‘Rubber Meets the Road’ Discipleship
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, I know that believing in Me is not always easy or natural. So I want to remind you of My half-brother James. My apostle James had been murdered by Herod in one of the several waves of persecution against My people in Jerusalem (Acts 12:1-2). With many of the apostles driven from Jerusalem, My half-brother James began to serve as one of the great leaders of the church there. James becoming a great leader in the Jerusalem churches was quite a special development for Me. You see, James did not believe in Me during My earthly ministry. In fact, he joined with My other half-brothers “in speaking contemptuously” of Me and teasing Me about My wanting to do something great for the Father. Later in My ministry when I was crucified, James was not there with My mother Mary caring for her. Instead, I placed her in the care of the beloved disciple (John 19:25-28). My other half-brothers also were not there to comfort our mother and support Me through the agony and humiliation of the crucifixion. However, I made a special point of appearing to James after My resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:7). This meeting was one of those “rubber meets the road” moments where all of life hangs in the balance. James had to decide what he truly believed about Me and what he would do with his faith in Me. Would he continue to see Me as little more than his half-brother? Would he recognize Me as his Savior and Lord and as the Son of God? He had to decide. And when James decided, he truly decided! My mother and my half-brothers were present when I poured out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:12-14). Over time, James would grow in influence and importance in the church in Jerusalem — something quite surprising for someone from Nazareth to do in Jerusalem (John 1:46). He was an important person for the apostles to keep informed about things happening among them (Acts 12:16-17). He was considered one of the “pillars” of the church in Jerusalem. He was so important that he was even mentioned first before Peter and John in the list of pillars of the church (Galatians 2:9). The early Jewish Christians faced a huge decision. Would they accept Gentiles into fellowship without requiring circumcision and keeping the Mosaic Law? James’ influence in the council of leaders in Jerusalem was vital for the positive outcome (Acts 15:12-22). His words brought peace, provided a way for My disciples to stay in fellowship, and kept the mission to non-Jews on track. What joy the Father and I had at seeing his good work! One of the most impressive and touching things James did, however, was the way he talked about Me. I was his half-brother. But when faith took hold in his heart, I was so much more to him. Notice below how he begins his letter to scattered believers. He literally says, “James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ”! He did not label himself a household servant — diakonos in Greek. Instead, he used a different Greek word, doulos, that means “slave”! This kind of slave lives to do his Master’s bidding. He considered Me to be his Master! Remarkable, don’t you think? So when you have one of those days when you struggle with your faith, remember My beloved brother James. He didn’t believe at first. In fact, he once thought I was out of My mind. Later, as he risked his life for Me and My church, he saw Me as God and viewed himself as My “slave.” When the “rubber meets the road” moments come in your life, when everything is on the line, please remember James. His faith in My resurrection was so strong that he gave up everything, risked everything, and lived his life completely to honor Me as “the Lord Jesus Christ”! Verses to Live You’ve read My note about James. Now I will let you read a little bit about him from Scripture. The following passages will go in reverse order to the description I shared above. I hope you will come to believe in Me as passionately and completely as James did. After all, you are part of My family (Mark 3:31-35). We are siblings by the grace of God and the cost of My incarnation and cross (Hebrews 2:14-18; Romans 8:28-29). From James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings! (James 1:1 NET) … it was time for Jesus to move on. He began a long walk through the Galilean countryside. He was purposefully avoiding Judea because of the violent threats made against Him by the Jews there who wanted to kill Him. It was fall, the time of year when the Jews celebrated the Festival of Booths. Brothers of Jesus (to Jesus): Let’s get out of here and go south to Judea so You can show Your disciples there what You are capable of doing. No one who seeks the public eye is content to work in secret. If You want to perform these signs, then step forward on the world’s stage; don’t hide up here in the hills, Jesus. Jesus’ own brothers were speaking contemptuously; they did not yet believe in Him, just as the people in His hometown did not see Him as anything more than Joseph’s son. (John 7:1-5) Let me [Paul] remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I preached to you when we first met. It’s the essential message that you have taken to heart, the central story you now base your life on; and through this gospel, you are liberated — unless, of course, your faith has come to nothing. For I passed down to you the crux of it all which I had also received from others, that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, died for our sins
