The 260 Journey

Day 105

Today’s Reading: Acts 16

Welcome to one of the most important New Testament chapters, Acts 16. This chapter is the reason we meet for church, and it all started with God saying "no" to the apostle Paul.

Let me tell you that my “no” story changed the direction of my life. In the summer of 1983, I had the opportunity to go on two mission trips. The first was to Jamaica and the other to Detroit. Without praying, I said yes to Jamaica. I thought the sun, beach, and sand was the best place to minister. Then I did something that changed everything—I prayed and asked God what He wanted me to do. God said no to Jamaica and yes to Detroit. If left to me, I was heading to the Caribbean; if left to God, I was heading to one of the most impoverished inner cities in the country. Didn’t make sense . . . yet.

That summer mission’s trip changed my life. What I thought would be two months between semesters at university, ended up becoming thirty years of my life and a call to ministry. And it all started with hearing no to Jamaica.

That is not only my story, that is Paul’s story in Acts 16. God was doing great things in Asia, and Paul was on his second missionary journey. While he was starting to make plans for his “Jamaica,” he heard God’s no twice:

They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. (Acts 16:6-7)

Two no’s, then the yes from God:

Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. (Acts 16:8-10)

Two thoughts for us to remember:

1. God is a father and fathers say no.
2. No is not rejection but protection.

Remember, Satan always says yes.

Sometimes you have to hear some no’s before you get a yes. If you have never heard no from God, then your relationship with Him is suspect and you’re probably not talking to Him.

When He does say no, it means He has something bigger and better for you.

For Paul, that bigger and better was that God had a global strategy for the church, one He mapped out way back in Acts 1:8: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Jerusalem was covered in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. Acts 8 moved the gospel into Judea and Samaria through the great persecution: “On that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. . . . Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:1, 4).

Part 3 of the Acts 1:8 strategy had yet to be fulfilled—until we hit chapter 16. This was the gospel going to Europe and eventually around the world. If Paul didn’t listen to God and did what was comfortable by staying in Asia, then your church and my church wouldn’t exist today. It was so much easier to stay in Asia, but God had something bigger in mind, and so God said no.

Thank You, God, for saying no to us, and especially to the apostle Paul.

Day 104

Today’s Reading: Acts 15

I’ll always be thankful for my friend and mentor, Dr. R. T. Kendall, who during a critical time in my life quoted these words from an unknown source: “Always remember that the best of men are still men at best.” We all have our faults and flaws, even the greatest Christian leaders. In today’s reading, we will see how true these words are.

First let me tell you a revival story from the First Great Awakening in the 1700s that shook two continents. The awakening was spreading from England to a nation soon to form (the United States of America). What God did during that time became the DNA for the language used in our foundational documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Though the revival was great, it was not without controversy. Two great preachers and close friends, John Wesley and George Whitefield, who played significant spiritual roles during that time often found themselves in sharp disagreement with each other. Both men led countless thousands to faith in Christ, but they were at odds theologically.

Whitefield had traveled to the American colonies and when he returned to England, the men had a heated confrontation. Wesley wrote of the event: “He told me that he and I preached two different gospels; and therefore he would not only not join with or give me the right hand of fellowship, but was resolved publicly to preach against me and my brother [Charles], wheresoever he preached at all.

The best of men are still men at best.

Before Whitefield came to the end of his life, he asked Wesley to preach his funeral sermon. Wesley agreed, and while there, a woman approached and asked, “Dear Mr. Wesley, do you expect to see dear Mr. Whitefield in heaven?”

After a lengthy pause, Wesley responded solemnly, “No, Madam.”

“Ah, I was afraid you would say so,” she said.

“But,” Wesley continued, “do not misunderstand me. . . . George Whitefield will stand so near the throne that one like me will never get a glimpse of him!”

Just like the first Great Awakening, the first missionary journey of the church to take the gospel beyond Jerusalem had problems between its leaders:

After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. (Acts 15:36-40)

The greatest Christian of his time (Paul) and the greatest encourager of his time (Barnabas) had a sharp disagreement.

The best of men are still men at best.

I heard someone say it like this: “The church is like Noah’s ark. The stench on the inside would be unbearable if it weren’t for the storm on the outside.” Many times we stink, but the world is really stormy. Paul and Barnabas only traveled together on one of the three missionary journeys because of this fight. The sharp disagreement between them was based upon whether to take the young disciple John Mark with them. Earlier, the young man seemed to have gotten scared and deserted the dynamic duo. Paul thought John Mark’s actions should get him fired, but Barnabas wanted to give him a second chance.

When things are emotional, people tend to become illogical. The disagreement over John Mark became emotional and illogical. Sharp disagreement implies the emotional; separating and going different ways is illogical.

