Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Acts  21:15-26.  We will focus on the following
verses 17 though  26.

“17  After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethern received us  gladly.

18  And the following day Paul went in with us to James,  and all the
elders were present.

19  After he had greeted them, he  began to relate one by one the things
which God had done among the Gentiles  through his ministry.  

20  And when they heard it they  began glorifying God;  and they said to
him, “You see, brother how  many  thousands there are among the Jews of those
who have believed, and  they are all zealous for the Law;

21  and they have been told about  you, that you are teaching all the Jews
who are among the Gentiles  to  forsake Moses, telling them not to
circumcise their children nor to walk  according to the customs.

22  What, then, is to be done?  They  will certainly hear that you have
come.

23  Therefore do this that  we tell you.  We have four men who are under a
vow;

24  take  them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses
so that they  may shave their heads;  and all will know that there is
nothing to the  things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk  orderly, keeping the Law.

25  But concerning the Gentiles who have  believed, we wrote, having
decided that they should abstain from meant  sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from  fornication.”

26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day,  purifying himself along with
them, went into the temple giving notice of the  completion of the days of
purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each  one of them.”   
Acts  21:17-26.

———————————

Paul may be thinking  of this experience when he wrote in 1 Corinthians
9:20-22:  “To the Jews I  became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews;  to those
who are under the Law,  as under the Law though not being myself under the
Law, so that I might win  those who are under the Law;  to those who are
without law, as without law,  though not being without the law of God but under
the law of Christ, so that I  might win those who are without law.  To the
weak I became weak, that I  might win the weak;  I have become all things to
all men, so that I may by  all means save some.”

Paul was not primarily motivated by his  safety.  We read earlier the words
of Paul in this very same chapter.   “Then Paul answered, “What are you
doing, weeping and breaking my heart?   For I am ready not only to be bound,
but even to die at Jerusalem for the name  of the Lord Jesus.”  Acts 21:13.

Paul was primarily motivated by  preaching the gospel.

Who can be like Paul?

But, there is  hope!

“For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am  under
compulsion;  for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.”  1  Corinthians
9:16.

We can trust God to work within us, including to give  us the will to do
His will.  “for it is God who is at work in you, both to  will and to work for
His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13.   

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,  which
God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians  2:10.

“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My  statutes, and
you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”  Ezekiel  36:27.

We can take comfort in the fact that God so makes us so willing,  ready,
and able to serve Him according to His will.  The Heidelberg  Catechism
Question and Answer 1 states:  “…  by his Holy Spirit, he  also assures me of
eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready,  henceforth, to live
unto him.”

Today’s devotion comes from Acts 21:1-14.  Here is a link to the full text

—————————————-  

It is difficult to read about Paul’s past and future tears, trials, and troubles.  We think about our own past and future tears, trials, and troubles. 

It is difficult to read about Paul wanting to finish his course and his ministry.  We think about our own course and ministry. 

We get anxious and fear. 

But, there is hope!  

There is that “gospel of the grace of God”!  That grace is sufficient to preserve you through those past and future tears, trials and troubles.  That grace is sufficient to cause you to finish your course and ministry.

That is the “P” of “TULIP”, the gospel of the grace of God.  “P” represents “Perseverance of the Saints” better known as “Preservation of the Saints”.  That is our hope!

2 Corinthians 12:9
“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

1 Peter 5:10
“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”

Philippians 1:6
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;  and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish;  and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”  John 10:27-30.

²⁸  When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

²⁹  The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

³⁰  And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.

…

³⁵  After quieting the crowd, the town clerk *said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven?

³⁶  So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.

³⁷  For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.

³⁸  So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another.

³⁹  But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.

⁴⁰  For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.”

⁴¹  After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

———————————- 

There is a great contrast between this Scripture for today and yesterday’s Scripture. 

In yesterday’s Scripture, “God was performing extraordinary miracles”.  In today’s Scripture, God’s name is not even mentioned. 

In yesterday’s Scripture, the miracles were being done “by the hands of Paul” and Paul was honored.  In today’s Scripture, Paul was on the side lines, and there was not much mentioned about what he was doing.

In yesterday’s Scripture, “the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.”  In today’s Scripture, there was much opposition to the word of the Lord, and the focus was on the words of a pagan town clerk. 

The lesson to be learned from today’s Scripture is that it is not unusual for mountain-top experiences to be followed by desert and disturbing experiences.  We need to remember those mountain-top experiences and draw strength from our memory of them, focus on God, and trust God.  To put it simply, we need to have faith.

Even though God seems to be quiet and behind the scenes, and all that we see is man and chaos, we need to remember that God is still sovereign, still active, and still in total control working all things for our good.

God can even use the pagan town clerks in our lives for His purpose.  God can get us through the deserts and disturbances of our lives without our leader being the key figure.  God wants us to trust Him, not solely rely on the “Pauls” of our lives.  “For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere men?  What then is Apollos?  And what is Paul?  Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.  I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.  So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”  1 Corinthians 3:4-7.  The Scripture for today (and the chapter of Acts 19) concludes with a description of the action of the pagan town clerk.  “After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

“⁵  Thus says the LORD,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
⁶  “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
⁷  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust is the LORD.
⁸  “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:5-8.

 ⁸  And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.

 ⁹  But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

 ¹⁰  This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”  Acts 19:1-10.

————————

Despite the opposition, or maybe because of the opposition, “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks”.

Today’s Scripture helps us to remember that we should not think of our lives as a series of random encounters, some good and some bad.  We should remember:  “God is at work!”, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13.

There is naturally a tendency to only be happy and satisfied when we have those good encounters when people are receptive to us like the disciples were receptive to Paul in verses 1 through 6.  But, we do have what we think are bad encounters.  Are they really bad encounters?

Almost immediately, after reading in verse 9 about that “bad” encounter where “some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people”, and Paul withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus, we read:  “This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” 

Not only this Memorial Day, but every day, we should remember that we have a sovereign and active God Who is in control of everything and Who causes everything to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.