Today’s Verse – John 17:15
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. —John 17:15 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Jesus, in showing his love and care for his disciples in prayer right before his Passion, is our great example of how we can and must pray for God’s spiritual protection over those we love. The LORD Jesus knew what would happen to him, yet chose to pray for them rather than focusing on himself. Praying for them was that important to the LORD! His disciples could not leave the world and still serve the world and reach the lost with God’s grace. So, Jesus prayed protection over them and for them. Jesus’ example is our command to pray for God to protect his disciples from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). The apostle Paul reminds us: The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3) We need to pray following the LORD’s example! My Prayer… Loving and Tender Shepherd, the great Guardian of the Flock, please physically and spiritually protect your people from evil and the evil one. We trust in your faithfulness to strengthen and protect them. In the name of Jesus and following his example, we offer ourselves and our prayers to you. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Released from the Curse
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved Child of God, I love Peter’s statement about the apostle Paul’s writings: And remember, our Lord‘s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him — speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand… (2 Peter 3:15-16 NLT) Some things Paul wrote are very easy for almost anyone to understand. Other things he wrote used technical language and logic, a kind of logic and reasoning that he had learned in the school of Gamaliel for rabbis (Acts 22:3). Today’s verses contain some of that rabbinic style of teaching. So I want you to pay close attention to what Paul says and not lose his important message to you. Some people in the Galatian churches knew little about the Scriptures — what you call the Old Testament. Others were very accomplished in the study of the Scriptures. So Paul had to use different styles of teaching and different kinds of examples that made sense to these very different people. He wanted to bring them together in My church through the Father’s grace. Some of Paul’s teaching you will understand. Some may be a bit confusing. Don’t let any confusion discourage you. With a little time and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to understand the most important things the Spirit led Paul to write to these new Christians. The fundamental truth behind what Paul wrote is very important. That truth is that your being made right with the Father depends on your faith in: My sacrifice on the cross. My resurrection from the dead. My pouring out the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and on you at your conversion. You are saved by faith in Me and what I did to save you, not by keeping any law! In your verses for today, Paul made several points about the inability of a law to save people and make them righteous. This inability of a law to save is true of all law, even the law of Moses. Here are some of the key points to notice in Paul’s message: Abraham was counted righteous by the Father because of his faith — not because he obeyed the Mosaic Law. (Abraham lived hundreds of years before the Mosaic law was given.) People who trust in Me are counted righteous because of their faith just as Abraham was. Trying to be counted righteous by obeying law ends only in frustration. If you break one law out of a system of laws, then you are guilty of all of the law. (“Cursed is everyone who doesn’t live by and do all that is written in the law.”) I obeyed and fulfilled the law completely, then endured the cross to carry the curse of the law for you and to release you from that curse. No one can be counted righteous or made right with the Father by obeying the law. The life the Father wants to give you is found only by trusting what I did to make you right with Him. This life as the Father’s beloved child is yours no matter your nationality, race, or gender. It is given you when you trust in Me and put Me on in baptism and become the Father’s beloved child. Verses to Live Law in general, and the Mosaic law, which came from God, are good. They help limit the corruption in a society that comes from people who do evil things. They also help you better understand the kind of character the Father wants from you as His child. But no law-keeping can save you! Only I can do that. So quit trying to earn your salvation by trying to be better by doing a list of rules. Trust that what I did for you in