Just to let many of you know that I haven't been blogging because, as some of you might know, I really feel as if it's time to finish some things that I have started...and hopefully sooner rather than later.

Just got through reading "Steering Through Chaos" by Scott Wilson...

I don't know Scott Wilson personally but his writing style is down to earth. He is simple and yet has a grasp on the deeper issues of leadership and discipleship. I genuinely enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone out there that is looking for some help in church leadership. I am very familiar with Scott and the Oaks Church and have heard him speak at the Leadership Conference hosted by Gerald Brooks. Scott quotes a familiar quote by Gerald, "You will only grow to the level of your pain threshold." It's a great quote and so true.

One of my favorite topics in the book is Scott's desire to have complete honesty among his staff. His "Honesty Policy" is definitely worth a look into. Scott takes turns going up to each person he has on staff and making sure that everything is out in the air. I love it. Scott says that, "During times of relational tension, people are usually willing to say 90% of what they need to say, but they feel very uncomfortable with the last 10%. This part has the most potential for hurt, but also holds the most potential for genuine change." So true!

Another area that seemed very relationally true to me is found in Chapter 6, under "New Strategies" where Scott writes, "Every member of a church's leadership team needs to carve out time to pray, think, and dream so they can clearly identify the opportunities God has given them." The statement that precursors this explains why, "Far too often leaders fail to see opportunities because we're blinded by the urgent, nagging problems right in front of us."

Scott gives an honest insight and look into principles that has set up the Oaks Church to be one of the biggest churches in the nation. This book provides a great foundation of leadership principles and will open your eyes to a few new ones. My overall view was that the book was extremely helpful. I will most definitely be trying out some of its principles and platforms in the church where I pastor.

Thanks for putting it on paper, Scott. Great work!

I can't believe it but I've taught the entire first ten chapters of the Book of Acts. It's been a wonderful and inspiring journey through the early church history.

Acts 10:24-33 (NIV)

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself." Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?" Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.' So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

“But God has shown me…”

Peter declares that God has given him a vision and that vision includes the Gentiles. Has God given you a vision? Does it include something that is hard to swallow? Grafting the Gentiles into the Gospel wasn’t something that sat well with Peter, thus his hesitation. Still Peter left his comfortable seaside getaway to pursue the will of God. What is your pursuit? I hope it is the will of God, because everything else is temporal and perishable.

Maybe we don’t acknowledge God-sized visions because of the God-sized weight it comes with. We look at the weight of a God-sized vision and immediately feel overwhelmed. That is the point, though, isn’t it? A God-sized vision can only be accomplished by God. That is what makes the accomplishments we see happening so much more grand and magnificent. The fruits of a God-sized vision are the visible evidence in an invisible God.

“Now that we are all here…”

What now? That is the overwhelming response of Cornelius to Peter. Cornelius did as he was told. He didn’t hesitate. He was hungry. He wanted whatever God wanted to give. His heart was open and he was humbled at the coming of the Apostle Peter. That is when it happens. It finally hits Peter. Peter knows now what God was trying to tell him. No more hesitation. Can you imagine the emotional magnitude of this situation? Cornelius is ready to receive the Gospel. His heart is open and reverent. It is time.

Acts 10:34-48 (NIV)

Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

So Peter preaches. That is what preachers do.

Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Peter gives them the straight up unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ. This isn’t your seeker sensitive message either. It is a straight dose of blunt honest truth. Over and over Peter tells Cornelius, “you know”. There is Peter’s strong suit. Peter’s greatest niche in preaching is applicating the crucifixion of Christ to every believer. Peter makes people own up to their sins, not dance around them.

Peter doesn’t have to preach long before the Holy Spirit shows up. The Jews that are with Peter are amazed and astonished. This was the last thing on the mind. God saving the Gentiles was the farthest thing on their mind and yet before their very eyes is the living proof that God can redeem and reconcile all things. Jews didn’t hang out with Gentiles thus the reason Peter brought them in the first place. It was Peter’s accountability, so to speak.

The astonishment of the Holy Spirit showed up in the form of tongues. That becomes a defining point for the Holy Spirit. In all circumstances in the Bible tongues are the initial evidence of the Holy Spirit filling a believer. It is biblical. There is no need to debate on the issue it is resolved here and many other places in the Bible.

