Jesus, who Paul insists is alive” (Acts 25:19 NLT).
Is that not a great summary of the whole matter? This fundamental conviction that Jesus—once dead—now lives again and forevermore…and promises that same eternal life to all who trust in Him by faith…—this fundamental conviction is the heart of the gospel. It is the heartbeat of Christian faith!
To that end, I’m surprised more isn’t made of it—by believers and dis-believers alike. Something in me fears that even many Christians don’t appreciate how fundamental and history-altering Christ’s resurrection is. Most people know that Muslims pray five times a day. Most people know that the geographical center of Judaism is Jerusalem. Most people know that Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation. But I wonder if most people know—I wonder if most Christians know—that Christian faith rises and falls on Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Beyond that, I wonder how many people (believers or not) know that the Bible promises physical resurrection from the dead for every person—that in Jesus’ own words, “a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28-29 NIV). I think that ought to seem as noteworthy about "us" to non-Christians as religious convictions about reincarnation or cessation at death seems to Christians when seen in other faiths.
“Lord, rebirth in us—resurrect in us—this oh-so-fundamental confident conviction…in Your resurrection…and in the promise of our own! Let our faith be that simple—about a man once dead who we insist is alive!”
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Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” (Acts 22:22 NLT)
Observation
There’s much to enjoy in today’s reading, from the robust adventure of Paul’s experiences to the robust hunger that a certain forty men must have felt if they indeed kept their vows! (see Acts 23:12-35) I admire Paul’s strategy—again and again, really, but—especially as he successfully divides the Sanhedrin between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. What a great move! I’m reflecting today, however, on the crowd’s response to Paul’s address in chapter 22.
Paul has entered the sacred space of the Temple grounds in Jerusalem and, while there, been accused of encouraging disobedience to the Jewish law and even bringing a Gentile into an area of the Temple restricted to Jews. An uproar results, but Paul asks for and receives the opportunity to address the crowd. Things seem to be settling down as Paul speaks to the crowd in their native Aramaic and explains to them his own Jewish heritage. But then he describes God’s call, announcing the Lord’s command to him: “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!” (Acts 22:21 NLT)
The New Living Translation (NLT) says, “The crowd listened until Paul said that word [emphasis mine]. Then they all began to shout, ‘Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!’” (Acts 22:22 NLT)
Isn’t it interesting how one specific word became the trigger for the resumption of all hostilities? It leaves me wondering—as a guy who’s been reminded a time or two lately of how valuable “just the right word” is to me—how much I might miss because of the words people choose. I’m not meaning that folks might not use “just the right word” so much as that people often use words with significant “history” and “emotional baggage.”
That’s most easy to see in our current U.S. political environment. Practically no one actually discusses anything anymore. Politicians and citizens alike just trade barbs. But it also happens in marriages and families and churches and workplaces in a million other places. I’m thinking maybe today would be a good day to move past the emotional rhetoric towards genuine dialogue…to listen and respond thoughtfully instead of just reacting emotionally.
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Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21 NLT)
Observation
How many days can I begin by thinking, “This is one of my favorite passages?”
Traveling to Jerusalem by water, Paul does not have time to journey inland to visit the city of Ephesus, so the elders from the church at Ephesus come to meet with him at Miletus. In their brief conversation, Paul testifies to the faithful diligence of his ministry among them. Paul declares the spiritual dangers they’ll face in coming days and the responsibility of those Ephesian elders to guard their own lives even as they watch over others. And Paul verifies that he held nothing back in declaring to them “the whole will of God” (Acts 20:27 NIV).
In verse 21, Paul affirms the crux of the message he delivered:
I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus (Acts 20:21 NLT).
That’s really the bottom line, isn’t it? I speak all the time. And even when I’m not speaking, my life is delivering a message all on its own. At my funeral (assuming Jesus’ return hasn’t interrupted the normal course of things first), someone will likely stand up and say, “He taught me that…” and finish that sentence with a summary of my life. I can’t think of any better descriptor of what I’d like for my life to stand for…a fundamental truth I want my life to express…more than this truth—“the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus (Acts 20:21 NLT).
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Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home unhurt, and everyone was greatly relieved. (Acts 20:11-12 NLT)
Observation
I count it one of the greatest stories in Scripture, providing delightful insight into life in the early church. Paul has returned to Troas for a visit and—because he had much to share and was leaving the next morning—he spoke late into the night. I love the detail in Luke’s description: “The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps” (Acts 20:8 NLT). Since you know what happens next, take a moment to imagine young Eutychus growing more and more drowsy, head bobbing again and again in that dimly lit room as he fought to stay awake. Is that not a wonderful scene?
But Eutychus had chosen a window seat, and “finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below” (Acts 20:9 NLT). I don’t care how your teaching might have stirred the crowd, that’ll put a damper on your meeting! But as Paul wrapped his arms around the boy’s lifeless body, God revived Eutychus! (You can suggest he hadn’t really died, but you’d be arguing with the physician Luke on that one.)
The remarkable thing is what happens next. "Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home unhurt, and everyone was greatly relieved" (Acts 20:11-12 NLT).
Is that not both ordinary and extraordinary? These are quite ordinary people—people who stay up too late and fall asleep in church—but people who also experience God’s extraordinary power in marvelous, practical ways. I long for both.
I have the one, to be sure—I’m completely ordinary. But I long for the latter without losing the former. I don’t mean that I’m unwilling to be changed however God wishes to change me—that’s part of what I long for. But I love the “earthiness”—the genuineness—of these Book of Acts believers who, as quite ordinary people, see God’s gracious, miraculous hand and continue to be both amazed by it and grateful for it.
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Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT)
Observation
About Romans 8:32 I wrote:
The baseline by which we judge God’s care for us is not our difficulties but His incomparable gift. “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all…”—that’s the baseline—“won’t he also give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32 NLT)
About 2 Corinthians 8:9, I’m thinking the same sort of thing.
2 Corinthians 8-9 is all about generous giving. Paul appeals to the church at Corinth to participate generously in an offering for fellow-believers in Jerusalem who are experiencing a season of particular hardship. Paul makes it clear that no one is to imperil themselves by their giving (“I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves”—2 Corinthians 8:19 NLT) or be manipulated into doing something they genuinely don’t want to (“don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure”—2 Corinthians 9:7 NLT). At the same time, Paul presents the most wonderfully compelling case for abounding—even sacrificial—generosity that’s ever been given. His case is founded on the example of Christ:
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT)
The baseline for my generosity is found in Christ's generosity towards me! How can I do any less than give my life away (yes, including money) in light of what Christ has done for me? I *do* believe what others have said—you can identify so much about a person’s spiritual condition simply looking at his or her checkbook (including your own)!
Especially given that it’s the end of the month, and near the end of the year, today might be a especially good opportunity for a checkbook checkup. How's your generosity measure up? What does your generosity say about your spiritual condition?
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