Burunche’s Blog

WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT!!!

Matthew 7: 15 “Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.”

Have you ever had this experience? You buy some fruit – say, some apples – that look really lovely – all red and juicy. You can scarcely wait to get those apples home! You are already thinking about how good that apple will taste. And then, when you get the apples home, you bite into one and EWWWWWWWWW!!!!! Perhaps the apple has no taste; the flesh is juicy but there is no flavor. Or perhaps the apple looks great on the outside, but once you bite into it, you realize that it has already spoiled and all the flesh is brown and rotting. Or perhaps – even worse – you bite in and find a WORM waving at you! Of course, it would be even worse if you only found HALF a worm! At that point, you cut into the rest of the apples, only to find that all of the apples are just like this one. What a disappointment! What a waste of time and effort!

Sometimes we meet people who are just like that apple. They look really good; they sound really good. We are thrilled, thinking that we have made a friend for life…. and then, something happens. Some kind of a crisis comes, and suddenly our new best friend turns out to be a rotten apple.

While human beings can and will fail us repeatedly, God never fails. There are many ways that we can tell whether or not the Holy Spirit is moving in someone’s life. Galatians 5:22 – 23 describes the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

Today, many of us are grieving over the violence that has overtaken America. In the midst of this violence, there are still people of peace. There are also people urging more violence, and some of these people seem very convincing. But the final test is this: what kind of fruit are you seeing? Are you seeing the fruits of the Spirit, or are you seeing the opposite?

Today, we have a choice. Will we be people of peace? Will we beg God for His Holy Spirit? The choice is ours.

PRAYER: Father God, this morning we beg you to send your Holy Spirit into our hearts! Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit! Change us into the people you want us to be, people who truly show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self – control. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

JUNE4, 2020 GOD STILL WORKS MIRACLES!

1 Corinthians 12:1 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. 3 Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There are different gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all men.

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in various tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, who apportions them to each one as He determines.”

When I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit in my bedroom in 1978, I had no idea what was going to happen! I was like a 7 year – old who had just been given the keys to a Ferrari! I knew virtually nothing about the Holy Spirit, even though I had read those verses in 1 Corinthians over many times.

The first thing that happened was that I suddenly developed an intense hunger for the Word of God. Even though I was a surgery resident on a very busy service, I found myself rushing home and grabbing my Bible and reading for hours. The second thing I noticed was that the Bible made sense in a way it never had before. Jesus had promised this to his disciples. “However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” John 16:13 And the more I read the Bible, the more it came alive for me and the better I felt inside. But was there still more?

By this time, I had bought several books about the Holy Spirit and had learned that there were nine gifts of the Holy Spirit. Blessedly, nobody was around to tell me that I could only have one gift, so I just assumed that God had given me the entire package!

I had never prayed for individual patients to be healed before this, but I began praying for healing. I have told the story elsewhere, but one patient who was being sent home to die with incurable cancer was suffering tremendous pain. You could see the masses of tumor deforming her abdominal wall. When I prayed for this lady, neither of us hoped for anything apart from some pain relieve. Imagine my shock when, two years later, this patient returned for a relatively minor procedure, completely cancer – free! Since then I have prayed for thousands of patients in the course of my work, but very few miracles have been as dramatic as that one. Why did God choose to heal that particular lady? We won’t know until Eternity comes. And there were probably a number of others praying for her; I refuse to take credit for anything apart from anointing her with Alpha Keri Lotion and praying for her. But….God did heal her!

Some people want more of the Holy Spirit, but they are fearful about speaking in tongues. No problem. God meets people where they are. Perhaps your biggest need is for the gift of faith or the gift of discerning of spirits. The one thing on which you can rely is this: God is a good Father who gives good gifts and does not play charades with His children. Trust Him.

PRAYER: Father God, this morning we come to you, asking for your Holy Spirit. Lord, some of us are worried; we don’t want to open ourselves to anything demonic. Father, give the assurance to those who ask that you will give good gifts without interference from Satan. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

John 16: 5 Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate (Comforter) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.”

