Worthy of Suffering

Scripture Focus: Acts 5:38-41
 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 

Reflection: Worthy of Suffering
By Erin Newton

In a typical counseling session, I begin stories like this: “I had to perform CPR on my child” or “I felt so sad and had to cry.” In a gentle voice, my counselor redirects my words, “You get to…”

I have learned, in time, that her gentle redirections have been a way to change my perspective on the traumatic event. “You get to be the parent of a medically dependent child.” “You get to love someone so much you need to cry.” The pain is always present, but I’ve learned to see the honor of participating in such suffering.

The book of Acts presents the powerful genesis of the church. The Spirit which hovered over the waters in creation descends upon the women and men in the Upper Room. At creation, the breath of God gave life to the newly formed humans. In Acts, the divine tongues of fire bring gifts to the newly formed church. As the church set forth to bring salvation to the people, the apostles healed the sick and performed many signs and wonders.

Although we read the story with excitement and joy, the early church was met with opposition and persecution. The miracles and signs were viewed as problematic and irritating. Every time the work was hindered, the apostles persevered.

The gospel was so important they had to..no, they got to continue preaching through many dangers.

Through the words of Gamaliel, the apostles’ lives were spared. But their flesh was not. They were flogged, just as Jesus has been flogged. They carried on their backs bruises, gashes, and pain.

As they walked home from that meeting with the Sanhedrin, warned once more to keep quiet about Christ, they rejoiced. They got to suffer for Christ. They got to endure pain in the name of the Gospel.

Rejoicing because you suffer is not a typical reaction. It is something given to you by God. It is the joy that surpasses understanding.

I’d like to say that I understand their joy and share in the same but it’s not always the case. We often need a gentle voice that helps us reframe our pain and suffering.

The backs of the apostles undoubtedly hurt for a long time. Pain is not something we smile away. There is the opportunity, at some God-given time afterwards, to rejoice in suffering. May we ask God for this type of joy. 


Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Send forth your strength, O God; establish, O God, what you have wrought for us. — Psalm 68.28

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Reading

Leviticus 8 (Listen 5:06)
Acts 5 (Listen 6:49)

Read more about In Trouble for Good
There are still Christians today who rejoice in being persecuted. But are they suffering for the name of Jesus or for something else?…for healing…or for harming?

https://theparkforum.org/843-acres/in-trouble-for-good

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In Trouble for Good

Scripture Focus: Acts 4.7-12
7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is 
“ ‘the stone you builders rejected, 
which has become the cornerstone.’ 
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” 

Reflection: In Trouble for Good
By John Tillman

In Acts, Luke writes nearly as often about apostles in a jailhouse as he does about apostles in a churchhouse. (Or a house church.)

New Testament church leaders always found trouble. Beginning with Peter and John and continuing through Stephen, Paul, and others, they were harassed, chased out of towns, arrested, thrown in jail, stoned to death or executed in other ways. (Matthew 10.17-18) Later, Peter and other apostles would rejoice that they had suffered for the name of Jesus. (Acts 5.40-41

There are still Christians today who rejoice in being persecuted. But are they suffering for the name of Jesus or for something else? Are they suffering for healing, like Peter and John, or for harming?

Peter told the church that we should suffer for doing good, not evil. (1 Peter 3.17) When Jesus said we would be hated, it wasn’t for being hateful. (Luke 6.22) Whether through words or actions, we should be doing good to our enemies, not scoring points with insults.

It insults truly persecuted Christians when those who are suffering the consequences of being cruel claim to be suffering for Christ. Yet, we cannot, for the sake of being loved by the world stay silent about the gospel.

Therefore, simply being “in trouble” doesn’t prove we are following Jesus. However, if we consistently follow Jesus, we will be in trouble for good—in trouble for doing good things and in trouble continually.

Have you been called a “troublemaker?” (1 Kings 18.17-18) Have you been in trouble for doing good? For correcting a bad representation of Jesus? For loving the unlovable? For forgiving the unforgivable? For sharing the gospel?

Our world pressures us to have silent faith—individual and private—which does nothing that can be seen and says nothing that can be heard. But Jesus models a public faith that does good, speaks the truth, and demonstrates the loving heart of God.

What does it take to boldly love and act despite the trouble that may come?