Cornelius and his house get baptized…

Notice that they were saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, and then baptized. That is important because it shows that there is no certain formula to follow. You can’t formulate God. You can’t place God in a box because you don’t have a box big enough. Don’t get distracted in the order of things. God is always doing a new thing. Don’t get trapped in thinking God only works one way. As if we have to do this and that to make God move. God moves whenever He wants to and doesn’t need your advice or opinion to do so. Maybe we need to come out of our box? Some of us need to let our boxes go.

Acts 10:17-23 (NIV)

While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?" The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

The scriptures support that Peter was intrigued by the vision God had given him. It records that Peter was wondering and still thinking on it. Literally while he was meditating on it the Spirit tells him that there are men coming and to not hesitate in going with them. But Peter did hesitate. He hesitated by needing to know why? Sound familiar? Peter, here, is like us in too many ways. We often need to know the reason “why” to everything that God is doing. So we hesitate in doing what God wants. The Spirit said to not hesitate, but that is exactly what Peter did.

*“On the plains of hesitation lie the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest; and in resting died. Governor Alai Stevenson of Illinois (1949)

Hesitate, means to slowly act or proceed forward. There are times when I think it is best to be cautious but Peter was just told by the Spirit that this wasn’t one of those times. Cornelius didn’t hesitate. However, this is Peter we are talking about or maybe it’s because there is something more underneath the surface of this event…like the fact that this is about the Gentiles receiving the Gospel. The Bible doesn’t let us into the emotional feelings of Peter at that moment, but it’s possible that in hesitating we see that there is still some heart issues being worked out in Peter.

This isn’t unfounded thinking. Paul wrote about a moment in which even after this event Peter still struggled with the Gentiles receiving the Gospel.

Galatians 2:11-13 (NIV)

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

Peter had an issue with Gentiles. He probably had good reasons too. Still Christ commanded him to not hesitate and go. Peter hesitated with the asking of a question. Thankfully it wasn’t for too long because what is about to happen changes the direction of the church. What is about to happen changes the future of the church.

Acts 10:11-16 (NIV)

He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

“The Vision”

From Ananias, to Saul, and now to Peter, all were men that were praying and God answered in the form of a vision. Men and women of prayer are men and women of vision. If you aren’t praying you are most likely walking blind to the vision of God. Prayer gives you eyes that see into the supernatural and leads you down the path God has chosen. Maybe that is why we don’t pray? If we pray and are given the path by which we are to take, then that means we’ll have to abandon the path we want. Make no mistake the path of prayer is the path of death to our selfish desires and ambitions.

The vision of God is spectacular before Peter and he struggles to understand its meaning. Being an apostle, preacher, teacher, or evangelist doesn’t mean you know it all. So Peter is trying to take it all in. God is sharing with Peter that everything that God has made can be reconciled in Christ. That is the power of the cross. God is in the redemption business. He is reconciling all things back to Himself.

From the Old Testament;

Isaiah 1:18 (NIV)

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

To the New Testament;

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

God has always been about redemption and reconciliation. Peter knows this because he has experienced this. Still something is lingering in Peter. There is something beneath the surface. Peter might be an apostle, he might have healed many up to this point, but this vision is going to push Peter’s heart to do the unthinkable…offer the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. That is a big deal. The Gentiles ruled over everything, even the Jews. The Gentiles beat and ultimately killed Jesus. This vision is going to present some challenges to say the least.

Acts 10:9-10 (NIV)

About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

God communicates to His people through the enduring work of prayer. The scriptures records that at noon Peter went up on the roof to pray. It is the praying man that hears the voice of God.

Those who know God the best are the richest and most powerful in prayer. Little acquaintance with God, and strangeness and coldness to Him, make prayer a rare and feeble thing. E. M. Bounds

Peter knew Jesus. He watched Him pray constantly. If there was one thing they understood about Christ is that prayer is where Jesus withdrew for strength. So Peter withdraws from everyone and everything and retreats to the roof. Why the roof? Why not inside a room or in a small corner?

Sometimes it takes getting out of our routines to hear God in a new way. *Pastor Mark Batterson of National Community Church says it like this, “Change of pace plus change of place equal’s change of perspective. We have to disrupt our routine so we can think new thoughts.” If you want to experience God like never before you sometimes have to do what you’ve never done. Some of us are stuck in the “lather, rinse, and repeat” mode. We keep wanting and doing the same things and are expecting different results. That isn’t how God works. God is always doing a new thing and to be a part of that new thing we are going to have to grow in Him enough to discern what it is and then jump on board.

Peter found that the roof offered a different point of view for prayer. It was a place of solitude and yet also it was a place with a view. Different perspectives can offer unique insight. Retreats and vacations are sometimes our greatest experiences because we are out of comfort zones. We are doing something different and our spirit resonates with that. The unfamiliar cause us to be uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable causes us to depend on God more by exercising our faith.

Acts 10:3-8 NIV

One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!" Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

At about 3pm. This isn’t a coincidence. This is divine providence. We’ve heard this before. The King James Version refers to this time as the “ninth hour”. Again there is a resounding redundancy to the scriptures here. Again to go forward we return to the past.

Matthew 27:46

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Sound familiar? Maybe this is a bit more fresh and current…

Acts 3:1

“Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.”

The “ninth hour” is a time of prayer. It was the time of the evening sacrifice for the people of Israel. It probably takes on a more notable time as we see it as the greatest time of suffering for Christ as He hung from the cross crying out to the Father. It was the ninth hour that Elijah prayed to God against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and God answered by fire. It was the ninth hour when Ezra prayed a great prayer of confession and intercession and God answered by sending a nationwide revival. It was the ninth hour when Daniel prayed and God sent the angel Gabriel to answer his prayer. It was the ninth hour that Peter and John were praying and God answered in the form of the first miracle of the New Testament Church. Even now so we see Cornelius praying in the ninth hour and God answered by sending an angel…

It was the ninth hour that we find Cornelius in prayer. The power of prayer is immeasurable. It is deep and wide. It reaches as far as the eye can see and then beyond. Prayer bends, shapes, and mold men/women to the will of God. Prayer unblocks the connection between what you want and what God wants for you. Many of us don’t like prayer because it most certainly leads to death of self. We are our own greatest enemy, and yet we are looking over our shoulders? And for what? There are things far worse than devils and demons in the heart of man. Prayer can rid you of this, but it will require a submission few ever seek.

Acts 10:1-2 NIV

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

Chapter ten now takes us to the city of Caesarea. Caesarea was a large city that was located on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. It was a town of overrun by the Romans…the Gentiles. It was a town of great education as you would find storerooms, markets, wide roads, baths, temples to Rome and Augustus, and other public buildings. Every five years the city hosted major sports competitions, gladiator games, and theatrical productions.

Caesarea was the home of a Roman Centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius, as a centurion, was a leader of a regiment of Roman soldiers. He was a man among men…a leader among his own people. However, what we see him being known for is not his great battle advancements or his skill with the sword. What he is recognized for in this text is the fact that “he and all of his family were devout and God-fearing”.

What an example! Can that be said about us?

The scripture in this context defines what it means to be “devout and God-fearing” by declaring that Cornelius gave to those in need and a regular habit of prayer. My prayers and hopes are that we get a clear picture of what God’s desire is concerning His church. We have turned the pages on nine chapters and can you hear the sound of redundancy? Over and over again there is a resounding call to those that worship God and to those that fear Him…they take care of the poor, the broken, and the afflicted. I have preached this message over and over and yet I turn the pages to another chapter and I hear the redundant message of Jeremiah…

Jeremiah 22:16

He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. “Is not that what it means to know Me” Declares the Lord?

This will never be old news as long as it’s God’s heart and part of His mission. In nine chapters the only other theme that is louder is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Church is God’s answer to this world’s problems…if we would just be God-fearing and devout and steady in prayer. Prayer is important too! Up to this point, the only people getting visions of direction were the people of prayer. How can we hear God unless we pray? The scriptures here in Chapter Ten now infer that to not be a person of prayer is to not fear God. Maybe that is why we stay and stray away from the prayer closet…because we are scared to what we might find.

From chapter one through chapter nine we have seen Christianity spread from Jerusalem, to Samaria, to Lydda, and to Joppa. Up to this point there has been a great deal of Jews come to the gospel, but chapter ten is going to move the church in a new direction. Chapter ten is going to challenge the Apostles and their doctrine. It is going to cross racial lines and even emotional lines. As things aren’t already new enough, the Lord is going to do something radical, something that the Jews are going to struggle with.

Mark 2:12 KJV

And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw it on this fashion.”

[We never saw it on this fashion]

That is Jesus! Jesus was always doing something different and it agitated the religious leaders of His day. Let’s just be honest...Jesus still does new things today and it agitates us too. With every generation comes new ways to deliver the message of the Gospel. With every generation comes new ways to focus on being missional. So we change, and it isn’t easy. However, when has following God ever been easy?

Here is my take. I think God creates so much change in an effort to keep our hands from attaching to things that are temporal. Generations die, worship songs fade away, books get dusty…Still God births a new generation, new worship is birthed, and new revelation is revealed. It’s the cycle of life from which the Church isn’t exempt. Our responsibility is to be open to what God is doing. Now that doesn’t mean every new thing the Church is doing today is of God. The Bible tells us to test the Spirit, using wisdom and discernment. Still we must face the fact that God is always about doing new things.

Isaiah 43:19 NIV

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

God says to us “see” as if to ask and yet declare to you that He is doing something that you should visibly be able to see. The scripture says it’s springing up or rising up…and then there is the question. Do you not perceive it? It’s as if it’s asked facetiously…as if to say you should be able to grasp it, understand it, or have some form of knowledge about it. The truth, however, is that we miss it a great deal of the time God is doing something new because we never let go of what was. For the Apostle Peter, the days of the ministry of to the Jews only was about to change. Not because he wanted them to but because God wanted them to. That is the most important theme in chapter 10.

Acts 9:40-43

Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

Dorcas is dead. This is something that, up to this point, Peter hasn’t faced yet. He had seen how to pray to kill folks…but bring them back to life…well that is another story…

God is never late…and yet he is never early either…He is precisely on time. That is how it is, isn’t it?

Peter sent everyone out of the room. Now, I have to be honest here and I actually wonder why Peter did this. Why did he send everyone out of the room? The Bible doesn’t tell us…but if there is one thing I know about Peter…in all of his boisterous and bold temperament, he still struggles with real life issues with peer pressure, and other things…As I read this I wondered if there wasn’t a sense of overwhelming fear. Peter knew what they were asking…but he also knew that he had no power in and of himself. Healing someone might have seemed the easier task up to this point. This was a realm of ministry that he had yet to discover or know. This was Jesus’ territory…not his. So Peter tells everyone to leave and then kneels down and prays.

The Bible doesn’t record Peter’s prayer…but I bet it was humbling. Can you imagine the magnitude of this? This woman isn’t sick…she’s dead. Dead people don’t live again…they get buried…but not this day. This day Peter finds boldness on his knees. He finds the courage to look up from the floor and say what he was trained to say, “GET UP!” It’s brute and unintelligent. There is no lengthy evangelistic sermon behind it…just raw Holy Ghost power!

Dorcas laid dead and helpless in that room surrounded by a sea of widows that showcased her genuine love for her and her ministry. Dorcas wasn’t an apostle. She wasn’t a deacon. She wasn’t a judge. She was just a common woman that was doing what she could with what she had to share the love of Christ abroad. On this day, the darkness became light and Peter presented her alive before all of her friends.

And the news spread…and the name of Jesus spread.

The stories of Aeneas and Dorcas are similar stories. They are factual and true. They are life changing and life challenging. Time and time again the early church experienced the impossible and really they lived in the supernatural. Still the underlying theme is and will always be…that the name of Jesus be spread and that all would know the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Acts 9:36-39

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!" Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

Dorcas…it might not be the best of names to have in this day and age but I’ve got to be honest and say that she has won my heart. This woman of virtue made it her calling to “always do good and help the poor.” We just read a scripture last week from Jeremiah that spoke of how those that plead for the poor and the afflicted know the Lord. It’s safe to say that Dorcas new the Lord and the Lord knew her.

