Dear church,

I am sure you have noticed by now the preaching of the gospel, in the earliest days of the church, was met with severe opposition. The disciples likely didn’t find this surprising. After all, Jesus predicted as much. Luke’s Gospel records Jesus saying, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Luke 12:51).

When the apostles went to Iconium and then Lystra, they were met with division. Entire communities were divided. And the opposition to the gospel was fierce. They were making plans to stone the apostles in Iconium, and they actually carried out the stoning of Paul in Lystra.

Humans have a remarkable tendency toward animosity against one another. And that animosity can have a quick trigger.

I was reading today about an ESPN reporter who covers the NBA. He got a press release from a U.S. senator that was critical of the NBA’s relationship with China, as well as some of the league’s political statements. The ESPN reporter – within two minutes – wrote back to the senator with a two-word expletive.

Reporters are supposed to be impartial. They are supposed to report the news. They aren’t supposed to verbally insult anyone. But in two minutes, this particular reporter was able to digest what the senator was saying and then, rather than reporting it as news (or just ignoring it as not newsworthy), replied to the senator by cussing at him.

Clearly, the reporter had his opinions about these subjects. And here was a man who was paid to be unbiased and yet was so wound up in his own feelings that he risked his job in order to insult a U.S. senator.

I assume the reporter regrets it. But it goes to show how humans operate — seek and destroy opposition to our chosen ways of life. This destruction could be physical or, in this case, verbal.

For the apostle Paul, the attempted destruction was both physical and verbal. In Iconium, the unbelieving Jews “poisoned (the Gentiles’) minds” against the gospel. When that didn’t work, they began concocting plans to kill the apostles.

Indeed, humans have a remarkable tendency toward animosity against one another. We are naturally competitive. We bend toward tearing one another apart to get what we want – or to defend what we have.

After the disciples found the body of Paul, left for dead outside the city of Lystra, they likely were surprised when he got up. Paul was alive. Surely battered and bruised, he walked back into the city. He didn’t walk back into the city for revenge. He walked back into the city to continue his ministry.

Paul and Barnabas went on to Derbe, and then they returned both to Lystra and Iconium. They continued to preach this divisive gospel. But you’ll notice that there was no violence in their actions. There were no murderous threats or plots. It was simply the good news of Jesus Christ, preached over and over again to anyone who would listen. It was a message of life and hope and reconciliation with the maker of heaven and earth. No violence is necessary to become part of the family of God – just humble repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

The world will rage against the gospel. And at times, that raging will be violent. The apostles reminded the new believers that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Jesus had said we are blessed when we are persecuted for righteousness sake – and when others revile us, persecute us, and utter all kinds of evil against us falsely on His account (Matthew 5:10-11). We don’t retaliate. No, we patiently wait for the blessing of God.

A question for your day: In what ways are you drawn to competition and to retaliation in your daily life?

Chris

Dear church,

I have been misplacing things lately – water bottles, coffee cups, car keys, a hat, a cell phone, shoes, tools. I will set something down and, in my haste and inattention, I forget where I set it. And then I go on a hunt through the house – a lost man looking for lost items. Some of you know what I’m talking about!

The “experts” – which I define basically as anyone in the generation older than me – tell me this is just a sign of growing older. Forgetfulness comes with the territory. At one point our minds were sharp. We could recall things well. We were attentive most of the time. We noticed small things. We could process more information coming into our brains in a shorter period of time.

And when we get older, things slow down. Our bodies break down.

This is part of life in a sin-stricken world. This is a world of deterioration. Things here don’t live forever. As Christians, we know this is the case because of sin – because God’s created ones – the ones made in his image – have opted to live apart from his way, have opted to live in a way they weren’t designed to live.

And things break down as a result. And there’s nothing we can do about it. It’s just a simple fact of life.

But Paul told the folks at Antioch in Pisidia that God had made a way out: “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.”

The word “freed” could also be translated as “justified.” To be justified means to be declared innocent and righteous in the face of allegations to the contrary. In a courtroom, we may be accused of acts of wrongdoing. But we are justified when those accusations are proven to be false. We are justified.

