Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Too good, too true

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Acts 9:26-31
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.

He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.

The ninth chapter of Acts begins with murderous threats and revelation. Saul the executioner is blinded in a close encounter with Jesus and immediately begins to preach the gospel. Jesus is Lord. The chapter ends as Peter raises a woman from the dead. The Holy Spirit's energy surrounds him and carries him everywhere. These are great moments of triumph. Later, leaders of the church are killed. Peter is crucified upside down. Paul spends years in prison. The church does not experience peace for very long.

Both peace and catastrophe are footnotes to the wide-spreading of the Holy Spirit. Nothing's gonna stop it. Jesus walks with every man into every moment. This becomes more real than anything else that is happening in history. "Close your eyes; you might miss something!"

The presence of Jesus makes possible his succinct command: "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matthew 6). His presence makes time our servant, not our master. There is nothing new under the sun ... but then in broad daylight Jesus "makes all things new." It's not the things. It's Jesus.

When I am ill I pray for God to heal me. But what I really want is just to open my eyes to the presence of Jesus. When I am well I praise God for the blessings he bestows. But what I really want is just to open my eyes to the presence of Jesus.

Brother Lawrence wrote:

Pains and sufferings would be a paradise to me while I should suffer with my God, and the greatest pleasures would be hell to me if I could relish them without Him ... If in this life we would enjoy the peace of paradise, we must accustom ourselves to a familiar, humble, affectionate conversation with Him ... If our love of God is great, we will love Him equally in pains and pleasures. (Practicing the Presence of God, 11th, 14th and 15th Letters, 1666)

"Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer." Shakespeare's Richard credits this (with tongue in cheek of course) to the rise of King Edward IV.

Let us more accurately and sincerely credit it to Jesus.

From birth I have been cast upon you, Lord. From my mother's womb you have been my God. At the ends of the earth let all the families of the nations remember, turn, and bow down before You.

Devotions Archive

Too good, too true

Sunday, May 10, 2009