When I was growing up, I was raised in one of the quietest and least demonstrative denominations there was. Congregational singing was encouraged, but we didn’t clap our hands in church, we didn’t raise our hands in church, and sometimes it seemed as if we rarely even smiled in church! We were drowning in decorum. The problem was that when I read the book of Acts, it didn’t look anything like my home church. I was a bright inquisitive kid, the kind of kid that would ask embarrassing questions in Sunday School. And burning inside me was this question: does God really do miracles today? Nobody could answer me; looking back, some of my Sunday School teachers probably had the same question, but they couldn’t find an answer either. Part of our problem was our view of the Holy Spirit: we were taught that God gave the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to get the early church going, but after that, the Holy Spirit just kind of disappeared. Never mind that Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit would be our Comforter and would stay with us always. Most of us probably imagined the Holy Spirit as some kind of gray fog that sort of oozed around. Not a particularly encouraging or inspiring concept!!!

I went away to a denominational college and lost my faith in a Christian Doctrines class. The professor was teaching that Jesus really didn’t do miracles, that those were just interesting myths. Of course, there were eye witness accounts, but could you really believe THOSE people? And so, my expectations about the power of God sank even lower. And that’s the way things stood until the spring of 1978 when everything changed in a few hours one Saturday night.

That Saturday had begun wretchedly! I was working a half day as a surgery resident, but looking forward to a special outing with friends that afternoon. Unfortunately, the friends canceled, leaving me at loose ends. Feeling disgusted and frustrated, I went to a local Christian bookstore and bought several books; if I couldn’t enjoy myself outdoors, I could at least indulge in an orgy of reading. What I failed to realize was that the Holy Spirit was nudging my arm so that all the books I selected involved true stories of people who took steps of faith and who then saw God moving mightily in their lives. I then went home and read steadily for about eight hours.

The last book I read was “Prison to Praise” by Merlin Carothers. Carothers was a Methodist U.S. Army chaplain who was ready to quit the ministry when he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and saw God begin to do miracles in his life. Carothers ended the book by explaining that one could pray and ask God for this gift. Feeling totally stupid but also desperate, I prayed a simple prayer: “God if you are really there, God if this guy is not lying, please do this for me!” The first time I prayed, nothing happened! Boy! Was I disappointed! But then I re- read Carothers’ description and realized that I should pay attention to any words that were forming in my mind. God was NOT going to pry my mouth open! I prayed again, and I could feel some syllables forming themselves in my mind. When I opened my mouth , a beautiful flowing language came out. I felt that I could have stopped at any point, but the longer I prayed in this language, the more joyful and peaceful I felt. And I felt CLEAN! It was as if God turned me inside out, scrubbed all the crud off, and turned me right side out again. That was the beginning of an adventure that has continued ever since.

Up until that time, I had never heard about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, nor did I know the term “charismatic.” I literally knew nothing about the Holy Spirit, but I was hungry to learn more. I later learned that there were many manifestations of the Holy Spirit, of which speaking in tongues was only one. While some charismatic denominations insist that one must speak in tongues to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, I have found that God doesn’t like being put in a box and that God will choose how to show Himself if we only give Him a chance. And the Holy Spirit does not force himself on anybody. When the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost, they were already praying together “in one accord,” in other words, their hearts and minds were prepared. And a prayer language is not always the first gift that God gives. Some people are afraid of speaking in tongues. That’s OK. God has other gifts He will give, and if you do not speak in tongues right away, that does NOT mean that God has not given you His Holy Spirit. God gives you what you need most. Perhaps you need discernment as your first gift. God knows your heart.

God will not disappoint you. Tomorrow we can study more about the Holy Spirit, but for today, let’s pray.

PRAYER; Father God, we thank you that you give good gifts to your children. Please send the Holy Spirit to all who read this. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

John 16:5 “Now, however, I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 Instead, your hearts are filled with sorrow because I have told you these things. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.

12 I still have much to tell you, but you cannot yet bear to hear it. 13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you. 15 Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you.”

The Day of Pentecost came, and the Holy Spirit descended in power. While Jesus was alive, he had already been teaching the disciples about the Holy Spirit; however, they really didn’t understand. It took the power of the Holy Spirit being demonstrated for the disciples to begin to understand the Holy Spirit. In these verses from the Gospel of John, Jesus is encouraging his disciples on the night in which he is about to be betrayed, beaten and hauled off to a kangaroo court.

