Sunday 1st December
Read Psalm 85
If you don’t have a bible at home you can find the readings on a website such as www.biblegateway.com or an app such as YouVersion
Commentators say that this Psalm appears to come from the time when some of the Jews returned to the land of Israel after the 70 year exile in Babylon. They are thankful for God’s goodness to them but realise that there are still things not right about them. They remind God about his past forgiveness and pray that he will restore them again (v4).
“Will you be angry with us forever?” they ask. Will we always have to live under your displeasure? The wonder is that this is not God’s way of dealing with them or us, he may be angry with us for our disobedience at times, but he is always more than ready to take us back into his fold when we repent and seek his face which is what the people are doing in this Psalm (v8). No matter how many times we fall, if we always return to God, he will forgive and receive us back. BUT, as the Psalmist says, “Let them not turn to folly”. God never writes us off but we need always to heed his law.
READINGS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
As you read the Bible Stop; Read; Ponder; and Pray.
Monday Acts 20:7-12
On the “first day of the week” meant Saturday, the day after the Sabbath. As the days started and finished at 6.00 p.m. it would appear that it was after 6.00 on the Saturday that this gathering was held and it went on late, thus the mention of Paul preaching till midnight. There was reason for this because they hoped to leave the next day.
The young man Eutychus was sitting in the third floor window and fell asleep .. and out of the window! His state was described as dead yet when Paul went down to him and held him in his arms he was aroused and alive. It didn’t stop Paul talking though, for it says he continued till daylight. As elsewhere in the book of Acts there was a lot to share about the gospel and many hours were taken up in expanding and explaining. One wonders whether a sparsity of teaching today has given rise to a great poverty of biblical understanding in the Church.
They continued their travels South along the coast of Turkey until they arrived at Miletus, though I wonder who or why Paul went to Assos on his own by foot from Troas. Paul wanted to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time there as he wanted to get to Jerusalem by Pentecost. However the elders of the Church at Ephesus came down to Miletus to meet him.
Paul tells them that he is compelled by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem although he does not know why. In the Churches he has been with prophets warn him that prison and hardships await him. His response is that his main concern is to finish the work God has given him and that his life is of no concern. What a testimony to give and a challenge to us all, it is God’s will and way for us that is of utmost importance not our own lives, whether easy or difficult.
From v25 Paul gives a lengthy charge to the elders of Ephesus now that he is leaving and saying that they won’t see him again. He did spend three years with them earlier on but whatever is to happen to him now on his way to Jerusalem, he knows that this will be the last time he sees them which was a cause of great sadness to them (v38). He declares that if anything untoward or bad happens to them in the future he is clear in his own conscience that he has been faithful and true in his preaching. He tells them to keep watch over the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers because a time is coming when false teachers, even from amongst their own number, who will rise up and have a bad influence on the people. He gives his own example when he lived among them, not seeking wealth or special treatment, but working and giving on the basis of Jesus command that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (v35).
All his words are sombre warnings to the leaders of the Church and continue to be throughout history. The character and teaching of those who lead are of prime importance everywhere.
Luke tells us of the journeyings of himself, Paul and other companions as they sail bit by bit along the Eastern Mediterranean until the y arrive at Tyre. We can see how the Church was growing because of the number of places where there were believers, Tyre being an example. Having sought out the believers, the group spent seven days with them, during which Luke says that through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem, they obviously thought that, like others, they felt danger would await. Paul however was intent on continuing his way and left after his short spell there. Notice that the group of believers included men women and children who went out of the city to the beach where they knelt and prayed for him.
Next on the journey was Ptolemais where they greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day. Paul hadn’t been at these places but the warmth and fellowship of the people witnesses the tight bonds of Christian people – something that modern believers can attest to as well. After Ptolemais he went to Caesarea staying at the house of Philip the Evangelist who we know of and whom Luke mentions as being “one of the Seven” referring to the seven deacons who were chosen by the disciples in Chapter 6. We note that four of his daughters were prophets in the Church at Caesarea which shows the importance of women in the early Church as well as the men.
A notable event happened at the house of Philip when a prophet named Agabus came from Judea (the central highlands of Israel, not necessarily Jerusalem) and acted out a prophecy about Paul. Taking Paul’s belt and tying himself up he said that this would happen to Paul in Jerusalem and he would be handed over to the Gentiles by the Jews. The Christian believers, including Luke the writer of Acts, pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem but Paul was adamant, he would go.
He stated his willingness for anything to happen to him for the sake of the Lord Jesus. There is always a human desire to seek protection for ourselves but when we really grasp what the Lord has done for us then we become prepared to follow in his footsteps. Jesus said “if any man would follow me he needs to lay down his life and take up his cross”. If we think more of ourselves than him we are not worthy. Paul set off for Jerusalem and some accompanied him as far as the house of another believer called Mnason. We know that Paul had early intended to go to Jerusalem even as far back as his times in Greece but it gradually became more obvious to others as he travelled of the dangers but they didn’t deter him.
The situation in Jerusalem was mixed. When Paul arrived Luke tells us that “the brothers and sisters” received them warmly and on the following day there was a meeting with James and the elders in Jerusalem. When Paul told them of his travels what had happened among the Gentiles through his ministry they rejoiced but were also cautious. They told Paul that many in Jerusalem had believed and were zealous for the law. So far, that was not a problem, but word (gossip), had spread that Paul had been teaching that Gentile believers should turn away from Moses, and abandon circumcision and the customs of the Jews. This was wrong but could create a difficulty in the community, so they told Paul to involve himself in a Jewish situation that was about to happen – the vow taking of four men (see Num 6) – this way it would show that there was no truth in the rumours and that he was living in obedience to the law. As far as Gentile believers were concerned, they reaffirmed their previous letter to the Gentiles about what they should concern themselves about (v25).