Jesus modeled an inward life of devotion that led to an outward life of service and speech. It is what we cultivate in our inner spiritual lives that must come out in our actions. Without this inner spiritual formation, we are more likely to swing swords, like Peter in the garden, than heal the lame, like Peter at the Temple. (John 18.10-11; Acts 3.6-8)

Let’s put down our swords and take up prayer, healing, and the gospel.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out the men selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the seats of the dove sellers. Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. And he taught them and said, “Does not scripture say: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples?’ But you have turned it into ‘a bandits’ den.’ This came to the ears of the chief priests and the scribes, and they tried to find some way of doing away with him; they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by his teaching. And when evening came he went out of the city. — Mark 11.15-19

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Reading
Leviticus 7 (Listen 5:13)
Acts 4 (Listen 5:15)

Read more about Judas, Peter, and Satan
As we practice the presence of God, we are arming ourselves for the presence of evil.

Read more about The Sword Versus The Cross
We have been sifted, tricked, by Satan. The only way back is to repent and take up the cross instead of the sword.

Waiting at the Beautiful Gate

Scripture Focus: Acts 3.6-8
6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 

Reflection: Waiting at the Beautiful Gate
By John Tillman

The man Peter and John heal in this passage is a man who waited. 

We do not know the full extent of his deformity, only that he was lame from birth and that its severity was such that he had to be carried to the Temple. We know that he was over forty years old and was such a fixture at the Temple that everyone recognized him. It seems likely that he had been there for most of his life

It is possible this man was present, begging outside the Temple, during Jesus’ first visit when Christ, as a twelve-year-old stunned the teachers with his questions and answers. Not that the man would have heard the debate, being excluded from entering or worshiping at the Temple.

Doubtless, Peter and John had walked by this lame man before in the presence of Jesus. Perhaps they had not noticed the man then. Maybe they were engrossed in theological debate or maybe looking in wonder at the massive stones of the Temple that Jesus then prophesied would soon be thrown down.

Living in Jerusalem, this man certainly knew about Jesus. He may have even seen Jesus. But Jesus had passed him by.

Jesus did not “miss” this man. He left him for Peter and John. This man was waiting to be healed, not by Christ, but by his disciples—by his church.

Jesus has left his church work to do in this world. There are people left out of the kingdom. There are people injured and hurt by the religious and by the irreligious. There are men and women lamed and abandoned by the world. There are unwanted masses that yearn to be free.

They are waiting for us at the Beautiful Gate. We are their miracle. 

The suffering children? They are waiting for us.
The unwanted refugees? They are waiting for us.
The diseased and uneducated? They are waiting for us.
The condemned and shunned? They are waiting for us.

Not for the Democrats. Not for the Republicans. For the church.

Jesus didn’t give us the Holy Spirit for warm, fuzzy feelings in our sanctuaries. The Holy Spirit is given to us to heal those too scarred, scared, deformed, and broken to dare enter the sanctuary. 

When we act in healing ways through the Spirit’s power, the formerly broken will leap, run, and skip into God’s presence as the lame man leaped through the gates of the Temple, praising the name of God.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Deliverance belongs to the Lord. Your blessing be upon your people! — Psalm 3.8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Reading
Leviticus 6 (Listen 4:17)
Acts 3 (Listen 3:33)

Read more about Jesus, our Restorer
Even in the intensity of his own suffering, Christ healed those Peter attacked and forgave those Peter cursed at.

Read more about The Prince of Peace not Pacification
Many times we, like the Jerusalem crowds, might prefer a Prince of Pacification instead of a Prince of Peace.

Following and Fishing

Scripture Focus: Matthew 4.18-21
18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 

21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 

Acts 4.13
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Reflection: Following and Fishing
By John Tillman

It’s interesting that Matthew emphasizes that at least one-third of the 12 were fishermen. Jesus’ closest disciples, the three, were all fishermen.

We aren’t told the occupations of most of the disciples, but we know they were politically and economically diverse. Among them were those very close to the High Priest (John 18.15-16), those close to Herod (Luke 8.3), those advocating rebellion against Rome (Matthew 10.4), and those working for Rome (Matthew 9.9-11). Matthew had been a Roman tax collector. He was hated because of his collaboration with the occupiers and for having a lavish lifestyle and sinful friends.

Perhaps Matthew highlighted the fishermen because he recognized that they would be more sympathetic to his Jewish audience. Eventually, these simple tradesmen would stand before the most learned council of religious experts and stump them with their understanding of scripture and of God. The council would note that although they were “ordinary” they “had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4.13) By simply being with Jesus, they had “seen the Father” (John 14.9) more clearly than many on the council. How did that happen?

