Fighting Against God

March 18

(Acts 5:34-39 NIV) ““But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. {35} Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. {36} Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. {37} After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. {38} Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. {39} But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.””

(Proverbs 21:30 NIV) "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."

As Gamaliel spoke to the Sanhedrin, he said something profound. He urged his colleagues not to kill the apostles, because if the gospel they were preaching was from the Lord, the Sanhedrin would end up “fighting against God”. The apostles could be flogged, disgraced, hounded, persecuted, and even killed… but if their message was from God, it could not be stopped. Those who fight against God never win in the end. Christians, we need to receive this prophetic statement from Gamaliel as an admonition to us. We have been commissioned to deliver the gospel, God’s message of truth, grace, hope, and love. It cannot be stopped. When people try to silence the gospel, they are fighting against God. Do not be intimidated or afraid. We may suffer, but the gospel will be victorious. No one can succeed when they fight against God. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

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