Does God really work in people’s lives in a powerful way, or is this just a fairy tale?

YES! God is still working in miraculous ways in people’s lives! Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth if we would allow him to do so. In April 1978 I received the Holy Spirit into my life after praying and asking the Holy Spirit to come in. Nothing was ever the same again! Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would guide us into all truth. One of the first things that happened was that I received joy – an ovewhelming supernatural joy that flooded my whole being with light and peace. God immediately began working in my heart, in my mind, and in my spirit, to show me new ways of thinking and believing. By the time I was 30 I had probably read the entire Bible through at least 20 or 30 times. But now I found myself rushing home and grabbing my Bible and reading for hours. I couldn’t get enough of God’s Word. And even though I had grown up in church and had memorized large portions of Scripture, it was as if I had an entirely new Bible. Things meant sense that had never meant sense before.

I began reading books about the Holy Spirit and learned that others had had similar experiences. For months it was as if a cloud of glory was enfolding me. While that experience gradually reduced, I found that I had a new closeness to God. That closeness has never gone away. I also found a new power in prayer, and I saw God do miracles in my life and in other people’s lives as well.

Are you hungry for more of God? Do you want to see the power of God working in your life? Ask God to send His Holy Spirit. The mark of the Holy Spirit is peace. Ask for that Holy Spirit peace and then expect God to move. God is a good Father and does not play games with His children.

PRAYER: Father, please send the Holy Spirit to everyone who reads these words. Come in your strength and your power. Bring your joy! Bring your peace! And bring your healing! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Jesus’ last words before His ascension.)

Acts 2: 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words. 15 These men are not drunk as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel … 22 Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know. 23 He was delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge, and you, by the hands of the lawless, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. 24 But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches…. “

Pretend that it’s Christmas morning and when you look under the tree, there is this wonderful present. The present is beautifully wrapped, but what really catches your eye is that the box is literally vibrating, practically jumping up and down. And when you open it, suddenly the entire room is bathed with light! You hear music! You feel a joy such as you have never felt before. And suddenly, wonderful thoughts are coming into your mind and you feel like an entirely new person! And now the question is this: what do you do next? That’s how the disciples must have felt on the day of Pentecost.

 On Pentecost, that little band of believers in the prayer room in Jerusalem had no idea what they were in for! Perhaps if you had asked Peter before that fateful day, he might have said, “Well, we know that God is already blessing us. Perhaps that’s what Jesus was talking about.” Nobody was more shocked and excited than the disciples when the Holy Spirit suddenly descended. And then to top it off, Peter went out into the street and began to preach. PETER???? HUH??? Up to this point, Peter had functioned as a leader, certainly. But eloquence wasn’t exactly Peter’s long suit. Peter was a fisherman, for goodness’ sake! Once you got Peter out of his boat, his conversational skills were pretty basic.

If any of the disciples had been choosing a spokesman, they might have selected Matthew; after all, as a tax collector, Matthew was used to mingling with all kinds of people and could speak several languages. But no, it was Peter who found himself rushing down the stairs, out the door, and into the street to confront the huge crowd that had already gathered. Peter had no idea what he was going to say, but when he opened his mouth, God gave him the message – a message of explanation, and an appeal for those present to realize that Jesus truly was the Messiah for whom they had been waiting. And while the disciples watched in amazement, three thousand people knelt down right there in the street, repented of their sins, and believed on Jesus Christ! And nothing was ever the same again, not for those people or for the disciples.

As the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit sometimes doesn’t get very much attention, but He should. The Holy Spirit represents the presence of God with us and the power of God to work in our lives. After all, if that Holy Spirit power could take a stammering Galilean fisherman like Peter and turn him into an articulate Christian leader, then that same power is available to us for God to change us and to transform us.

PRAYER: Lord, please send your Holy Spirit on everyone who reads these words. You know the needs. You know the fears. You know the desires of their hearts. Come, Holy Spirit! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 1: 6 ”So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”7 Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound rang out, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking his own language.