When they started, the disciples may only have understood how to fish or how to collect taxes for an empire. But they learned how to fish for people and how to distribute the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In the Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, Knox Chamblin points out a two-stage process of being a disciple. The Greek word translated disciple is mathētēs, which means one who learns. However, Chamblin says, “A disciple is not first a learner, but a follower. Jesus calls first for a commitment to his person, which in turn entails obedience to his teaching.”

You don’t have to know everything before following Jesus. You just have to be willing to follow him. The disciples were often confused, often wrong, often frightened, and often in danger. But the longer they were with Jesus, the more fearless, the more reliable, and the more knowledgable they became.

You may be, like the disciples, confused or fearful and you may not have a perfectly formed theology. Follow him. In doing so, you will be formed by him. He will show you what God is like. (Colossians 1.15) He’ll teach you to fish.

The disciples left their tax collecting booths and fishing nets to follow Jesus. What will you leave in order to spend time with Jesus in scripture and prayer?

Whatever it is, it will be worth it.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill; for the Lord our God is the Holy One. — Psalm 99.9

Today’s Readings
Genesis 43 (Listen 5:02
Matthew 4 (Listen 3:09)

This Weekend’s Readings
Genesis 44 (Listen 4:38Matthew 5 (Listen 6:03)
Genesis 45 (Listen 4:10Matthew 6 (Listen 4:35)

Read more about Who Needs Anger?
“Why are you angry?” is a great question I need to remind myself of often, especially in this particular season where there is so much anger being spewed…

Read more about A Restoring Sabbath
Think and pray about ways in which you can abstain from technology’s addictive elements, while still using its powerful tools to spur your spiritual growth.

Inner and Outward Circumcision

Scripture Focus: Genesis 17.23-27
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that very day. 27 And every male in Abraham’s household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him. 

John 16.1-4
1 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.

Acts 7.51
51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!

From John: Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The purpose of this day is to encourage service to one’s community. Along with that purpose, we also acknowledge that many have wrongly thought that they were doing “a service for God” (John 16.2) when they committed acts of violence. May our service bring about a loving community on Earth that mirrors that above and may we redouble our efforts to counter violence and the normalization of violent language and threats in our world.

Reflection: Inner and Outward Circumcision
By John Tillman

Every male in Abraham’s household was circumcised. Not just his offspring. Not just his blood relatives. Not just those of his race or country. Everyone. Abraham did not yet have the son God promised, but all those with him were marked as children of this promise.

Even though it set Abraham apart from the rest of the world, from the very beginning circumcision made one people from diverse peoples. It was intended as an external physical marker of an internal spiritual reality. 

Eventually, circumcision, and other distinguishing marks of faith, went from being about inclusion to being about exclusion. “Holiness” became just another kind of sinful show.

Jesus warned his disciples of what they would face in the immediate future from the religious elite. Paul and Stephen would soon live out Jesus’ words. (Acts 7.51-60) Stephen called out “uncircumcised” hearts and ears of those deaf and blind to God’s Word and his work. Their inner spirituality did not match their outward ritual purity.

With any religious practice, it is easy for the ritual to become a replacement for the spiritual. Our legalistic holiness can become a sinfully prideful show. If we are not careful, we can lose our love for the Lord, and other humans, amidst our liturgies. 

But without ritual or liturgy or law our “spirituality” is just a mush of feelings—ecstatic highs and depressive lows. Liturgy, law, and the rhythmic rituals of worship are tools to remind us that we are included. They are intended to set us apart from the world and, at the same time, hold out an invitation to the world. We, like the foreigners in Abraham’s household, can be marked as children of the promise alongside Christ, Abraham’s true son.

Faith can start outwardly. Nonbelievers may begin reading the Bible, coming to church, singing worship songs, or changing outward behaviors of their lives. This can be a path to inward faith.

Faith can start inwardly. People may have sudden or life-altering conversions of heart. These may lead to disciplines such as Bible reading, worship, and lifestyle changes.

Wherever faith starts, may every part, inward and outward, be changed. By God’s grace, may our ears, hearts, and every part of our lives bear the mark of a “circumcision” that is more than skin deep. May our inner spirituality and outward reality match.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
Be exalted, O Lord, in your might; we will sing and praise your power. — Psalm 21.14

Today’s Readings
Genesis 17 (Listen 4:02
John 16 (Listen 4:14)

Read more about The Necessity of The Spirit
Othniel and Stephen are two men touched and led by the Spirit of God to very different outcomes.

Read more about Supporting Our Work
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