We’ve also talked a great deal lately about living a life that is louder than our message…for Dorcas…her reputation precedes her. She is well known for her good and Godly works. The proof is visible…it was undeniable. Here is a great truth, “The visible proof of God creates radical conversion and ultimately changed cities.” Joppa was a city challenged and changed. It was changed by radical Christians that used the finances that they had to take care of the poor, the widows, and the orphans. Social justice is not the cause of a government…it is the cause of the Church. It is our responsibility to take care of this city and its poor, its widows, and its orphans.

Dorcas was a disciple with social justice in mind. That burden on her heart pushed her to using the finances she had and the skill set by which God gave her to provide what she could for those in need around her. This is how she showed the love of Jesus upon her community. It’s no surprise then that when she got sick and eventually passed a way that the ones who came to her bedside where those that had been personally touched by her generosity and kindness. Allow me to hang here just a few minutes…

Jeremiah 29:7 NASV

Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.'

I spoke a while back on this scripture…but let’s look at it real quick in application to what we are reading in here in Acts…If we pray for the city we live in…if we take care of it, encourage it, provide for it…it will provide for us, take care of us, and encourage us. That is what the Lord promises. The mission field begins right out of those doors. We must embrace our mission, be encourage by the God who is able, and go forth in obedience to canvas this town with the love of Christ…and it starts by taking care of the poor, the afflicted, and those that are in need!

Dorcas provided a great example of this…and we see that in her need, the city came to her call. The widows, that Dorcas had so adamantly taken care of, heard that Peter was nearby and sent word for him to come. As Peter came they showcased all the garments that Dorcas had made for them. It was the visible evidence of a passionate woman.

Acts 9:32-35

As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Saul has taken the road home. His time is coming, but it isn’t right now. Right now the apostles are still the forefront of the ministry. Peter is traveling abroad visiting the churches and performing great signs and wonders as he comes and goes. As he travels to Lydda he found a man named Aeneas. Now the scripture says that this man had been bedridden for eight years. That’s a long time. As a matter of fact I am rather disappointed in Luke that he didn’t expound on something that he knew a great deal about as a physician. Luke, as a doctor, probably treated bedridden people and understood this condition better than we do. Let me give you an example…

This is an excerpt taken from an online medical help website…

“The most common complications of bedridden patients are: muscles weakness/atrophy, muscle shortness, pressure sores (bed ulcerations), respiratory problems (lung infection), blood circulation problems, and bone demineralization.”

Eight years in bed lead to greater problems than just “I can’t walk”. Are you hearing me? You don’t just get up from being in bed for eight years. It’s impossible…at least that is what the human mind reckons. For Peter I don’t think his mind was in the present…I think it was resonating on the past. I think Peter was experiencing déjà vu. Have you ever experienced déjà vu in your life? Let’s walk through this with Peter and why this was so familiar…to go forward we have to go backwards…so let us rewind to…

John 5:1-9

Sometime later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie; the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

Déjà vu, right…or is it not just the best example of discipleship that you have ever seen? Peter’s reflection is instant. Standing before Aeneas, he has seen this play out before. Jesus said “get up”…so Peter says, “get up”. Pretty simple and yet it stands to reason that we live in spiritual failure because we are failing in the basics. What Jesus did was simple. What Peter did was simple. Peter actually mimicked Jesus. Why aren’t we mimicking Jesus? Do you know what we call it when we do what Jesus does…discipleship…it’s that simple. Some of us never reach that point because we failed in continuing to follow and watch what the Master was teaching us. We hit a stumbling block by getting offended or just flat out not understanding the circumstances that we’ve been through and we just stop learning. I’ve said it before and I will keep saying, some of us have been living at the same experience level for years…never growing any wiser or closer to God. We’ve been in the church for years and are still living off the milk. The problem is…is that this isn’t child care…this church is in the discipleship business. What that means is that sometimes, like Jesus, we are going to have to raise the bar in challenging each other to walk closer to the Lord. Like Peter understood…that means accountability, correction, sacrifice, and devotion.

