74. Sharing the Word (Acts 8:26-40).

by Lynn Barbee

God has such a sense of humor. Or timing. When I saw that the assignment I had been given for this blog was Acts 8:26-40, I had to smile. August 26 (8/26 for the numerically minded) was the day I was baptized in 1971 at the tender age of… (mumbles something) whatever I was. I was a young sophomore in high school, and met a girl who became my best friend and is still one of my closest friends to this day. She invited me to attend church youth group with her, and the rest is history. I was baptized at Camp LRCA , which was in Cedar Lake back then, and my life has never been the same. I always say my life changed, not only for the hereafter, but for the here and now. I grew up in an alcoholic home, and my dad died when I was still young. I was headed for a life of going my own way. I can only imagine the path my life would have taken if someone had not opened the Book with me!

I remember sitting at a big table in the basement of the First Church of Christ in Whiting in the Sundays before that monumental decision. The youth group leaders and other teens would answer my questions…and there was this huge black Bible…. how could I understand, unless someone explained it to me? I had been a Christian all my life, but had never even learned how to look up a Bible verse. On August 26, 1971, I went from Christian to Christ-follower, and have never looked back. What a wonderful journey it’s been!

We all have the responsibility to share what Christ has done in our lives, and we all can tell what we know. You might not be the Bible scholar you want to be, but like the teens in my high school youth group, share what you know. I saw the difference in their lives. You and I have the potential to let God use us to change lives as well; I pray that we will let him to do that!

73. The First Martyr (Acts 6:8-8:8).

by Wesley Blackburn
And now, things continue on in the story of the early church with the first martyr, Stephen. We don’t know a whole lot about Stephen, or how he came to Christ, but we do know that the Holy Spirit was obviously with this man. He would soon distinguish himself as one of the leaders in the church, and would be a trusted helper in the disciples’ ministry to the widows in the church.

As you read today, Stephen would speak boldly for Christ. Unfortunately, this would be met with quite a bit of opposition from the Jewish leadership, who would eventually bring him before the Sanhedrin. After offering a bold speech about the identity of Christ, sharing who He really was, Stephen would be stoned. What’s more, he would be stoned under the cold approval of a man named Saul, who actually becomes quite a big figure in the story of the early church. We’ll hear more about him (and from him) later.

From the life of Stephen, though, I think I learn some important things. One of those is that Stephen wasn’t afraid of conflict, and I shouldn’t be either. This isn’t to say that Stephen was a person who necessarily embraced conflict, and certainly doesn’t mean that he shared about Christ without love. But this is to say that when conflict arose, Stephen wasn’t afraid. I wish I had more of that. Sometimes, when I’m in situations with people who are hostile toward Christ or Christianity, my tendency is actually to be quiet and say nothing. Maybe I need to step up and exhibit some of the boldness that Stephen showed in this passage. I need to share about Christ firmly, yet lovingly.

I think the second thing we should see in the life of Stephen is something that might be incredibly easy to look over or to miss: Stephen was an active part of the secular (if we can use that term here) world in which he lived. Think about it: the fact that Stephen came into conflict with people over Jesus meant that he was constantly surrounding himself with people who didn’t know Jesus. Stephen didn’t hide away, even though that would be easy; in fact, it would have helped him avoid his death. But instead, Stephen didn’t retreat into a holy huddle. He boldly engaged the world in which he lived. I need to do the same.
And finally, I think the last lesson we learn from Stephen is that he lived with a heavenward focus. Even in his final moments before death, he was still looking toward heaven, and he actually saw the face of Jesus. I think a big source of our fears, concerns, anxieties, and worries in this life revolve around the fact that we don’t live with a truly heavenward focus, because in light of heaven, those issues fade away. If we could live like Stephen, truly focusing and believing in the incredible reward of heaven to come, I think it would drastically affect how we live today.

72. Growth and Persecution (Acts 3:1-4:37).

by Bobby Jackson

As corny as it might sound, I wrote my high school term paper on Acts 4. Ten pages seemed like an amazing amount at that point and I wanted to write about something that could keep my interest. I chose the subject of authority, responsibility, and jurisdiction. Authority is tricky in this text. We are taught to respect authority, submit to authority, to honor those in authority. So how does all of that coincide with the apex of this chapter?

18Then they (the Sanhedrin) called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

When do we listen to and obey “those that rule over us” and when do we purposefully go the other way? Is there a time when leaders in the church do not have to be followed? Should not be followed?

Admittedly I was more looking for a loophole so that I didn’t have to listen to some of the authorities in my life, but I stumbled onto a good Scriptural concept: we are not called to be drones that merely go along with whatever the perceived authority calls us to, but we have to follow Christ above everything else (but we must disobey authorities lovingly... see Romans 13). Peter and John were with Jesus and had an unusual courage. I pray that I can stand up for what is right and have courage that others might recognize that I have been “with Jesus.”

70. The Ascension (Acts 1:1-11).

by Wesley Blackburn

Last words say a lot about a person.

