Journal 2 Pet 1 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that have.

 

I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder (since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me).  And,

 

I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things…” 2 Pet 1:12-15

 

Observation: I know I have reminded myself of this before: What kind of legacy is to be left by a believer?  Not what I am remembered for, but what is remembered because I stirred it up?

 

Analysis: Back in Acts 13:36, Paul spoke about David who “served the purpose of God in his generation.”

 

It was more than, “What a guy, David was—never be another like him again…” and off we go getting on with life.  It was stirring up remembrance that “David did serve God’s purpose” and became an example for empty headed noggins like mine.

 

Peter is doing the same by telling his readers what he was going to do, that is, remind whoever is given to him to:

• Supplement faith with virtue,
• Virtue with knowledge,
• Knowledge with self-control,
• Self-control with steadfastness (or patience),
• Steadfastness with godliness,
• Godliness with brotherly affection, and
• Brotherly affection with love.

Peter continues to say, “For if these (the above) qualities are yours AND ARE INCREASING, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Pet 1:5-8

 

A lot to take upon my shoulders.  I wonder if I am up to it.  Outside of this journal writing, I fail.

 

But I desire to leave a legacy, something that will last past me. Something that the next generation and the next will be able to stand upon my shoulders for…

 

Prayer:  Lord God, please help me to leave a legacy that will glorify you and not me.  It is hard to not be egoistic concerning this, therefore, I know I have a way to go to please you in walking worthy of the Gospel.

Heal my wife, please.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

Journal 1 Pet 5 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you: casting all your anxieties on him because He cares for you.

 

Be sober minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” 1 Pet 5:6-9

 

Observation:  Humility, anxiousness, and synchronicities…Huh? What is that last word and why are these three things important for me to think about and consider?

 

Analysis: I started thinking (again) about this verse and especially humility a few days ago.  I remembered the verse in James (God resists the proud but gives grace to the lowly (or humble) (James 4:7)).

 

The picture of what humility looks like, the definition of the word, has been skewed all over the place in our generation.  “Bow your head, eat dirt, don’t stand up for yourself, etc.” are just some of the definitions that are struggled with.

 

Anxiousness (being anxious) is something else: the root of this definition practically speaking is “worry”.  If I am anxious, I am probably worrying about something; something that isn’t going my way or the way that I want it to.

 

Synchronicity is the word that describes what the Holy Spirit is saying with “the same kind of suffering is being experienced by the brotherhood.”  I might think that I am alone in my experiences, but the firm Word of God says not.

 

I wonder if all three of these concepts are really a struggle of subjectiveness vs. objectiveness.

 

Explanation: If I am subjective, I am thinking all about me?  “I am proud of the way I am so humble.”  Right, that is humility in action.  Being anxious?  Wringing my hands, worrying about the outcomes of life, whatever I am thinking about right then.  And then there is the lie that I am all alone in my experiences: “Nobody has been on the road I am on, nobody can advise me, care for me: no one will understand what I am going through…”

 

However, I am told, instructed, to put my subjectivity to the side and rely on the objective Word of God and the Comfort of the Holy Spirit.  There is also the local church.  (Side note: Ever wonder why God places an emphasis on the local church and not being a hermit for Christ?  Remember 1 Pete 2:5 where we are being built into a spiritual house and not “spiritual rubble?”  It is because health is found where there are emissaries of God; brothers and sisters of like experiences and gifts to be sought out.)

 

Perhaps in a broad sense this is a difference between being “pleased” with myself instead of being “proud” of myself.  I can be pleased that I am conforming to the Word of God, KNOWING that it isn’t all due to my effort, but to surrendering to the Holy Spirit and his power in overcoming/putting to death my indwelling sin.  Being “proud” may have a meaning that I am “balancing out the scales” to my good, the definition of “Grace-less works.”

 

Being a disciple is growing in the objectiveness of God and His Word.

