Category: Acts

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 15 before reading the devotional below.

Once you sign up to follow Jesus, what are the requirements for ongoing participation? This is the question before the early church, and some Jewish believers are pretty sure that the new Gentile converts need to be circumcised as a sign of their allegiance to the God that had always belonged to the Jewish people. It was clear that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit and were being welcomed by God, but what should happen after that was up for debate.

Paul and Barnabas are still in Antioch, but they are soon sent to Jerusalem to clear up this question with the other church leaders. Peter, Paul and the other early leaders agree that the Gentiles should not be met with a heavy burden that even the Jews could not always bear. Paul and Barnabas return once again to Antioch to report the decision to the church there. After some time there, Paul and Barnabas part ways after strongly disagreeing about partnering with John Mark.

Following Jesus does not come with burdensome requirements to fulfill. The apostles agreed that those who follow Jesus should stay away from idols and sexual immorality. They kept the main thing the main thing and helped remove barriers in access to God. They were making an important statement: to follow Jesus, you don’t have to become Jewish. Yes, we can all agree on cultivating a life that imitates Christ, but God allows for all cultures to participate in worshiping him without having to adopt strictly Jewish traditions. If following Jesus feels like a heavy burden, chances are you have some “extras” that God himself does not require. Jesus is available to all people of all cultures and ethnic groups, and the Holy Spirit is evident wherever the message of Jesus is received.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 16 before reading the devotional below.

Today’s passage follows Paul on more of his missionary journeys. He and Silas travel to at least eight different areas to preach about the good news of Jesus. Paul is divinely led by a vision to go to Macedonia where they meet a prominent businesswoman who is saved, along with her whole family. Things were going well until Paul cast a demon out of a young, fortune-telling girl.

This girl is not just a fortune-teller — she is a slave, owned and trafficked by men who want to profit from her. Her freedom in that moment was about more than one demon. Her entire life got the chance for change. Paul and Silas are taken into custody and beaten severely. While in prison, they are singing praises and hymns to God and the prison doors bust open! Rather than fending for themselves, they protect the prison warden and becomes an instant leader. Ultimately, they are able to negotiate their release.

Paul and Silas weren’t on a spiritual high, and they weren’t on their missionary journey for themselves. They were called to spread the Gospel to the world. Paul’s own salvation experience, which we read about in Acts 9, was incredible for Paul’s life. But it was even more incredible for Jesus’ glory. He saved Paul in order to send his message around the world. If you are following Jesus, it’s more about him than it is about you. Not only do you not have to earn it, you’re not even the main character! Just like Paul and Silas, you are part of a move of God that is far bigger than you can imagine. Try to keep in step with what he’s up to today!

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Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 17 before reading the devotional below. 

Acts 17 contains one of the most brilliant moments in all of the Bible — Paul sees an opportunity to explain Jesus to a group of people who built an altar to an “Unknown God.” Paul’s mission is to prove to Jews and interested Gentiles that Jesus is in fact the Messiah they were expecting. God had promised a Rescuer for his people, and followers of Jesus believe that he was the one that fulfilled this role for all of history.

As Paul preaches in Athens (in modern-day Greece), he is participating in their practice of philosophical debate. Imagine no television, no internet, no electricity, limited mobility. The religious-minded and intellectually eager have just one thing to do: debate each other. And Paul lets them know that God is available to them and his Scriptures contain the answers to their questions.

Because God is so beyond our grasp, sometimes we feel like he is keeping himself hidden or he is looking down on earth from a great distance. We have all had those, “Where are you, God?” moments. But God will meet you in your questioning, he will prove himself to be faithful to you, and he will share his very nature with you since you were made to be just like him (see Genesis 1:26-27). Don’t just read the Bible, study it. Ask yourself, “What is God revealing about himself?” as you read each passage. Invite him into your moments of doubt and struggle. God will show up to anyone who honestly seeks to know him.

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 18 before reading the devotional below. 

As the early church is growing, its leadership is expanding too. What began with 11 apostles has grown, adding critical leaders including Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy. Acts 18 adds a few more — a couple named Aquila and Priscilla as well as Crispus and Apollos. We see later in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church that this led to some early factions as people focused too much on their human leaders and lost sight of Jesus.

Paul also gets some extra reassurance in verses 9-11 of Acts 18. God uses a vision to remind Paul of his mission: speak out. God reminds Paul not to be afraid and to preach boldly. Paul remains in the city of Corinth for a year and a half directly because of this vision. God’s word to Paul is a profound one: “many people in this city belong to me.”

God will continue to reach into cities and claim people for himself. He will grow his church. And he will raise up leaders in the right places at the right times. If Paul had gotten caught up in his own agenda, he likely would have gone astray. Instead, he listened to the Spirit and trusted the words he received from God. Because of his faithfulness to the mission, God was able to use him significantly to spread the Gospel across the world for many future generations.

Take a moment to read Acts 19:1-22 before reading the devotional below.

Today’s passage is full of, “Umm… what??” moments. We begin with Paul making his way down to Ephesus, where they’ve got the Jesus thing down but haven’t heard of the Holy Spirit. This seems strange. Why didn’t the Holy Spirit come upon them on his own? Why did Paul need to explain the Holy Spirit for these believers to receive him? After Paul explains the concept of receiving the Holy Spirit, he lays his hands on them and they receive the Holy Spirit too. So for no clear reason, Paul had to pass on the Holy Spirit to the believers in Ephesus.

Reading on, we learn that Paul was healing people simply with the touch of a handkerchief. Umm… what?? The Bible does call this “unusual,” so we should not expect all of our tissues to turn into vessels of healing power. Okay, fair enough. But then we come upon a strange scene in which some Jews were trying to use the name of Jesus like a magic trick and they get pummeled by demons. Umm… what??

Too often, we approach the Bible or spiritual matters using scientific or intellectual methods. Something can only be true if we are able to “prove it” or create some kind of formula that can be replicated. The Holy Spirit cannot be measured and he will not be boiled down to a magical formula. Mystery and things unexplained are a critical part of the journey into searching the depths of God. Accept that it is okay not to know.