my life, death, and resurrection makes you right with God. Realize that the good things you do and the godly life you try to lead are not done to earn Our favor or get you into heaven. You are choosing to do those things because you have been saved. You do them because you have been adopted into Our family. You want to share the character and compassion of the Father with others! You remember Abraham. Scripture tells us, “Abraham believed God and trusted in His promises, so God counted it to his favor as righteousness.” Know this: people who trust in God are the true sons and daughters of Abraham. For it was foretold to us in the Scriptures that God would set the Gentile nations right by faith when He told Abraham, “I will bless all nations through you.” So those who have faith in Him are blessed along with Abraham, our faithful ancestor. Listen, whoever seeks to be righteous by following certain works of the law actually falls under the law’s curse. I’m giving it to you straight from Scripture because it is as true now as when it was written: “Cursed is everyone who doesn’t live by and do all that is written in the law.” Now it is absolutely clear that no one is made right with God through the law because the prophet Habakkuk told us, “By faith the just will obtain life.” The law is not the same thing as life formed by faith. In fact, you are warned against this when God says, “The one who observes My laws will live by them.” I am trying to tell you that the Anointed One, the Liberating King, has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. It was stated in the Scriptures, “Everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed by God.” This is what God had in mind all along: the blessing He gave to Abraham might extend to all nations through the Anointed One, Jesus; and we are the beneficiaries
Today’s Verse – John 17:4
I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. —John 17:4 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… One of the most amazing things that Jesus ever said, he said to his Father in heaven: “I have completed the work you gave me to do…” In fact, when Jesus breathed his last, he said; “It is finished.” (Or, it is completed, or it is paid. John 19:30). Jesus finished the work God had sent the Son to accomplish in his life and on the cross by obeying the Father, glorifying the Father, and paying the debt of sin for all humankind. John quotes Jesus as using a form of the same word in John 17:4 and John 4:34. Even though Jesus’ time on earth was relatively short, he lived with the glory of God as his highest priority and lived to complete the work the Father had given him to accomplish. We can also live with the glory of God as our highest priority and live to complete the work the Father has given us to do! This is our purpose as God’s children (Ephesians 1:6, 1:12, 1:14; 1 Peter 2:9-10). The more we live by Kingdom priorities (Matthews 6:33), the more we can rest assured that we can finish our work and know we have honored the Father with our lives! Let’s be like our Savior and complete the work the Father has given us to do. My Prayer… Please be glorified in me, dear LORD, as I seek to glorify you! Use me to bring others to know you and your grace. And please, dear LORD, empower me to complete the work you sent me to do in this world. In Jesus’ name and to live for your glory, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Shocking Language, Amazing Grace!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, Some of Paul’s language in his letter to the Galatians is harsh. He begins his letter without his normal prayer of thanksgiving for them. (Even though the congregations in Corinth were a spiritual mess, Paul began his letter to the Corinthians with a prayer of thanksgiving.) The lack of his normal thanksgiving combined with the strong language Paul used toward those promoting legalism should be shocking to you. It was shocking to them. However, Paul wanted to get their attention! Grace and My good news message were at stake: No matter the source of the false gospel [you people of Galatia are now believing], even if it is preached by us [Paul and the apostles] or a heavenly messenger, ignore it. May those who add to or subtract from the gospel of Jesus be eternally cursed! Listen again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than what you have accepted, may he find himself cursed. (Galatians 1:8-9) Paul demanded their attention with these very harsh, but needed words! Paul went on in his letter to the Galatians to share his open rebuke of Cephas, whom you know as Peter. He and Barnabas had behaved poorly, their treatment of Gentile brothers and sisters were sinful and influenced by Jewish prejudice (Galatians 2:11-18). In the verses you will read today, you will see Paul use tough words again — notice especially the words emphasized in bold. Paul was using very intense language. What was the compelling reason for such a sharp edge to Paul’s words? The truth of My gospel was being perverted. Are people justified before the Father and accepted as His beloved children because they have earned