• God resists the proud.  Why?  Because the proud exhibits that God isn’t needed; they are self-sufficient; “Let me take control.”  It is found in the difference in being “independent” (the Sin of Adam) or “dependent” (the Gospel of Jesus Christ).
• Being anxious is saying “I don’t trust You to care for my concerns.”
• Thinking I am alone in my life, my struggles, and everything is really denying the Presence of God, the cloud of witnesses, the Church, and everything.  It is accepting the lie that the devil tried to foist on Jesus in the wilderness, attempting to convince the Son “it was all about Him” and trying to move His eye from the Goal, the Target, the Plan, the Gospel—God Himself.

 

Cultivating “objectivity” is wrapped up in this: “Be sober minded…”  The only way I can think of the Gospel is using the “jewel” metaphor: Multifaceted, like a grid or outline; every topic involved with the Gospel is integrated with each other but needs to be considered separately.

 

And I didn’t even get to the adversary’s part in this…

 

Prayer:  Father, help me to wring this out to a good communication.  That is what all of this exercise is about: notes to think about another day.

 

If this rings some bells in a brother/sister’s thought processes, please bless them with clarity that is only from You.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Scripture –
1 Peter 3:15-16 – Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

Observation –
Peter is writing to tell the believers not to be afraid of persecution but be faithful and worship Christ. Christians need to be prepared to explain the hope we have in a winsome way. Live in a way that is honoring to God so people will have difficulty speaking against you.

Application-
I need to fear God, not man or any level of persecution that can be placed on me. Christ has to be my rock that I follow faithfully. I must as as should all Christians be prepared to share my hope of the Good News of Jesus in a kind, loving way. This applies to all believers, self included and doesn’t have to be a a Doctoral level argument to defend the faith but why we have hope in the resurrection and return of Jesus. My walk needs to match my talk so I can be a credible witness for the gospel.

Prayer –

Father,
Thank you for your love, grace and mercy in sending Jesus to ransom me from death to life. Let the power of the Holy Spirit prepare me to share my hope in Christ in a loving way to glorify you.

Journal 1 Pet 2 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “As you come to him (a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious), you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house—to be a holy priesthood; to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  For it stands in scripture:

“Behold: I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone (chosen and precious), and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Is 28:14)

So, the honor is for you who believe.  But for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected HAS become the cornerstone” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” (Ps 118:22-23)

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

 

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 

Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.  Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  1 Pet 2:4-10

 

Observation: Believers have a destiny; a destiny that is also a covenant—a responsible agreement between two parties: Jesus on one side and believers on the other.

 

Analysis: I don’t have the imagination to consider what a living stone is concerning a believer.  Jesus, on the other hand, I do have somewhat of an imagination: Without Jesus, the plan of the Gospel is non-existent.  I have written before (and it is worth hammering again), Eden was never Plan A; the Cross was always Plan A.  Because sinful man could never atone for his sins before a Holy God, God himself had to be the Atonement (once, forever and for all).

 

But being a priest?  That is what Jesus has called me to?  Not just any old priest, but a holy one?  Also, a holy nation?  A people that cannot but talk about and herald His Excellencies?

 

Being a priest in this context is not having a vocational position, it is having an attitudinal position—cultivating a mindset of a priest not before people, but a priest before the throne of God.

 

The picture that I switch to is Revelation 4:9-11: “…and whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne…the 24 elders fall down before Him …worship him.  They cast their crowns before the throne saying:

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God: to receive glory and honor and power.  For you created all things and by your will they existed and were created.”

 

I think this is the greater portion of what being a Holy Priesthood is about: Ministering not to Man, but to God himself.

 

And it is maybe the part where I fail the most.

 

I used to spend a good part of my alone time to specifically praise Him for who He is.  This isn’t just declaring thankfulness: “Father, thank you for answering my prayer for this, that and the other.”  It is the time allotted to say and extol Him.

