Some Thoughts on the Book of Acts

I want this to be my outlook on life:

Acts 20:24

"But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I have received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

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There's a lot of prayer going on in Acts.  I believe that's notable.  The earliest manifestation of the Christian church, set on jump-starting Christianity and spreading the truth to the end of the earth, as Jesus called them to do, and they're praying all the time about everything.  That's a testament to the importance of prayer.

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Acts 21:13

The Paul answered, "What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart?  For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

Powerful!  That is dedication and commitment personified.  We're afraid to even get our feet a little bit wet for Jesus.  And Paul's ready to die.  And look at the fruit of such conviction - Paul's words live and influence people, thousands of years after his death.  He had a huge impact on the world in the name of Christ because he was willing to give his all for the cause, even up to the point of death.

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I read through Acts and can't help but realize that what we live out today is, excuse my French, such a half-assed Christianity.

The Heart of Tithing

Not tithing doesn't show a lack of generosity, persay, but a lack of trust. When we don't tithe because we feel we do not have enough to both offer to the Lord and take care of our needs, we say, "We don't trust You to provide for us, Lord. We trust money and our own discernment." I've been guilty of it with my paychecks, believing that if I gave 10% of it, I wouldn't be able to pay my bills. Even though I have seen God honor my giving so many times, though there has never been a time - even when down to my last dollar - where He hasn't provided for my needs, I put off tithing until I had "more."

First off, it's not quantity but quality. Not the amount I give, but the heart behind it. Secondly, with that train of thought, I declared not even money my master, but myself. I hoarded the money in order to provide for myself, neglecting to even consider how I would not have any money without God and not surrendering it to Him, knowing He would provide for me. Tithing to me is not a lawful practice, but a declaration of allegiance. By giving a portion of what has been given to me back to the Source, no matter how much I have and before I use it for any other purpose, I am telling God that He is my Master, the One who directs my decisions and it is Him who I live by, not money.

It's also a declaration of faith. It says that I trust in Him and nothing else to provide everything I need - material, spiritual, emotional: every need!

One of my favorite passages is in Mark 12 where the widow gives all she has to the Lord - it's meager, but Jesus says it's more meaningful than what anyone else is tithing. Because she gave all she had! That really shows where her heart is. Like Matthew 6:21 says - where your treasure is, your heart will be also.

So I'm breaking up with money. I won't let it have any hold on me. I will surrender it to God, give as He calls me, direct it into where He leads me to and essentially letting Him be my accountant. Obviously He provides us with money as a way to take care of our needs, but we need to be mindful that it is God who is providing for us, not money. So let us surrender it all to Him, including our tight hold on our finances.

This all of course isn't to downplay the generosity aspect of tithing, which is an equally important part of it, but to explore what tithing means beyond just compassionate giving.

What is God Worth to Us?

Numbers 22:18

But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more."

Some context.  Balak was the king of Moab.  He had seen how the Israelites had defeated the Amorites, and he was scared (rightfully so).    So to try to make sure that Moab did not suffer the same fate, he sought out Balaam and asked him to curse the Israelites so Moab had a chance against them.

As the verse above suggests, Balak bribed Balaam heavily to do this. Instead of blindly and immediately going, "Yes!  Give me the money, and I'll curse these fools for ya", Balaam's immediate response is to turn to God for guidance in Numbers 22:10, explaining the situation to Him.

And in the next verse, God tells Balaam not to curse the Israelites.

So Balaam straight up tells Balak, "No."  And Balak asks again, offering even more to him.  Yet as we see in verse 18 above, Balaam refuses, because there is no price that can convince him to go against God.

Balaam has his priorities in the right place.  That was very striking to me.  No amount of money could shake his allegiance to the Lord.  Even more notable because I think one of the greatest battles of this day is money versus God, and the subtle ways that we all fall prey to without fully realizing.  Very often, we will go against in God for some other reward.

But not just a monetary award.  Balak also offers to honor Balaam and perhaps even more than money, we strive for honor.  Approval.  And when it comes down to getting such approval, we will compromise what God has clearly told us.

But Balaam would not. God was of utmost importance to him, above all else, and there was nothing that Balak could offer that would shake that allegiance. And I think that's an example we could all follow.

The Ultimate Aim

The souls of people are the only thing of real importance on this earth, plus the Spirit of God who already infuses some and wants to infuse the rest.  So I will dedicate all I am to the worth of those souls, so that they may be comforted, saved and renewed.  All I do, all that I invest, spend will be for those souls and the God who created and loves them.  Nothing else matters.  Wealth, status, career - even the smallest of luxuries or comfort for myself - it doesn’t matter, because when this earthly life ends and there’s just heaven left before me, there will be no college degree or cable television or sizable paychecks or skinny jeans or anything but souls and God.