7 Astounded and amazed, they asked, “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 How is it then that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and converts to Judaism; Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

THE VIEW FROM THE STREET: Everybody knew those crazy Galileans! They kept meeting in that upper room and praying, and then they would go to the temple regularly as well. Nobody knew what had happened to their leader. Somebody told some wild story about the guy rising from the dead and hanging around for forty days and then just floating up into heaven. But hey! Who could believe that kind of stuff? And now it was 9 AM on the morning of the Feast of Pentecost. The Galileans were up in their prayer chamber again, but suddenly Jerusalem was assaulted by high winds. And then those on the street could see blazing fires hovering over the heads of all of the Galileans. But that wasn’t the weirdest part! What was really weird was that all of a sudden, these men who had never spoken any languages apart from their own were crying out in fifty different dialects…and speaking them perfectly! And every word they uttered was in praise of God. No wonder that some of the on – lookers wanted to assume that these men were drunk! But alcohol generally makes you dumber, not smarter. What was going on?

THE VIEW FROM THE UPPER ROOM: When Jesus gave us that promise, just before he ascended into heaven, we were all really excited! But now it had been forty days and nothing was happening! Frankly, I was getting pretty discouraged. Jesus had never made idle promises before. Were we just going to be disappointed? So, when we started the prayer meeting that morning, I was happy to be there and the praise and worship lifted my spirit. But part of me was still wondering if anything was going to change…. and then suddenly, everything changed, and nothing was ever the same again!

As we prayed that morning, suddenly we all felt the room shaking and we heard a loud rushing wind that filled the room with its roaring. Then there was a blinding bright light that filled the room. And when I could open my eyes, I looked over at Peter and Andrew and James and John. There were tongues of flame hovering over their heads; in fact, there were tongues of flame hovering over all of our heads. And when I looked up, I realized that there were tongues of flame hovering over my head as well. But that wasn’t the strangest part.

I was never all that good in languages. I could handle my own Aramean language, and a little trade Latin. But what can you expect from someone who had never traveled farther than the distance between their home village and Jerusalem? But all of a sudden, I found myself speaking fluent Pamphylian! Really, I wasn’t even sure what I was speaking, but these words were flowing out of my mouth and one of the fellows who came up to investigate was getting all kinds of excited! I wasn’t sure what I was saying, but he certainly understood! And it was the same for all of us. There were 120 of us in that room that morning, and each of us was praising God in a different language!

Sounds wild, doesn’t it? And we ask ourselves if this kind of thing really does happen. it does! 90 years ago there was an Assemblies of God missionary in Liberia who found himself surrounded by a group of cannibals. The chief accosted the missionary and asked, “Do you have anything to say before we kill and eat you?” The missionary opened his mouth and suddenly found himself making persuasive arguments in that tribal dialect, a language of which he knew very little. Whatever God said, did the trick; not only was the missionary’s life spared, but the tribe laid down their weapons and accepted Christ.

Today, many of us long to see the power of God working in our lives. God is a good Father and He gives good gifts to His children. God also does not play favorites. This Pentecost Sunday, you can ask for the Holy Spirit to move in a new way and He will. Many times, the Holy Spirit comes gently and not dramatically, but rest assured, there has never been anyone who has asked for the Holy Spirit to come who has been disappointed. And above all else, the mark of the Holy Spirit is a peace that passes understanding.

PRAYER: Father God, this morning we beg you to send your Holy Spirit! Send your power! Send your love! Send your light! Send your truth! And Lord, prepare our hearts so that when the Holy Spirit comes, we will be ready. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 11: 27 “In those days some prophets came down fromJerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the entire Roman world. (This happened under Claudius.) 29 So the disciples, each according to his ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.”

When the crisis first hit the world, nobody was prepared! People were frightened and didn’t know which way to turn of how to behave. In fact, even Christians were at their wits’ ends! The entire Roman world was rocked!

“What?” you ask. “What do you mean ‘Roman?’” Wait, you thought I was talking about the COVID – 19 pandemic, didn’t you? Guess what? We are not the first generation to face a crisis, nor are we likely to be the last. So let’s look at the response of the early church.

