November 26 – Acts 17

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Acts 17. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

 One of the hypothetical questions that seem to be discussed in American Christian circles is that of persecution. In a lot of ways Americans have not had to experience the physical side of persecution. We are privileged to be living in a country and a time where we are allowed to worship freely. For the majority of our nation’s history Christianity was the norm. Not only did that keep Christians from the persecution that others experience around the globe, but Christians were and still are protected to worship freely. While we are no longer the norm … Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Atheism, Agnosticism, and many other world religions are gaining acceptances in America … we still have the freedom to worship God how we choose.

In our reading today we come to a story about a man named Jason. Jason lived in Thessalonica and was a believer in Jesus. He let Paul and Silas stay with him while they were in town. Because of this, some Jews wanting to rid their city of the Apostle, rounded up Jason and others and brought them before the courts. They were punished and a bond was set, all because they were following Jesus and being kind to His followers.

When we read that story what floods our mind. Are we detached from that story because we have never as American’s really experienced that type of persecution? Do we read it and simply continue on? Do we internalize it and try to imagine what it would be like? Does it transform us in any way? If you take nothing else from today’s reading contemplate how you would respond to a threat like Jason faced (or imagine one even worse). How does your answer today differ than an answer you would have given just a few years ago?  

September 24 – Esther 6-10

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Esther 6-10. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

One of the many things I love about God is His ability to use anything for His purposes. From the time man disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit in the garden, God has been on a relentless pursuit of mankind. When He selected Abraham to be the man to father the nation He was building, that family became His people. Overtime the name of Abraham’s decedents went from being called Hebrews, to Israelites, and finally to Jews. Jew is the English understanding of the Hebrew word Judah, the tribe that many of today’s Jews descend from (Using the term Jew to describe the Jewish people is not racist or condescending when used as a noun. It is when we use it at as a verb, like to jew someone down on their price, or in such a way that racism is implied from use and tone that the word is wrong!). It is with this remnant of people that God uses to bring people back to Him.

As followers of Christ and as people living nearly twenty-five hundred years after the events of Esther we know that Jesus is the ultimate piece of the puzzle that restores the torn relationship. But God was about restoration all along. In Esther 8:17 in the latter part of the verse the writer records for us these words … “And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.” (Ester 8:17 NLT) In their king granted strength the people became scared of the Jews. So they bought into the old adage … if you cannot beat them, join them. This put a few more people in the path to the restoration of God’s relationship with mankind.

God will use anything. What did He use in your life to restore the relationship with you? What has you used in others lives? What situations and circumstance are currently happening in the lives of those around you that God may be using? Keep and observant eye open, always ready to share the good news of Jesus. 

August 13 – Jeremiah 23-25

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 23-25. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan. 

Photo Credit: Dexell1827

While extremely grateful, I realized today I have always somewhere felt bad for the pilgrims. I am grateful that they came and settled here in the new world. But when we hear the stories of how hard life was for them especially during the first few winters, my heart breaks for them. And the genesis of it all was to escape religious persecution; all so they could worship God the way they believed they should. After today’s readings, I am beginning to wonder if I should feel so bad for them. Let me explain.

In our reading today we find a discussion between God and Jeremiah. God is telling Jeremiah what He is going to do to the faithful in Judah and Jerusalem. He does so through a picture of good and rotten figs. Here is what God said of the good figs … “The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians. I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” (Jeremiah 24:5-7 NLT) God basically said he was taking His people, the good people, those who loved Him and was moving them out to protect them.

The amazing thing to me was he was moving them to a pagan land where they could truly worship God as they choose. We know some of these as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from Daniel 1. These men glorified God in amazing ways as we see with the fiery furnace and Daniel in the den of lions. The words God spoke to and through Jeremiah He fulfilled in those stories, plus many more.

Should we feel bad for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah? No! They were under the care of God in the land of Babylon. The good figs were protected and cared for. The bad figs, those that remained in Jerusalem, they are the ones our hearts should break for. They were the ones to feel the wrath of God. What about in your own life? Do you have people whom God would consider a bad fruit, simply because they have not accepted a life changing relationship with Jesus? Does your heart break for them?

Maybe I am simply finding perspective. No longer will my heart break for the pilgrims. Maybe their trails here were God using them to do something new and bigger in His grand scheme. God sending the faithful off to Babylon was His protection. Where my heart should break is for people who do not love and know God. 

August 11 – Jeremiah 18-22

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 18-22. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

I am often amazed with stories of Christians willing to stand against culture and even laws to preach and teach about Jesus. We are astounded by men like C.Y. Kim who has gone to prison over and over again for preaching Jesus in his native Southeast Asia. We honor men like Jim Elliot who gave his life to reach tribal people of Ecuador. We marvel at men like Dr. Livingston who gave his whole life to share Jesus with people in remote corners of Africa. We are able to feel this way because we can comfortably watch from the sidelines in our safe American churches.

Jeremiah faced his own form of persecution. He preached the message God gave him. God sent Jeremiah out with an object lesson where he broke a pot indicating what God would do to Judah, especially Jerusalem. He spoke words outside the Temple of God, and when the priest in charge of the Temple heard Jeremiah speak, he arrested him. Now Jeremiah only spent one night in jail, but he was still arrested for speaking the message that God had given him. Trouble for Jeremiah is only beginning.

Let me ask you, are you willing to possibly become more uncomfortable for Jesus? We admire people around the globe who stand up for Christ. But what if your faith, what if you relationship with Jesus called for you to do the same? The more I watch our world, the more I am convinced that I may just see some sort of real persecution for my faith in Christ. The struggle I have in my own mind is the question of whether I will be strong enough and willing to sacrifice for my God and savior. I used to say I hope that day would never come, but as time goes on I am beginning to prepare and accept that it will come. Maybe for me that is a good indication that I would be willing to stand up for God. Where are you at in your own heart? 

Living Dangerously

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

Tides are changing. You have read my thoughts recently that I believe that the days we are living in are more and more like the days of the New Testament. Now I realize technology is different, that social norms are different, and that lifestyles are different. I get all of that. But our moral and religious backgrounds are more like New Testament times. Why do I say that? Because more people in our society are not followers of Christ. There are also more people following the pagan religious practices of the day. Whether it is Buddhism, Hinduism, Wicca, or even Islam, more people are leaving the traditional church to fall in lines with these faiths. Not only do we see that, but we see the beginning of persecution on all religions, but even more so on Christianity. Now we are not to the point were we cannot meet together in our church houses and worship, but we are experiencing some persecution. Image above borrowed from Majikalwishes.com.

So, if we are returning to the times like the days of the New Testament, what then can we expect? I think something like we saw in today’s reading (Acts 17) might be at hand. Paul was visiting the city of Thessalonica and staying in the home of Jason. Just because Paul stayed in his home, Jason was arrested and questioned. As we have read the book of Acts we have seen, and will continue to see, people being persecuted just because they are associated with Paul, who is preaching the gospel message. People knew that following Christ and spreading his message could possibly bring the persecution, and they were willing to do it. They were willing to live dangerously.

My question for you is this … are you willing to live dangerously for your Lord if the call arises? Where is your faith at? Would you be able to stand there and accept persecution, or would you cower and retreat? I hope and prayer that does not happen. I am not trying to be a deliver of bad news, or even a modern day prophet. I am just simply looking at the times, and looking at what I know the first century was like for Christians, and am seeing a lot of similarities.