A WHOLE MAN

Droplet from Acts  30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Acts 28:31-32 I love how the book of Acts ends! We read of Paul under house arrest, but even still he is able to continue his ministry and to proclaim the Gospel with boldness and without hindrance. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to proclaim Christ without fear of persecution. So, for those of us in America (and other places), let us thank God that He has ordained in his infinite wisdom to allow us to live in a time and place such as this where we do have the liberty to preach the Gospel without hindrance. This means three things: 1) We must be about the business of God. We should be preaching the Gospel to those in our spheres of influence as God has placed us here for such purposes. And 2) we must not forget to thank Him for His mercy and g...

Droplet from Acts  2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul, and they urged him, 3 asking as a favor against Paul that he summon him to Jerusalem—because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way  Acts 25:2–3  As we continue to track Paul’s tribunal, we may be getting a bit annoyed at the religious leaders of Paul’s day. While in chapter 23, we saw how they were willing to allow, and nearly endorse, a murderous attempt on the life of Paul, in the opening verse of this chapter we see that they have plotted a murder attempt of their own. Among several questions we could ask: 1) How is God sovereign over this situation? 2) Why is God so merciful and patient with these enemies of Him? and 3) How is Paul so calm during this very difficult time? The obvious answers are simply that God is sovereign through all things, working them for His glory and just as He was patient with them, we can rejoice in His mer...

Droplet from Acts 13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Acts 21:13   Perhaps as you were reading today’s passage in Acts, you could not help but let your mind wander to the martyrdom of Polycarp. His willingness to serve God in the face of personal, physical death was not one that they ran away from, nor were causes for wavering in their faith. Instead, Paul (and Polycarp) were both ready and willing to give of themselves for the name of the Lord. Which brings us to a very important question, “What will it cost to follow Jesus?” The simple answer is everything. We are too worldly minded at times and live each day with a singular purpose of advancing in our careers, fluffing our retirement account, or raising perfect children. We are reminded of the reality that having Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives means that our singular goal is t...

Droplets from Acts and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.  Acts 18:3  Given the mention of the proconsul Gallio, we can be fairly certain that this event occurs sometime around 51 AD. We also read that many of the Jews had been driven out of Rome, due to the decree of Claudius, and many Jewish Christians were probably needing to find work in order to support themselves. In this passage only do we find out that Paul was a tentmaker and of his willingness to work in order to support his ministry and the proclamation of the Gospel. One lesson I would like us to grasp from this reading is the principle that even secular vocations can be done for the glory of God. Too often, we think that ministry and service for God is only possible if we quit our secular jobs and work full-time in ministry. However, in this passage we see that service to Christ and secular activities are not mutually exclusive. We can ...

Monday articles usually cover the New Testament Reading for the week. However, in the coming weeks we will be running through the minor prophets while staying in the book of Acts. So, for a short period of time, I will be covering the Old Testament books on Mondays in addition to Fridays. Don’t worry, we will have what I am calling “Droplets from Acts” at the beginning of each article. Droplets from Acts 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like...