And let me encourage you…A life that is dedicated to being a disciple of Christ finds themselves living in the supernatural world of the awe inspiring God! Peter the fisherman…turned preacher man…is now standing before the crippled man…telling him to get up and walk again. Every episode of our life is a lesson being taught to us…to enhance our future. Jesus discipled the apostles in the past to prepare them for their future ministry and ultimately their eternal life…that is what the past does…it prepares us for the future. That is why you don’t get to live in the past…time doesn’t let you. It keeps moving so that you keep moving…because listen…God’s plan is in action and you are a part of it!

Over the past year now I've been writing songs here and there as I feel the push...which I don't very often. I don't feel called to be a worship leader and there are just too many others out there so much more qualified...but I love to write and create new songs and new music. So I write. It's not much but it ministers to me...and hopefully it ministers to you once in a while.

Acts 9:31

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

The church enjoyed a time of peace. If that sounds great to you…it’s because it is great. The church in Jerusalem got its foundations shook forcing them to leave home base and create missionaries. Now the Acts 1:8 “command” is producing fruit…and that brings me to this great truth...when the church is acting in obedience we get to live in peace…we are strengthened and encouraged by God…and we grow. Why? Because we fear God…we live in respect and reverence to who He is…what He has done…and what He is continuing to do.

This is my prayer...

I pray that we rediscover the Bible again. I pray that we rediscover the favor of God. I pray that we rediscover the Cross again. I pray that we rediscover our fundamentals again. I pray that we rediscover a broken heart…a heart that pleads for the overlooked, underappreciated, rejected, and the neglected. I pray that we be sons and daughters of encouragement. I pray that we learn to proclaim and declare the Gospel like it was brand new to our heart. I pray that we be encouragers and recognize those Saul’s out there just waiting to follow us. I pray that we all become mentors to someone…and that our lives speak just as loud as our message.

The story of Saul becoming Paul is monumental. It is a story you are going to remember. As I study into Chapter 9 of the Book of Acts, this is only Saul’s beginning. He is about to change the world…he just doesn’t know it yet.

Here is the thing…maybe you are to…you just don’t know it yet. It’s definitely possible. If that is resonating with you let me reaffirm that others aren’t going to get it. The scriptures say that the Jews were baffled at Saul’s excitement and change of heart. They didn’t know what to think of him…People aren’t going to know what to think about you. That’s OK! Believe! Have faith in the one who has called you! Prove to all of those around you, as Saul did, that Christ is Lord by living a changed life…a life of radically different than your formal one…a life of selflessness and servitude.

Acts 9:26-30

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took 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.

Damascus couldn’t handle Saul, maybe Jerusalem can…or that is what they thought. Again his life spoke louder than his message, thus he was met with resistance. No one believed him. No one except Barnabas…

The very name Barnabas means “son of encouragement” and that is exactly what Saul finds in this new found friend. He finds safety, encouragement, and a friendship that would impact his life far greater than he would even know. You’ve got to kind of wonder if Saul would have even made it if it weren’t for Barnabas. The fear of Saul and his reputation were still fresh in the hearts of many…we can plainly see that. Barnabas didn’t have to help Saul…but this act of encouragement and faith provided the link between Saul and the fulfillment of his calling.

Saul could have been overlooked. He could have been passed over…but Barnabas was keeping watch. How many people need a modern-day Barnabas to come alongside them to give them a ministry opportunity? How many people sit rejected on the sidelines because of a failure? Maybe their life was so dark that their conversion is still shadowed. Where is the brother or sister in the calling of a first-century Barnabas to look for the forgotten, to believe in the divine call, to hope for the best?

What the church needs today is Barnabas-minded people! People are abandoning the call of personal evangelism today. Some are suffering sitting in the shadows of doubt or inadequacy. This challenge is before us…to be a Barnabas! Look around…see who is being overlooked, who is being rejected and neglected and bring them encouragement today!

Jeremiah 22:16

"He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?"Declares the LORD…

Whose cause are you pleading…if it’s your own…that might be why no one is following you! Look for those that are afflicted and have needs. Plead their case. Pursue them...and then mentor them! That is what Barnabas did. He encouraged a discouraged Saul.