The Christians knew that the famine was coming because one who was a trusted prophet said so. In those days, much of the grain was produced in what is now Libya and in parts of Israel and southern Italy and in some parts of what is now Greece. But if the rains failed in these areas, so did the grain. At the same time, it took days or weeks or even months of arduous travel to get from point A to point B; preparation was extremely important. And preparation is something at which the Christians in Antioch evidently excelled.

We know very little about the poverty level among the Christians of Antioch, but we can assume that most of them were small tradesmen or craftsmen and women eking out a living. There might not have been very many rich people in the Antioch church; however, these believers had two things going for them: they were loving and generous. As soon as Agabus gave the prophecy, the Christians in Antioch began planning and gathering their resources to send to Jerusalem. Why Jerusalem? At that point, Jerusalem was still the headquarters of the early Christian church. News might have reached Antioch that the rains had failed in Israel, leaving the coastal plane dry and barren. Since most of Israel was dry and barren anyway, this meant that things would be very difficult for the church leaders in Jerusalem. Fortunately, Saul and Barnabas were available and ready to travel. Everyone knew Barnabas to be utterly trustworthy. While people were originally quite skeptical about Saul’s conversion, everyone knew Saul to be an honest man. And by this point, Saul and Barnabas had spent an entire year in Antioch, so the believers there had gotten to know both of them extremely well.

In recent months we have witnessed sad examples of people grabbing and hording resources, including toilet paper and disinfectants. Much of this hording was motivated by fear. Why weren’t the Christians in Antioch afraid? After all, if this was a world – wide famine, wouldn’t they be affected as well? We have no answer apart from this: these people fully believed that if they would be generous to others, God would take care of them also. One of the good things about the early Christians was that they had intensively studied the sayings of Jesus that we have preserved in the Gospels. And Jesus had advised his followers “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “(Luke 12:32 – 34)

WHERE IS YOUR TREASURE? In recent months, we have seen jobs, money, and other “trustworthy” things evaporate. There is nothing on earth that cannot either fail or be destroyed or be stolen. If your faith is in anything than the one true living God, one day you will be severely disappointed. The early Christians in Antioch knew this principal well; they were not sharing out of abundance but rather out of faith. Each of us has a choice to make every day: will we act out of faith or out of fear? If you have no basis for faith, you are only left with your fears.

God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 33:27 – 28 “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. So Israel dwells securely; the fountain of Jacob lives untroubled in a land of grain and new wine, where even the heavens drip with dew.” Today you have a choice: Trust God and live in faith OR refuse to trust God and live in fear. The choice is yours. What will it be?

PRAYER: Father God, please help us to live in faith and to trust you always and forever. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 11:19 “Meanwhile, those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews. 20 But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.

21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to abide in the Lord with all their hearts. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.”

Years ago, when we lived in New Orleans, we had a pastor friend who was incredible! Our friend, A.P., was a go – to guy when things went sour at a congregation. You could almost hear the commercial: “Has your pastor run off with the church pianist? Did they take all the money in the church treasury? Is your church on the verge of a church split? NO PROBLEM!!! Send for Pastor A. P.! We guarantee that within 6 months, your church funds will be replenished, your church will be peaceful, and nobody will care about your old pastor and the pianist anymore!” No joke! The man really was that good.

Barnabas, a.k.a. “Son of Comfort,” “Son of Encouragement” was that kind of go – to guy. Even though Peter had ministered to the Roman household of Cornelius in Caesarea, most of the Jewish believers had yet to get the memo that Jesus died for ALL mankind and not just for the Jews. And now there were Christians witnessing to Greeks, but what to do? This situation called for someone with an in – depth education, someone who could not only speak fluent Greek but who was thoroughly grounded in the Greek religion and philosophy. Enter Barnabas.

Barnabas was sent to Antioch to assess the situation. And true to his nickname, Barnabas immediately began rejoicing and encouraging these new believers. But Barnabas was humble enough and wise enough to realize that the situation demanded someone with a deeper background than he possessed. That’s when Barnabas went all the way to Tarsus, probably by foot, and got Saul to come back with him to Antioch.