Of course, as humans in God’s courtroom, we are guilty every time – but for the work of Christ on the cross and resurrection. Paul said Jesus “did not see corruption.” There’s kind of a double meaning here – both that he did not sin and that his dead body didn’t waste away in a grave. He arose.

And through his death on the cross and resurrection, we have forgiveness of sins and justification before God.

Chris

Dear church,

I was reading this chapter and thinking about what it teaches us about God. And then I got a text on my phone. Here’s what it said: “This is Sara with Owens Bonding. I’m calling regarding Michael. He is currently in the Sedgwick County Jail and asked me to call you for help.”

No kidding. I was reading the Bible about a miraculous escape from jail – and a close call for Peter – and I got a request from someone who needed bonded out of jail! The only problem was that I didn’t know this Michael who was in jail. I know where Sedgwick County is. It’s where I grew up in Kansas. And I am sure I knew a Michael or two over the years there.

But I was pretty sure I didn’t know this Michael. You’ve got to be pretty good friends with a guy if he puts you on the list of people to call when he lands in jail. But you never know.

So I replied to Sara with Owens Bonding: “Hi Sara. I am not sure I know Michael. What’s his last name?” She sent his last name. I didn’t know anyone by that name. Before I could reply, Sara wrote, “He said this was his mom’s number. … He probably just got it wrong. Sorry to bother you.”

I was off the hook, and Michael was still in jail – praying for an angel, I suppose. Or he was at least racking his brain, trying to remember his mom’s phone number.

Jail is not a place anyone wants to be. If an opportunity comes along in which a person can get out of jail, he or she is likely to take it.

We should take note of a few things about Peter’s stay in jail. He couldn’t call the bail bondsman, of course. As a matter of fact, there was no conceivable way Peter was going to get out of that jail. He was guarded by four squads of soldiers – 16 in all, according to some commentators. Peter slept between two soldiers. Peter was bound with chains. More soldiers stood guard at the door to the prison.

King Herod didn’t want Peter to escape. Maybe he knew of the previous escape of the apostles from prison. (That was our passage from last week – Acts 5.) The high priest actually sent officers to the prison to bring out the apostles. But when they got there, the apostles were gone! What an embarrassment. I suppose Herod knew of this and was determined not to let this happen to him. So he appointed the utmost security measures.

Meanwhile, there was nothing Peter could do. He was hopelessly captive. Or was he?

Listen again to how this passage reads: “And when (Herod) had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”

The dramatic measures taken by Herod – who seized Peter, put him prison, delivered him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him – was met by the church. In prayer. “But earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.”

Perhaps we do not take our prayers seriously enough. Perhaps what this chapter teaches us about God is that God listens to prayer. We’ve already seen in Acts how the early church lived in prayer. This new temple of God was every bit the house of prayer Jesus commanded it to be (Mark 10:17).

After Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples returned to Jerusalem. “All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14). After the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the church devoted itself to the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and “the prayers” (Acts 2:42). After the disciples were first confronted by the Jewish leaders, they went to their friends and together they prayed. And the house shook with their prayers (Acts 4:31).

And when the Samaritans heard Philip preach and after they accepted the gospel, Peter and John came to them from Jerusalem. Peter and John prayed for them that they would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15). And Peter got his vision of Gentile inclusion into the kingdom of God when he went up on a roof in the town of Joppa to pray (Acts 10:9).

And now James had been martyred for the faith, and Peter was in maximum security prison – his death sentence merely a formality at that point – and the church did what the church does. It was not powerless. It was not hopeless. It was not faithless. The church prayed.

The church knew nothing of bail bondsmen. It had no clout to pull political strings. It had no capacity to stage a jail break. All the church had were its prayers to God – the Creator and the Redeemer – and the one who proclaims “liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18). And those prayers were enough.

And wouldn’t you know it? Peter was detained in jail during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which led up to the Passover. The timing was impeccable. The imagery is amazing. It’s like God wants us to take time to marvel in these moments. Peter was not a free man. He was in chains.

Fifteen-hundred years earlier, in Egypt, God established the Passover for a people who were not yet free. They were to celebrate a special meal – because God was about to do something miraculous. The doors were to be flung wide open. But God’s people were to be ready – “with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover” (Exodus12:11). And the people of God walked out of Egypt in the fullness of freedom.

