Hostility Toward the Name

March 17

(Acts 5:33 NIV) "When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.

(Acts 5:40-42 NIV) “They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. {41} The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. {42} Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.”

Throughout the church’s history, Christians have been persecuted and killed for witnessing about Jesus. Christ threatened the religious system of His day, and the response of religion is often to eliminate the competition. We see it happening in our world today. On this particular day, in an attempt to silence them, the Sanhedrin had the apostles flogged for preaching the truth. It didn’t work. The apostles rejoiced in being found worthy of “suffering disgrace for the Name”, and they kept preaching. Will you? The goal of many today is to silence Christians, and eliminate the name of Jesus from the public arena. You can talk profane trash in public, but do not talk about Jesus or you will be flogged. It may be a verbal or emotional flogging, but it may even become physical. If you persist in speaking “the Name”, there will be an attempt to disgrace you. Will you wilt, or will you rejoice in being found worthy? -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day   

Passion for the Gospel

March 16

(Acts 5:30-31 NIV) “The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead--whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. {31} God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. {32} We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

(Romans 1:8-17 NIV) "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. {9} God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you {10} in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. {11} I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-- {12} that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. {13} I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. {14} I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. {15} That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. {16} I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. {17} For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith.""

When Christ rules in our life, zeal to tell our story begins to grow, along with a passion for the gospel message itself. The apostles not only shared their story with the Sanhedrin, they also shared the gospel. With passion they declared, “This Jesus you crucified really came to die for your sins and ours. But God raised him up and offers forgiveness and mercy to those who will repent and acknowledge Him as Lord.” In a couple of sentences they shared the gospel along with their personal witness. Could you share the gospel with someone in a couple of sentences? Are you passionate about the gospel? Our lifestyle and personal testimony are only designed to light the way to Jesus. They are like an appetizer. They cannot save people. Without a passion for sharing the gospel, our stories can sound like simple self-glorification. Ask God to give you a passion for the gospel. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Dangerous Obedience

March 15

(Acts 5:29 NIV) ““Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!””

(Acts 4:19-20 NIV) "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. {20} For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.""

(Exodus 1:15-21 NIV) "The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, {16} "When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live." {17} The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. {18} Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and asked them, "Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?" {19} The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive." {20} So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. {21} And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own."

Acts 5:29 is a dangerous verse. It can make you unpopular, get you arrested, or even get you killed. When we begin to seriously follow Jesus, there will be times when the decrees of our government, or even our church, do not match up with His commands. In those times we have a choice to make -- we can obey man or we can obey God. The Hebrew midwives chose to obey God rather than the king of Egypt. That was dangerous. The apostles declared to the religious authorities that they would obey God rather than man. It was a dangerous obedience. These were the same religious authorities who had killed Jesus. Obeying God rather than man is risky business. It will usually cost us or our family something. We may lose status, friends, money, jobs, or in some instances, even our lives. But in the end, it will be worth the price. Seek God’s approval rather than man’s. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day   

With Power Comes Responsibility

March 14

(Acts 5:26-28 NIV) ““At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them. {27} Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. {28} "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said. "Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood.””

(Matthew 27:15-26 NIV) ““Now it was the governor's custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. {16} At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. {17} So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" {18} For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him. {19} While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him." {20} But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. {21} "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor. "Barabbas," they answered. {22} "What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!" {23} "Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!" {24} When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" {25} All the people answered, "Let his blood be on us and on our children!" {26} Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.””

With power comes responsibility. The religious authorities in our Scripture verses today didn’t want Christ’s name and teaching to spread. They feared they would lose power. If people began following Jesus, they would likely stop obeying the religious big shots in Jerusalem. But while the religious authorities were guarding their power and coveting more of it, they were also denying any responsibility for the death of Jesus -- even though it was their exertion of power that brought about His crucifixion. Christ’s blood was on their hands, and on Pilate’s. He tried to wash his hands of it, but blood does not come off that easily. An unholy alliance of religion and state had nailed an innocent man to a cross and there was no escaping that truth. Corrupt power always brings death. We would all do well to learn this lesson, because like it or not, with power comes responsibility. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day