Acts 9.1-9 – November 9, 2020

Acts 9.1–9

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.  (Acts 9.1–9, NIV)

While we know him as Paul, the one who wrote a large part of the New Testament, he wasn’t always the follower of Jesus we know of him. People change when they see Jesus!

Thought Questions:

What reasons did Saul have to threaten followers of Jesus?

How do you think Paul reacted when he heard Jesus ask: “Why are you persecuting me?”

How do you think your life would have changed if you had encountered Jesus in the same way Saul/Paul did?

Psalm 139.1-24 – November 6, 2020

Psalm 139.1-24

You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

…

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

 (Psalm 139:1–6, 23-24, NIV)

Is there another passage in scripture that better communicate the intimacy of God’s knowledge of you? Feeling left out and all alone? This is the psalm for you!

Thought Questions:

Do you think of God searching you as a positive or negative thing? Why do you feel this is the case?

In what ways do you see people seeking to be fully known? In what ways do they look to their relationship with God to provide this, versus a relationship with other people or things?

Pray that God will search you today and as he does, respond to his prompting.

Colossians 1.24-29 – November 5, 2020

Colossians 1.24–29

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. ²⁵ I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—²⁶ the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. ²⁷ To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 

²⁸ He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. ²⁹ To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.  (Colossians 1.24–29, NIV)

Who gives you the power to do what you do?

Thought Questions:

How often do you think of gratitude or rejoicing when you are suffering? Why do you think Paul can react in this way?

What–or who–gives you hope?

Do you find sharing your faith with others an easy task or one that causes you to be fatigued? How can working through Christ’s power help you share your faith with others?

Matthew 5.3-12 – November 2, 2020

Matthew 5.3–12

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  (Matthew 5.3–12, NIV)

“I like it because I strive to be a peacemaker and pure in heart.”

Thought Questions:

What do you think the people listening to Jesus were thinking when they heard him describe those who were part of the kingdom of heaven? In what ways did these groups NOT fit people’s expectations?

Which of these beatitudes connects the most with you? Why is this the case?

Why is it hard for us to seek a reward in heaven versus rewards here on this earth?

Genesis 15.1-21 – November 1, 2020

Genesis 15.1–21

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 

“Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield, 
your very great reward. ” 

² But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³ And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”
⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” ⁵ He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
⁶ Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
⁷ He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
⁸ But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”
⁹ So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”
¹⁰ Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. ¹¹ Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
¹² As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. ¹³ Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. ¹⁴ But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. ¹⁵ You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. ¹⁶ In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
¹⁷ When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. ¹⁸ On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—¹⁹ the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”  (Genesis 15.1–21, NIV)

God makes a promise to Abraham that he can and will keep, in spite of the obstacles that seem to be present.

Thought Questions:

In what ways do you think Abraham’s question to God in verse 2 is a valid one? When have you wrestled with the promises of God that seem contradictory to the actual situation at hand?

How do you think Abraham could believe God in spite of the circumstances? Why is this belief considered righteousness?

What can you do to more able to believe the promises of God that seem impossible?