Proverbs 24:6 says “Only with sound guidance should you wage war, and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.” Sometimes we are tempted to force our way into or through situations without taking adequate counsel. But humility is an excellent virtue. It’s always wise to realize that others might know about something than you do and to take counsel from a number of different sources, including people who will tell the truth at the expense of egos. The next time you are tempted to have a one – man consultation, remember Barnabas. By all accounts, Barnabas was an astute cosmopolitan businessman, who probably spoke several different languages fluently. If someone of that stature was humble enough to seek out someone he knew could do a job better, what is stopping you from doing the same?

PRAYER: Father God, this morning we thank you for the sterling example of Barnabas! It takes a great man to recognize his deficiencies. Lord, please help us to realize that none of us is complete within himself or herself. Help us to humble ourselves as did Barnabas, so that your kingdom may fully come and your will be fully done in the earth. In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus. Amen.

Acts 9:26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.”

Well, Saul made it out of Damascus by escaping at night and he found his way to Jerusalem. But the Christians in Jerusalem were terrified! What was going on with this man? Had Saul really had a dramatic conversion experience, or was he merely trying to infiltrate the Christian group so that he could round up everybody and haul them off to prison? While many people doubted Saul’s sincerity, nobody doubted his intelligence. Saul had been one of Gamaliel’s star students; if you weren’t brilliant, Gamaliel would gently suggest you go study under someone else. What were the Christians to do? That’s when Barnabas stepped in to help.

Remember Barnabas? “Barnabas” was a nickname meaning “son of comfort” or “son of encouragement.” Barnabas’ actual name was Joseph and he was a Jewish believer from Cyprus. It was Barnabas who sold a piece of land and donated the entire amount to the disciples, an act that gave Ananias and his wife Sapphira the idea of selling some land without actually donating the full price. Throughout the Book of Acts we are going to see Barnabas quietly helping, encouraging, and healing situations.

Everybody knew that Barnabas was the “real deal,” that he was completely honest and had no hidden agendas. When Barnabas brought Saul to the church leaders, he described at great length what God had done to Saul on the road to Damascus, how he had been converted, and how Saul had then spoken out so boldly that the Jews in Damascus were ready to kill him. Barnabas probably described Saul’s narrow escape at night in vived details, leaving the disciples with no doubts that Saul had radically changed and that they could trust him. Later, it might have been Barnabas who helped get Saul to Caesarea on the coast and put him on a ship back to Tarsus while things cooled off in Jerusalem.

While the main focus in this passage has generally been on Saul, let’s look at Barnabas. Barnabas was from Cyprus, while Saul was from Tarsus – two geographically distinct places. Previously Barnabas had only known Saul by reputation, and that reputation was not a good one! But Barnabas was a man of great love and of great faith. Barnabas did not write anything that has been preserved. We have no idea where Barnabas was buried. Much of Barnabas’ life is shrouded in mystery. But this one thing we do know: Barnabas was the one who realized that Saul’s conversion was real and who paved the way for Saul to be accepted by the disciples in Jerusalem. Without that acceptance, who knows how stunted Saul’s ministry might have been?

Today you may feel that your contributions to your workplace or to your church are quite insignificant. Others get all the attention while you work in the background. But we know very few of the names of the early Christians; meanwhile, many of us know about Barnabas. God does not see as a man sees. God knows the intentions of the heart, and Barnabas had good loving intentions throughout his lifetime.

Do not become discouraged. Keep being a helper and an encourager. And if you begin to feel tired, just remember Barnabas.

PRAYER: Father God, we thank you that you see our hearts and our intentions. Lord, help us to follow hard after you, not worrying about who gets the credit. Today, may we choose to walk with you and to seek your face, knowing that you are the one who keeps the books. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Acts 9: 20 Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.” 21 All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. 23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him. 25 One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall.”

When Saul saw that blinding heavenly light and heard the voice of God on the way to Damascus, his companions only heard the voice. It’s possible that they didn’t even really hear a voice but only heard thunder instead. By the time Saul’s companions had gotten him to Damascus, they had undoubtedly convinced themselves that they had merely witnessed a bad thunder and lightning storm. Sure, they felt sorry for Saul, but they were men on a mission. If Saul was unable to carry out the original plan, there were several others just waiting for the chance to prove themselves to the Sanhedrin.

