Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.” – Acts 8:38

There are many wonderful lessons about the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch that ends with this roadside baptism. Their encounter was completely arranged by the Holy Spirit but it wouldn’t have happened if Philip hadn’t obeyed the Spirit, left behind a successful ministry, and gone to the middle of nowhere. As a follower of Jesus, learn to be sensitive to the leading of God’s Spirit Who lives in you. Learn to hear His voice speaking in your heart and obey Him in faith.

The eunuch was a man who clearly desired to know the Lord, but he didn’t know how. God rewarded that desire by introducing him to Philip. As a follower of Jesus, Philip had taken his faith seriously enough to be prepared to explain Scripture to the eunuch. Philip knew what Scripture the eunuch was reading and knew how to use it to point him to Jesus. As a follower of Jesus, invest time in studying the Bible for yourself every day and in small groups so that you too can explain the truths of the Gospel from the Word of God. Have a way to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those you encounter in your daily life. You are literally surrounded by people who need to know Jesus!

The eunuch believed and wanted to take the next step of obedience for a new believer, which is baptism. The eunuch was also uncertain whether he was permitted to take that step because his status as a eunuch excluded him from full participation in Judaism. Fortunately, Philip knew that the good news of Jesus Christ is good news for everyone! Rather than put obstacles in his path to obedience, Philip welcomed the eunuch into the faith. Philip knew the next step for him to take and performed that next step himself. As a follower of Jesus, make sure you know how a new believer can begin growing in Christ and make sure you aren’t putting stumbling blocks in their path which the Bible doesn’t require.

Every follower of Jesus should be ready to help someone else become a follower of Jesus and to help other followers grow in Christ. Are you ready? If not, seek intentional training and study to become ready to welcome people into God’s Kingdom. #FollowJesus

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.” – Acts 7:51

While Stephen is addressing the religious leadership of his day in Jerusalem, we must be careful that he isn’t also speaking to us!

An uncircumcised heart isn’t completely yielded to, and reshaped by, God’s grace, mercy, and love in Jesus Christ. An uncircumcised heart is hard, proud, and unyielding. It may like God and Jesus, it may go to church regularly, but it doesn’t look like God’s. An uncircumcised heart likes its own way more than God’s way. An uncircumcised heart places greater priority on personal opinion, preference, comfort, self-identity, and politics than on the things of God. Often an uncircumcised heart is completely unaware of that fact that it’s uncircumcised.

Uncircumcised ears hear only what they want to hear – they do not listen with the ears of Christ nor listen for Christ. Uncircumcised ears are not quick to listen, are not sensitive to the cries and concerns of the most vulnerable among us, and are not seeking to hear Christ’s voice among the cacophony of voices that surround us.

Far too many Christians today are walking around with uncircumcised hearts of harshness, defensiveness, and anger. Far too many Christians today have uncircumcised ears that are deaf to anything that doesn’t fit their narrative of the world. Take time to examine your own actions, attitudes, thoughts, and words. Are they those of Christ Himself or are they those of a cultural caricature of Him? Don’t resist the Holy Spirit: yield to Him, listen for and to Him, let Him reshape your heart, mind, and ears to be like those of Jesus Himself!

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on June 11, 2020.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to live in freedom.” – Leviticus 26:13

God is still in the business of freeing people! What He did for the Israelites He wants to do for you and those you care about. Too many of us live enslaved to the fears, addictions, delights, concerns, and stuff of this world. We might hate what enslaves us or we might love it, but we remain chained to it – afraid, defensive, and feeling stuck. When offered a better and freer future, we struggle to imagine what it looks like or how to get there. That’s where God comes in!

God gave His Son Jesus to set men and women, boys and girls free. Jesus came, lived, died, and rose again so that all who put their faith in Him could live in true freedom. He frees us from death – though we will die, followers of Jesus will live on forever in the presence of God. He frees us from the penalty for our sins – by His sacrifice on the cross, we are reconciled to God. He frees us from loneliness and fear, because Christ lives within us forevermore – we are never alone and we need not fear. He empowers us to be free of the powerful appetites of our bodies and minds, that we might live truly free in God. He frees us from the labels this world sticks on us and that we stick upon ourselves and makes us children of God. He frees us from the crippling demands of transactional love and expectation-driven relationships, allowing us to live by the unearned gift of grace. He frees us from the relentless obsession with ourselves that ultimately drives us to the darkest and unhealthiest places imaginable, allowing us to instead grow in the One we were actually made to worship and love.

The reality is that we’re often so trapped by what enslaves us that we can’t even imagine how glorious true freedom is. In fact, we often think that the freedom offered by God is a burden, while the burden that crushes us daily is freedom. However God offers true, lasting, forever freedom through faith in Christ. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on March 11, 2020.

“I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” – Psalm 91:2

In this Psalm about God’s faithful protection against terrible enemies, including disease, we are encouraged to find our strength, comfort, and protection in God. During difficult times, God is our refuge, our strength, our fortress.

He is always with us, He always hears us, and He loves us. In Christ He protects us spiritually and gives us the strength we need to face the challenges, turmoil, foes, and fears that surround us! Ultimately He will deliver all who trust in Christ into His glorious presence where we will enjoy peace, comfort, healing, and wholeness forever.

Of course, we must also be wise in what we do in the face of danger. Satan tried to tempt Jesus into testing God by quoting this very Psalm. Jesus rightly rebuked the devil for suggesting that He ever put God to the test. So be wise, take appropriate precautions, and rest comfortably in the strength and protection of the Lord!

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on August 4, 2020.

“Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.” – Acts 6:1

The growth of the early church was threatened by ethnic inequality in her ministry. While poor Aramaic-speaking Christian widows born in Israel were being well cared for, the Greek-speaking Christian widows born outside Israel were being neglected. This seemingly wasn’t intentional, but it was real and this injustice threatened the health and future of the church. Would the church be a place for all who followed Jesus or primarily a place for those Christ-followers fortunate enough to be born in Israel?

Praise God! The church didn’t ignore the problem, pretend it didn’t exist, try to deny it, rationalize it, explain it away, or justify it. Instead, as a body (leadership AND congregation together) they leaned into the problem and developed an effective solution. They raised up servant-leaders from the neglected ethnic group and gave them responsibility for administering this critical ministry.

Because the church cared for the neglected among them, took seriously the concerns about injustice, and developed innovative solutions that truly addressed the problem, a tremendous period of gospel advance began, as even hardened opponents were drawn to what they saw. Verse 7 reports, “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”

That same opportunity lies before the church today, if we can take seriously the problems and concerns that divide us along racial, ethnic, economic, and cultural lines and seek to genuinely heal those divisions through the gospel of Jesus Christ!

#FOLLOWJESUS

NOTE: While Pastor Brian is on sabbatical, we offer this devotional which was originally published on June 9, 2020.