Devotionary

Latest Episodes:

Ep 432 – Acts 19:1-7 Feb 21, 2018

Show notes

We know that Jesus Christ came in order that we might have new life, eternal life. But also, life marked by a radically new way of living. It is said that, upon salvation, we receive new natures. We are new creations. The old has gone and the new has come. But what makes all this possible? It's the Spirit of God who comes to dwell within us as the point we place our faith in Christ. In Acts 19:1-7, Paul will encounter some disciples of John the Baptist who had not yet experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In fact, they didn't even know who the Holy Spirit was. They had believed in Jesus, but had not yet been filled with the Spirit. But all that was about to change. Not only would Paul baptize them in water in the name of Jesus, he would lay his hands upon them so that they could receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And at that point, they would receive the power they needed to live truly repentant lives. Rather than trying to live radically different lives in their own limited strength, they would receive the indwelling presence and power of the Spirit of God who would equip them to live like children of God. The coming of the Spirit made new life in Christ possible and a life lived like Christ achievable.

Ep 431 – Acts 18:18-28 Feb 20, 2018

Show notes

With the growth of the church and the spread of the gospel around the world, the need for additional ministers and messengers increased exponentially. Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and the apostles could only be in so many places at one time. And there were many more places where the gospel had yet to be proclaimed. But God was not going to allow the gospel to be bogged down by limited numbers of missionaries. He would simply raise up new ones. And in Acts 18:18-28, we see him raise up a gifted young man named Apollos. He would prove to be a gifted communicator, but would need input and discipleship from Aquila and Priscilla. God calls, but God also equips. He raises up men and women to communicate the good news regarding His Son, but he surrounds them with competent individuals who can step in alongside them, providing much-needed training and, if necessary, reproof. There was going to come a day when Paul's mission would be seemingly derailed by imprisonment. He would spend two years under Roman custody in Caesarea. Then, later on in his ministry, he would find himself a prisoner in Rome itself. But while Paul was under lock and key, God would continue to raise up new messengers to step in the gap and take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Ep 430 – Acts 18:12-18 Feb 19, 2018

Show notes

In Acts 18:12-19, Paul will attempt to give his defense to the Roman proconsul, Gallio, refuting the false accusations of the Jews. But before he can get a word out, Gallio will shut down the proceedings, refusing to hear what he deems to be the internal squabbles of the Jews. He has neither the time or interest to listen to what they have to say, instead, kicking them out of his court and allowing Paul to walk free and get back to his business of sharing the gospel. All Paul had been guilty of doing was attempting to persuade the people of Corinth to believe in God and His offer of salvation made possible through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. The Jews were not interested. At least some of them. They saw Paul as a heretic and a nuisance. And they had hoped to persuade the Roman government to see him as a dangerous troublemaker and a potential threat to the Roman way of life. But Gallio actually found them to be more irritating than Paul. And what we need to see in all of this is the sovereign hand of God, working in unforeseen and unpredictable ways, to accomplish His divine will. Nothing escapes His notice. Nothing happens outside His divine purview. It's interesting to note that the Jews accused Paul of persuading the people to worship God contrary to the law. In fact, he was. He was teaching a means to have a right relationship apart from the keeping of the law. But the Jews would have nothing to do with it. Yet, God won the day.

Ep 429 – Acts 18:1-11 Feb 18, 2018

Show notes

When the pressure picked up, Paul seemed more compelled to speak up. He wasn't some kind of shrinking violet who backed down at the slightest sign of opposition. He was a determined individual with a stubborn streak that had been redeemed by the Holy Spirit. No one was going to shut Paul up or keep him from doing what he had been called and commissioned to do. And in Acts 18:1-11 we are going to get a glimpse of Paul boldly proclaiming the gospel in the face of mounting opposition and increasing hostility on the part of the Jews and the Gentiles. While he was seeing many people come to faith in Christ, he was also experiencing intense resentment to those who opposed his message. And Paul was learning the invaluable lesson that there comes a time when sharing the gospel become nothing more than casting pearls before swine. There were those who were never going to listen and who would never embrace the free gift of God's grace made available through His Son. While Paul had a deep desire to see his fellow Jews come to faith in Christ, he was becoming increasingly more convinced that his mission was to the Gentiles. They were receptive. Their hearts were soft and their ears quick to hear what he had to say. And yet, Paul was human. He must have become weary with all the resistance and rejection. So much so, that God had to encourage him to keep on keeping on. He wanted Paul to know that there were many more who needed to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Now was not the time to give up or give in to pressure. But he was to go on speaking and not to be silent.