Maybe you've experienced that firsthand, watching a family member or a loved one die. Perhaps you got to hear some last words from that person that you still hold near and dear to your heart today. Recently, there was a huge buzz over this book (I believe featured on Oprah) called The Last Lecture, where a college professor who knew he would die soon of cancer gave his final lecture ever, talking about life and what really mattered.

Whatever the case, people have a tendency to get real very quickly when it comes to their famous last words. What is at our core; at our heart, comes out. Jesus' last words before ascending back into heaven are probably pretty familiar to you by this point if you're a part of Suncrest:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Yep, that's the infamous (can you call a Bible verse "infamous?") Acts 1:8 of Suncrest Jesus Mission fame. But these are also, interestingly enough, the last words of Jesus while on this earth. And what does Jesus do? He commissions His followers. He tells them to go. He asks them to be His witnesses.

I've got to think that that command applies just as much to us today. Just like the apostles 2,000 years ago, Jesus is commissioning us to go and be His witnesses in our part of the world. As a church, we've tried to capture this by launching campuses in Highland and Walkerton, as well as stepping up our involvement in Liberia with churches there. But I believe we also need to think personally; what's the mission field God has placed each of us in? Where is he calling us to be His witnesses? Maybe it's your "one" that we've been talking about over the past couple weeks of our Journey series at Suncrest. Maybe you get this sense or longing from the Holy Spirit that God wants you to lead the way in a relationship or at work. Whatever it is, go and do it! Christ has commissioned us all... let's be His witnesses.

Beyond Sunday - Journey: Only God

...by Kevin DeBraal

“Being used by God to change lives”.

At Suncrest this is our mission. It is accomplished in many ways. Through service, testimony, financial contributions, relationships, etc. Those are the areas where I am most comfortable. Reaching out to the seeker or those who do not know God is more difficult for me. I think I have the typical resistance due to hesitations related to how people will react to me. How will they respond? Will they ask questions I can’t answer? Will they reject me and my approach? Will I pick the right time to approach them? What if I fail?

Greg taught us to identify the “One” whom we could engage and bring the message of Christ’s love and redemption. He taught us that we should pray for the interaction we would have. One question he asked was “Do I believe prayer actually has an effect?”. I believe God has answered my prayers. I have experienced it and seen it in retrospection. I always have a vision of how God should respond to my prayers; He obviously has a different perspective, plan, and vision. I accept that because in the end I believe He has a plan far beyond my comprehension.

So this week I will trust in God and the power of prayer. I will pray to identify my “One” I will pray for God to “affect” that person so that they might be responsive to me. I will pray that I will recognize the opportunity that is presented for me to engage my “One”. I will pray very hard that I can overcome my “hesitations”.

Finally I will embrace that Only God “makes things grow” and that my interaction is just the planting of a seed or watering of the plant. That takes off some of the pressure that leads to the hesitance. I hope you will join me.

69. The Resurrection (John 20:1-21:25).

by Wesley Blackburn

And now, after some very deep, tough posts over the past few days, we arrive at the joy of the Resurrection!

I believe that the resurrection of Jesus is a reliable, historical fact. There are plenty of reasons we can know and believe in it and place our confidence and trust in what Jesus has done here. The Son of God rose from the dead, proving once and for all that He has conquered sin and death and hell. Nothing can stop us! If Jesus can conquer the dead, truly there is a chance for all of us as well! To put it simply, Jesus' resurrection is the down payment on the future glory that all of us will have a chance to experience in heaven one day.

But for me, this story has one side note: Thomas. Growing up in the church, I felt like we gave poor Thomas a lot of flack for doubting that Jesus had risen again. But can you really blame the guy? People don't just rise from the dead everyday. I can respect where Thomas was coming from, for sure. But what's exciting the most to me are Jesus' words to Thomas after he has felt the wounds in Jesus' hands and side. Jesus tells the disciples, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

We are all in that category... called "blessed" by Christ himself! I don't necessarily know what that blessing entails, but I know that God is happy when we live a life of faith in Him. Let's keep hoping, and keep believing. And let's always carry around in our hearts the incredible hope and inexpressible joy that comes from knowing our God is not dead... He is surely alive!

68. The Crucifixion (John 19:1-42).

by Wesley Blackburn

And now we arrive at what was simultaneously earth's darkest hour and greatest hour: the crucifixion.

It's really an ending with more twists and turns than any author or writer could ever imagine. The same crowd that just days before praised Jesus as the Son of God would now shout, "Crucify Him!" Jesus, just as prophecy predicted hundreds of years before, would be led like a lamb to the slaughter. He would not protest. Even though He was the Son of God, He would not insist on His own rights. Rather, He would willingly give up His own life in the most painful way imaginable to fulfill the will of the Father.

But surely the cross also shows us something else that's amazing, and that's Jesus' incredible love for us. I was thinking about this at one point last winter; because of the cross, I never have to wonder whether or not Jesus loves me. I never have to wonder if Jesus' grace for me really is true; if God really offers forgiveness to me for what I've done. The cross leaves no doubt. Truly, Jesus loves all of us. It was the only reason He died, and it once and for all answers the question whether or not God cares, God sees, and God loves.

Because the answer is yes. God loves me incredibly. The cross proves it.