Let Them MARVEL

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“By what power or by what name did you do this?” - Acts 4:7

Peter and John stood before a hostile Jewish council.  

At this point, Jesus Christ, the Living God of Heaven, had been turned over to be ruthlessly butchered by men who should have known better.  In doing so, the Jews helped hundreds of years worth of ancient prophecy (prophecies most of them had memorized) come true.  Guilt must have seized their hearts as God darkened the land with a supernatural spectacle in the moments that Jesus died.

If that wasn’t enough, Jesus created chaos for the power-hungry when he slaughtered death - inconveniently rising from a grave that couldn’t hold Him.

Peter and John stood still on that day.  These Jews had their worlds turned upside down.  How relieved they must have been when Jesus stopped showing up… Maybe the last few months - the last few YEAR - would soon pass from memory.

But those pesky followers…

Peter and John were headed to the temple to pray, as centuries of Jews before them had done.  On the way, a crippled man asked them for money.  Rather than dropping some coin, these men unleashed the healing power of God.  The man got up from his infirmity, and WALKED.

Acts 3:9-10 - And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms.  And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.


Peter and John were just getting started.  As a crowd amassed, certainly waiting for the next magic trick, these two Christ-followers began to preach the Gospel.  The next thing you know, 5,000 men have been saved.

It was a busy day in Jerusalem.

That’s why Peter and John now stood before the council - the men who likely plotted the murder of Christ.  They wanted to know the source of power on which these men relied.  They got an ear full!  Peter and John spoke up and said something like this:  ”Our power comes from the ONE you’ve been waiting for, the ONE you were threatened by, the ONE you murdered, and the ONE you rejected.  Your only hope of salvation is to be accepted by Him.”

Acts 4:13 - Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 

May we stay so close to Jesus that people MARVEL at His power.
May we remain so in love with the Gospel that the world will MARVEL at His grace.

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Marriage…and sex. Lots of sex.

1 Corinthians 7

One of my favorite and most popular talks I give is entitled “The Wonder Bridge.”  Today in my devotion, I studied the passage on which this message is based.  Paul is writing to an unruly group of believers.  They have received the Gospel, and they’ve gone wild.  Rather than dodging the issue like a religious prude, Paul tackles the issue head-on, with frank language. 

Paul states upfront that it is actually good if people can avoid sex.  This does two things:  it signifies that when you are on mission, there is often a time when relationships and sex can get in the way.  The second thing Paul alludes to, is that sex is a powerful force and impulse in the lives of most people.  Rather than ignoring it (while lusts runs rampant in the dark), we should understand it.  According to the Bible, God’s plan for man and woman’s sexual impulses is marriage…between 1 man and 1 wife.  I didn’t make this up.  Jerry Falwell didn’t make this up.  The Holy-Spirit inspired sex says that people should get married so they can “do it.”

The text goes on… According to verses 3-4, the marriage relationship is unlike any other.  A man and woman give up their own claim to their bodies.  We are compelled by scripture to have sex with our spouse.  Again, this recognizes there are some times when women don’t want sex, but should lovingly “accommodate,” their husbands.  However, scripture is often intentionally specific.  In this text, husbands are admonished to give in to their wives’ appetites.  (its ok, and even BIBLICAL, for women to want sex).  1 Corinthians 7:3 - “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs.”

All this sex talk has really nothing to do with my message, THE WONDER BRIDGE.  However, I’m sure that will make an appearance here soon.

Nehemiah 1-3

I love the book of Nehemiah.  Pastor Jim Austin preached through “The Wall Builder” book when my family first began attending BPBC.


Notes:
- Nehemiah asks his friend what’s going on in Jerusalem (real change always starts with asking the right questions)
— Nehemiah got a bad report about what was going on.  Namely, there was no wall.
— Nehemiah was so upset, he began to weep, fast, and pray (real prayer is the catalyst for real change)
— Nehemiah prays for the heart of his King

-  One of the best questions you can ever be asked:  NEHEMIAH 2:4 “4 Then the king said to me, “What do you request?”  So I prayed to the God of heaven”

- Grants Nehemiah favor and moves in an amazing way.  The King gives him everything he needs to go an rebuild the wall.  (when’s the last time you asked for something really big?)

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