Acts 6-7 Stephen was chosen, along with 6 other men, to be in charge of helping the needy widows among the believers.  The apostles needed to focus on the Word and on prayer, but this other ministry was also important.  The requirements for these 7 men were precise - they had to be full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom.

Stephen is said to be "full of grace and power".  He performed miracles and spoke with wisdom and the Spirit.  The opposition could not stand up against him with their arguments.. so they resorted to lies.  They had him arrested and they participated in stoning him to death.  The persecution of the believers began in earnest.

Stephen preached a powerful message before he died.  But, the last words he spoke are .. stunning... amazing.. gripping... challenging..  ( I really can't find the right word here)  -

  "As they were stoning him, Stephen called out to God, ' Lord Jesus! Receive my spirit !' Then he kneeled down and shouted out,' Lord, Don't hold this sin against them!'  With that, he died'" ( Acts 7:59-60)

O Father, fill your church with Your Holy Spirit and with wisdom.  May Your children be full of grace and power.  May we speak with wisdom by the power of Your Spirit.  May we be ready to give You our lives and to intercede for those who are angry, lost, and rebellious; even those who persecute us.  Sanctify us through and through, Jesus, so that on the day You call us home, we will see You, standing on the right hand of God.. ready to receive us to Yourself. Be glorified in Your Church.. Your Bride.. Your Body.  To the praise of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Acts 5

As the church begins to grow and thrive, Satan throws a fiery dart.. and it lands in the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira.  They see what is going on among the believers and they decide to sell their property too.  But... they don't want to give it all away.. so they lie about it.  The problem wasn't that they didn't give the full amount they received for their property.  The problem was that they wanted the recognition for giving their all.. without giving their all.

Like the rich young ruler who couldn't sell all he owned and give it to the poor, Ananias and Sapphira didn't trust God to provide... and it cost them their lives.

This is one of those truths that hit us right in the heart ,.. can we... will we..  give Him our ALL?

Can we be like the widow who gave her last two coins?  Will we?  We sing about being "fully surrendered".. but are we?  Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him.  If we try to save our lives we will lose them, but if we lose our lives for Him... we will find it.. find Life! Those are His Words and they are calling us to give Him everything...

And, Jesus doesn't stop with our money or property... He says, " If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." ( Luke 14:26)   The cost of following Jesus is... everything.. "So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." ( v33)
Count the cost.. Jesus warns us.

We must learn to trust Him!  Ananias and Sapphira.. did not. They gave in to the lie that God didn't see what they tried to hide. They missed the message that we are called to seek God first.. His kingdom and His righteousness and trust Him to provide "all these things..."  He calls  us to not "worry about your life - what you will eat and drink; or about your body - what you will wear.  Isn't life more than food and the body more than clothing?" ( Matt. 6:25)  But, to know that our Father, who feeds the birds and clothes the lilies.. will care for us.

Father in heaven, we are so thankful to serve You, our God who does the impossible things.. who loves us and understands our weaknesses. Thank You for giving us the will and the works that You choose for us to do.. even to the point of laying down our lives for You.  Thank You that we are attached to the Vine, branches bearing fruit for Your glory..  Help us to lay it all down.. all our possessions.. all our family.. all our concerns.. all our fears.. everything, so that we can take up our crosses and follow Jesus. We know and believe that it will be worth it all when we see You one day soon, face to face...
  We ask this in His name, this Beloved Son who laid down His life for us, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

Acts 4 /When  Peter and John were arrested for preaching about Jesus after the crippled man was healed,  they were asked, "By what power or in what name did you do this?"

Peter is once again filled with the Holy Spirit and lets them know that it is in the Name of Jesus - the same one that they had executed and who had risen again - that this miracle had been accomplished.

Peter proclaims boldly, "There is salvation in no one else! For there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by whom we must be saved!"  

There is no other Name...
No other Savior..
No other Healer.
No other Cornerstone.
No other Messiah.
No other Hope.

Peter and John were released and went home rejoicing! They prayed for boldness to proclaim this message.  The church grew.  The people were united.  And, "...abundant grace was upon them all.." 