 

When was the last time I spent time praising him for as many points as I can remember of the Gospel?  What about Creation?  Praising Him as He moves the weather from here to there?  Looking back upon His hand in my life?

 

I don’t remember—which means that I haven’t in a very, very long time.

 

I planted some Croatan yesterday.  I prayed over my plantings, out loud, between my panting’s.  I haven’t done that (prayed; I pant a lot exerting myself these days) in a very long time.  I remember two specific times about plants: one, about a tree growing from a runt tree, with a balled up root, into a healthy tree, and the other a dream to do something, and it is yet to be answered.  I think it was prophetic, and I am waiting…

 

Hitch up your mind about being a royal priesthood, chosen, a people for his own possession, cowboy.

 

Prayer: Lord God, holy Father, redeemer, and friend: I pour out my heart and mind in these writings and I so appreciate the opportunity.  Hopefully my sharing these things advances your Kingdom in some way.  I sit here, casting my crown before you.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Journal Ps 35-36 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.

 

For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.” Ps 36:1-2

 

Observation: It is good to identify a truism from His Word; something that you can hang your hat upon in full confidence.

 

Analysis: There are discussions going on everywhere about “nurture or nature.”  It is even infecting the Church and negating (believe it or not) the power of the Gospel.

 

Preaching the Gospel to myself is remembering AND acknowledging a key tenant: “ALL have sinned; ALL fall short…” (Ro 3:23).  Confession: I tried to write Ro 3:23 from memory and I made a significant mistake.  I wrote “all have fallen short” as if it was a progression from not-sin (innocent of sin) to sin: I became sinful through a series of age-related issues from an innocent state.  Not so.  The Gospel starts from Man being fallen as an incontrovertible/undeniable/irrefutable character issue.  As the offspring of Adam, Man is sinful and needs salvation/redemption.

 

Knowing then that ALL MANKIND is sinful, we are confidently able to declare that ALL MANKIND, wicked as they are, undeniably knows that they are transgressing before the Most High God.

 

So, the next time I ask myself, “I wonder if they know that that is sin?” when they act immorally, dress provocatively, curse, engage in sinful relations, or just act unkindly, uncharitably etc. etc., the answer is indisputably “Yes.”

 

I can’t let myself off the hook either.  Looking at the Man in the Mirror, the Spirit speaks to my own heart, pointing out where I fall short—and I can be too eager to toss it away in the noise of my own mind, saying, “No one will know; I can’t be found out.”  Be quick to confess it to God right there, right then, and determine to repent.

 

Prayer: Father, the truism stands and is part and parcel of Your Gospel.  Forgive me that I too quickly toss it to the side and try to rationalize my behavior because I try to talk over Your Voice and say, “I can’t be found out; my sin was in my mind or was in private.”

 

I have faith and confidence in your Love for me; my desire is to please You in everything that I do even though I know and am increasingly aware of the war within me.  Help me walk worthy of the Gospel, Lord Jesus.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Journal Ps 33 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

 

Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.  For our heart is glad in him because we trust in his holy name.

 

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” Ps 33:18-22

 

Observation: “I have my confidence in God” vs. “I have my hope in God.”  Are these two statements different?  Stating different mindsets and/or convictions?

 

Analysis: I have been noticing the word “hope” in the scriptures lately.

 

I have also noticed that Christians don’t use the word “hope” in their conversations (I say this only generally).  If I think about it, does “hope” fall into that bucket that “chance” and “luck” are found in?  I mean, look, what if I do some word substitutions in the scriptures?

 

I am taking this scripture as an example: “…having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the HOPE of salvation.” (1 Thes 5:8) I wonder if the current Christian community would shy away from saying “Hope of salvation” in favor of “my ASSURANCE (like it was a FACT) of salvation?”  People certainly wouldn’t say “my CHANCE of salvation” or some variation of “if I am lucky, I will be given salvation.”

 

But scripture certainly references “Jesus, my HOPE of glory” or “my HOPE of salvation” or “I place my HOPE only in You, O God.”  Or, related to faith: “Faith, the assurance of things HOPED for (hope being the verb in this sentence).  Why don’t I embrace this word more?

 

Maybe because I am so adamant in avoiding anything that sounds like “works” instead of “grace?”  Perhaps if I considered that “works” (not just the James works, reference James 1:22-27 “…be doers of the Word…”) but the “works” that I am to pursue to the End, like,

 

• Knowing Him (2 Cor 5:11) and to be Known by Him (Matt 7:21-23)
• Practice and immerse myself in the teaching (so that my progress in the teachings is clearly seen by others (1 Tim 4:15)

 

In the acronym, TULIP, the “P” is ‘Persevering to the END.’  Considering other scriptures that clearly say to virulently pursue God, the picture is not “treading water in one place” or “holding my breath” for the rest of my life, or even a single sentence “I believe I am saved” and not going any further.

 

Why did I go through all of this?  The journaling adventure is to place thoughts like this on a piece of paper to joggle your mind; make a person think, wonder, and lead them into other parts of the Bible to see what the Holy Spirit would say; to let my eyes drift up to the ceiling and say, “Why did you say that?  Why did you describe it that way?  What does that mean?”

 

If we are not wondering about our God of Wonder, then we are not thinking about Him and what He says either.

 

Prayer: Lord God, it is so difficult to listen to the Whisper in my soul.  It is hard to cultivate being that attentive.  “Pray unceasingly” reads like an impossibility.

 

It is a worthy pursuit and reaps riches unimaginable; just takes persistence knowing and having the hope of my conviction that you are the God of the Impossible.  After all, you have redeemed a rotten scoundrel like me.  Now I have assured hope where there wasn’t any chance of hope.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Journal Ps 30-32 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover (make excuses) for my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

 

Therefore, let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found

(Surely in the rush of great waters, they (the prayers) shall not reach him…” Ps 32:5-6

 

Observation: Concerning a more recent proverb, “There are no atheists in a foxhole,” this scripture reference may just put that in the column of “futile gestures.”

 

Analysis: God has a personality.  There are aspects of his Attributes and Character that are immutable, that is, unchanging.  It is because He is God, that folks like us can trust in Him for the “Bible tells me so.”  The Trinitarian God does not talk out of both sides of His mouth; he is straightforward in his communications.

 

I think it is Man that looks for an angle: How can I read the Bible to make sure I benefit?

 

Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…” (Mark 16:16) Many put their confidence in this statement, but it is also treated like a formula: Step One: Believe or confess a belief in Jesus’ saving Grace; Step Two: Get baptized.  Even adding this scripture, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 24:13) continues a false narrative of continuing an initial or beginning confession will equate to everlasting salvation.

 

Facts are, I don’t know the mind of God that way—No one does.  What anyone can know is that He is mysterious in His ways and a guy like me cannot box him in with his own statements that I read in one section while ignoring other of his statements in other sections of the Scriptures.

 

However, I can discern from the Scriptures that God shows an optimal way to persevere and persist to the End: Search for Him daily.  Do not coast in progressive Christianity—progress in Knowing Him more and more.

 

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near…” (Is 55:6).  Searching for Him and His Face daily sure beats trying to stuff all my prayers in a foxhole of crisis (or the flood reference above of, “Surely in the rush of great waters, they (the prayers) shall not reach him…”)

 

Prayer: Father, I understand having confidence in your saving Grace.  I also understand having a hope in my salvation.  It seems like it is talking out of both sides of my mouth, but it is not.  It is akin (if I can create a metaphor) to calling myself a Ballplayer on a team and having that confidence and then going out on the field and having a hope that I can be a ballplayer.

 

It is the difference between calling myself a disciple and being a disciple.  I want to be a disciple, growing every day into being a disciple.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

Scripture

4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

 

Observation

 

The psalmist says he wants one thing …

To dwell in God’s house his whole life

Why? Beauty and Inquiry

Where does the psalmist seek that is beautiful? God

Where does the psalmist seek answers to his questions? God

 

Application

 

I will certainly seek out what I think is beautiful in this life and in the world.

Where am I seeking it?

What do I think is beautiful?

Money? Power? Acquisitions? … in other words, … stuff?

It’s all fleeting …

Beauty fades … in anything other than God

 

And I will certainly be full of questions in my life and of the world?

Where am I seeking answers?

Well, first what’s the root of my questions? …

Are they rooted in godliness or self-serving acquisition of what I think is beautiful?

 

What I seek must be rooted in the wisdom of God, not the foolishness of the world …

The world will always lead me astray …

Because it, too, is fleeting and fading.

 

What is not fleeting and fading?

What is eternal?

The kingdom of God!

As Jesus instructed,

I must seek first the Kingdom of God …

And then what’s of God will be added to it …

And I will ultimately see what’s beautiful … God Himself!

 

Prayer

 

Thank you for your word

Help me live it

Help me to see you as beautiful

And the source of wisdom

In Jesus name

Amen

Scripture: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures.

 

He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul.

 

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his Name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…I will fear NO evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff…they comfort me.

 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord…forever. (Ps 23 complete)

 

Observation: Is this a reflective psalm or a triumphal psalm?  Is it to be spoken at funerals or at sending someone off to war?  Is it speaking hope to the hopeless or confirming hope to the hopeful?

 

Analysis: I have heard pastors and such making sure that Psalm 23 is included into the funeral script…and then spoken sonorously, gravely, with dirge-like passion or gravitas, so that it is instantly recognized as a funeral scripture—It is just what you say at the graveside.

 

But is it?  Is that all this Psalm is good for?  When I try to say it with other inflections, or pull it apart into component parts—is it really a benediction from God the way we think it is?

 

I think this can be triumphal in the way I praise and can extol His Grace:

• You, O Lord, care for me, lead me, give guidance to me.
• I will receive all that I need from you.
• You bring me peace, no matter what is roiling about me.
• You restore me.
• You lead me in Your ways, in the path of righteousness, even through the threat of death—I will fear no evil because of Your presence in my life and my surroundings.
• You use instruments of Grace to guide me: Your rod and staff are instruments of your loving discipline.

 

And I recognize that this will continue all the days of my life until the end of my days.  Not one day will pass without me knowing Your Love and Mercy.

 

I think not only did David write this for himself, but possibly could have taught it to his troops

 

Shall I not sing this to my own heart?

 

Prayer:  Father, it is amazing and puzzling to me to see how tradition places certain verses into buckets, like Psalms 23 is placed.  There must have been a reason way back when.

 

Continue to prod and poke me to turn over scriptures in my mind and my mouth so see if there is a more reasonable way to understand but stay true to the Doctrines of Grace.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Journal Acts 28 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island, named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.

 

It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery.

 

And Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him.

 

And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.  They also honored us greatly, and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.”  Acts 28:7-10

 

Observation: When I see unsaved people, people who perhaps I perceive need the saving grace of Jesus through the Gospel, what do I envision?

 

Do I envision the first sections of Acts where multitudes are stricken in their hearts and cry out, “What must I do to be saved?”  Or do I envision simple acts of being led by the Holy Spirit to compassionately care for whomever is in front of me by praying, laying hands on the sick, and being a vessel and herald of the Kingdom of God?

 

Analysis: I know what my double minded heart envisions: Both.  What comes to mind is what Jesus asked the disciples: “Who shall be the greatest among you?”

 

I, like every person walking upright, has an ego.  Humility is in battle with pride every day.  Paul probably was no better than me during this time, especially when favor is shown, and honor is bequeathed.  My bet is that he squirmed uncomfortably between being grateful to God and to these folks.

 

It is the problem with preaching the Gospel to myself. Do I deserve this lavish Grace?  If this Grace is undeserved, what does that make me?  Undeserved?  If I embrace, fully embrace, my underserved-ness, what am I and how does my ego feel?

 

The point is that it is a struggle.  Paul recognizes that in his letter to the Philippians: “Therefore my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil 2:12)

 

What should I be prepared for in situations like what Paul and his group were experiencing?  How I prepare? Perhaps a few don’ts sprinkled in with a few do’s:

 

• Live with determination to walk worthy of the Gospel even if alone.  Beware of the tendency to “shift into ministry mode” when called upon a specific situation.
• Determine to live in humility and seek God and in the Scriptures to what that means.  If Salvation is to be worked out daily with fear and trembling, how is humility to be worked out?

 

I read this excerpt from Acts 28, and I perceive: 1) Humility and Gratefulness in action: “Thank you for your hospitality.”; 2) Within the three days of hospitality, the host’s father is revealed with sickness and Paul perhaps offers to pray and lay hands on the father.; 3) The resulting healing gets publicized and more around the town exclaims, “Me too, me too.”

 

Excerpt doesn’t say how many.  Was Paul’s faithful confidence as strong with Publius’ father as the last person prayed for?  Was the tribute of “whatever was needed” (and make no mistake, this could be taken for tribute), received nobly and with humble dignity?

 

Finally, do I read this Chapter with a question on how I can imitate what I read or is it just a story of the past exploits of the Apostles—never to be replicated again?  On this last question, let the answer of my heart be: Yes, I want to replicate this in my Generation and teach it to the following generations in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit….

 

Prayer:  Lord God, I am in a valley, and it is difficult to look up.  My wife as well.  However, I raise my eyes to the heavens, and I know that You are there, high and lifted up, shining with the power of your glory.

 

Depending upon You, every moment of the day…

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Journal Acts 27 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them (the boat’s masters), saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss—not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.”  But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.” Acts 27:9-11

 

Since they (the boat’s crew and passengers) had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.  Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.  For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar—and behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’  So, take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.  (vs. 21-25)

 

And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under the pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”  Then soldiers (convinced by Paul’s declaration) cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go. (vs. 30-32)

 

But the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their (the soldiers) plan.  He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest on planks or on pieces of the ship.  And so it was that all were brought safely to land. (vs. 43-44)

 

Observation: See how Paul went from a mere prisoner to a trusted leader by sticking to the Gospel.

 

Analysis: I neglect thinking and remembering that the Gospel permeates all corners of my life; it is not just a “message” for the lost—it is a “code” for living fully for the Kingdom.  Paul nails it in Acts over and over again.

 

This chapter is a long tale.  It would be easy to speed read through it because there aren’t any “bumper sticker” slogans involved.  But there is a character story…

 

• Paul appealed to Caesar.  Legal requirement, gotta go; can’t back out now.
• Centurion kind of respects Paul.  However,
• Paul (in a dream, in meditation, having a prophetic word, or just plain reasoning things out) says, “Guys, bad idea.  Let’s wait for the next sailing season.  There’s a bad moon a’risin…”
• Centurion goes to the captain of the boat and the owner who convinces the Centurion to sail.
• Weather kicks up dangerously and Paul says to the crew: “Told you so!  However, stick with my God, guys.  An angel told me I will be saved through this storm AND you will too if you stick with me.  Oh yeah: but we will lose the boat and the cargo and everything else.”
• The sailing crew was thinking of sneaking out under false pretenses.  Paul perceived this also, told the Centurion who cut off the lifeboat.  Stopped listening to the captain and the owner and now is solely listening to Paul.
• And everyone (all 276 crew and passengers) was saved.  Boat was lost.

 

Look how Paul went from semi-important in legal stature, to ignored, to taking charge, to being obeyed.  All due to Paul staying true to functioning in the Gospel.  “I heard; I spoke.”  Throughout, he spoke with authority, encouraged with authority, advised with authority—but didn’t have authority in the way the world accounts for authority.  Paul was a prisoner, but exuded authority through his stature and because he was a humble Disciple.

 

If I can visualize how Paul did all of this without an attitude (even the “I told you so…” bit), I sure want to mimic that.

 

Prayer:  Father, I butchered this all up trying to get it into a short read.  Still, I want to clearly see the way that Paul did; hear your whisper; hear a sent angel and not get my knickers in a twist if one shows up; to speak clearly and with godly authority in the right circumstances set before me.

 

Apples of gold in settings of silver…

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Journal Acts 26 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: (Paul is speaking…) ““Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they:

 

• Should repent and,
• Turn to God,
• Performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.

 

For this reason, the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

 

To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that (by being the first to rise from the dead) he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

 

And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.”” Acts 26:19-24

 

Observation:  Even Paul got called “crazy” because of the Gospel.  Most of us avoid the exposure of being called crazy…

 

Analysis: Do I have a prepared testimony, or am I content with “winging it” when called upon?  How do I communicate my conversion experience?  Do I even remember?  Do I practice the “20 words or less” exercise?

 

Preaching the Gospel to the face in the mirror perhaps should be more than being able to recite the steps of the Gospel from beginning to end; perhaps it should be reconciled with what I did responding to the Gospel and what happened to me?

 

I look at Paul’s testimony and think, “Short, sweet, concise: Is my testimony like that?”  Probably not.  I tend to think for now and for the future, not much for my past.  But should I not think about the past?  This comes directly to mind:

 

“…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Let those of us who are mature think this way…” (Phil 3:13b-15a)

 

My bet is that this scripture reference is taken out of context most of the time.  Earlier in Philippians 3, Paul lists all of the things he may have taken confidence before God in.  It is all of those things, attainments, perceived successes, etc., that the Holy Spirit is counseling is of no value in appearing humbly before the Throne—and Paul is recognizing them verbally.  History is important.  Forgetting history is dumb.

 

Let’s face it: The Gospel is diametrically opposed to the World’s way of thinking; the principles of the Gospel focus on God whereas the principles that Man uses focuses on Man.  That is why Felix exclaims that Paul is crazier than a loon due to his “great learning.”  Disciples should be familiar with this as well because Christianity is supposed to be counterculture to the World.  The Gospel is not supposed to be a “better way of living.”  That attitude leads a person into moralism.

 

I came to Christ when I was fifteen.  What was I like back then?  What was my heart chained to?  Did I know I was not innocent?  Did I take pride in my life about how much better I was than the guy next to me?

 

Did I think I was a prize for Jesus?

 

Probably—I don’t quite remember, although the same stinking thinking I had when I was fifteen, I probably had the day before yesterday…

 

The point I must remember and keep in the front of my mind is that it is all about Christ and the Cross, it is NOT about me.  I am a recipient of His Grace, not deserving of His Grace.

 

Prayer:  Father, how do I go further in you?  The more I grow, the more I should be…what?  Teaching/influencing my wife, my children, my family?  The people I see at the grocery stores?  My neighbors?  Elsewhere?

 

At the moment I feel stuck in a rut, learning, packing my head with You and your principles?  Will I ever have an outlet?

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes

 

Scripture

 

Vs 2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the Jews laid out their case against Paul … because they were planning an ambush to kill him on the way.

Vs 8 Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.”

 

Vs 15 the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.

VS 19  … they had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive.

 

Vs 27 “For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”

 

Observation

 

The religious leaders are condemning Paul.

They don’t just want him convicted of a crime.

They want him dead and gone.

The Roman leaders don’t have a problem necessarily with this, they just need a reason for it.

 

And Paul, himself, stuck in the middle of these groups lays out his defense …

He is not against Jerusalem.

He is not against Rome.

He is FOR Jesus … The One who was dead and now alive!

 

Application

 

In my role as a “religious leader”, how am I using judgement?

As a tool for condemnation?

Or a tool for discernment?

 

What is my motivation for using judgment?

To determine threats against me?

Or to discern threats against Jesus?

 

The religious leaders were motivated by perceived threats against their own power.

And they were condemning as a result.

 

I must be discerning in circumstances,

But always lift Jesus up!

Rather than condemn others.

 

Jesus was dead and now alive! … This is over all arguments and judgements

Jesus was dead and is now alive!

However unreasonable as it may sound to people … This is what’s true!

 

Prayer

 

Thank you, God, for Truth

Help me to be discerning and not condemning when judgement is necessary.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Scripture-

Acts 24:14-16 – “But I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult. I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets. I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous. Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.

Observation- Paul is in Caesarea speaking before Governor Felix in defense of preaching about Jesus.
Paul opens by acknowledging that he is a follower of the Way and worships the same God as the Jewish people who will resurrect both the righteous and unrighteous. Paul has hope in God through Christ and maintains a clear conscience with both God and all people.

Application- Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one gets to know the Father without knowing the Son. I need to be prepared and strong like Paul in defense of the reason I am a follower of Christ. We worship the God who created the heaven and earth along with everything in it. He loved us so much that He sent his incarnate Son to die for us so that those who place their faith in the name of Jesus may be seen as righteous and have everlasting life with God! This is the hope that we have to be right with God and to live out and share with all.

Prayer-

Father,
Thank you for your love, grace and mercy in sending Jesus to pay for my sin debt in full. Let the power of the Holy Spirit give me courage, boldness and wisdom to share/ defend my faith to bring you glory.

Journal Acts 23 (all references are from the ESV; changes in punctuation are mine)

Scripture: “Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other (part) Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.  It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”

 

And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)

 

Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man.  What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?”

 

And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.” Acts 23:6-10

 

Observation:  Obviously, Paul was well aware of Jesus’ words, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.  I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Matt 10:34

 

Analysis: Paul took advantage of a prejudice in the synagogue.  For what reason did he do that?

 

If I take a peek into chapter 22, I remember that Paul (being of dual citizenship) invoked his Roman citizenship and called upon his political rights.  In one stroke, he messed up everyone’s response reflex: “Now what are we supposed to do?”

 

By proclaiming to be a Pharisee, he got the entire gathering to be either for him (as a show of solidarity) or against him (as a heretic or at least in high error).

 

By sort of passively inciting a riot, he got the Roman cohort (who didn’t know what they were rioting about) to protect him and start the steps to be heard before Caesar.

 

In none of this commotion was Paul trying to be a peacemaker: “Now, now, keep calm everyone.  All will have a chance to express their ‘feelings’—everyone has a point of view that is valid…”

 

Am I trying to validate angry commotions/confrontations as being somehow godly?  Nope—but I do acknowledge that we are missing a few degrees of passion in our embraced doctrine.

 

What am I convinced of and why, not “what do I believe?” Saying “I believe” is slippery in today’s parlance; I don’t have to have reasoning behind it, all I have to have is a “feeling about the correctness of something.”  Does this invalidate “feelings?”  No, but these “feelings” should drive an investigation about “why?”  Where is the evidence to validate my feelings?

Paul may have deduced this between the Pharisees and Sadducees: Lots of emotional conviction but perhaps not so much knowledgeable conviction.  I don’t know—all I have is conjecture.  But what would make the synagogue blow up like it did?  I have to ask myself these things—because what would I do thrust into a similar situation today?

 

Prayer:  Father, some of these sections appear to be good for case studies: Here’s the situation; what would I do?  I appreciate being prodded to think.  Sometimes my initial reaction comes too quickly in an effort to be first to answer—being first may not be the best answer; I shouldn’t be an untrained gunslinger.

 

I think this situation, Lord, doesn’t have a clear and reasonable answer that pops out.  Please bring this back to my attention sometime in the future.

 

Amen

Ricky Two Shoes