When we read how this disagreement ended, it’s good for us to consider some questions: Who do you have in your life who will tell you the truth? Who can disagree with you without the situation becoming disagreeable and defensive? Can your spouse, best friend, family member challenge your opinion—spiritually, politically, racially, socially—without it turning into a shouting match?

Here’s the truth: when you are shouting over a differing opinion, it isn’t the opinion that is revealing, it’s the yeller being revealed.

Two quick thoughts to use for the times someone disagrees with you:

First, get the second side of everything. Job 11:6 says that “sound wisdom has two sides.” You are not able to see everything and you are not able to know everything. Go in trying to find the truth not trying to be right.

Second, surround yourself with wise people, those who feed your soul, not your ego, those who won’t be afraid to disagree with you, who will force you to practice getting the second side. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend” (NLT). Prominent 1920s attorney Dudley Field Malone said it this way, “I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.”

I am happy the Bible records the argument of the apostle and the encourager, but not so happy about their separation. In the end, God used Paul and Silas on the other two missionary journeys, however, I wish we would have seen a resolution instead of a separation between the two. But it really is true . . . the best of men are still men at best.

Day 103

Today’s Reading: Acts 14

C. S. Lewis wrote, “Miracles in fact are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” Lewis was saying that a miracle was retelling the big story that God exists and God is good. Seeing a miracle should help us to see the big letters. Unfortunately, as we find in today’s reading, Lystra missed it.

Acts 14 is about a man being able to walk for the first time. It’s a miracle! But the chapter shows us more: it shows how the people who can walk are lame. They are crippled in their worldview. The people in Lystra saw a miracle and end up worshiping the guys who performed it:

While they were at Lystra, Paul and Barnabas came upon a man with crippled feet. He had been that way from birth, so he had never walked. He was sitting and listening as Paul preached. Looking straight at him, Paul realized he had faith to be healed. So Paul called to him in a loud voice, “Stand up!” And the man jumped to his feet and started walking.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes.

(Acts 14:8-12, NLT)

A man walks who had never walked. God healed him. And when the town saw it, they responded with a wrong conclusion—that Paul and Barnabas must be gods. And they decided, “Let’s praise these guys.”

So Paul had to speak to their false conclusion:

Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” (Acts 14:15-17, NLT)

Verse 17 is so important. Paul was explaining the reason Lystra blew it when the man was healed: God had left them evidence of His existence and His goodness. When it rains, it’s because God is good. When they had good crops, that was from a good God.

Émile Cammaerts was right in these profound words: “The first effect of not believing in God is to believe in anything.” Because the people of Lystra missed God’s evidence, they had to come up with their own gods—and this day it was Paul and Barnabas.

Paul’s words are not just important for Lystra to know but for our world to know. This is so important: we see something amazing happen and we praise people and leave God out of the mix. People know how to blame God for the bad but they don’t know how to praise God for the good. That was Lystra, and that’s happening today.

Some years ago, I was flying home only to have my flight canceled because of a weather-related issue. Huge thunderstorms grounded all the flights. The other passengers and I would have to wait until the storm passed, which looked to be the next morning. When I asked the gate agent if the airline would cover the expenses of my night in a hotel, her response was, “We only cover that when it’s mechanical. When it’s an act of God, you are on your own.”

I laughed when I realized what she’d said. She was saying God exists! But He exists only when bad stuff happens, and the airline isn’t responsible for His storms. When the good stuff happens, though, the airline did it. When storms happen, passengers have to pay. Insurance companies and airlines call storm-related damages acts of God. But they forget that the sunshine is from God too.

In 1970, the Apollo 13 mission was almost a catastrophe. Apollo 13 was the third mission NASA was sending to the moon, but after an oxygen tank explosion onboard en route, they had to abort the mission. This is where the famous “Houston, we’ve had a problem . . .” line occurred. Many people only know about the event from watching the iconic movie Tom Hanks starred in and Ron Howard directed. The part the movie did not show us was that the president of the United States, Richard Nixon, came on television and asked the nation to pray for the astronauts’ safe return.

And this is what happened: the capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean and was put on an aircraft carrier. And when the astronauts were safely aboard the carrier . . . don’t miss this . . . the president praised American space technology for the return of our astronauts. He asked us to pray, and when God answered that prayer, he praised human skill and technology. He should have just called NASA Zeus and Hermes.

It was just a few years later that Watergate occurred and that president resigned in disgrace.

God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.

Day 102

Today’s Reading: Acts 13

In her children’s novel, The Candymakers, Wendy Mass wrote, "If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” Well, in today’s reading we see that the butterfly is about to come out, because a change is coming.

