Freedom For Today

Take a moment to read Acts 6:8-7:60 before reading the devotional below.

We don’t know a lot about Stephen, but what we do know is found in today’s passage, finishing up Acts 6 and taking us right through Acts 7. While he was not one of the twelve apostles, he is described as “full of God’s grace and power” and he had performed miracles to prove it. I don’t know about you, but if I’m ever in a situation in which people start publicly lying about me, I really hope my face starts glowing. It’s really a zinger of supernatural proportions.

Just like Peter, Stephen is thrust into the spotlight and starts preaching to the crowd. Remember, he’s addressing Jews, so he starts with Abraham and goes from there. He hits all the highlights from Joseph to Moses to David. It’s a lesson for us all: when you are suddenly called upon to preach, just retell Scripture. It’s a good starting point. But when Stephen wraps it up, he hits pretty hard and lets his audience know that they are rejecting the Holy Spirit. This doesn’t sit well and Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr. As he is being stoned to death, Stephen imitates Jesus’ words while dying on the cross.

Death wasn’t the end of Stephen’s story, even if we haven’t gotten to hear the rest of it yet. Our lives never end when we live in God’s kingdom, no matter what we face on earth. Take time to reflect on what eternal life really means. Are you limiting your view of your life to the 80-90 years you might spend here, or are you making plans for all of eternity? I have a heaven to-do list (which I cannot write down since I can’t take it with me…). It includes things like “garden” (which I refuse to do in a fallen world) and “spend at least 1,000 years with the Bethel worship teams.” I’ve got a lot to do and all the time in this world and the next to do it. I hope when I get there I find my list hanging neatly on the refrigerator in my mansion just as I imagine. But I know it will be way cooler than that…

Take a moment to read Acts 6:1-7 before reading the devotional below.

Well, in case you were feeling bad about yourself, today’s chapter includes the exceptionally human phrase, “rumblings of discontent.” The Holy Spirit was still on the move here in Acts 6, but the community experience that had been so other-worldly begins to develop cracks. Racism was the first weapon used to divide the early church, and unfortunately it is still one of the most commonly used spiritual weapons against the Church today. This first division in a supernaturally united church serves to remind us that when the Holy Spirit takes ground, Satan fights to take it back. (And remember, Jesus directly prayed for unity of believers in John 17. He knew this would not be an easy fight.)

Encouragingly, delegation seemed to solve the problem and thus the apostles were freed up to focus on prayer and teaching. As the number of believers expanded, the leadership had to grow and expand as well. And lest we think that food distribution is not that central, the apostles choose seven extremely qualified guys to head up the project. Seven. There were only twelve apostles (who by the way could have just canned the project and given up because it was getting out of hand). But Jesus cares about the poor getting enough to eat and in this case no less than a team of seven could get the job done.

Yes, God cares about your rumblings of discontent. When you feel like you are being treated unfairly and your needs are not being provided for, he listens and acts. When you start complaining loudly to others and get a hungry mob mobilized, he listens and acts. And God designed the Church to provide for your needs. We may feel a long way off from that now, but deep in the heart of God the poor are held tightly. If you are not materially poor, share. If you are materially poor, ask God to provide. If you are part of a church, make sure there are ministries that care for physical needs. And listen to those who express their needs, even if they do it with a certain lack of eloquence.

Take a moment to read Acts 5:17-42 before reading the devotional below.

When an angel comes and busts you out of jail, you know you are on a supernatural mission. When you go into a very visible public place after busting out of jail, you’re definitely not living for your own purposes. It’s not a great survival strategy. But the apostles were listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. They weren’t out for self-preservation.

After the apostles were arrested for a second time, a wise man named Gamaliel steps up to offer the religious leaders some advice. He suggests that if the apostles are doing the work of God, then they will not be able to be stopped. But if they are just trying to stir up trouble, arresting them will only fuel the fire. In the end, the religious leaders listen and let them go — but not before flogging them.

Ultimately, we know that the apostles were not just out for their 15 minutes of fame. They were part of a supernatural movement driven by the Holy Spirit that is still being carried on today. You are part of that movement if you are a follower of Jesus. When you are carrying out God’s mission, nothing can stop you. Notice the apostles’ reaction to being flogged: they rejoiced at being worthy of suffering.

Take a moment to read Acts 5:1-16 before reading the devotional below. 

We live in life-or-death times. Satan’s biggest trick is to get us to believe that nothing is particularly crucial. Prayer, for example, is optional and doesn’t really do a whole lot. Miracles don’t happen anymore. Our lives are just about what we can see around us. There’s no battle behind the scenes, no supernatural world affecting our daily lives. Like that scene in The Wizard of Oz: “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

But since time has continued to march on since the early believers realized they were in the “last days,” we know we too are in a time that is of tremendous spiritual importance. In Acts 5 we see the sobering reality that spiritual decisions are life-or-death kinds of decisions. The story of Ananias and Sapphira might not seem that bad… I mean, they did lie about their giving, but did they really have to DIE for that?? Notice in verses 3 and 9 that what they did in the spiritual reality was far worse than what it looked like in an earthly sense: they lied to the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Holy Spirit personally dwelling in and among them was a very new concept, so putting that at risk was life or death. And as we continue on and read about Peter’s shadow containing healing power, we see the “life” aspect of this life-or-death reality.

The Holy Spirit brings you incredible spiritual power and protection. That is a life-or-death reality we live in. When we forget the significance of that power, we are more likely to not use it. And opposition to the Spirit will be met with death. Just as healing is a guarantee in the kingdom of God (and sometimes we see immediate healing take place here on earth), so too death is a heartbreaking guarantee if we oppose the Holy Spirit (and sometimes we see instant death such as in the story Ananias and Sapphira). Walk in the power of the Spirit today, knowing that you are in desperate need of supernatural protection in these life and death times.

Take a moment to read Acts 4:23-37 before reading the devotional below.

The work of the Holy Spirit reveals the kingdom of God. Here in the second section of Acts 4, we see more pictures of the coming kingdom. Like looking through a family photo album, seeing these snapshots gives us a greater understanding of the home we’ve not yet seen fully.

Notice from the passage some of the things that seem to just be springing up in ways that are quite opposite of how things normally go here on earth. In verses 24-26, the believers’ reaction to news of their friends’ narrow escape from prison is immediate corporate prayer. And not in the way you’d expect (“Dear Jesus, thank you for helping us not go to prison, keep us safe and comfortable from this point on…”). Instead of feeling a mix of scared and relieved, they go right to Scripture and see much more clearly that prophecy is being fulfilled. This realization causes them to ask for increased boldness. The Holy Spirit brings about spontaneous prayer, greater understanding of the spiritual realities around them, and then makes his presence physically obvious with a giant shaking of the room. And once again the chapter ends with an ongoing restoration of the word “family” as believers, living fully in the Spirit, sharing everything and developing deep community.

If you are discouraged about what you see in the world around you or you feel like you just don’t “fit” here in this world, that makes total sense. God’s kingdom is your real home. How do I know? Because humanity was designed to live in a world that included constant intimacy with God’s Spirit. When we experience that, we see God’s hand bring about kingdom experiences such as those in Acts. When we have disruptions in our connection with the Spirit — which is guaranteed to happen in our fallen world — things go wrong and we know in our guts that something is just not right. And that will drive us to our knees and to Scripture every single time.