And the early church was praying to God for another Passover. They were praying for freedom and life for their brother. God responded. The angel went to prison. He struck Peter on the side as he slept between those two guards, in those chains. “Get up quickly,” the angel said. And the chains fell from Peter’s hands. “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And Peter walked out of that jail in the fullness of freedom.

And in the background, the church was praying. Are we a praying church?

The church still was praying when Peter knocked on the door that night. He kept knocking and knocking and knocking. This was no angel of death, no bearer of bad news who descended on God’s people that night.

This was a member of the church of earnest prayer.

A challenge for your day: Spend some time praying for freedom – for yourself, for your family, for your friends, for your brothers and sisters in Christ. This could be freedom from addiction, persecution, temptation, bad habits, bad thoughts, spiritual oppression, fear, sickness or disease, or anxiety. You know what to pray about. Let the Holy Spirit guide your prayers.

Chris

Dear church,

Whenever I detect the presence of family in a passage of Scripture, I can’t help but zero in on it. I even try not to do so – to avoid being repetitive – to try to let God teach me something else from the text. But I can’t help it. Especially in Acts 11.

The church in Antioch learned a famine was coming. That sealed the deal. They would send money. They had to help out their church family in Jerusalem. Notice the language that is used here – “to send relief to the brothers (and sisters) living in Judea.” These weren’t just other church members. These weren’t Sunday morning acquaintances, participants in the pre-service ritual of small talk. These were “brothers and sisters.” This was a family.

Taking care of the church family is important. It’s the mark of a Christian. In fact, it’s a bit risky, according to Scripture, to neglect the family of God. The disciple John – the disciple who clung to Jesus’ side – wrote this: “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:16-18).

I had a ministry once where I got lots of calls from people in the community seeking financial help. Some needed their electric bills paid. Some needed gas money. Some needed rent assistance. The pastors in town had set up a system to help the many people in the community who reached out to us.

I made it a practice to ask these folks about where they went to church. Almost none of them had church homes. Being a church-goer wasn’t a prerequisite to getting help, but it was instructive to me – as needy person after needy person confessed to me, “No, I don’t have a church home.”

Eventually, I simply started responding by urging these callers to find a church home. “If you had a church home,” I told them, “we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.” When they asked why not, I would tell them that their church family would have taken care of their needs. To have a church family is to have every need covered.

I never got the sense that those callers were offended by my suggestion. But I’ve gotten the sense other people, perhaps, have been. It’s probably pretty arrogant and condescending to suggest a person’s financial needs would be covered simply if that person were to join a church!

And yet, remember from our reading from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus told his disciples, who left everything to follow him, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).

I am convinced Jesus is talking about the church. “Now in this time,” he said. And we’ve already seen in the Book of Acts how the early church was living this out (Acts 2:45; 4:34-35). The biblical model is this: My stuff becomes your stuff when we join the church together.

We’re Americans, and we struggle with texts like these. We like our stuff. We like our personal property. But the early church was taking their personal property and voluntarily selling it to make sure their brothers and sisters in the church had everything they needed. This wasn’t Communism – or even a commune. It simply was generosity and selflessness.

No one was required to give, but they gave because they desired to do so, and they gave as they were able. “So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.”

And again, we’re Americans, and we struggle with this. I’ve heard people with the audacity to say the early church was wrong-headed in all this sharing. These critics say, “If only they hadn’t been so quick to sell their possessions, they would have had enough to cover their own needs during the famine. They would not have needed help from outsiders.”

But can’t you see? There was enough for everyone even in all of that sharing. When someone is weak or in need, God gives another more than enough so he or she can share! “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). Surely the world gives us plenty of opportunities to practice sharing!

Of course, I probably really was arrogant and condescending in proclaiming to people that all they needed was a church home for their financial and material (and spiritual needs) to melt away. Many churches aren’t very good at living out the biblical mandate to love their brothers and sisters in Christ in this way – to treat them as family, to care for their every financial need. Many churches aren’t knitted together closely enough even to recognize one another’s needs.

But the vision has been laid before us by Jesus and John and the church in Antioch. And we ought to strive for it. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers (and sisters), you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

We must strive for this.