How did Saul wind up at the house of Judas in the first place? Was it because Judas was a prominent citizen of Damascus? Certainly, Straight Street suggests that Judas lived in the center of town on one of the main thoroughfares. Perhaps Judas was already a secret believer. Perhaps God even ordered Judas to hang around the main gate that day when Saul and his group entered the city. It’s possible that Judas was sitting there with other city leaders when Saul’s companions led him through that gate.

“Saul? Saul of Tarsus? What’s happened to you?” Judas might have seen that Saul was blind and being led by someone else holding a stick for him to hang onto. “Saul, it’s Judas. Can you see at all?”

 “No, Judas. It’s a long story but I was struck blind on my way here.” “

Do you need a place to stay? My house is just down the street here. My friends, why don’t you bring Saul to my house? Then you can carry out your business in town and I will take care of Saul.” And so Saul wound up at Judas’ house.

“Judas, do you have a room where I can just sit and be quiet and pray? Something incredible has happened and I am still trying to deal with it.”

“Certainly, Saul. What do you need?”

“Well, I need to bathe, but for now I don’t want anything to eat or drink. God has done something that has shaken me to the core, and I must seek Him and find out what He wants.”

And so Judas took Saul home with him, and Saul spent the next three days fasting and praying until Ananias came and prayed for him. Once Saul had received his sight, he began reviewing everything he knew about the Messiah. Saul was already a well – known student of Gamaliel, one of the finest Jewish teacher of the time. And when the word went out through the Christian community in Damascus that Saul was no longer an enemy but now a friend and a fellow believer, many came to talk with him. Evidently within a short time, Saul must have built up a small group of believers whom he was teaching, because this passage mentions Saul’s disciples. But Saul believed that he had experienced a divine revelation and that it was now his responsibility to share this experience as widely as possible.

It was no surprise to Saul’s close friends when Saul began making the rounds of all the synagogues in Damascus; after all, Saul was friends with many of the rabbis. And as a visiting scholar, Saul was invited to read the Torah and to speak in many places. But those friendships ended abruptly when Saul began to speak of his Damascus Road experience and proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. Now Saul’s years of study came to the fore and he quoted scripture after scripture, all underscoring the fact that Jesus really was the Messiah. There was not a single Jewish scholar in Damascus who was able to confound Saul. And the religious leaders were livid! This was NOT why they had invited Saul to come to Damascus! So incensed were these leaders that they refused to even entertain the possibility that God had really done everything Saul claimed that had happened. There was no question as to whether or not they were opposing God; they weren’t even thinking about God at all. They were trying to see how they could get rid of Saul as rapidly as possible. There were spies stationed at the city gates; if Saul had made any attempt to leave by that route, he would have been killed. Saul had come to Damascus with a number of other like – minded super – religious Jews, and these guys still had the warrants to arrest all the Christians in Damascus. Now that Saul had become a Christian, he was now their number one target.

When God was speaking to Ananias, God told Ananias that He was going to show Saul how much he would have to suffer.Now God was clearly demonstrating to Saul that nothing was going come easily. But Saul’s new disciples were an ingenious lot. One of the families lived in a house that was built into the city wall well away from the main gate. Under cover of darkness after the city gates were already closed for the night, some of Saul’s friends put him in a large basket and lowered him down on the outside of the wall. It’s likely that other friends had already left the city earlier that day, perhaps with a donkey or two, and these people were able to meet up with Saul and to get him away from Damascus.

Many times we try to do the right thing, only to find that those we thought would applaud are instead ready to attack us viciously. Saul was a very honest man, and he couldn’t help but tell people what God had done; however, the religious leaders were more worried about their orthodoxies and keeping the peace than they were about the truth. We are never told the names of those who helped Saul escape. It’s possible that when this account was first being written by Dr. Luke, there were still people in Damascus who might have carried out reprisals. But God knows the names of the righteous. Today, you might be faced with a difficult decision: do you maintain the status quo or bear witness to the truth, realizing that you might suffer as a result? Be at peace. God knows. God sees. God understands. And God has ways and means of delivering you …. even if someone has to let you down the city wall at midnight in a basket.

PRAYER: Father God, today some of us are facing difficult decisions. We know what we should do, but we fear the consequences. Lord, give us the courage and grace to make the right decisions and to bear witness to the truth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.