July 20th

John 3     Jeremiah 16     Acts 7     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Jeremiah 16 paints a really bleak picture of the Day of Disaster for Judah, when God's blessing is withdrawn because the people had forsaken him and instead followed other gods. "See how each of you is following the stubbornness of his evil heart instead of obeying me" (v12) - sounds worryingly familiar! Yet even in the midst of outlining this terrible Day of Disaster, God again promises that he will restore Judah to the promised land (v15).

Following on from this, Stephen's speech in Acts 7 highlights how these plans and promises worked out throughout the Old Testament despite Israel's continual turning away. Here the members of the Sanhedrin are accused of being just like their fathers: stiff-necked, resisting the Holy Spirit and persecuting those who challenge their academically-based theological orthodoxy with the message that God has given them - ring any bells?

Finally, despite all our turning away, John 3 is a soothing balm to our stubborn, evil hearts and stiff necks: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Praise God that despite our disobedience, self-centredness and self-importance if we believe in Jesus, repenting of our sins, we have eternal life through him. What a wonderful, undeserved gift from our loving heavenly Father – we are not condemned, but are free through His saving grace and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.

(member of a homegroup)

July 19th

John 2     Jeremiah 15     Acts 6     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

This is the big launch, the public unveiling, and the beginning of the end. In this chapter of John, having gathered his disciples to him in John 1, we see Jesus’ first recorded miracle. And what a place to choose!

Picture the scene, a wedding banquet: the home of tradition and the place where customs are made and followed to the letter. A virtual disaster awaits the bridegroom – he runs out of wine for his guests and there is only water remaining. It’s clear that Jesus does not necessarily want to get involved but, following his mother’s prompting, requests 6 jars of water. The result is an incredible miracle and, as John says, “the first of the signs through which [Jesus] revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

I imagine it had already taken a lot for the disciples to follow him when called in John 1. Jesus’ response to their questions in that chapter was: “Come and see”. Well, they didn’t have long to wait because they saw His glory revealed – and yet we know that they didn’t fully understand for a few years yet. In contrast, several years later (as we will see tomorrow), Stephen was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” who came, saw and followed Jesus to the ultimate sacrifice of his own life.

What does/would it take for us to truly believe and follow? Are there doubts that hold us back? In the rest of John’s gospel he invites us to come and see – are we prepared for the consequences?

(member of a homegroup)

July 18th

John 1     Jeremiah 14     Acts 5     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Reading this I was challenged by two things in Acts Chapter 5.

First with Ananias and Sapphira, a couple who, unlike Barnabas we learnt about in Chapter 4, wanted to hold something back when they gave and were prepared to lie through their teeth about it – it cost them their lives! I guess it’s not the amount they gave (or didn’t give) but their attitude towards it. Were they giving freely and with love? A real contrast to the giving we saw in the later part of Chapter 4 which was of great encouragement to the early church.

Do we hold back when giving to God and then pretend that we have given all that we should have? This isn’t necessarily materially but could be in our service or in our attitude to God or in our hearts?

The second challenge I had was this; later in Acts 5 we read of the apostles being persecuted. Yet when the Apostles appear before the authorities, they state – “We must obey God rather than men!” (v29), before going onto state their belief in the gospel of Jesus. After being flogged for their beliefs (v40) they rejoiced that they “had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name [of Jesus]”. Wow.

In an environment that seems increasingly hostile to the Christian message, could we respond in our hearts the same way the early Apostles responded?

(member of a homegroup)

July 17th

Joshua 24     Jeremiah 13     Acts 4     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

Barnabas the encourager!

Towards the end of Acts 4 is where we meet Barnabas the encourager for the first time. A true hero of the early church!

Barnabas belonged to a great church which was characterised by the following:

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->It was united – “one in heart and mind” (Acts 4 v 32)

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->It was evangelistic - “With great power the apostles continued to testify” (v33)

<!--[if !supportLists]-->·        <!--[endif]-->It was a community that took action – “There were no needy people among them….[donations] were distributed as they had need” (v34/35)

Don’t we long for our churches to be like the early church in Acts – united, spreading the gospel, taking action to help those in need!