So for those I will work.  In those I will place all worth and let all else fade away, because all else really will fade away one day.  I will set my treasure in heaven where moths and rust will not destroy, where thieves won’t steal (Matthew 6:19).  I will invest everything in what matters, what will last.  And I know that includes nothing that is so self-focused.  God will take care of me - I don’t need to be concerned with any sort of self-advancement (selfish ambition, if you will, to pull a term from the Bible - Philippians 2:3 NKJV).  I just really need to pour into those around me and be totally and only consumed by God.  He and His people are my only aim.  I won’t even put myself on the list, because He’s taking care of me.  All I want is all I need and this is Him.  So here I am at His service and at the service of the souls He created.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

Of course this kind of life is not possible in and of myself, but rather by the power of the Holy Spirit of God who dwells inside of me.  Feel like I should’ve prefaced that with “disclaimer” haha

Love is kind in its patience

I think it's notable how in 1 Corinthians 13:4 when it says "Love suffers long and is kind", that the "suffers long" and "kind" is included in the same breath.  They go together.  As if to say, love goes through all this mess for another and yet still retains kindness  Even as you are suffering, you are still kind.  It does not suffer on behalf of another then treat them spitefully for it.  Love takes the full brunt of another, even when it really hurts and still is kind throughout all of it.  That's amazing.  You can suffer through a person's crap and be mean about it and feel justified for that meanness - sneer at them as you're taking care of them, but that's not love.  Love is suffering through a person's crap with a sincere smile.  Treating them kindly even when it's really hard.

I think that's beautiful.

What Believers Can Learn From Beliebers

Believers should have the enthusiasm of Beliebers.

(For those not in the know, a "belieber" is a dedicated fan of Justin Bieber).

Because the way some of these girls act about the Biebz, you'd think he was the one who died for our sins so we could be eternally united with a good, holy and loving God who cares deeply for us.

Most of these girls will never even meet Justin.  He certainly doesn't know who they are, yet that certainly doesn't stop them from going all out on his behalf.  Meanwhile, we are known by God and are able to know Him, yet at times were are so listless in regards to Him.  We certainly take Him for granted.  And the general excitement for Him generated by believers as a whole is dismal by comparison to these tween girls and their heart throbs.

2 Corinthians 5:20

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.

"Beliebers" are ambassadors for Bieber.  They dedicate most of their time to promoting him, proclaiming him, defending him and encouraging him.  They fight fiercely for his cause and aren't the least bit ashamed of being so devoted to him, even in the face of criticism, ridicule and opposition.  They support him to the utmost and are absolutely unstoppable.

Can the average Believer say that about their dedication to Christ?  Is He our number one concern?  Are we obsessed with Jesus?  I know "obsessed" has somewhat of an unfavorable connotation, but if there is anyone worth of obsession, it's Christ, and we probably should be absolutely obsessed with Him.  Obviously Beliebers tend to get feisty and issue death threats via twitter and insult "Directioners" (One Direction fans - don't ask how I know, just accept it) or "Jonas Brotherites" (yeah, that's probably not their fan name) - and as Believers, we definitely should not adopt those practices.  I do, however, think there is something to learn about fervency from Justin's followers.  In our devotion to Christ and our aim to serve and please Him, let us not let Beliebers put us to shame.

The Original Sin

The root of all sin is pride. It's saying we know better than God. In fact, pride is the original sin. The events of the fall of man illustrate that often times, it's not the act in itself that is sinful, but the heart behind it; the intent of the act.

Is eating a fruit a sin? No. But when God told Adam and Eve not to eat fruit from a particular tree and they did anyway, it became sin because it was then rebellion. Furthermore, it was spurned by pride which is really setting ourselves above all else. Adam and Eve set themselves above God when they decided their own logic was greater than His. By eating the fruit, they inherently proclaimed that they knew better than He did - that they, not He, knew what was best for themselves. They wanted to be their own god instead of submitting to a Creator that had done nothing but love and care for them.

They decided that their way was better than His.

And it did nothing good for them. It seemed harmless, I'm sure. It seemed like it would benefit them greatly at the time - to be like God! But that's just it - like God, but not actually so. A counterfeit god, knowing good and evil but thus swallowed up by the latter, unable to embody perfect goodness like the real God does. And so we did become like a god unto ourselves when Adam and Eve gave into their prideful desires to govern themselves. But as they found out and as we often find out, we make terrible gods. When we rule our own lives by our own standards and own (lack of) wisdom, we find ourselves in the midst of destruction. Out of the garden of paradise and into suffering.

It's our pride - our desire to be our own god, to set our own standards by which to live by, to try and believe that we know best for ourselves - that bolsters all the rest of our sin and drives us so far from God.  And it what destroys our lives, leaves us utterly dissatisfied as we decay - sometimes slowly where in the midst of instant gratification, we don't realize the harm we're doing ourselves until suddenly, we're at a low and don't know how we got there as things are so bad, we feel so empty and lost and none of what we have been doing will fill us like we had tricked ourselves into thinking it did before. And for some reason, we keep on trying to fill it with the same ol, same ol and maybe can manage to feel good for a second before it goes crashing down again, leaving us emptier than before because it never lasts. It doesn't last because it doesn't make us whole.

God makes us whole. Because we were made for Him. We were supposed to be with Him from the get-go, fully intertwined with Him, finding the fulfillment of our every need and desire in Him. And if we just set Him as our God instead of trying to be a god unto ourselves, we can rest in that and enjoy that. It won't destroy us, it won't leave us empty. In God is peace and true satisfaction. And thank goodness for Jesus that bridges the gap back to true union to God that was broken with that bite of fruit. Which was much more than just a bite of fruit but an assertion of shunning aside God in favor of our own rule.

And look how far our own rule has gotten us. It is our pride that has destroyed. But it is His love that will heal.