Ep 428 – Acts 17:22-34 Feb 17, 2018

Show notes

Paul got his opportunity to share about the gospel in front of a sophisticated gathering of philosophers and great thinkers. These men had asked Paul to come and tell them more about this foreign deity of his. From their perspective, Paul was teaching something new, something they hadn't heard before, which piqued their interest. They had described Paul's message regarding Jesus and the gospel as a strange thing and they wanted to hear more. In Acts 17:22-34, we have Paul's address to the council of the Areopagus. It could have been easy for him to be a bit intimidated by the sheer number of philosophers and great thinkers in the room. But Paul was at ease, a man in his element. He had received his theological education from one of the best: Gamaliel, considered a leading rabbi and teacher in Israel. He had also been trained as a Pharisee, and had a strong understanding of the Mosaic law. Paul was no slouch. He had the credentials and indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. So, he was not out of his element and never felt out of his league. He met these men right where they were, using one of their own gods as an jumping off place for his discussion. He was going to reveal to them the identity of the one god they worshiped but who they didn't know. They simply called him the unknown god, but Paul was going to let them know that the only God they didn't know was the one they desperately needed to know. The one whose Son had died on the cross for their sins.

Ep 427 – Acts 17:10-21 Feb 16, 2018

Show notes

You may recall the 1939 movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring Jimmy Stewart in the title role. In the movie, Mr. Smith, a relatively naïve and recently appointed United States Senator finds himself emmersed in the corruption-filled context of Washington power politics. He is a fish out of water, an innocent lamb surrounded by vicious wolves. Mr. Smith is appointed because he is seen as an easy to manipulate stooge who won't rock the proverbial boat or cause any waves. But he would prove them wrong. In a way, Acts 17:10-21 reveals Paul in a similar vain. But he is far from naïve and anything but a stooge. Paul is a powerful proponent of the gospel and a formidable adversary for any who would stand against it. Even when he finds himself alone in the big city of Athens, surrounded by false gods and pagan philosophers who spend their days debating and discussing, he is anything but overwhelmed. In fact, he is in his element, seizing the opportunity to discuss the truth of the gospel with those who had a penchant for new and strange things. Paul was alone, but not intimidated. He found himself in enemy territory, but was not afraid. He saw Athens as an opportunity to spread the gospel and to see God work. While the sheer number of false gods bothered him, it also inspired him to speak of the one true God. The presence of falsehood demanded that the truth be told. The worship of non-existent gods simply proved to Paul that the people of Athens were ready to hear about the God who brought all things into existence, including them.

Ep 426 – Acts 17:1-9 Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

Radical. Revolutionary. Those are terms we rarely hear used in conjunction with Christianity. Perhaps there are certain third-world countries or places governed by dictatorial or communistic regimes where Christians are still viewed in such terms, but not here in the west. If anything, we're seen as archaic and old-fashioned, throwbacks to an earlier, more repressive era when people were less educated and enlightened. But in the 1st-Century, when Christianity was still in its infancy, the followers of Jesus were seen as both radical and revolutionary. They were troublemakers who the Jews saw as threats to their way of life and the Romans viewed as disturbers of the peace. While Paul, Silas, Peter, and the other apostles were seeing God move in incredible ways, transforming the lives of countless individuals through the message of the gospel, the opposition was growing and intensifying. All because the light of the truth of God's grace was shining into the dark recesses of a sin-filled world. In Acts 17:1-9, we will see Paul and Silas accused of turning the world upside-down. And their accusers were right. Lives were being radically changed. Entire communities were being revolutionized by the good news concerning Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation. But while many embraced their message with open arms and receptive hearts, many more refused to listen. They rejected the messengers and their message, choosing instead to listen to the lies of the enemy and remain in the darkness and hopelessness of sin.

