“After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” Acts 1:3a.
Jesus, the Nazarene, had been crucified by the Roman authorities, under pressure from the Jewish religious leadership, and it was verified that He was dead and buried. Yet after a few days, there were reports – almost wishful thinking – that He was now alive. Jesus was making appearances to several small groups. Suddenly, He appeared at a gathering of His disciples, just a day or so after the reported resurrection. He really showed up. He did not just leave them alone to figure out what was next. He started to give them “many convincing proofs” that He was now alive in His resurrected body.
It seems as though Jesus wanted to make sure that His disciples understood what had happened to Him, that He was no longer dead, and that, indeed, He was in His new and improved state. He took pains, no pun intended, to make certain that they understood, because He knew that they would need to be utterly convinced of His resurrection in order to withstand the firestorm that life was to throw at them in the coming days and years. He knew that they would be under incredible and intense pressure that would test their conviction. Jesus “gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.” Nor did He abandon them to fend for themselves.
On top of that, Jesus pledged that, after He returned to His Father in heaven, He would send Another, who would be even more help than even He had been. In fact, one of the names of this One being sent was “the Helper”. In a matter of days, Jesus’ disciples would be empowered by this new Helper. But in the mean time, Jesus sought to comfort them with the fact that He was indeed alive and well, and that He had not abandoned them. What proofs do you need today that Jesus has not abandoned you? There are most certainly times in each of our lives when it seems as if God has left the building and we are left wondering if He is ever coming back. This scene in Acts is one of several in which God seems to overcome incredible odds (death and the grave!) to give his disciples “many convincing proofs” that He is alive and present. He has done the same for each of us. Take time to reflect on the significance of this appearance “after his suffering”, and take comfort from His showing up. “I will never leave you or forsake you.”, said Jesus.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
April 19, 2007
“In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach.” Acts 1:1.
Luke, who was the author of the Gospel bearing his name, is now beginning his next book – the Acts of the Apostles. In his first book, he tells the story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and in this second book, he plans on recounting the life of those followers of Jesus and the growth of this new movement that proclaims Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In this opening line, he tells us briefly about his previous book, and we notice that he is addressing this writing to the same “friend”, whose name is Theophilus. Not too much is known about this person, Theophilus, but, if he was an actual person, he was most probably a close friend of Luke’s and was educated enough to be able to read his friend’s account.
But there is another thought concerning this “person”, which might be disguised in the translation of his name. In Greek, “theo” can be translated as “god” and “philus”, whose root is “philia”, can mean, loosely, “friend of”. So the name, Theophilus, could be translated as “friend of God”. It could be that Theophilus was an actual person, for this was a fairly common name back in his day, and, possibly, a friend of Luke’s, or it could mean that Luke’s writings were focused on anyone who deemed themselves as either friends of God or friendly towards God, with the desire to learn more about what God has done in Jesus.
For the last 2000 years, “friends of God” have been reading and studying Luke’s books to learn more about the life of Jesus and about the bold and almost reckless devotion of His followers, as they spread the story of their Lord and Master. Through the last several years, I have personally sought to become, more and more, a “friend of God”, as I have sought to understand what the implications are to being a follower of Jesus, and to apply them to my life. It is my hope that, as we journey together through the Acts of the Apostles and the life of the early church, you, too, will seek, as God’s “friend”, a deeper connection with God and with His community. Take some time today to reflect on what it means to you to be a “Theophilus” – a friend of God. What are some of the implications and applications to your life today?
Luke, who was the author of the Gospel bearing his name, is now beginning his next book – the Acts of the Apostles. In his first book, he tells the story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and in this second book, he plans on recounting the life of those followers of Jesus and the growth of this new movement that proclaims Jesus as their Lord and Savior. In this opening line, he tells us briefly about his previous book, and we notice that he is addressing this writing to the same “friend”, whose name is Theophilus. Not too much is known about this person, Theophilus, but, if he was an actual person, he was most probably a close friend of Luke’s and was educated enough to be able to read his friend’s account.
But there is another thought concerning this “person”, which might be disguised in the translation of his name. In Greek, “theo” can be translated as “god” and “philus”, whose root is “philia”, can mean, loosely, “friend of”. So the name, Theophilus, could be translated as “friend of God”. It could be that Theophilus was an actual person, for this was a fairly common name back in his day, and, possibly, a friend of Luke’s, or it could mean that Luke’s writings were focused on anyone who deemed themselves as either friends of God or friendly towards God, with the desire to learn more about what God has done in Jesus.
For the last 2000 years, “friends of God” have been reading and studying Luke’s books to learn more about the life of Jesus and about the bold and almost reckless devotion of His followers, as they spread the story of their Lord and Master. Through the last several years, I have personally sought to become, more and more, a “friend of God”, as I have sought to understand what the implications are to being a follower of Jesus, and to apply them to my life. It is my hope that, as we journey together through the Acts of the Apostles and the life of the early church, you, too, will seek, as God’s “friend”, a deeper connection with God and with His community. Take some time today to reflect on what it means to you to be a “Theophilus” – a friend of God. What are some of the implications and applications to your life today?
Thursday, April 12, 2007
April 12, 2007
Every once in while, I would like to use the Thursday Thought to tell a brief, Priority One story of how God is working in the life of a man that I run into or hear from. This story is from one of the leaders of a small group that met at one of our locations in the Lehigh Valley, and this happened in his group a couple of years ago. We had normally encouraged our small groups to be 12 men, give or take a man, and this particular group grew to 17 men. It was a stretch for us, and we were not so sure that this large of a group would work as well, but we were willing to give it a try.
