From Suffering To Praise

Acts 4:13-22

The power of God working through the apostles in the New Testament, was typically accepted by the crowds of onlookers, yet shunned by men who were of distinct sects including Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees. These men were religious leaders, who held fast to the traditions of men, more than obeying the words of the Lord. Unlike the other heretical groups, the Sadducees did not believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and were vocal (in our text) in acknowledging their distaste with Peter’s teaching through Jesus, and the resurrection from the dead.

In the previous chapter, Peter had healed a crippled beggar who was lame from birth, which caught the attention of many who witnessed the man walking, leaping, and praising God, all the way to the temple. There are many today, who receive a great blessing from God, then turn around and continue in their sin, but the man who was healed, took a straight path to church, after receiving his miracle! Many who heard the words of Peter (while teaching in the temple) totaled nearly 5,000! Wowzer!

After those pesky rulers arrived to the temple, they inquired by what power Peter healed the man. Peter’s response was led by the Holy Ghost, and threatened the religious leaders, who were more concerned with their reputations and positions, than the mighty works of the Lord. Rather than accepting the fact that an obvious miracle had taken place in a man who was lame over 40 years, coupled with the fact this event was also witnessed by many who knew the man, the Sadducees and rulers tried hard to find something to accuse the apostles for. The evidence of a miracle was irrefutable and overwhelming, yet the religious leaders refused to submit to Christ, and continued their efforts to suppress the truth.

How much more evidence does God need to reveal to you, before you surrender your life to Him? The obvious miracle is, we’re still alive, and in decent health, but God has much more in store for those who submit themselves to His will. Don’t be like the Sadducees and religious rulers, who witnessed God’s great work with their own eyes, yet rejected His way. Instead, yield yourselves to the Father, and allow Him to perform great works through you, as you live according to His purpose in the earth.

Traditions Of Men

Mark 7:1-8

Fighting the good fight of faith ain’t always easy, especially when there are always those who are content with finding fault in literally everything you do. As I approach the 40 year age mark, I’ve come to the conclusion, when a person receives God’s salvation, they are automatically assigned certain haters, who will make it their business to slander their name, no matter the cost.

Whether you do go, or not so good, your haters will make everything you do, seem as if it’s the end of the world, while at the same time, neglecting to correct the faults and issues in their own lives. This was an accurate account of the life of Jesus and those who followed after Him. Whether Jesus taught in synagogues, or in desert places, there would oftentimes be certain groups of Pharisees and scribes, who would investigate all that Jesus and His disciples did, in order to find fault in them. The sole purpose of those who hated Jesus was, to silence Him from speaking truth, but Jesus knew how to handle them in a way that actually should have change their hearts. Unfortunately, some had hearts of stone, and were too engulfed in themselves, until even the Son of God recognized when to let them be.

In our text, the Jews had a tradition that involved washing themselves in a proper way, before eating. Even after coming in from the market, the Jews would wash themselves accordingly, and only eat after they were considered clean. On a certain day, while performing their usual investigation, the scribes and Pharisees noticed some of Jesus’ disciples eating bread, without washing themselves beforehand, according to their tradition. As expected, these shallow-minded men were quick to bring their concern to Jesus. The Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, “Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?” If these men truly knew God as He was taught from generation to generation from the days of Moses, until their present time, they would have understood that man’s traditions can never supercede God’s commands, and would have refrained from mentioning this issue altogether. But, Jesus knew the intent of the men’s hearts, and exposed their wickedness by using Scripture. Jesus mentioned how the prophet Isaiah spoke of the future, when men would honor God with their lips, but not from their hearts. The Son of God continued and spoke how men were prophesied to worship God in vain, and teach doctrines of man’s commandments, while ignoring the commandments of God. Obviously, Jesus was referring to the scribes and Pharisees before Him, and literally called them, hypocrites, for caring more about keeping traditions to look holy in the midst of others, rather than humbling themselves by honoring the commandments of the Lord.

Never allow yourself to get caught up in what men deem as proper living, especially if it’s not taught in Scripture. Learn to live, not by the experiences of others, instead, by aligning your life with what’s taught in the Word. This way, you’ll never be deceived into making the traditions of men, more honorable than the commandments of God.

Mind Your Business

Acts 18:12-17

“Sweep around your own front door, before you try to sweep around mine…Take six months to mind your own business, and take six months to leave other folks alone.” Those are words from a popular, yet very truthful song written and composed by the legendary Williams Brothers. Oftentimes, people focus more on the goings on of others, without properly managing the business in their own lives. Ironically, this unfortunate circumstance is prevalent amongst those in the body of Christ. While the church is supposed to be the representation of godliness in the earth, their efforts are continually disturbed by satan and his evil forces, but there are also some who just live to mind the business of others.

God commanded unity in the church, but it’s a daily struggle to fight against the enemy, while trying to keep the love of God in our hearts. There are many who stand strong against the wiles of the devil, but there are also a great number of those who have confessed repentance of their sins, yet haven’t fully let go of their “old man” characteristics. This is why men who seem to be great in God in some aspects, often struggle with personal misjudgments. But, the power of God is still potent enough to empower all who fully commit themselves to His plan, to endure through all oppression and opposition.

