Acts 9 - Saul Sees the Light and Peter Heals Two More

Out of all the miraculous happenings that we read about in Acts 9, and there are many, I think what strikes me most is the willingness of Ananias to receive Saul into his home.  A notorious persecutor of the Church is in town, and Ananias is commissioned with healing, baptizing and nourishing his former enemy.  I want that kind of faith and trust in the Lord - to do things that make no sense to the masses simply because it's so clear that it's what God is telling me to do.

Acts 8 - The Message Goes Out

How does God do what He does?  So often His ways are a mystery or counterintuitive to our finite, human minds.  It shouldn't surprise us when we read that He chooses to spread the Gospel of Jesus like this: "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria."

We witness Saul beginning to "destroy the church" by "going from house to house".  Philip goes to Samaria, followed by Peter and John, and we see men and women believing and being baptized. 

We see a strange encounter between Peter and Simon the Sorcerer.  Simon seems sincere; himself believing and being baptized as well.  He then experiences a misstep, offering money in return for the ability to lay hands and give the Holy Spirit.  Peter's response is intense!  Simon appears to be sincerely sorry and then he disappears from the scene.  I wonder what his life was like after that. 

I also wonder what the life of the Ethiopian eunuch was like after his conversion on the road to Gaza.  How did God use him in the lives of others?  His position as an official of the queen would have provided him great opportunities to be influential, to share what he had learned and experienced.  And yet we are left to wonder.

What about us?  Can we learn the lessons of Acts 8?  Can we recognize hardship as a God-ordained condition used to accomplish His divine purpose in the lives of people?  Can we obey God's voice as Philip did when he began working his way down a road toward nothing in particular, simply because the Lord's angel told him to?  Can we respond to the Good News of Christ with the enthusiasm and sincerity of the Ethiopian eunuch, and help others to do the same?

Can we forgive and trust God like some of the early believers are going to need to do in Chapter 9?

Acts 7 - A Long Answer to a Short Question and the Church's First Martyr

Read the chapter here.

We learned in Acts chapter 6 that Stephen was known to be filled with the Holy Spirit, a phrase that is repeated in chapter 7 verse 55.  We see this in his speech that goes from 7:2-50 that passionately recaps the history of the Israelites, and leads into Stephen turning on his accusers.  "And now you have betrayed and murdered him (Jesus) - you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." 
We see how being filled with the Spirit results in Stephen's incredible courage, as well as giving him a window into heaven, as he looks up and is able to see "the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."  I've heard a couple people comment on how notable it is that Jesus was standing rather than seated as Stephen looked up....perhaps we get a glimpse of the Lord's passion for us.  He is not content to sit while His beloved suffer on His behalf.  Stephen provides one final act of courage as he begs God to pardon those who are murdering him. 
Finally, we get our first look at Saul, who will go on to become the most prominent figure in the remainder of the book of Acts.

Acts 6 - Stephen's debut on the scene

Just 13 short verses in this week's chapter, but plenty to discuss.  I hope you have a Bible nearby, but remember, you can always visit biblegateway.com to find whatever you're looking for in God's Word.

Unless I missed something from earlier chapters, verse 1 gives us the first taste of the young church failing its people, as the Hellenistic widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.  I wonder what was behind all that, but I'm glad the solution to the problem was handled quickly and apparently satisfactorily.  We see a great example of the 'one body, many parts' theme, as seven men who were known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom were chosen to handle the food.  How cool is it that being full of the Spirit was a requirement to serve food?  Would church leaders today take that much care in choosing people to do such a seemingly mundane task?  Do we value those who do that type of work in the Body of Christ?

Here we meet Stephen, one of the seven chosen to handle the food service issues, and apparently a guy who made the powers that be uncomfortable; reminiscent of Peter and John from a few chapters earlier.  We'll see how Stephen's story turns out next week, but do you notice how his accusations remind us of those that were thrown not only at Jesus, but also the accusations of Daniel from the Old Testament?  It seems, that there's something about righteousness that can make evil really, really nervous.