READINGS FOR DECEMBER 11-17

 DECEMBER 11

When Paul reported to the brothers in Jerusalem what God had done through his (Paul’s) ministry, they praised God, not Paul.

These leaders reported to Paul some misconceptions that people had concerning his teaching. Some said that Paul was teaching against Moses, telling them not to circumcise and not to live according to our customs. This is not exactly what Paul was saying. Since he was presenting the gospel to the Gentiles, he was saying to them that it wasn't necessary to go through Judaism in order to believe in Jesus as Messiah. Paul did not discount the customs of the Jewish way of life. Paul continued to observe the feast days and certain other things, much as the Messianic Jews do today.

The Jews seized Paul in the temple. Paul was only teaching against legalism. He was saying "hold on to salvation through Jesus". Those Jews believed that they could earn their place in heaven through strict obedience of the law. Paul taught against legalism and the observance of the laws to be saved. They were also upset with Paul because they thought he had brought Greeks into the temple area. Greeks were not allowed there, they were limited to the Court of the Gentiles.

One of the commanders questioned Paul about a revolt. Josephus, an ancient historian, wrote of an Egyptian who led a revolt in Jerusalem in AD 54, then disappeared. The commander may have thought Paul was this man.

When Paul made his defense to the crowd, he spoke in Aramaic, the language of the common people. Paul spoke Greek and Hebrew as well, maybe others (Most likely Paul was given the spiritual gift of speaking in all tongues).  In order for us to minister to people we must speak their language. This applies literally as well as figuratively.

Acts 22:3
"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

This was the same Gamaliel in Acts 5:34. He was the most honored rabbi of the 1st century, an expert on religious law. He passed more traditional rules and laws than any others in the same amount of time than anyone else in Judean history.  Paul certainly had some impressive credentials.

Paul retells the story of his conversion experience. I wonder how many times he told this story! This was the first time Jesus spoke to Paul. It is interesting to note that He spoke to Paul in Aramaic. There are some additional details to Paul's story that can be found in the Chronological Bible pages 1500 and 1514 (Acts 9 and Galatians 1) Paul also relates another time that Jesus spoke to him, this time in a trance.

Paul was brought on trial before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was the Jewish ruling council composed of both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. It was the highest ruling body and court of justice among the Jewish people. It was headed by the high priest and was granted limited authority over certain religious, civil, and criminal matters. It was composed of 70 members (71 counting the high priest). The Romans left most of the business of governing the Jews to the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin even had its own police force. This is the force that arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Romans denied the Jews the power of capital punishment.

The Pharisees were the most numerous of the Jewish parties or sects. They were members of the middle class, mostly businessmen (merchants and tradesmen). They taught that the way to God was through obedience to the law. They accepted the entirety of the Old Testament as authoritative. They established and controlled synagogues and exercised great control over the general population, serving as religious authorities over most Jews. Among these were the scribes.

The Sadducees were from the aristocracy, the rich descendants of the high priestly line. They were in charge of the temple and its services. They exercised great political control through the Sanhedrin. They accepted only the Torah (the written law of Moses) and practiced a literal interpretation of the law, stressing strict observance of the law. They denied divine providence, the concept of life after death, and the existence of angels and demons. They were also known as the chief priests and elders.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two main groups within Judaism. The Sanhedrin usually tried to maintain a balance of power between them.

Paul very shrewdly pitted the Pharisees against the Sadducees when he brought up that he believed in a resurrection of the dead, which created a huge dispute between the two ruling parties.

Paul also mentions the third time when Jesus appeared to him and encouraged him to take courage. This time Jesus appeared in bodily form and not in a vision or trance.

Acts 23:12
The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
They were really motivated to kill Paul. But they weren’t successful. Does this mean they died of starvation??? Or did they break their vow??? Hmmmm...

Paul's nephew warns the commander about this plot to kill Paul.  The commander sends Paul, along with a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, and armed with a letter from Claudius Lysias to Governor Felix.   Seems as if they really wanted Paul to travel safely.

 DECEMBER 12

Indictments were made against Paul for teaching “The Way” in the temple. It would be a similar situation if someone were to go and teach the New Testament at a Jewish synagogue in Indianapolis.

Paul is given many opportunities to witness as he is brought before many authorities. He takes advantage of these opportunities. Do we as Believers in Jesus take advantage of every opportunity to witness for Him?

When Paul addressed Felix, the governor of Judea, concerning righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was obviously upset and sent Paul away. Hmmm, sounds as if Paul was getting dangerously "close to home". Was Felix being convicted? Obviously Felix cared more about getting the bribe than being uncomfortable with Paul's discourses. Isn't it ironic that in order to get the bribe, Felix had to listen to Paul's words. Secular history indicates that it was the Jews who prompted Felix's recall to Rome. Could the Jews have been concerned that Felix was beginning to believe what Paul was saying?

When Paul spoke before King Agrippa, he mentions that he lived as a child in another country. We know from Scripture that Paul was a citizen of Rome. That doesn't mean he was born and lived previously in Rome. He was born in Tarsus located in the Roman province of Cilicia, modern day Turkey. Citizenship outside of Italy was an honor reserved for people who made great contributions to the Empire. So, we may conclude that Paul's parents were people of influence and perhaps even moderate wealth. His father was a Pharisee of pure and unmixed Jewish blood.

Tarsus, the city of Paul's birth combined both Roman and Greek (politics of Rome and Greek culture). It was the seat of a famous university, higher in reputation even than the universities of Athens and Alexandria. Paul spent his childhood here. No doubt he left his home during early adolescence and went to Jerusalem for his formal education in the most prominent rabbinical schools of the day.  He was taught by Gamaliel in Jerusalem. Again, the apostle Paul had some very impressive credentials.

Acts 26:29
Paul replied, "Short time or long-- I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

Paul was praying for those of us who are reading and listening to this Scripture today. Do you think that Paul had any idea of the billions of people who would be influenced by his words???

Some things to ponder:
We are not in literal “chains” like Paul was, but are there some “chains” that bind us from teaching and witnessing and giving testimony about Jesus? What might some of those “chains” be? How can we break those “chains”?

DECEMBER 13

In today's reading, Paul warns about the dangers of sailing at that time of year. The Fast was the Day of Atonement, which was commemorated sometime in September or October at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. Paul was warning them not to make the voyage. Ships had no compass (as we have today) then. They navigated by the stars or simply followed the coastlands when possible. Overcast weather made sailing almost impossible and very dangerous. Sailing was doubtful in September/October and practically impossible by November, especially made difficult by the storms. Following the coastline the trip would have been around 1,300 miles. But because of the storm they traveled more of a straight line (more than 500 miles but probably less than 1,000) which took them into impossible to navigate dangerous waters, being pounded for about two weeks until they reached land.

Notice in the readings for today that Paul begins this voyage as a prisoner in chains. Then the sailors listen to him and do what he suggests. He went from being in chains in the hold to advising the captain of the ship what to do. Paul tells them that an angel of God appeared to him during the night...not only appeared to him but stood beside him and spoke to him.

The centurion appears to be very sympathetic toward Paul. Was he beginning to believe Paul?

The ship is wrecked on the island of Malta. Malta was located 60 miles south of Sicily, had excellent harbors and was ideally located for trade. The islanders were from Phoenician ancestry.

Paul healed many people while he was on the island of Malta. We have stated many times that Scripture supports that the apostles (including Paul) were given all the gifts of the Spirit to the max. In this passage there is evidence of a couple of those gifts.

There is a nuance on the words healed and cured. Paul healed the father of Publius. This word means the man was instantly healed and made well. When the rest of the sick from the island came to Paul it says he cured them. The word cured means a continuing treatment and slow healing. This would be the gift of healing. Paul quoted Isaiah who also mentions the word "heal". Isaiah is saying that if people will see, hear, understand, and turn, God would heal them, meaning it would be an instant thing.

The Jewish leaders came to see Paul in Rome saying, "...we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect."
They were speaking of the sect, "The Way". Isn't it interesting that even today in Israel, the Jews are talking against the "sect" - the Messianic Jews.  And many today all over the world are so entrenched in traditions of the church that they miss the truth of God's Word.  Then when groups speak the truth against the false traditions of the church, they are labeled a "cult" or sect because traditions are so far from the truth.

A perfect example of how God turns bad into good is this one. While Paul was under house arrest he wrote the letters of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. Had Paul not been confined, maybe he wouldn’t have written those letters and we wouldn’t have them to read today!

Paul spent a total of five years in chains.

In canonized Scripture, the book of Acts ends abruptly but powerfully and beautifully with Paul giving us a wonderful example of Christian living.
“Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Oh, how we as Believers in Jesus should aspire to preach the kingdom and teach the good news of salvation through Jesus!

Even though the book of Acts ends with chapter 28 in most Bibles, there is an additional chapter, Acts 29 which was removed during the Dark Ages around AD 1054.  There are also other formerly canonized books that have been removed from Scripture for one reason or another.

DECEMBER 14

Paul writes this letter to the Colossians while he was under house arrest. He has never visited this church and writes this letter to combat some heresies similar to Gnosticism. Gnostics believed that it took special knowledge to be accepted by God and that Jesus alone was not the way to salvation. Paul wrote the letter to clear up their confusion.

Paul’s Prayer for the Colossians
Here is a perfect pattern for intercessory prayer, even for those whom we don’t even know. After all, Paul didn’t know these people personally. The church was founded by one of Paul’s converts.
Pray:
      For Knowledge of God’s will
      For Spiritual wisdom and understanding
      To Please and honor God
      To Bear good fruit
      For Endurance
      To be Filled with God’s strength
      For Patience
      To Have great joy

When Paul wrote the word "church" he was speaking of the church in its purest form.

Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

Much false doctrine is taught that sounds attractive because it identifies with basic principles of this world. If we are grounded in God’s word through personal study and sound Bible teaching, and led by the Holy Spirit we will know the truth. We will be able to recognize false doctrine and teaching. There are many human approaches to life’s problems that do not include God.

Paul writes that in the old law, circumcision was a symbol of God’s covenant with man. This was a literal physical act of circumcision. Under the new covenant, we are circumcised figuratively by the infusion of the Holy Spirit. It is a circumcision of the heart. It denotes a change in character.

Paul mentions the worship of angels. Is this why God does not reveal angels very often - we might brag about how important we may feel and lose sight of God and worship angels instead?

Colossians 3:5
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

This verse lays to rest any confusion anyone might have about what idolatry is. Greed would be a quest for power, prestige, position, and possessions, not necessarily just money.

If we put our mind on things above, we will put to death the old ways which may include things on this list. But Paul goes on to say that we used to walk in these ways, and now we have died to the old nature, we must put away other things as well: “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language”.

Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Clothe is an action word. We must do this daily. Just as we clothe our body every day, we must clothe ourselves in Christ and all the attributes of a believer in Jesus. We must consciously think about being all these things and start every day promising that we will be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. Sometimes it may mean going out of our way to display these qualities.

Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Think about a necklace of jewels. The precious sparkling jewels are separated by a jewel of love so that we have a necklace that looks like this:
Compassion***love***kindness***love***humility***love***gentleness***love***patience***love***

Paul writes about someone named Epaphras, who most likely is a Gentile believer.

Colossians 4:12b
He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

The Greek word for wrestling means to agonize, with an intense desire for their salvation.

How are we as Believers doing with this way of praying? Are we agonizing in our prayers for others' salvation? 

DECEMBER 15

Have we ever said in our daily entries that today’s reading is rich? Well, we’ll say it again! Today’s reading is rich!

Read Ephesians 1:3-10 again and take note of these words and phrases:  Blessed us in the heavenly realms, every spiritual blessing, lavished on us ALL wisdom and understanding, fulfillment.  All God's blessings on us are complete and perfect.  We have everything we need.

Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,;

The word sealed (Greek “sphragizo”) means we are preserved, fenced in, protected. Once we become a believer, God preserves and protects us. He fences us in. He stamps us with His signet or mark. We are HIS! Wow!

Many times we take the English word "seal" and think of the English definition of that word.  We may even have an image of a sealed envelope with a letter inside.  We can break the seal of the envelope and get what's inside. Not true with the seal of the Holy Spirit.  It cannot be broken as the Greek definition states.

"And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms..."
Notice the use of the past tense verbs, raised and seated. God sees us in the future tense, as if we are already there!

Ephesians 2:10
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ever stop to contemplate just what God has prepared for each of us to do? He offers us the job. It’s up to us. Do we take the assignment or allow someone else to be blessed by it? God has given us the spiritual gifts to do these “good works”.

Ephesians 4:12
to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Ephesians 3:10
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,

Manifold means "many and various, a variety". God certainly has a variety of attributes. We, the church, the believers are the revelation of the mystery made known to the angels, both Holy angels and evil angels.  It is through us that we make known God's variety of attributes, not only in our relationships with our fellow man here on earth, but also it is through us that God's variety of attributes are made known to the rulers and authorities in the spiritual realm.  What an incredible privilege and awesome responsibility!

Ephesians 3:12
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

This is an amazing promise verse, witnessed by the following verse.

I John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

We can approach our Heavenly Father with confidence! Not in an arrogant way, but with confidence that if we are in His will, He will hear us!  This doesn't say that God will "do" what we ask of Him but only that He will hear us.  In His infinite wisdom and in His time are our prayers answered.

Ephesians 3:16-20
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

It’s bigger than we can know! Get hold of this part of the passage, “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,”

If we imagine that the Holy Spirit that is at work in us is LIGHT. What we do with that light is up to us. We can tap into the LIGHT and use the power as a night light or a flood light.  Which do we choose?

Ephesians 4:27 reminds us to not give the devil a foothold.  Once he gets a foothold, unchecked it leads to a stronghold and finally if unchecked it leads to a fortress.

In Ephesians 5:3-6 we are told "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place..."   There is NO place in a Believer's life for any of this.

The most descriptive passage of Scripture concerning our part in the spiritual battle against the forces of evil are found in Ephesians 6.

We could continue this blog entry for several more pages, but will stop here. Read this letter of Paul’s again to the church at Ephesus and be blessed!

DECEMBER 16

The city of Philippi received its name from Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. It is a tender letter written to a church with which Paul was very familiar.

Philippians 1:14
Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

If we think of this verse in a worldly manner, what Paul is saying doesn’t make sense. God allowed Paul’s suffering so that others may be encouraged.

Philippians 2:15-16a
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—

We shine like stars in this dirty world. We hold out to the world the word of abundant life here and eternally. Remember yesterday’s blog entry about night light or flood light?  If we are holding out the word of life, why would we want to be holding only a night light?

Philippians 3:10-11
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

That word attain is loaded with meaning. Paul is saying here that he wishes to do something more than to obtain a resurrection. He aspires to something greater. Once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we automatically obtain eternal life through resurrection. We obtain through belief. Attain means to reach in excellence or degree; to equal. Paul wants to equal Christ in suffering and death and so attain a better resurrection. (see Hebrews 11-12:1)

When Paul is speaking of perfection, he is saying he is “perfected” (fit) for the race. The "be perfect” is to be ready to receive the prize.

Philippians 3:13
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

It makes no difference what has happened in the past, what really matters is what is ahead!

“…our citizenship is in heaven…”Once we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, our destiny is sealed, our citizenship is transferred to heaven.

Philippians 3:21
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

There are several ways we can look at this verse. We will not stay “seeds”. We will be “planted” only to rise again as a beautiful “flower”.  We will not stay as caterpillars.  Once we die, we enter into the chrysalis and then emerge later as a glorious butterfly.

Paul ends this letter with "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household". 

So Paul's work had made believers even in the household of Nero. Paul was under house arrest in Rome from 61 to 63 AD. Nero was Caesar from 54 to 68 AD.

What a great testimony to Paul's witness and work.

 DECEMBER 17

Timothy was one of Paul’s young converts and one of his closest companions. Timothy had been sent to the church at Ephesus to counter the false teaching there. Paul gave Timothy practical advice about the ministry. Apparently Timothy struggled with a timid and reserved nature and allowed others to look down on his youth. I heard a pastor say once that every Christian should have in his life a “Paul” (someone to look up to and imitate), a “Timothy”(someone to disciple), and a “Barnabas”(someone to encourage us and to hold us to account).

Paul has already urged Timothy to command certain men not to teach false doctrines or devote themselves to myths. What myths do we devote ourselves to today - fictions, fables, false traditions, lies? Following such teaching results in controversies rather than bringing about unity by following the truth. How much energy is expended when believers attempt to defend the competing factions of myths? The pure truth has no factions, therefore no controversies.

1 Timothy 1:18-20
Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.

How can people shipwreck their faith? What does “handed over to Satan” mean? Paul had already addressed this very thing regarding this discipline in 1 Corinthians 5. This person is to be handed over to Satan, removed from the fellowship of believers, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved.

Paul makes it clear that we are to pray for our leaders, even when we don't want to pray for them.

1 Timothy 2:9-12
I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

In the culture of the day, for women to dress this way (with braided hair. gold, pearls, expensive clothes) was disrespectful. Some also placed undue emphasis on the outward appearance. Women were not usually taught scripture in those times. Many of those who were learning of Jesus’ teachings were trying to teach others without being properly trained and were speaking in human wisdom and not led by the Holy Spirit wisdom.

1 Timothy 2:15
But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

This verse is a problematic verse with a plethora of possible explanations. It sounds as if a woman's salvation depends on giving birth.  Looking at the context in which this verse is written, Paul may be saying that he thinks it best for women to have as their top priority to manage a household well and raise their children in a godly way, rather than be spiritual leaders in a church, which they may not be properly trained to do.

Paul specifically states the requirements of the leaders of the churches (elders and deacons) for positions of authority. He certainly sets up a high standard, not only for the leaders but for their families as well. He mentions "not indulging in too much wine". Later he tells Timothy to "use a little wine because of your stomach"

Deacons "must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience."
A lesson for all of us today - when we know a deep truth we must not compromise. If we compromise or water it down we can't have a clear conscience.

Paul also warns what happens when we abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits. “…consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”  What happens when something is seared? Nerves are killed and have no feeling.  We sear our consciences when we allow untruths to permeate our acts of worship. There will come a time when truth will not be seen and only the myths remain and are understood and are celebrated.  God's truth and commandments will be ignored in favor of the traditions of men.

Paul again warns "Have nothing to do with godless myths..." Myths would be an invention, something made up that may sound godly.

1 Timothy 4:12
Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

I remember one of our Sunday school second graders (now a college graduate) reciting this verse. He still sets an example!

In the next few verses Paul mentions a firm foundation. Jesus is the foundation. We build on our faith in Him. (1 Corinthians 3:11)

1 Timothy 6:17-19
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

What a great way to end 1Timothy!