Can you imagine having Sunday school teachers in your home church named Paul and Barnabas? I mean the Paul and Barnabas. The church in Antioch did. Acts 13 tells us this and then tells us what happened during their worship service. And it’s the butterfly moment:

There were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit . . . .” (Acts 13:1-4)

Paul had been saved in AD 34—Acts 9. In Acts 13, it was AD 48—fourteen years later. It had been fourteen years since Paul’s conversion. Antioch was a six-year-old church, which we saw had been started in Acts 11, where the followers of Jesus were first called Christians. Paul was teaching there but had not been released into full-time ministry yet until the music started one Sunday in the service. Let’s read verse 2 again, this time in a different translation: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’” (NIV).

You have to worship. It’s a command. Not only because God deserves it, but because it positions us for God to talk to us and even guide us. And on this day in Antioch, God tapped Paul and Barnabas on the shoulders and said that it was time for them to change locations and ministries.

You may have thought you are just singing when the music starts at your church, but so much more can happen. When you worship you are positioning yourself to hear God’s voice.

The songs were playing and God said it was time for a change in the Antioch staff team. Whatever their role was at the Antioch church, it would have been cool to go to Barnabas and Paul’s church. But their church was soon about to have a staff shake up.

Just when it seems like you have the perfect leadership team, God may say, “Change.” That doesn’t seem too cool to do to your dream team, but in this case, we know the end of the story and we know it was the right move, because this was the beginning of Paul’s missionary journeys and the spread of the gospel around the world.

Remember, God’s will is more important than any of our preferences. His Kingdom is more important than personalities and our comfort. When it’s a God thing, there may be sadness but there is never harm to God’s work. God will not change the landscape to harm one place and bless another. God will not change something to kill ministries, but will raise up others to do the work of the ministry that did not have a chance before. Abrupt vacancy sometimes means we got comfortable with the same people doing the same thing for a long time and God wants others developed.

Don’t think any person is off limits to God. Don’t put any boundaries around a singer. A musician. A pastor. A leader or faithful worker. As Corrie ten Boom reminds us: “Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.”

That’s exactly what was about to happen to Paul and the church at Antioch. They were both holding their hands lightly when God tapped them on the shoulder during the worship service.

Next time you stand and sing at church and you feel a tap, it may not be the person behind you. I’m just saying.

Day 101

Today’s Reading: Acts 12

Today we come to a challenging passage of Scripture. We are about to see two men in prison, yet those same men’s lives have a different outcome. And it seems there is something that happened that changed one of these men’s future. Let’s read the story:

About that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread. When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. (Acts 12:1-5)

Herod arrested two key figures in the first church: James and Peter. Both were imprisoned. James was put to death by the sword, and Peter was about to face the same outcome . . . but Peter was miraculously delivered. Something seemed to change Peter’s meeting with the executioner: “Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God” (verse 5).

Read that verse again: “But prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.”

Could it be that God was showing us the power of prayer? James got a sword; Peter got an angel:

On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. (Acts 12:6-7)

I have to say this about the angelic visit in prison. Take a look this sentence: “He struck Peter’s side and woke him up.” Talk about the peace of God. If I knew I was going to die the next day, I would not be in such a deep sleep that an angel would need to strike me on the side and yell, “Get up."

Why did Peter have the peace of God? Because he knew the promise of God.

This is really important. Back in John 21, Jesus made Peter a promise about his death:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.” Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” (John 21:18-19)

He was telling Peter that he would not die young but as an old man who can’t even dress himself.

Peter knew a promise that Jesus made over him twelve years before. So Peter could go to sleep, because he believed God would get him out.

And God did. Puritan writer Thomas Watson said that “the angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel.”

Could the difference be that God is showing us that prayer is intercession? That prayer gets people out of a death sentence. One gets killed, the other gets delivered. And the thing separating their fates was a praying church.

Peter was going to be killed, but prayer trumped Herod’s intentions. My prayer, our church’s prayer, can be a matter of life and death.

If Peter’s life depended on your prayer life or on your church’s prayer life . . . would he have had a chance? Or would he have faced the same fate as his companion?

A Christian lady lived next door to an atheist. Every day she prayed, and the atheist could hear her. Many times, he would harass her and say, “Why do you pray all the time? Don’t you know there is no God?”

But still she kept on praying.

One day she ran out of groceries. As usual, she was praying, and the atheist could hear her. As she prayed, she explained her situation to the Lord, thanking Him for what He was going to do.

The atheist was so annoyed with her praying, that he decided to get her. He went to the store, bought groceries, dropped them off on her front porch, rang the doorbell, and hid in the bushes. When she opened the door and saw the groceries, she began to praise the Lord!

The atheist jumped out of the bushes. “You old crazy lady. God didn’t buy you those groceries. I bought those groceries!”

His announcement started her shouting and praising God all the more. “I knew the Lord would provide me with some groceries, but I didn’t know he was going make the devil pay for them!”

Can your prayer life get someone out of jail?