The 518 Devotions: Acts

17 The chief priest and the whole party of the Sadducees who were with him were extremely jealous. So they took action 18 by arresting the apostles and putting them in the city jail. 19 But at night an angel from the Lord opened the doors to their cell and led them out of the prison. 20 The angel told them, “Stand in the temple courtyard, and tell the people everything about life {in Christ}.”
Acts 5:17-20 (GW)


I posted the passage around verse 18 so you, my dear readers, get the context of the verse. The devotion in John also deals with imprisonment; however, in Acts we see the apostles freed through divine intervention.

There are many things that imprison us in this life-fear chief among them. At my Bible study on Wednesday evening we found out that many of us are held back by fear. What each of us is fearful of may be different but the demon of fear is universal. How do we overcome fear? With faith!

As I was driving home after dropping my mom off at work this morning, I was listening to a radio sermon. The pastor mentioned that sometimes all you have to hang on to is God's Word. Psalm 119 tells us to store up God's Word in our hearts and that God's Word is a lamp to our feet (11, 105). When we spend time reading God's Word and committing God's Word to memory, we have this to depend on in moments of weakness. God's Word is replete with references to strength and overcoming fear. We have God's promises to cling to when nothing else is left:

      Through his glory and integrity he has given us his promises that are of the highest value. Through these promises you will share in the divine nature because you have escaped the corruption that sinful desires cause in the world. 2 Peter 1:4 (GW)

I shared that my greatest fear is not knowing. I thrive on learning and knowledge and enjoy sharing what I learn with others. The question was what holds us back from encouraging others. My answer was that I don't know the Scriptures well enough and I don't want to say the wrong thing or lead a new Christian down the wrong path. I was encouraged by my mentor that God will give me what I need to know when I need to know it, and that He will use me right where I am, I don't have to worry about that. Then God confirmed that message to me this morning during the radio sermon I was listening to. The pastor made a statement regarding this same issue. I can't recall the exact words he used, but I heard God telling me not to be fearful, that if I walk in faith He will put the words in my mouth and the knowledge in my heart.

Let God break you out of the prison of fear!

I lift up my voice in praise to the Lord. Thank you mighty God in heaven, for Your everlasting promises. You are steadfast in Your committment to your people, and even sent Your own Son to take the sins of the world and give your servants a bridge to Your Presence. Thank you for Your Word that teaches and encourages so that we may know Your ways. Lord, let Your Word sink deep into me so that I may store up Your Word in my heart and not sin against You. Strengthen me with Your Word so that I may be a lamp unto others. Show me Your ways Lord, so that I may follow in Your steps. You are precious and holy, worthy of all praise. In Jesus' Great Name I pray, Amen

The 518 Devotions: John

His reply made the Jews more intent on killing him. Not only did he break the laws about the day of worship, but also he made himself equal to God when he said repeatedly that God was his Father.
John 5:18 (GW)

I am very thankful that Jesus is the Son of God.

I have lived life without Jesus' divine presence, believing for many years that Jesus was a very spiritual man but not divine, not God. In those days I had no hope. I didn't understand God, didn't know God, my heart was hard.

I turned my back on God, but God never turned His back on me. He waited patiently for me to be ready to accept Him, to love Him, to get to know Him.

So everyday I thank God for His love, so great that He sent His Son to become human, to know our trials, and to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. I believe Jesus is the Son of God, lived a sinless life and yet died for all the sins of mankind. Jesus rose again so that those who believe may have life everlasting. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

The 518 Devotions: Luke

And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, Luke 5:18 (ESV)

During a casual reading of the Bible, this verse would be easy to look past. It appears to be a lead-in to the action. Every single word in God's Book is important, we just have to look a little deeper.

Last night I heard a sermon about the importance of touch. The men in this verse were seeking to lay their friend before Jesus. These men were hoping that Jesus would touch their friend and heal him. They had to be persistent in getting their friend to Jesus because of the crowds in front of the door. They couldn't just squeeze their way through small spaces in the crowd because they were carrying their paralyzed friend on a bed. So, instead of becoming disheartened and giving up, they carried the man to the roof, created a hole in the roof and lowered the man down. Wow! These men cared about their friend so much, they didn't let small things like crowds and roofs get in their way.

But all that happens after this verse. The Words that keep standing out to me are "seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus." Not only do we seek Jesus' presence for ourselves, we seek Jesus' presence for our loved ones; for those who are spiritually paralyzed and cannot get to Jesus on their own. We lay them before Jesus in prayer and carry them to Jesus through love.

Glorious Father in Heaven, You let Your Holy Spirit speak to me through this verse. As I was thinking one thing, my fingers typed another. Thank You, Lord, for this wonderful, powerful insight to show me and my readers Your ways. I praise Your Name! In the Name of Your One and Only Son, Jesus, Amen.

The 518 Devotions: Mark

18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. Mark 5:18 (ESV)

The action in this verse happens after Jesus has healed a man of a legion of demons, sent them to the pigs. The demons then caused the pigs to run into the water and drown. The man had been tortured by the demons to the point that he lived among the tombs, crying out to the night in torturous screams. Not fit to be among human company. People had tried to restrain the possessed man in chains, but he always broke them. What were this man's demons, that caused so much distress and brokenness in his life? I can only imagine as the Bible does not give us history on the man's life. But I do know there have been times in my life when I felt tortured by demons, and was only saved through an encounter with Jesus.

The man, now in his "right mind," wants to go with Jesus. He has been healed by Jesus and now wants to remain with Jesus. I used the ESV translation here because it says that the man "begged him that he might be with him." That is the sense I got after reading the verse, even though my NIV version states the man begged to "go with" Jesus.

This verse demonstrates that when you have an encounter with Jesus, you do not want to leave His presence. That has definitely been true in my life, even though after my encounter with Jesus I did go away from His presence for a time. But I am back in Jesus' arms now, depending on Him to root out the dark places in my soul and bring light to my life.
Now that I know what Jesus brings to my life, in good times and bad I never want to be away from His presence again!

The 518 Devotions: Matthew

18 I can guarantee this truth: Until the earth and the heavens disappear, neither a period nor a comma will disappear from Moses' Teachings before everything has come true. Matt 5:18 (GW)

On this Resurrection Day I  ponder this verse. Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law. The law was fulfilled the day He gave His life for ours on the cross, when Jesus said, "It is finished" and drew His last breath. Freedom came on the third day, when Jesus overcame death and rose from the grave. Eternal life is ours through Jesus.

Jesus freed us from the law by fulfilling the law. It is like paying off a debt. If you owe someone money, you always feel that pressure and never truly feel free. When you pay the debt off, you are free to use that money for whatever you choose. Under the law, strict rules had to be followed in order to be clean and righteous. No one was free. Once Jesus fulfilled the debt God's children no longer had to toil under the pressure of ritual and sacrifice. We were made clean by Jesus' blood.

Praise God for His everlasting love, grace, and mercy.