A question for your day: Is there anyone in your church family who is living in a season of need?

Chris

Dear church,

Thinking of God as impartial – “God shows no partiality” – should please us.

This is not to say that God treats everyone exactly the same. God chooses individuals for specific purposes – like Paul, his “chosen instrument” (Acts 9:15). And God chose the entire nation of Israel – also for a specific purpose (Deuteronomy 7:6).

But Peter here states that when it comes to being accepted by God, God shows no partiality. Instead, there is equality. Anyone can come to him in obedience and humility.

Again, this should please us. It doesn’t matter what sins we’ve committed. We still can turn to Christ and receive eternal life. It doesn’t matter where we’re born, or to whom we were born. Those types of things don’t factor into God’s plan of salvation.

The Jews of Peter’s day were strictly following God’s law. They were trying to be a holy people, as God had called them to be – set apart for him. A key component of God’s law was the dietary law. There were foods that were considered clean and unclean. But Jesus wiped away that portion of the law, declaring all foods clean. We recall that from our reading of Mark 7:14-23. It’s not about food. It’s about the heart.

And so the sheet Peter saw with that assortment of clean and unclean animals was God’s reminder of Jesus’ words. And when the Roman soldier and two servants showed up, sent from the centurion, Peter perhaps was reminded of Jesus’ actions (Luke 7:1-10). Peter could go meet with this non-Jewish man. And he could eat with him. All foods are clean. All people are clean as well.

A lot of our national conversation right now is about privilege. In what ways are people given advantages in life and in what ways are people given disadvantages? People rage against each other when it comes to these issues. We’re going to see later in Acts that people, perhaps, should be raging against God when it comes to these issues (Acts 17:26). God decides where and when people will be born, and where and when nations will rise and fall. God is in charge. Rage tends to stop in the face of the sovereign God (Job 40:4).

Our circumstances in this fallen world may not be equal. Some are born into wealth and some into poverty. Some had tragedy befall them at an early age. Some people never knew their fathers or mothers. Some people grew up in full and healthy homes. Some people have high intellects. Some people are athletic. Some have a knack for making money. Others don’t.

This is inequality, and inequality is built into the framework of a fallen world.

But in God’s economy – the only economy that matters, the economy that lasts for eternity – all are equal. He shows no partiality. Anyone can come to him and receive eternal life.

A question for your day: Where do God’s grace and will for people of all nations, tribes, and tongues fit into the national conversation that is occurring right now?

Chris

Dear church,

My wife, Mary, recently met an elderly gentleman who was afraid of COVID-19. I suppose this isn’t all that rare. The man hasn’t been out of his house in about four months – almost. There was one time he went to the post office to drop off some mail. He went at midnight to make sure no one would be around.

The man has other people do his grocery shopping for him. He lets his own mail sit in isolation for three days before he opens it. I suppose he does that with his groceries as well. Mary went to pick something up from his house. He hung those items on his fence, in a bag. No human contact – at all.

There are many who are fearful of the coronavirus. Age certainly plays a factor. So do underlying health conditions. The dangers of the virus rise in those cases. It can make a person think twice about how he or she moves through life if there’s a growing chance that person might be swept out of life by a virus.

Ananias is one of my favorite Bible figures. He was faithful, certainly. But he also was fearful and reluctant. “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.” Many people had told Ananias about Saul – about how he was a dangerous man. We know Saul was in the business of locking Christians up. And he played an infamous role in the killing of Stephen.

Ananias didn’t want anything to do with Saul. He was afraid. But God said, “Go.”

I can think of moments in my life where I’ve heard God say, “Go.” I can remember times when that command broke through my reluctance and fear and sent me on some errand of God’s.

And so I find Ananias inspiring. He was kind of like Moses in that way – Moses, the man of many reasons why he shouldn’t be the one to guide the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses gave God almost two chapters worth of excuses (Exodus 3-4). But Moses was designed for the mission God gave him. I assume Ananias was designed for the mission God gave him.

And when Ananias did go, the tenderness of the church emerged out of him. He laid his hands on Saul and called him “Brother Saul.” We can see how the church operated in those days. They called each other brothers and sisters.