Father, we pray for this boldness and grace... to proclaim the salvation that only Jesus can provide.
Fill Your church again, Holy Spirit!  "Stretch out your hand to heal and to do signs and miracles through the name of Your Servant,  Jesus." May there be a great harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God, we pray, in the Name of the only One who saves,  Jesus Christ, Amen.

Acts 3  The crippled man was carried every day.. to the "Beautiful Gate".  He hoped for a small gift. He had been crippled all of his life.  He had no hope of anything more.  But, when Peter and John came by and said " Look at us!".. the man turned their way.  He hoped only for a coin.. but what he got was far more!  "In the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene - walk!" Peter said, as he pulled the man to his feet.  In that brief second, the mans feet and ankles became stronger than they had ever been in his entire life.  He walked.. he leaped.. and he praised God!

As the crowd gathers, Peter uses this opportunity to tell them about Jesus.  He doesn't pull any punches... " .. you disowned the Holy and Righteous One.." (NIV); "You killed the author of life!" (CJB)..

But... " God has raised Him from the dead!" 
God "fulfilled what he had announced in advance, when He spoke through all the prophets.."

"Therefore , repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be erased." 
"... God has sent his servant whom he raised up, so that he might bless you by turning each one of you from your evil ways." 

 If the crippled man had not turned... he would have remained as he was.. unable to stand, let alone walk or leap.
If we do not turn to the One who can erase our sin.. we will remain just as we are.. unable to live.. for we are crippled in our sinfulness..

But, Praise God, we have a Savior who died to pay the price for our sins, who rose again on the third day, and who sits at the right hand of the Father until that day when He comes again for all who will trust Him! 

Father, we praise You for the wonderful and precious gift that You have given to all who will trust You.. salvation through Jesus Christ the Lord.  We will celebrate this week.. this amazing gift of grace.  May many, many more people.. turn to You and find Life through His Name. The Name above all names, the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Acts 2  recalls the most important and exciting event of the Church - the coming of the Holy Spirit!
The believers were together.. waiting.. when this roaring sound suddenly filled the house and what looked like tongues of fire "separated and came to rest on each one of them." 

It was an amazing, powerful event that brought the whole city and the  Pentecost celebrating Jews from all over the world who had crowded into the city.. running to the house to see what was happening.  They heard the followers of Jesus speaking - in their own languages.. every single one present heard about the "great things God [had] done." 

Peter, stands  up and preaches the gospel, the Good News about Jesus, who did miraculous works of God; who was arrested, tried, and crucified on a cross; who was raised from the dead, for "it was impossible that death could keep its hold on him." Jesus who sits at the right hand of God!

  -  and thousands put their faith in Jesus, are baptized and join together.  The Church is launched!

 "Continuing faithfully and with singleness of purpose... "
They shared their food and their joy.
They praised God.
They gained respect.
They helped each other.
They stayed together.

Peter's message is still relevant!  When people ask "Brothers, what should we do?"  The answer remains the same.. " Turn from sin, return to God, be immersed ( baptized)  on the authority of Jesus the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will  receive  the gift of the Holy Spirit." 

They finally heard the good news and believed.
What will it take for your loved one, your neighbor, your co-worker... to really hear and believe?
If ".. faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ"  then we need to keep speaking up!

Father, we pray that once again You would pour out Your Holy Spirit upon Your sons and daughters. that we might boldly share the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Open the ears and unveil the eyes of those still lost and living in rebellion against You.  Change hearts.  May this be the day that they will hear and choose to give their lives to You.  We pray this in the Name of Jesus, our mighty Lord. Amen.

Note:  My normal pattern of study is to focus on one book in the Old Testament and then one from the New Testament.  So, finishing Numbers, I am moving to my next New Testament book - Acts.
I am also using two translations of the Bible at this time ( in case some of the quotations sound different).. one is the The Complete Jewish Study Bible ( a recent gift that is very enlightening) and the New American Standard Bible.

