Acts 11:19-26 ~ what the grace of God had done

Paul and Barnabas - imagine in setting of today

Acts 11:19-26   ~ Today's New International Version

19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among 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 in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, 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.

25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.


9 years ago, a major news network ran a series of articles on Christians being courted and praised by major corporations for being interested in animal conditions, interested in recycling & being green and the insurance industry loved insuring Christians because fewer claims led to profitably. 5 years ago, the same major news network had a survey saying Christians are the ones supporting torture for war prisoners.

Part of the problem is the New Testament, I heard about this in an orthodox Bible study. Apparently, the Old Testament has sinners and sins, but Jesus lived on the earth and gave us the Holy Spirit, so in the New Testament – even in this passage – it’s all about good news and good men. Let’s be clear…. this perception is wrong.

What is true, yesterday, today and tomorrow is that man needs the Savior Jesus Christ. Clearly, the Bible tells us our need for love in a difficult world and then salvation given as a gift. But first, we need to brush away the cobwebs telling us good men don’t have problems and are so squeaky clean no one can relate to them. The same cobwebs tell us the men of the New Testament went on joy rides wearing a halo, born with a bishop’s hat, long hair (looking so unruffled that they look stuffed) and getting hoards of people to join up.

One of the reasons my father didn’t attend church was told to me, one time, he said he just didn’t compare to the men leading the good lives of the men in Church. This is where we are seeing a polarization between the saved and the seeking. If the saved cannot have compassion for the lost lamb, why would the lost lamb seek to be found?

We should look at the men of the New Testament, but it’s plain out of fashion to be interested in the saints. But, hey, these men point out that they had problems, too, and they still looked to Jesus. We don’t have to see these men as stuffed icons. These men had miscommunication with other good men, wives that traveled with them, problems of popularity and isolation, friendships were both blessing and bain, outside work issues, Christianity issues, law enforcement issues, confusion issues in direction, conformity and hypocrisy. And another huge issue, safety issues.

This was not the life of iconic saints riding on a sanitized cloud. But thanks to God, these men had days/weeks/years of seeing unsurpassed blessing. Barnabas’ name means son of Encouragement. This amazing outpouring of the Holy Spirit gave love worth passing on.

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Our Father who art in Heaven
Holy is Your name
Thy Kingdom Come Thy Will be done
on earth as in Heaven.

Give us this day
our daily bread
forgive me my sins
as i forgive those who sin against me

Lead me not into temptation
deliver me from evil.

For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Psalm 98 ~ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Psalm 98
   
Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! 

His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 

 2 The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 
 

4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 

5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!

6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! 

 8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together 9 before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.



The Psalmist equates the ebb, flow and swell of the Temple music to that of the sea. A very talented reminder that nature, creativity and worship flow together.

The people and King Solomon ~ in the midst of celebrating God's Glory filling the brand new Temple!!!

This wonderful season of history has the people and King Solomon spending  Time Praising God. 

Then God says trouble will come. Nations will collapse. Economies will crumble. But the Temple is where you come to know you have refuge in God. The world was created to have difficulties in this life. In the midst of strife, there is always a place for you to go. To God. To the one who cares where you will be for eternity. To the one who cares what happens to you in this life and how you feel about your life. To the one who says cast aside your own troubles and care for others as He cares for you.

Repent. Re-connect to God. Re-new. Have Hope.

Psalm 108:13
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.

1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you

Psalm 54:4
Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

John 5:17

Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

 1 Thessalonians 2:13 
  And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.

 + Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 98: 
 September 6, 2010 September 12, 2009 October 16, 2008 

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Luke 19:1-10 ~ Today salvation

Luke 19:1-10


He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

We usually all start out in life with a lot of expectations. If you grew up in Church, the correct answer was Jesus. And we thrilled our parents letting them know this.

But cha know, we all gotta make our way in life. We need to plan carefully and think and re-think. Worry is needed. Make all the good choices. Work hard.

We need to take the moment we have and just REJOICE with all our might.

Oops. Little endurance needed now.

Rise up keep going. Best foot forward.

However be smart

Where will you be at the end of the day

Matthew 13
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

When you've had a day with sensory overload.  Processing all the things I heard this week, missing times when the news didn't seem to be filled with allies and invasions.

You have to look at all the open drawers and see what mattered to you. Today, we prayed for the Children to go to Sunday School and know how much Jesus loves them. And that's my cue. I pray for these children, my just-about-grown children. I pray for the way HE would raise all of us up.

The answer is still Jesus. Do we expect HIM to show up. Or are we going to make all the brilliant James Bond moves ourselves. And I pray for the people given to me in life to know HIM.

Once you've been through the storm a few times, you have some gratitude at getting over That Part. And you can look back and say "I get why Jesus slept through the storm!" God will do what HE will. And when you've been doing that long enough, you decide you can still walk along HIM with wonder.

Wanting to share the reason we endure with hope, faith and love. Wanting to see HIM run to them. And to see that face registering the joy and expectation HE does bring. No one else can say all things are possible with HIM.
Why do we want to share HIM? Because HE brings endurance, hope, character, compassion. Faith. LOVE. He believes we will go forward to HIM. HE believes in us. People will swirl, squelch, quibble, squabble, but the people who stick it out go far.

Matthew 24:13
The one who endures to the end will be saved. The one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Hebrews 10:39
We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.


Hebrews 1
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

Today. If you hear His voice - Today.

Realize He is the God who would run to you. Longs to hold you in his arms, as a Hen gathers her young. And feels all the Love and Compassion to uphold you. This is the GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Living. Active. Adopting John on the way to the cross. And Mary Magdalene on the triumphant return. Our Father and HIS.

I will never leave or forsake you. And the joy of the Lord is Strength.


The answer is still Jesus.

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Psalm 24 ~ He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.


5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah

Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?

In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth.

The earth was without form and void,
and darkness was over the face of the deep.

The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

2 Peter 3:8
Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.

God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Proverbs 8            Jesus the Word of God Manifest

22 “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of old.

Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth,
before he had made the earth with its fields,
or the first of the dust of the world.

When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,

when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
when he assigned to the sea its limit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth,

then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his delight,

rejoicing before him always,
31 rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man.








The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein

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All Saints Day !!!

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Psalm 148 ~ Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children!

'Archangel Gabriel' by Alexander Ivanov

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his hosts!

3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
6 And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and mist,
stormy wind fulfilling his word!

9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are near to him.
Praise the Lord!

 
The one thing God has told all of us in Scripture is seasons arrive. It rains on the just and the unjust. Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!


What should we do in these times? Not what Zechariah did.

Luke 1

Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”


When we are afraid God does this for us:

14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his saints


1 Kings 1
And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 And Solomon said, “If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.” 53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and paid homage to King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”

God intends all of us to build up our House. To leave a legacy saying, "Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant." We live in confidence, in leaning upon Him, that He would say,

John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.


A Friend of God makes the Lord known.

1 John 4:15
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

Romans 10:9-10
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Acts 4:12
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.


Zechariah praised God for His Mercy. We can do the same today, using the words David wrote in the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 116
I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

Romans 6:
for he who has died is freed from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

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