Perhaps the lesson is that we always should be willing to go when God calls upon us. We should be willing to be bold for the gospel. But we also should go with the tenderness of the church – a family who loves one another dearly.

A question for your day: In what ways have you heard God calling you lately?

Chris

Dear church,

Some blessings are in disguise. I talked to a pastor recently whose church began doing online sermons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pastor’s father was an old construction worker. The pastor said he learned every possible way to cuss when growing up – in multiple languages! His father was not a church-goer.

But the pastor said his father did start tuning into his online messages during the coronavirus lockdowns. And so father and son “attended” church together for the first time in their lives. The father died after about eight weeks of attending church. His son, the pastor, found great consolation in knowing they were together on those Sundays – in that unique way. They heard the same words from God during those gatherings.

The difficulty of COVID-19 brought blessings. It was a lesson to me to hear it.

And it was doubly a lesson in reading Acts 8. Stephen was martyred and the church began to be persecuted. And the church was scattered. It was a blessing in disguise.

Philip first went north to Samaria. He “proclaimed to them the Christ,” and many Samaritans put their faith in Jesus. These conversions brought out Peter and John to the same region. They finished the work of Philip – and had a little run-in with Simon the Magician” – and then traveled back to Jerusalem “preaching the gospel” as they went.

Philip then went south to the road to Gaza. Notice how the church was scattered by persecution, and the gospel began to spread in two directions (at least). Philip met up with the Ethiopian eunuch, who was probably a Jewish convert, and found himself telling the man the good news about Jesus.

This is a chapter about the good news going out from Jerusalem. Jesus’ prophecy was being fulfilled – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Already, in these earliest days of the church, we see lives changed when people tell the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was a vocal thing. Philip “proclaimed to them the Christ.” Peter and John had “testified and spoken the word of the Lord.” They were “preaching the gospel.” Philip “opened his mouth” and “told him the good news.”

Certainly, there is a lot of biblical support in this single chapter for the preaching of the gospel that we do every Sunday. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t a silent gospel. It is meant to be spoken. (We have a lot of introverts in our church, so this is a challenge for us!)

And so we preach the gospel when we gather. And we read God’s Word aloud to each other. And, lately, we’ve been sharing with one another the insights we’ve received from God’s Word – out loud with each other. There already is a biblical description in Acts of the church speaking the gospel together – “they lifted their voices together to God and said … ” (Acts 4:24-30).

And so we won’t ever stop being vocal readers and tellers of the gospel message.

You can practice this even today. Go find a quiet place and read today’s chapter out loud. Let God’s Word take oral form. Learn to hear your own voice say these things. This is practice – because we never were meant just to consume the Word. We were meant to speak it.

Chris

Dear church,

I was on a run yesterday, and I startled some deer. One emerged from the brush and trotted across the road in front of me. As she was going, I could hear more rustling in the brush from which she came. It was a fawn. Obviously confused, the little one ran in the opposite direction as his mother. I could see his spots as he ran away.

That wasn’t good. A fawn should be with its mother. She is there to protect the little one. If a fawn goes out on its own for very long, its prospects aren’t very good. I imagined the mother would circle back and relocate the fawn. At least that was my hope as I kept running.

Sometimes, God’s people can move in the wrong direction. One of the harshest words of condemnation in the Bible that God levied against his people was that they were “stiff-necked.” They were stubborn. They refused to follow. They would not change course and come back to God in obedience.

Oxen and other work animals can be stiff-necked. No matter how much they are pushed and prodded, they will not turn and follow the guidance of the farmer. When that happens, fields don’t get plowed and planted. The work becomes difficult. And the stiff-necked ox just continues to go in the wrong direction. It’s not necessarily confused, like a startled fawn. It’s just stubborn. It wants to go its own way.

When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Law from God, the people were down below, crafting a golden calf to worship. God informed Moses of their rebellion: “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people,” God told Moses (Exodus 33:9). God was ready to destroy Israel in that moment. And it wasn’t the only time such harsh language was used in the Bible to describe God’s people and its leadership – Exodus 33:3, 5; 2 Chronicles 36:13; Jeremiah 17:23.

And Stephen called the leaders of Israel “stiff-necked.” The accusation against Stephen was that he was threatening the temple – the place where God’s presence dwelt among the people. Stephen issued a long historical narrative that depicted God’s people in an unfavorable light. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery. The people initially rejected Moses in Egypt. And, of course, they worshipped a golden calf.