it through their good works? No! They are justified because they hear the message of My gospel and accept it by faith. Are people accepted as holy and considered part of the Father’s family because they obey a set of rules? No! The Father’s acceptance and the grace they receive move them to act consistently with My character and compassion as they are led by the Holy Spirit. Too many teach and so many labor under the false notion that they have to earn their way to heaven. This false understanding was true with the Galatians. It is also true in your day. People fear that they have to work hard to gain the favor of an angry god. This fear is not the teaching of My gospel. This false concept is not the truth about your God. This legalistic approach to righteousness is not the truth about the Father Who sent Me. It is not the truth about Me. Since I gave up everything to save you, why would I or My Father give you a set of obscure religious obstacles for you to navigate so you could find My grace? A false approach to discipleship based on your accomplishments drips with the rot of the devil’s vile work. It is not the truth about the Holy Spirit Who lives in you to comfort, encourage, and empower you. You do not have to earn Our loving grace. I came to give you that grace. I paid the debt of sin so you could experience that grace. I ask you to accept that grace through faith in what I did for you. You don’t do good deeds to earn My favor. Your acts of kindness toward others are your response to the grace you have received. Your good deeds are your demonstrated appreciation for your salvation and adoption in My family. These actions are also a reflection of who you are becoming by the power of the Spirit — you are being transformed to be like Me (2 Corinthians 3:18)! When you became a child of the Father, I gave you the Holy Spirit to live in you (Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:3-7; Romans 8:9) and to empower you to live as the Father’s child in your world (Romans 8:13; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18). As you will see in a few days, the Spirit is at work to produce character and compassion in you that reflect My nature. This evidence of the Spirit’s work in you is called the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Holy Spirit is your guarantee of ultimate salvation (2 Corinthians 5:4-5; Ephesians 1:13-14). So don’t just begin your life in Me through the Spirit; seek the Spirit’s help in all you do! Verses to Live Paul chose strong language to address My followers in Galatia. He chose this harsh language because his message was vitally important to them. If they gave up grace, they would lose Me and the salvation I came to bring them! He’s telling them, “Don’t give up grace for law-keeping. Don’t give up the power of the Holy Spirit for your own futile efforts to live for Me.” Some of his strong language in the verses below is in bold. On the other hand, also notice the underlined words where Paul mentioned the great spiritual benefits of faith, the Spirit, and love. Galatians, don’t act like fools! Has someone cast a spell over you? Did you miss the crucifixion of Jesus the Anointed that was reenacted right in front of your eyes? Tell me this: Did the Holy Spirit come upon you because you lived according to the law? Or was it because you heard His message of grace through faith? Are you so foolish? Do you think you can perfect something God’s Spirit started with any human effort? Have you suffered so greatly for nothing — if it was indeed for nothing? You have experienced the Spirit He gave you in powerful ways. Miracle after miracle has occurred right before your eyes in this community, so tell me: did all this happen because you have kept certain provisions of God’s law, or was it because you heard the gospel and accepted it by faith? (Galatians 3:1-5) So stand strong for our freedom! The Anointed One freed us
Everything on the Line
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, You live in a world awash in religious ideas, ideologies, and philosophies. But there is one fundamental difference between all of them and the true gospel. That difference is the Father’s grace brought to you through My death, burial, and resurrection! Paul summarized this message well in some of his first words in his letter to the new believers in Galatia: May the grace and peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed live in you; He is the very Savior Who rescues us from this present, perverse age dominated by evil by giving His life according to our Father’s will to deal with our sins. As Paul and Barnabas completed their first mission trip, they returned to Syrian Antioch. Gentiles from all over the region of Pamphylia and southern Galatia had come to faith in Me. They trusted in what I did to save them. As Paul said in his letter to the Galatians, they placed their faith in Me by putting Me on in baptism: It is your faith in the Anointed Jesus that makes all of you children of God because all of you who have been initiated into the Anointed One through the ceremonial washing of baptism have put Him on. It