Biblical reflections

  The Acts church Acts 2:42-47 - They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.   Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.     All the believers were together and had everything in common.   They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.   Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,   praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (NIV).  I have always loved this description of the early church. They are so excited by what has happened with Jesus rising from the dead and ascending to heaven, the gift of the Holy Spirit and the miracles and sermons of the disciples - seeing God's power. People want in.  Thousands are...

  His final words.                                                                                                                                                                                                           Image by Gizelle Kei at Pixabay Acts 1: 8 - "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." Acts is one...

Who is He?  Image from Gordan Johnson found on Pixabay Matthew 16:15-16 - He [Jesus] said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replies, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is a powerful moment in the Bible. A telling point. The disciples are walking through an area known for its pagan worship and immorality. This is the place where Jesus chose to ask this question to his disciples, surrounded by debauchery and idol worship. He is providing a huge contrast - on one side is Jesus the son of the living God, and on the other side are pagan idols. He is essential saying which of these do you choose? Do you believe that I am the son of God, that as opposed to what you see around you, I am God? Or are you chasing after something else, maybe something easier, something culturally acceptable or seemingly safer?  Simon Peter responds by saying " You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And with that statement he commits fully...

  To whom shall we go?  Image from Foundry @ pixabay John 6:68-69 - Simon Peter answered him, "Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God."   This response from Peter comes after Jesus calls himself the bread of life and told his listeners that they must feed off this bread to have eternal life. As a result, many turned back and no longer walked with him (verse 66).   Jesus asks his disciples if they too want to leave and Simon Peter answers in the above way.  The question is one we all must ponder in our lives, do we stay with Jesus or do we walk away         when his teachings gets tough and are not what we expected? Many have searched for other places and investigated other religions, but they don't find a living God who has sacrificed his life for us by giving up his body on the cross for our sins in those places. Jesus is the bread of ...

Whose Kingdom?   Image from Klikin @ Pixabay John 6:15 - Jesus saw that in their enthusiasm they were about to grab him and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain to be by himself.   This verse comes right after Jesus fed the 5000 from what was initially five barley loaves and 2 fish. He performed this great miracle which showed people who he was and what he could do, and their response was to try to fashion him into a king after their design. Remember the Jews were expecting a messiah that would be a military leader who would overthrow the Romans, their oppressors at the time. They were blinded to the fact that the true messiah had a much larger battle to fight, a battle not of flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). In seeing his miracle, they enthusiastically come up with their own plan and in doing so missed what Jesus is doing and going to do.  This verse makes me think of 2 things:  1. We can often rush into things for God that are more a...