But God raised up saviors for Israel – Joseph and Moses. Men who were rejected became vehicles for God’s grace. After telling these stories, Stephen said God’s people again were being stiff-necked. They betrayed and murdered Jesus. The Savior of God’s people again suffered rejection.

Several important points are made in this passage. One is about the nature of worship. God can be worshipped anywhere. He doesn’t need a temple in which to live. Another important point is about the physical presence of Jesus today – at the right hand of the Father, as Stephen saw in his vision. And Stephen, of course, mirrored Christ in his death – asking to be delivered into the hands of God, crying out with a loud voice, and asking forgiveness for his killers.

For me, it was the notion of being stiff-necked that stood out in this chapter. Maybe it’s because it’s such a personal thing for me, a tendency I see in myself. Stephen quoted Isaiah 66:1-2. Here’s what those verses say in full:

Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

In the dispute about the temple, Stephen was stressing the reality of God. Later letters in the New Testament affirm the people of God – the church – are now the temple of God. God doesn’t dwell in a building. He dwells in you and me as the church.

Stephen didn’t quote the last sentence of this passage from Isaiah, but it surely was on his mind – and on the mind of the high council. He called them stiff-necked people, people who resisted the Holy Spirit, and people who did not keep God’s law. Their very salvation hung in the balance.

Meanwhile, Isaiah said the Lord would look to people who did the exact opposite of those things. God would look to the humble, the contrite, and those who tremble at God’s Word.

That is, of course, the antidote to being “stiff-necked.” To be humble means we realize we don’t have all the answers and that we are not all-powerful. To be contrite means we are quick to recognize our flaws and are willing to receive correction. To tremble at God’s Word means we read it and obey it.

In other words, if we follow Isaiah’s lead, we aren’t stubborn and hard to lead. We change directions when our master prompts us. We don’t resist the Holy Spirit.

In my own life, I find myself being stiff-necked sometimes. For me, it’s about plans and projects and doing everything I want to do. It’s about getting things accomplished. But the Holy Spirit lately has been telling me to slow down, to stop, to pay attention to the things that I would ignore if I continued with my own plans. The Holy Spirit seems to be telling me, “The kingdom of God takes time. Do you have any time?” My answer lately has been, “No. I’m all out of time.”

To be stiff-necked is to resist what the Holy Spirit has told me. But God calls us to follow him and to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and to change our hearts. This is what it means to be “circumcised in heart and ears” – a notion we will see described in more detail later in the New Testament.

So I must resolve to be humble, to be contrite, and to tremble at the Word of God. I wonder whether you have any of your own issues with being “stiff-necked.”

Chris

Dear church,

We have here the makings of the first church split. Every now and then, a dispute pops up that causes people to become disgruntled with the church. They air their dissatisfaction. And then a faction of the church splits off and goes another direction.

The Hellenists were feeling neglected by the Hebrews. It was an issue of caring for the widows of the church. Those who spoke Greek and who were more assimilated to secular culture felt they weren’t being treated fairly compared to the Hebrew widows.

Fairness is an issue worth fighting for, isn’t it? The apostles heard the complaints and asked the Hellenist Christians to appoint seven men from among them to care for the widows in need. Seven is a number of completion. It also has a biblical connection with the Gentile people (Deuteronomy 7:1; Mark 8:8).

And so there were 12 apostles – representative of the 12 tribes of Israel. And there were seven deacons – representative of the Gentile world.

The dispute appears to have been quelled. We hear no more of it.

Instead, what we hear is the deacon Stephen performing miracles and preaching the gospel. Sometimes, deacons don’t stay deacons. Sometimes, they start doing the work of the apostles.

What shall we learn from this text? The local church has an uncanny ability to take care of its own needs. It does not need high-level denominational authorities to tell it how to act. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is in charge. It rendered Stephen invincible in the face of his critics.

Meanwhile, the bridging of cultures is a difficult thing – even in the kingdom of God. The reception of the Holy Spirit doesn’t necessarily mean all difficulties in the life of the church will come to an end. But it does mean we all have the patience with one another to seek a good solution. And it does mean we listen to our leaders.

