ACTS 10:24
for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
reflection; This comment is about Barnabas, I’d never heard of him before. He sounds like the kind of person you’d want to get to know. I hope he doesn’t meet the same fate as Stephen but I’ll just have to wait and see. I saw a book in the library that would have helped decipher the gospels, but I put it back. I want to get my own first impressions, then I’ll look into other people’s thoughts.
Prayer: Thank you for this day
ACTS 10:28
and he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit any one of another nation; but God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
reflection: for me this is a reminder not to think of myself as better than anyone nor less than anyone. Just to keep moving forward from where I am.
Prayer: help me to keep my ranges lined up.
ACTS 9:3
Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him.
Refection: Saul had his life planned, he was on a mission of destruction. As often happens just when you think your in control, your not. His complete shift reminds me of the author of the song “Amazing Grace”. He was delivering a cargo of slaves, when a storm hit. As I understand it, he promised he would no longer be part of the slave trade if he was allowed to survive the storm.
Prayer: Help me to be ready.
ACTS 8:31
And he said, “How can I, unless some one guides me?” And he invited Phillip to come and and sit with him.
Reflection: I enjoyed this passage, he is open to help and welcomes it from a stranger. He is not afraid to say he may not understand. Those are the most fun people to work with. The doors to the mind are open.
Prayer: Help me be open to the guidance of others.
ACTS 7:60
And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord do not hold this sin against them.” And when he said this, he fell asleep.
Reflection: I was so sad when I read this, in my minds eye was the person who I had remembered from long ago. That he had the grace to forgive them even as they were stoning him, taking his life, bit by bit. The saddest thing is that it continues now. The other day there was a photo of a man being pulled off a bus and held by a braid of his hair, behind him a group of men, one with a machete. All I can hope is that some one stepped in, like a man did during the riots caused by the Rodney King trial. People were pulling others out of cars and attacking them with baseball bats. One big man got between a crowd and a person in a car and he spread his arms out. They tried to get around him like jackals but he seemed to be speaking to them (this was viewed from above by helicopter). After some long moments they left. That image will be with me forever. Those outspread arms.
Prayer: A prayer of thanks for all those who put themselves between others and harm.
ACTS 6:15
And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Reflection: For some reason this verse reminds of a moments smile from a stranger over 30 years ago. I was dressed in my Coast Guard uniform heading down Gratiot Ave in Detroit, Michigan. Traveling from Mt. Clemens to downtown, I’d drive through some of the richest areas of Michigan and some of the poorest all in a 45 minute commute. I was stopped at a stop light. I looked over to the next car and saw this man with blond hair looking at me with the most radiant smile. A few seconds later the light changed and we were all on our way. Maybe he was trying to figure out what uniform I was wearing, maybe we had been singing along to the same song on the radio. Don’t know. I hope people have given him smiles that have lasted years because I have enjoyed remembering his. It also lets me know how lucky I am to have my memory, that thoughts like this can rise to the surface and bring me joy. I can only imagine what it would be like to know that your thoughts were slipping away.
Prayer: Help me to remember to take the time to look people in the eye and share a smile.
ACTS 5:38
“So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this undertaking is of men, it will fail”
Reflection: The beginning of this chapter is intense. You lie, you die. Later in the chapter the council is trying to figure out what to do with the apostles. So Gama’li-el (these names are not easy) basically says be patient and see what happens. He also reminds them that if the Apostles succeed the council may find themselves up against God. Something for them to think about…. The councils response it to beat the Apostles and tell them not to continue in their ways. Of course the Apostles keep moving forward.
I’m so glad that Mike doesn’t have to deal with this stuff in creating a new church. He may have to deal with a variety of opinions, which you run into whenever you decide to make a big change, but at least no one is going to beat him up about his beliefs or tell him to cease preaching. Even if someone did, he’d be like the Apostles and keep moving forward.
Prayer: help me to keep moving forward, however slow or fast that may be.
ACTS 4:19
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God, you must judge”
Reflection: Peter and Paul go on to say that they cannot but speak of what they have seen and heard. They tell the elders to make up their own minds. They will not keep from speaking of what they know to be the truth. We are so lucky that we live in a country where there is the freedom to worship as you believe. The beginning Christians put it all on the line.
prayer: help me to speak honestly, clearly and keep it simple.
ACTS 3:2
And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms of those who entered the temple.
Reflection: even though I knew what alms meant I wanted to look it up. It comes from the Greek word eleos. The American Heritage dictionary says eleos means pity and the Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary says it means compassion. For me there is a big difference between the two. For me, pity suggests a downward glance as if someone was always better than you. With the word compassion I get more of a sense of being in different places but at the same time being alongside the other.
I saved this from an article on Giving Unconditionally by Susan Campell of the Hartford Courant.
“Because maybe it all boils down to this: A few years ago, Brigitte Schulz, associate professor in Trinity College’s political science department, accompanied some students on a school trip to Venice, Italy. A local historian was giving tour that included a place where wealthy Venetian merchants dispensed charity in the Middle Ages. One student asked why; the tour guide responded:”they needed the poor for their own salvation.” It was, I think, the perfect answer.”
Prayer: Help me to be compassionate towards others.
ACTS 2:37
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?
Reflection: “cut to the heart” I can imagine that it was not only the words but his voice that cut to the heart. There are moments when you hear that special tone, deep from within.
Prayer: I remember these lines but I don’t know where I read it. ” May it be the real I who speaks, may it be the real you who listens”
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