makes no difference whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a freeman, a man or a woman, because in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, you are all one. Since you belong to Him and are now subject to His power, you are the descendant of Abraham and the heir of God’s glory according to the promise. (Galatians 3:26-29) The Galatians became children of God and descendants of Abraham — that is, heirs to the promises God made to Abraham — through this experience of baptism based on their faith. All walls dividing them as people were torn down and they became one in Me (Ephesians 2:13-22). Grace had won their hearts (Ephesians 2:1-10). The Father had adopted them into His family as full heirs of all that grace has to offer. Unfortunately, people in every era have had a tendency to add requirements to this grace. This tendency is what happened to many new believers both in Antioch and in Galatia. Some tried to make non-Jewish believers become Jews before they could be saved. They pushed a “distorted version [of the gospel] which is not the gospel at all”! So Paul made one important truth very clear: If you add some new requirement to the gospel, it is no longer My gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). It devolves into legalism, law-keeping, and falling from grace: For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. (Galatians 5:4) Verses to Live Paul didn’t invent the gospel he preached. He received that good message from Me. He and Barnabas spoke this good news. They defended it. They spoke strongly against all who would add to it or take from it. Paul used the words “eternally cursed” for anyone who adds to it or takes from this good message of grace. Everything was on the line for My early believers. They would either devolve into works-based attempts at righteousness like most other religions, or they would trust in My sacrifice to make them right with the Father. They would recognize that their salvation came by grace through faith demonstrated in baptism (Galatians 3:26-29), or they would keep trying to earn the Father’s favor by doing good works. To give way to legalism, to return to law-keeping as the way of righteousness, is to give Me up for what is not salvation! Then they [Paul and Barnabas at the end of their first missionary journey] passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples. But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. (Acts 14:24-28 ESV; Acts 15:1-2 ESV) Paul, an emissary commissioned directly by Jesus the Anointed One and God the Father (Who raised Him from the dead) — not (as some claim) an agent of men or any person — and all the brothers and sisters with me to you, the churches of Galatia. May the grace and peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed live in you; He is the very Savior Who rescues us from this present, perverse age dominated by evil by giving His life according to our Father’s will to deal with our sins. May God’s glorious name forever receive honor. Amen. Frankly I am stunned. I cannot believe that you have abandoned God so quickly — even after He called you through the grace of the Anointed One — and have fallen for a different gospel. Actually there is only one true gospel of the Anointed, and you — because of divisive prodding by others — are accepting a distorted version which is not the gospel at all! No matter the source of the false gospel, even if it is preached by us or a heavenly messenger, ignore it. May those who add to or subtract from the gospel of Jesus be eternally cursed! Listen again: if
Today’s Verse – Proverbs 16:20
Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD. —Proverbs 16:20 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Those who seek the instruction of God’s wisdom and who truly trust in God for their life’s blessings and values will find joyful prosperity. That’s his promise. That’s embedded in Scripture. While this philosophy doesn’t play well in the world of today’s commercials designed to appeal to our covetousness, pride, and greed, this biblical and godly understanding is vital to a truly blessed and prosperous life! Video Commentary… ToGather Worship Guide | More ToGather Videos My Prayer… Wise and eternal God, please open my mind to your wisdom and my heart to your gracious presence. I trust my future with you and want to live in obedience to your will and response to your truth and instruction. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
Celebrating Our Work in You
Note from Jesus Dear Friend, I want you to learn to rejoice in Our work in you. We — Father, Son, and Spirit — delight in your obedience and service to the kingdom of heaven. Angels rejoice when you find lost people and bring them to know Me, to experience the Father’s grace, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 15:7, 10). Yes, I want you to be passionate about the mission to which I have called you. I also want you to be equally passionate about celebrating My work done through you. Learn to rejoice with Us in the work we have done through you (Philippians 4:4-7). I mentioned several things in My note yesterday that Paul and Barnabas did as they completed their missionary journey — their first missionary journey. Today, I want to focus on one of those things that many of My disciples have forgotten to do: celebrate Our work done through you, among you, for you, and within you (Acts 14:27-28). We are always at work in you (Philippians 2:13). Even when things look bad and life is hard, We continue to work and redeem the messes of your life for your good (Romans 8:28-29). We know that you are not perfectly mature. We are far more aware of the undone things in your life than you are. However, We will carry those things to full completion and bring you to us in holiness to share in Our glory (Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Please recognize your progress in grace. Please celebrate your victories for grace. Please acknowledge the work We have done through you! Rejoice! Celebrate! This enthusiasm is not bragging on yourself, but giving glory to Us and blessing the family of believers. This kind of joy encourages others to live out Our mission in their lives. This kind of celebration gives other believers hope that their service in My name can be a blessing to the kingdom of heaven. Learn to rejoice with Us in the victories won over sin, death, hell, and the hold they have on the children of your world. Celebrate Our work done in and through you! Verses to Live The following is Luke’s summary of the end of Paul and Barnabas’ mission trip. You will notice several things these two do to establish and strengthen the churches in the cities they had previously visited. I want you to spend some extra time on the last three sentences, the ones in bold. Paul and Barnabas spent time with the believers who sent them out, and they reported to them all that We had done through them. When’s the last time you’ve taken a significant amount of time with other believers and celebrated our work done among you, through you, and within you? We want you to celebrate with Us! Paul and Barnabas and the church at Antioch surely did. Won’t you? After they [Paul and Barnabas] proclaimed the good news there [Derbe] and taught many disciples, they returned to some of the cities they had recently visited — Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. In each place, they brought strength to the disciples, encouraging them to remain true to the faith. Paul and Barnabas: We must go through many persecutions as we enter the kingdom of God. In each church, they would appoint leaders, pray and fast together, and entrust them to the Lord in Whom they had come to believe. They then passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. They preached their message in Perga and then went to the port of Attalia. There they set sail for Antioch, where they were first entrusted to the grace of God for the mission they had now completed. They called the church together when they arrived and reported all God had done with and through them, how God had welcomed outsiders through the doorway of faith. They stayed with the disciples in Antioch for quite a while. (Acts 14:21-28) Response in Prayer O Father in heaven, I confess that I often grow discouraged by my own lack of spiritual progress. I sometimes feel as if all of my spiritual efforts are in vain. Even worse, Father, I recognize now that I have let a false sense of humility rob me of rejoicing over Your work done in me, through me, with me, and for me. Forgive me God. I recognize that without Your grace, Your mercy, and Your power I would be lost. O God, I know how empty my life would be if it were not for Your grace to work through me, in me, and for me for Your glory. Teach me to rejoice in You, Your work, and Your glory. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2025, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today’s Verse – Philippians 4:11
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. —Philippians 4:11 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… Paul tells Timothy that one of life’s greatest treasures is to find contentment in godliness (1 Timothy 6:6). With this treasure, our physical circumstances become far less important to us than the character we display in all of life’s circumstances. Our bottom line becomes far less important than loving God wholeheartedly. Those who are wealthy and show godliness — a very difficult challenge according to Jesus (Mark 10:23-27) — have demonstrated that they are content to be godly and will be that kind of person with or without wealth. Those who are poor and are godly have shown the same ability. So the bottom line is not how rich we are in money, but how rich we are in faith and grace! My Prayer… Steadfast and faithful Father, please calm my restless and sometimes covetous heart and help me find my contentment in your presence and character in my life. I want my “great gain” to be godliness and for that to be enough for me in every situation. In the name of Jesus, I ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in making this true in me. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
First Mission Is Completed!
Note from Jesus Dear Disciple, In today’s verses, Luke writes about the last part of Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. As you saw yesterday, they developed a strategic rhythm in sharing the gospel. They would share My message first in the synagogues with Jews and God-fearers. Then, when resistance and opposition mounted, they would go to non-Jews in that same city. The methodology was quite effective. However, it brought a lot of resistance among some in the Jewish community: Finally the Jews and outsiders who opposed them joined forces and enlisted the political leaders in their plan to beat and stone Paul and Barnabas. They learned of the plan and escaped to Lystra and Derbe in Lycaonia, and the surrounding countryside, where they continued proclaiming the good news. (Acts 14:5-7) This resistance, even when in the form of persecution, did not stop Barnabas and Paul. The power of the Holy Spirit and the joy of My grace buoyed them. Furthermore, the resistance did not keep additional people from believing their message. Along the way, Barnabas and Paul met some challenges that were quite different from the ones of their Jewish upbringing. In places where superstition and false religion were the customs, Barnabas and Paul found their miracles didn’t always point people to Me. Instead, the miracles sometimes created confusion and false worship of the miracle workers. Rather than accept the worship and adulation of the crowds, Paul and Barnabas taught the truth and pointed the people to Me: Friends! No! No! Don’t do this! [That is, don’t worship us, Paul and Barnabas.] We’re just humans like all of you! We’re not here to be worshiped! We’re here to bring you good news — good news that you should turn from these worthless forms of worship and instead serve the living God, the God Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that they contain. Soon, My faithful emissaries, Barnabas and Paul, were facing attacks from hostile non-believing Jews, non-Jews who did not understand their message, and political leaders who were incited by leading Jewish officials to oppose My messengers. To prepare the new believers for what was ahead, Barnabas and Paul did two very important things. First, they warned these new believers that they must face “many persecutions as we enter the kingdom of God.” Second, they appointed leaders — godly older men called elders — to help guide these new communities of believers. When they returned to Antioch (in Syria) where they began their mission efforts, they reported on the great work We — Father, Son, and Spirit — had led them to do and empowered them to accomplish. Verses to Live As you read the verses below, a new era in the life of My people and a new era in sharing My message had fully begun. Now there were disciples of different nationalities, cultures, and languages coming into My family. This diversity was a glorious beginning. However, many roadblocks, difficulties, hardships, and persecutions lay ahead. But nothing could stop the advancement of the good message of the Father’s grace. That message focused on what I had done in My life, teaching, death, burial, resurrection, exaltation and sending of the Spirit. This message was empowered and validated by the Holy Spirit. This first mission of Barnabas and Paul wasn’t easy. But when they returned, they could truthfully say, “Our first mission is completed!” In Lystra they [Paul and Barnabas] met a man who had been crippled since birth; his feet were completely useless. He listened to Paul speak, and Paul could see in this man’s face that he had faith to be healed. Paul (shouting): Stand up on your own two feet, man! The man jumped up and walked! When the crowds saw this, they started shouting in Lycaonian. Crowd: The gods have come down to us! They’ve come in human form! They decided that Barnabas was Zeus and Paul was Hermes (since he was the main speaker). Before they knew it, the priest of Zeus, whose temple was prominent in that city, came to the city gates with oxen and garlands of flowers so the Lycaonians could offer sacrifices in worship to Paul and Barnabas! When they heard of this, Paul and Barnabas were beside themselves with frustration — they ripped their tunics as an expression of disapproval and rushed out into the crowd. Paul and Barnabas (shouting): Friends! No! No! Don’t do this! We’re just humans like all of you! We’re not here to be worshiped! We’re here to bring you good news — good news that you should turn from these worthless forms of worship and instead serve the living God, the God Who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that they contain. Through all previous generations, God has allowed all the nations to follow their own customs and religions, but even then God revealed Himself by doing good to you — giving you rain for your crops and fruitful harvests season after season, filling your stomachs with food and your hearts with joy. In spite of these words, they were barely able to keep the crowds from making sacrifices to them. Then unbelieving Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and incited the crowds against the Lord’s emissaries. The crowds turned on Paul, stoned him, dragged him out of the city, and left him there, thinking he was dead. As the disciples gathered around him, he suddenly rose to his feet and returned to the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. After they proclaimed the good news there and taught many disciples, they returned to some of the cities they had recently visited — Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. In each place, they brought strength to the disciples, encouraging them to remain true to the faith. Paul and Barnabas: We must go through many persecutions as we enter the kingdom of God. In each church, they would appoint leaders,