Chris

Dear church,

This chapter in Act leaves us with both questions and affirmations. We read these words and find ourselves shaking our heads in wonder and confusion. And we also read these words and find ourselves nodding our heads with approval. Some things here don’t make a lot of sense, and some things here leave us feeling bold.

Ananias and Sapphira wound up dead. It was like Peter was the judge and the Holy Spirit was the executioner. They fell down and breathed their last.

This story should remind us of a similar story from the history of God’s people – about 1,500 years earlier – when the Israelites were just entering into the Promised Land. The people conquered the city of Jericho. You can read that story in Joshua 6. But then Israel promptly lost a battle against the people of Ai. You can read that story in Joshua 7.

The crux of the problem was a man named Achan, who kept some of the loot from Jericho for himself. He buried it in his tent. God had said the people were to keep none of it. But Achan kept back some of the proceeds from that victory for himself. He undermined the holiness of God’s people. The people suffered for it. And it cost Achan his life.

Now here again in Acts 5, a new covenant was being established by God among his people. It was a new community, a new order. And God was demonstrating how things would go. God’s people would be truthful with one another. They would not seek position among each other. They would not compete with one another to be the most generous as a way to gain status. And they would not lie to the Holy Spirit.

One of the powerful pieces of doctrine we learn here is the Holy Spirit is divine – is part of the Godhead. It is a grave sin to lie to God. And God was establishing a new covenant people – and his discipline was fierce at first. Ananias and Sapphira had lied to the Holy Spirit, and they were deceiving the church. They were undermining the new thing, the new community, the new family, that God was building.

And perhaps more than this: We shouldn’t be surprised that sin leads to death. After all, we know, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Perhaps we should be surprised whenever our sins don’t result in immediate death. Perhaps it is a sign of God’s grace that he lets us keep trudging along day after day, despite our sins.

And so Ananias and Sapphira were dead. The people of the church and the community took note of this. The disciples were suddenly men whom the people needed to be careful around. They weren’t exactly going to win popularity awards – and the Jesus movement they were leading carried some risks. But “more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.”

And again we are reminded the church is built through the power of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit. Even a seeming public relations gaffe can’t stop the kingdom.

And the story immediately entered yet another miraculous story. Instead of two people dropping dead because of sin, the twelve disciples were miraculously freed from prison. Instead of the church and community stunned into the fear of God, the religious leaders were shocked into the fear of the people. The disciples were popular again.

But the high priest and his council wanted to disband the church. They were fearful. And the disciples said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

There’s a great balancing act in Scripture. On the one hand, the apostle Paul gave us Romans 13 – “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” On the other, Luke tells us this story – “We must obey God rather than men.” There’s always a great tendency within the church to strike a bargain with the governing authorities or the powers that be. But Peter and the apostles provide a check on that tendency. We must find the balance here – and these COVID-19 times are opportunities learn that balance!

Part of me wonders whether the disciples saw the collapse and death of Ananias and Sapphira as a sure motivator from God. “Obey God rather than men.” Perhaps as the apostles stood there in front of the high priest and the council, they thought of those two corpses. Perhaps they thought of the danger of making deals with the world, of seeking one’s own profit at the expense of God’s people. Perhaps they thought of Jesus’ words, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (Matthew 10:28). Perhaps they knew the danger of trying to serve two masters – God and something else.

Regardless, the authority of God emerges clearly here. We are to have one – and only one – allegiance. And that is to God and his church. Everything else is secondary. We listen to to no other voices. We give into no other temptations. We obey nothing contrary to our heavenly Father.

“And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” Are we among those who obey him.

In the passage just before the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, Luke records the story of the church. The people of the church, Luke wrote, were “of one heart and soul.” I don’t think we can underline that with ink that is bold enough.

These were one people who had allegiance only to God and each other. Only one thing was on their minds – the kingdom of heaven. Ananias and Sapphira would have undermined that. The high priest and his council would have disbanded it. The one-ness of the church was under threat.

What threats does the one-ness of the church face today? Does it come from attitudes within the church? Or dangers from outside it? What keeps us from being of one heart and one soul?

It is a question worth asking.

Chris