The group had meet for several weeks, and they were nearing the end of the book in which they were studying. Immediately following the opening prayer on this particular week, the leader that week prompted the group to turn to a commitment prayer in the book, which was read by each of the participants as part of their homework that week. In this prayer, the writer of the book suggests that all new Christians need to recognize Jesus, for who He is, and to open their hearts to him. In other words, the non-believers in the group were encouraged to consider making a commitment to follow Jesus as their lord. At the same time, all of the Christians in the group were encouraged to renew their faith walk with Christ.
At that point, the leader took an incredible risk! He wasn’t just going to read the prayer or even lead them in praying it out loud; he announced that he was getting on his knees to pray the prayer in the book out loud, and he invited anyone who wished to, to join him. The response was AMAZING! The other 16 men joined their leader on their knees! Here was a group of 17 men, all coming from different places on their faith walk, in a circle, on their knees, praying aloud a prayer of commitment and/or renewal. For several men, this was the first time that they had ever prayed this prayer or ever prayed out loud. It truly was a remarkable and life-changing moment in each man’s life and in the life of that group. I was moved by this leader’s willingness to take the risk, and I asked myself, “Am I willing to take the risk of following God’s leading, no matter what that might be?” I hope that you are inspired by this true story, and, like me, I hope that you are inspired and challenged to take risks for Jesus’ sake. Take some time today to reflect on risks that God is calling you to take.
The group had meet for several weeks, and they were nearing the end of the book in which they were studying. Immediately following the opening prayer on this particular week, the leader that week prompted the group to turn to a commitment prayer in the book, which was read by each of the participants as part of their homework that week. In this prayer, the writer of the book suggests that all new Christians need to recognize Jesus, for who He is, and to open their hearts to him. In other words, the non-believers in the group were encouraged to consider making a commitment to follow Jesus as their lord. At the same time, all of the Christians in the group were encouraged to renew their faith walk with Christ.
At that point, the leader took an incredible risk! He wasn’t just going to read the prayer or even lead them in praying it out loud; he announced that he was getting on his knees to pray the prayer in the book out loud, and he invited anyone who wished to, to join him. The response was AMAZING! The other 16 men joined their leader on their knees! Here was a group of 17 men, all coming from different places on their faith walk, in a circle, on their knees, praying aloud a prayer of commitment and/or renewal. For several men, this was the first time that they had ever prayed this prayer or ever prayed out loud. It truly was a remarkable and life-changing moment in each man’s life and in the life of that group. I was moved by this leader’s willingness to take the risk, and I asked myself, “Am I willing to take the risk of following God’s leading, no matter what that might be?” I hope that you are inspired by this true story, and, like me, I hope that you are inspired and challenged to take risks for Jesus’ sake. Take some time today to reflect on risks that God is calling you to take.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
April 5, 2007
“’I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’” Luke 24:49.
Jesus has reappeared to His disciples in one of His last post-resurrection appearances. He is giving them some final instructions before He leaves to go to be with His Father. With words that are meant to comfort, Jesus states that the Father and He are going to send someone else who will help them in the on-going work of spreading God’s great news. From our perspective looking back on that time, we know that this person was the Holy Spirit. In their moment, they did not know for sure.
In John’s account of the life of Jesus, he tells us that Jesus told the disciples that it was better that He go to the Father, because then the Holy Spirit would come and be their guide, and that they would do greater things than they saw Jesus doing. All of that must have been mind-blowing for them, for they had witnessed some incredibly amazing things – healings, deliverance demonic oppression, raising the dead, and incredible, out-of-this-world teaching (with authority, I might add!). And now, this other Person was going to come, and they were going to do greater things with His help. Unbelievable!
But there was a catch. They had to obey. They had to wait. They couldn’t just go off and start doing these things. They were instructed to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Isn’t that the way it always is? There is always a catch! In this case, that was a good thing! It made these disciples more dependent on God, and it meant that they had to wait for His perfect timing. I don’t know if it is human nature, but being patient about something doesn’t appear to come naturally to most people. It certainly doesn’t come easily to me. I have to work on it all the time. I say, “Lord, give me patience, and I want it right now!” It would seem to me that this waiting process that Jesus had the disciples in was a good thing for them. Take time today to think about Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples. Think, also, how they apply to your own daily life. Reflect on the “power from on high” that God poured out on those disciples and the power that He still pours out on us today.
Jesus has reappeared to His disciples in one of His last post-resurrection appearances. He is giving them some final instructions before He leaves to go to be with His Father. With words that are meant to comfort, Jesus states that the Father and He are going to send someone else who will help them in the on-going work of spreading God’s great news. From our perspective looking back on that time, we know that this person was the Holy Spirit. In their moment, they did not know for sure.
In John’s account of the life of Jesus, he tells us that Jesus told the disciples that it was better that He go to the Father, because then the Holy Spirit would come and be their guide, and that they would do greater things than they saw Jesus doing. All of that must have been mind-blowing for them, for they had witnessed some incredibly amazing things – healings, deliverance demonic oppression, raising the dead, and incredible, out-of-this-world teaching (with authority, I might add!). And now, this other Person was going to come, and they were going to do greater things with His help. Unbelievable!
But there was a catch. They had to obey. They had to wait. They couldn’t just go off and start doing these things. They were instructed to “stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Isn’t that the way it always is? There is always a catch! In this case, that was a good thing! It made these disciples more dependent on God, and it meant that they had to wait for His perfect timing. I don’t know if it is human nature, but being patient about something doesn’t appear to come naturally to most people. It certainly doesn’t come easily to me. I have to work on it all the time. I say, “Lord, give me patience, and I want it right now!” It would seem to me that this waiting process that Jesus had the disciples in was a good thing for them. Take time today to think about Jesus’ final instructions to His disciples. Think, also, how they apply to your own daily life. Reflect on the “power from on high” that God poured out on those disciples and the power that He still pours out on us today.
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