Ep 425 – Acts 16:25-40 Feb 14, 2018

Show notes

The Book of Acts is full of fantastic, almost unrealistic stories, and Acts 16:25-40 is no exception. In this passage, we have Luke retelling of Paul and Silas being miraculously released from prison by a huge earthquake. Actually, they don't really get released. They simply have their chains fall off and the doors of their prison cells inexplicably unlocked. But what makes the story so incredible is that they weren't the ones to get set free. That distinction goes to the keeper of the prison, who came to faith in Jesus Christ because of what happened that night. He was set free from his captivity to sin and released from the death sentence that hovered over his head like a sword. The captor became the freed man. Sometimes we wonder why God allows us to go through difficulties or experience circumstances that are less-than-ideal. But we never know what God has up His sleeve. We have no way of knowing what he may have planned and how He is going to use what appears to be a negative situation and use it to accomplish His divine will. Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail. But rather than whine and moan over their lot in life, they had spent the night praying and singing. They saw their situation as an opportunity to serve God and watch Him work. And when given a prime opportunity to escape their unfortunate surroundings, they chose instead to stay right where they were – seeing their circumstances as God-ordained and the jailer's spiritual well-being as more important than their own physical welfare.

Ep 424 – Acts 16:11-24 Feb 13, 2018

Show notes

You're probably familiar with the term, "The devil is in the details." It is an idiom used to refer to those seemingly small and, often overlooked, aspects of our plans that can end up causing us serious problems later on. It is those unseen or unnoticed elements that can come back to bite us. But in Acts 16:11-24, we are going to see how God is the deity in the details. He is intimately involved in many of those seemingly small and insignificant parts of our lives that appear to be nothing more than luck or chance. For Paul and Silas, God was constantly arranging the details of their days, placing them in situations where they could be used by Him and His power could be displayed through them. There were no chance encounters. Every situation had the divine fingerprints of God all over it. And while Paul and Silas may not have immediately seen God's presence or sovereign hand in every instant, they were always able to look back and recognize His divine oversight and providential role. Far too often, we fail to see that God is in the details of our lives. We don't see our interactions with others as part of His plan for our lives. The people we meet and the circumstances we face are never the products of blind chance. They are the well-orchestrated byproduct of God's all-knowing and all-powerful redemptive plan. Like Paul and Silas, we need to learn to look for God's unmistakable presence and rest in His unshakeable control over the world He has made and all who live in it.

Ep 423 – Acts 16:1-10 Feb 12, 2018

Show notes

It's so easy to see life as just some random collection of isolated and unrelated events. Even as believers, we can be lulled into a false sense that everything we encounter in life is nothing more than a byproduct of chance of fate. But as we read the account of Luke, recorded in the Book of Acts, we can't help but see the underlying handiwork of God, orchestrating the lives of the characters and directing the affairs of their lives in such a way that His will is perfectly accomplished. In Acts 16:1-10, we have Luke's account of Paul meeting Timothy for the first time. And, as usual, his retelling of the event tends to come across as just another chance encounter. When Paul arrived in Lystra, Timothy just happened to be there. And this young man, who had come to faith in Christ, in part because of the influence of his mother and grandmother, made an impression on Paul. So much so, that he would become his traveling companion and protégé. The encounter between these two men was anything but luck. It was the divine will of God, and it happened at just the right time. Paul and Barnabas were going to part ways and Paul would be forced to find himself a new traveling companion. Enter Timothy. At just the right time and with just the right credentials to meet the need. Paul was being led by the Spirit of God. His ministry needs were being divinely met and the direction for his ministry was being directed from above. He was operating within the will of God and being directed by the Spirit of God. All for the glory of God.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected