Day 181 Bible Readings - Acts 20: 22-24 (ESV)

2 Kings 1-2, Acts 20, Psalm 100

Acts 20: 22-24 (ESV)

“And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

Verses 22 through 24 from Acts 20 made me tear up. The Holy Spirit let Paul know that he would be imprisoned, but he still decided to go because he wanted to finish his ministry to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. What Paul did not know was that even in imprisonment, he would be able to minister to the churches he started and that in the future Christians around the world would be reading his letters to his churches.

Paul had to have absolute trust in God that whatever happened to him, it was all a part of God’s plan and that his life would be serve God’s purpose. These verses made me appreciate Paul even more because 1) he had an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, and 2) whatever fears Paul had he put them aside because he was so determined to finish the task that Jesus gave him.

Day 180 Bible Readings for June 30 – Acts 19: 14-15 (ESV)

 1 Kings 22, Acts 19: 14-41, Psalm 99

Acts 19: 14-15 (ESV)

“Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

Verses 14 through 15 from Acts 19 shows us another supernatural story from the Bible. The sons of the Jewish high priests, who were exorcists, decided to copy Paul and invoked the name of Jesus while doing their work of removing evil spirits. But they weren’t true believers of Jesus, and the evil spirit knew it and called them on it. I’m sure they were shocked as I was shocked reading these verses. One of the Bible commentaries I read said that the evil spirits always know who their enemies, and these sons of Sceva were not known by them because they really did not believe in Jesus.

I was talking to a church friend, and she told me that she knew that were many people in our congregation who are regular church goers, but who aren’t saved and don’t really believe in Jesus. I find this shocking and odd. Why even go to church unless you believe in Jesus Christ? These people are in essence like the sons of Sceva, invoking the names of Jesus but not really believing in him. My church friend told me we need to always pray for the people around us in church to be saved, in case they aren’t true believers of Christ. Luckily for them, God is not like the evil spirit. God is patient with us and will wait until we want to be saved, and he will rejoice like the father with the prodigal son that his son has been saved.

Day 179 Bible Readings – Psalm 98: 1-2 (ESV)

1 Kings 20 & 21, Acts 18: 9-28, Acts 19: 1-13, Psalm 98

Psalm 98: 1-2(ESV)

“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. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.”

When I read through Psalm 98, I thought it would make a great song if it was set to music and sure enough I found many versions of this psalm on YouTube. Instead of a contemporary version, I liked the traditional choir version of this song the best.

Here’s Psalm 98 sung the Wakefield Cathedral Choir – enjoy!

Day 178 Bible Readings – Acts 17: 29 (ESV)

1 Kings 18-19, Acts 17: 22-34, Acts 18: 1-8, Psalm 97

Acts 17: 29 (ESV)

“Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.”

Verse 29 from Acts 17 is Paul’s advice to the people of Athens on how they should think of God. If we know that we are children of God, then God cannot be represented by how man can imagine him or view him in gold, silver, or stone. As children of God, we are responsible for how we view him. We must have “correct or right” ideas about God and know that God cannot represented by how an artist might view him. God made the world and was too big to dwell in temples. Since God made everything including his offspring, it would be impossible for us for represent him in any art that we may make.   

I think that what Paul is saying to the people of Athens is that their view of who God is so small compared to the God followed by the people who believed in Christ. Why would they want to worship such a “small god”, when they could worship a God who is greater and more powerful and who sees them as “offspring” and offers the forgiveness of sin and could resurrect the dead. Paul’s argument may sound strange to our modern ears, but he was speaking to a Greek audience who worshipped many gods. I like this verse because it gives us an illustration of the beginnings of the Christian church and how they worked to establish the church of Christ.