Acts 1
Luke takes up the narrative that follows his first book recording the life of Christ.  He begins with the ascension of Jesus.  The disciples watched as Jesus "was taken up before their eyes; and a cloud hid him from their sight."  They didn't know what would happen next.  They had hoped for the restoration of their nation. But, they were only told to wait.. wait for "what the Father promised.." 
And so they did.

How did they wait?

They waited together.
They waited in prayer.
They waited in obedience to the Scriptures.

One of my favorite books is Waiting On God byAndrew Murray.  I could quote this whole little book here and it would fill your souls.. but I'll contain myself to this one passage:

"There can be no good but what God works; to wait upon God, and have the heart filled with faith in His working, and in that faith to pray for His mighty power to come down, is our only wisdom. Oh for the eyes of our heart to be opened to see God working in ourselves and in others, and to see how blessed it is to worship and just to wait for His salvation! Our private and public prayer is our chief expression of our relation to God. It is in them chiefly that our waiting upon God must be exercised. If our waiting begin by quieting the activities of nature and being still before God; if it bows and seeks to see God in His universal and almighty operation, alone able and always ready to work all good; if it yields itself to Him in the assurance that He is working and will work in us;  if it maintains the place of humility and stillness, and surrenders until God's Spirit has quickened the faith that He will perfect His work: it will indeed become the strength and joy of the soul."

"My should waits in silence for God alone; my salvation comes from Him." ( Ps. 62:1)

Father, we are waiting upon You for our salvation... for our every need.. for the good that You desire for each of us and for the Church as a whole.  We are waiting in faith.  We are waiting in separate homes, but together in spirit.  We are waiting in prayer, interceding for the lost, the hurting, and the overwhelmed. Let Your glory be revealed in our nation as Your people pray. Heal our land.  Heal our world.   We hear Your words, " Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." ( Psalm 46:10)  You are our stronghold and You are with us!
Praise Your Holy Name!
Amen.

Numbers 28-36  These last chapters deal with various issues and end with the people of Israel camped across the Jordan from Jericho.

Chapter 28-29 contain a reminder of the daily sacrifices as well as the various feasts throughout the year.  Adonai emphasized that Israel was to "take care to offer.. at the proper time.." every offering.
Every morning and every evening.. every Sabbath.. continually coming into His Presence to worship. 

Chapter 30 emphasizes the need to keep vows.  It also gives the father or husband of a woman to disapprove of and invalidate a vow made by a daughter or wife.

Chapter 31 records the vengeance taken against the Midianites for their betrayal of Israel.

Chapter 32 is the account of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh requesting land on the east side of the Jordan.

Chapter 33 is a record of every move that Israel made during their 40 years in the wilderness.

Chapter 34 addresses the future borders of Israel and the heads of each tribe who will help distribute their portion to each family.

Chapter 35 speaks of the cities given to the Levites and the Cities of refuge. Here the Lord gives them an important reminder that they must not "defile the land in which you are living.."  There is a standard of judgement that is the Lord's command. To break it is to bring God's wrath.  "No, you are not to defile the land in which you live and in which I live; for I Adonai, live among the people of Israel." 

Chapter 36 fixes and issue with the daughters of Zelophehad who were to inherit property along with the men of the tribe of Manasseh. The solution was to require the women to marry men from their own tribe so that their land would stay in their tribe.

All these things were completed.  Moses will give his final charge to Israel and then he will go up into the mountain to die. Then Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, would move one more time.

We still are waiting for Israel to move one more time.. to be the people of God that they are meant to be.  We look forward to the day when Adonai will once and for all "live among the people of Israel."

" And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them.'"  Revelation 21:1-3

As God prepared Israel to move into the promised land so that He could live with them... so even now He prepares us, His children for a new earth.. where we will dwell with Him forever.. " and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying or pain; the first things have passed away. " (21:4)

Father in heaven,  we look to You and await that glorious day when all things are made new.  We proclaim that You are faithful and true and all these things will be accomplished according to Your Word.  May we be ready, Lord!  May we live for You.  Sanctify us through and through.. that our bodies, souls and spirits are preserved complete and without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.