Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

Acts 19 - Act Like It

 

Acts 19 -  Act Like It

There are 41 verses in Acts 19, some compelling teaching, and fantastic storylines. This morning I really could not get my mind off of v1-7. This encounter of Paul coming into Ephesus and meeting with some of the local disciples, this encounter is fascinating and so intriguing to me. I think there is so much for us to pull out of this and apply it to our lives.  Let’s dive in. 

“While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” - ‭‭Acts‬ ‭19:1-2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What did Paul see, or maybe the better question is, what didn’t Paul see in these disciples? It’s a widely debated topic around these disciples if they were Christians since they were not filled with the Holy Spirit. I have a hard time thinking Luke would write this, and specifically call them disciples if they were not followers of Christ. Nevertheless, Paul perceived they lacked something, and they needed the Holy Spirit in their lives. 

My mind races in many different directions with this, and now you why it was a bit challenging to focus on the remaining verses. One place I go is, what would Paul think about my family and me upon meeting. This encounter seemed brief, and a bit of a Malcolm Gladwell “Blink” moment. Would my actions, my brief encounter with Paul, represent Christ in a way that shows the Holy Spirit is alive and working in my life, or would it be flat and lifeless? Forget Paul, how does my life day in, and day out model Christ? How about you? Knowing of Jesus, or having head knowledge of who He is, and what he has done and believing it is different than fully living a life for Jesus. Salvation, believing in and receiving Jesus and choosing to follow him happens in a moment, and then the transformation is a process. A question I wrestle with is when the Holy Spirit comes into our lives if not upon believing and receiving Jesus, then when? Is it a process of discovery, or a spiritual act that must be brought as Paul did? Is it a one-time act or multiple? This is a wormhole I can stay in, but I am going to move on because I am not sure it will be productive this morning. This expert from a commentary this morning was excellent:

God always wants us to go deeper. We tend to sip where we could drink deeply; we drink deeply where we could wade in, and we wade in where we could plunge in and swim. Most of us need to encouraged to go deeper and further into the things of the Holy Spirit.

We learn a little more as the text goes on.

“So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” - ‭‭Acts‬ ‭19:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Here we do pick up that in the process of believing and receiving Jesus, these Ephesian disciples had a fundamental understanding of our Savior Jesus and were willing to step into the process. These disciples had willing hearts and a passion for stepping into what they knew, and this is what Paul encountered. I believe Christians that were in the process and discovering more and more about Jesus, and like the commentary above says, God always wants us to go deeper. Paul took them deeper, and we read about this here.

“On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.” - ‭‭Acts‬ ‭19:5-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul, assessed these Ephesian disciples and realized they were in process.  He quickly responded and pushed them towards pursuing Jesus and go deeper into a relationship by receiving the Holy Spirit and receiving His gifts. 

This encounter is just rocking my world this morning. We are Jesus disciples. Paul and Apostle of Christ was a disciple, and these Ephesians were disciples. That is a broad spectrum of Christ-followers. Where do we fit on the spectrum, and what are we doing about it? Are we living a life that resembles the Ephesian disciples, that looks like we are missing out on the Holy Spirit and His gifts? Or, are we more like Paul and seeing this lack in others and challenging other disciples around us to grow deeper in relationship with Christ and pursuing things of the Holy Spirit. 

A wormhole this morning caused by seven verses in chapter 19. I pray that I am the latter of this example. Lord, I pray that my life and actions represent you in a way that glorifies you, and the Holy Spirit powers me and flows through me to touch the lives of those around me. I pray this for you as well. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch