Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 13:1-12.  Let’s go!

Acts 13:1 (NIV)
1  In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
 
On verse 1:  The church at Antioch had a team of prophet-teachers who spoke to the congregation.  Notice the diversity on this teaching team: Barnabas was Jewish but grew up in Greek-influenced Cyprus, likely making him a “Grecian Jew”.   Simeon, scholars say, was probably black.  Lucius was from Cyrene (North Africa).  Manaen grew up with King Herod Antipas the tetrarch, which meant he probably came a very wealthy background and was older.  Saul, of course, was a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5) but was also well traveled and from Tarsus (modern day Turkey).   God loves diversity.  In fact Jesus’ Church is the largest and most racially, ethnically and culturally diverse family that has ever existed.  

Acts 13:2 (NIV)
2  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.”
 
On verse 2:  It was in an environment of worshiping the Lord and fasting that this team of leaders heard the Holy Spirit tell them to send off Barnabas and Saul for a new assignment.  What can we learn from this?  If you want to hear the Holy Spirit speak, make room for Him through worship and fasting.  When you draw near to God, He will draw near to you.

Hi GAMErs!
 
Today’s passage is Acts 12:11-25.  Let’s go!

Acts 12:11-12 (NIV)
11  Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
12  When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
 
On verses 11-12:  Peter now realizes that the deliverance from prison he was dreaming about was actually real.  His first instinct is to go to the house of Mary, mother of John-Mark, where many are praying for him.  Peter wants those praying for him to see for themselves the incredible deliverance God made possible for him, knowing how much encouragement that would bring to them. 

Acts 12:13-16 (NIV)
13  Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door.
14  When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15  “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16  But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
 

Hi GAMErs!
 
Today’s passage is Acts 12:1-10.  Let’s go!

Acts 12:1-3 (NIV)
1  It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
2  He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3  When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
 
On verses 1-3:  James, the brother of John and one of the original twelve disciples, is martyred for his faith, put to death with the sword by King Herod.  Seeing how the killing of a Christian leader was seemingly gaining him favour with other people in his kingdom, King Herod decides to seize Peter with plans to put him on trial and to execute Peter just like he did James.  Herod thought that living to please others, even if it meant doing evil and murderous deeds, would benefit him.  Soon, however, we’ll discover that the very tendency in him to want esteem and worship from others would result in his undoing.  Living to please others doesn’t result in life but death.
 
Acts 12:4-5 (NIV)
4  After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5  So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 11:19-30.  Let’s go!

Acts 11:19-24 (NIV)
19  Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
20  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21  The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22  News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23  When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
24  He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

On verses 19-24:  When Stephen was martyred and persecution broke out on the church in Jerusalem (Acts 7-8:3), the church scattered (Acts 8:4) and some Christians traveled to places like Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (v19).  Despite not having heard or seen the incredible ways that the Holy Spirit had touched the lives of Gentiles like Cornelius and household in Judea (Acts 10) or what the Holy Spirit did among Samaritans in Samaria (Acts 8), some of these scattered believers also began speaking to Gentiles too about Jesus Christ, in particular Greeks at Antioch, who responded in great numbers (v21).  So the church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas to Antioch, a Gentile city in Syria, to see the work that God was doing there and to encourage the growing church there.  God uses the encouraging presence and uplifting words of Barnabas to add to the work already happening in Antioch, bringing more people to the Lord there. 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 11:1-18.  Let’s go!

Acts 11:1-18 (NIV)
1  The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
3  and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4  Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:
5  “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.

On verses 1-18:  The circumcised believers in Jerusalem criticized Peter for associating with Gentiles.  So “starting from the beginning” (v2), Peter explains what happened to him: the vision he saw while praying (v5-10), the three men Cornelius sent and who arrived right at that same moment (v11), his meeting with Cornelius (v12-14), the way the Holy Spirit fell on these new Gentile believers as Peter was preaching (v15) and the lessons he learned from these experiences (v16-17).

Notice that before the circumcised believers heard Peter’s perspective, they were critical of him.  After they heard Peter’s perspective, “they had no further objections and praised God” (v18) about the very situation they once criticized Peter for.