Jesus often dealt with the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees; men who sought only to silence His message, without attempting to grasp a proper understanding of His words. These men would plot, plan, and conjure up all types of wicked schemes to try to bring Jesus to an end. The same happened to the apostle Paul in our text, and on multiple occasions. Men hated Paul for simply preaching the truth, and they went to great lengths to try and have him silenced, imprisoned, or put to death. Rather than seek godly wisdom and understanding of Paul’s words (as one would think they should do, seeing that these Jewish men knew about the Messiah, just not in the sense they assumed), these men preferred to kill him. In fact, the chief ruler of the synagogue had been converted to Christ, which ruffled the feathers of the cold-hearted Jews the more.

Throughout the Bible, men and women who stayed true to God, were never free from contention. Whether the attacks came from satan and his minions, or ignorant church folk, the faithful few stood strong against their opposition, while God fought on their behalf. Mind not those who seem to have more time on their hands to worry about your life, than their own. Rather than argue, fight, or bicker against them, remain consistent in your humility, and speaking the truth of God’s Word. This way, God can freely fight for you, and you may possibly convince some to give their hearts to the Lord.

A Higher Perspective

Mark 2:1-12

Bashing the modern-day church isn’t something I take pride in, as some do today. There are many who speak their thoughts over social media outlets, in reference to the state of church, and christianity, and most of them set the church in a negative light. The definition of the church is, a unified body, consisting of many members, all with different functions, yet operating with one mind, heart, and goal.

It is indeed sad how church has changed over time, and many who seek the truth, can hardly find it from those who profess to be believers, but the biggest problem facing those who are supposed to represent Christ is, perspective. Operating on human intellect alone, gives one a certain world view that is oftentimes contrary to the will of God. Men are indeed wise, and have knowledge to accomplish great things, but worldly wisdom and understanding can take you so far, until you’ll eventually yearn for a deeper understanding of life to grasp things from God’s point of view. In addition, just because a person attends religious services, doesn’t automatically make them qualified in their understanding of the Gospel message. Without the Spirit of God, no man can function appropriately according as God desires.

Our text gives an example of the different perspectives between carnal minded men, and the mind of Jesus. After seeing the faith of four men who sincerely believed that Jesus would heal their paralyzed friend, rather than heal the man first, Jesus focused on his soul. From man’s perspective one would think natural healing should come first, but Jesus proved to the arrogant and undisciplined scribes that a man’s soul is more important than anything else. The physical body of man is temporal, but the soul is eternal, and all souls belong to the Lord. The certain scribes in the text failed to understand that God had given His Son the power and authority to forgive sin, and from His perspective, Jesus was concerned about the total man, and not just the physical.

In times when we don’t understand the plan of God, trust and believe He sees more than we can with our limited sight and judgment. Be careful not to judge the church by where some are in life, because God may be doing something to help their eternal future, and not just a temporary situation.

Your sins are forgiven

Luke 5:20-26

Why is forgiveness so important to God, and why can’t we be joined to Him, except our sins be removed? First of all, God is holy, and cannot be joined to that which is contrary to His very being. The glory of God shines bright, and His righteousness exudes with holiness, but sin stains that which is holy, and makes it defiled in the eyes of God. The Bible teaches, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). In order for God to get the most out His most prized creation, He had to make a way for them to be cleansed spiritually, and redeemed back to Himself.

Sin separates man from God, and causes Him to turn a deaf ear to them. Forgiveness is important for many reasons, but most importantly, to keep man in a position to be used by God, and receive His goodness continually.

In our text, Jesus was presented an opportunity to put the power of God on full display, as His fame began to spread across the lands. During a time when He revisited Capernaum, Jesus took a moment to teach in the midst of a mixed crowd, including Pharisees, doctors, and men from every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. Verse seventeen of this chapter mentions, “the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” That’s an interesting verse on many levels, and I’d love to break it down, but I’ll digress on that topic until another lesson. As Jesus taught, with God’s healing power present, His environment was abruptly disturbed by men who broke through the roof of the house, so that they could lay their paralyzed friend before Him, to be healed. The men tried entering the house through other ways, but were unable to, because of the multitude of people surrounding the place. They were fully convinced, by faith, that if they could only reach Jesus, then their friend would be healed. How many friends do you have, who would go to the extreme, so that you could be delivered from something? Are you that friend who would break through tradition, and social barriers, so the ones you care for can find peace and relief? After the men lowered their friend from the roof, and in the middle of where Jesus was teaching, He saw THEIR faith, then told the man his sins were forgiven. Jesus knew the man needed healing, but more important than physical healing is soul salvation. Once the soul is saved, God can work wonders in the physical. There are countless men and women who have excellent physical health, but will find themselves in eternal damnation. After gut-checking the scribes and Pharisees for doubting that Jesus shared the same power as God the Father, He then told the redeemed man to rise up, carry the couch that once carried him, then go home. The man immediately sprung up, took his couch, then glorified God on the way to his house.

These are the type of feel-good stories in Scripture that should inspire all men to reconsider how they’re living. Salvation was made available to everyone, and God doesn’t have favorites, so all can receive redemption. God has the power to save, and to heal, because nothing is too hard for Him to do, but our faith in His power is what makes the difference. While you may be seeking God for healing manifestation in your natural body, check to see if your soul is healed first. Once you have confirmed your salvation with God, through Christ, then you can freely receive all the benefits that come with His absolutely amazing power!

Walk in love,

Ell