Barnabas (which was a nickname meaning Son of Encouragement) acted when he saw a need by selling his land and giving the proceeds to be distributed to others “as they had need”. He went onto be a great leader within the church, encouraging and spreading the gospel wherever he went.

For our church to be like that we need to be like that! The church is of course the people in it. What is it that we can do to be more like Barnabas? What can we do to be a better encourager? Do we know others well enough to know when they have need? Do we need to change our attitudes to be more “united” with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? A challenge for all of us!

(member of a homegroup)

July 16th

Joshua 23     Jeremiah 12     Acts 3     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

At the end of his life, Joshua draws the people together and urges them to keep in mind all that God has done for them.  They have witnessed it with their own eyes.  “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed” (Joshua 23:14).  God has shown that he keeps his promises and, since we are assured that God does not change, we can trust Him with our lives.

With this in mind, Joshua encourages the people to “Be very strong” (v.6) and to “hold fast to the Lord your God” (v.8).  We can be strong in the face of every challenge because it is God who fights for us.  But we must be going in the right direction.  God is not indifferent to our sin and his justice is perfect.  We are reminded in Jeremiah 12:16-17 that obedience brings a right relationship with God but disobedience is a treacherous path.

So let us make a fresh commitment to obey God today, knowing that we are in safe hands.  Will you go where He leads, whatever the cost?

(member of a homegroup)

July 15th

Joshua 22     Jeremiah 11     Acts 2     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)

In Acts 2, we see the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise that God will send the Holy Spirit to his people (see John 14-16).  At Pentecost, God made his presence known to this group of believers in a spectacular way!  We know that God can do anything and reveals himself to us in many different ways but when he acts, it’s clear that people react. 

Will we seize the opportunity, as Peter did, to explain what God is doing in our lives?  Our witness of God’s involvement in our lives through his Holy Spirit is one of our most powerful tools.  Words of truth have the power to “cut to the heart” (v.37).

What stuck me most about this passage though is the picture of the early church in vs. 42-47.  In particular, I am challenged by the word “devoted”.  I want to hear the Word taught, to meet with Christian friends and am grateful that we have the gift of prayer but can I say that I am “devoted” to these things above all else?  This group of new believers in Acts 2 were totally united, both in terms of their beliefs and priorities and also on a material level.  They shared their whole lives together, giving thanks and praise to God.  This looks like an attractive way to live from my viewpoint as a Christian.  But we also see that when Christians live lives that reflect the gospel this Christian community attracts people from outside the church to Christ.  Let us be devoted to God and to each other, so that our example may be contagious!

(member of a homegroup)

July 14th

Joshua 20-21     Jeremiah 10     Acts 1     (Click on the Reference to go to the passage)


God establishes His church

The Book of Acts is written as the second part of Luke’s account of his witness to Jesus’ life and death, and the foundation of the early church. It is written to a believer called Theophilus, that he may “know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3-4). And the first half of chapter 1 reviews the events with which the gospel of Luke closed, the ascension of the risen Lord Jesus Christ (see Luke 24:36-53).

Probably the most important verse of this chapter is verse 8. Before he ascends back to heaven, Jesus gives the faithful apostles an answer to their confused question in v6: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus replies gently but with great challenge. That is none of your business, he says in v7. But here is your task once, in a few days, you receive power in the Holy Spirit: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In other words, you are to tell people of me and my gospel in your home town, in the surrounding districts, and to all the world. The rest of the book of Acts reveals how this plays out in the early church.

As Jesus-followers today we follow in the footsteps of the apostles and come under this same commission. How are you doing this week at making Jesus known to people in your city (neighbourhood, work, home, shops, etc etc)? In your country (work contacts, encouraging friends in their evangelism, supporting charities, campaigning politically, etc)? In the whole world (prayer, supporting overseas missionaries, giving to mission agencies, etc)? What would Jesus say to you if He returned today?

(friend of Christ Church)