Be Glad

Acts 11:19-24

“19 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. 20 Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 22 News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.”

Gentiles in Antioch were sought out for the purpose of sharing the gospel with them.  This represents a turning point for the church.  For the first time the gospel was deliberately shared with Gentiles.  A great number of these people believed and repented.  And they received the Holy Spirit.

Barnabas, a good man who was full of faith, who was led by the Holy, went to Antioch to see if this movement was of God.  What he witnessed was the hand of God at work and he encouraged these new Christians in their faith.

Barnabas saw the new way God was leading and he was glad; glad that the Gentiles were followers of Christ and had a relationship with God.

When someone professes faith in Christ, it is a moment of great joy and gladness to God….and should be to us as well.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Bridge

Acts 11: 1-4, 17-18

“1 Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3 saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 4 Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step,...17 If then God gave them the same gift [the Holy Spirit] that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

Peter’s decision to share the gospel with Gentiles, stay with them and share meals with them, came under fire from the Jewish Christians after Peter returned to Jerusalem.  But he was confident that what he saw and experienced was of God and in God’s will, so he calmly explained how after preaching the Gospel, the Gentiles repented and received the Holy Spirit, in the same way that Jewish Christians had.

Peter, at that moment, was the bridge between the old and the new.  He knew where God had been and where God was leading.  And the leaders listened, and praised God, and walked across the bridge into the new truth of God.

God is constantly revealing His truth to us.  

Let us always walk where God is leading.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

A New Truth (Part 2)

Acts 10:34-36, 44-48

“34 Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. 36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. 44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.”

Peter, after receiving a vision from God, was led by the Holy Spirit to the household of Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, to preach the gospel to a room full of gentiles..  In the house, Peter realized the meaning of God’s vision to him.   He understood that any believer, in any nation, of any race was acceptable to God.  And if they were acceptable to God, then they were acceptable to Peter.

The Holy Spirit was poured out on all who were there and Peter baptized them all in the name of Jesus Christ.

Notice that the gentiles asked Peter to stay with them for several days.  No doubt, they wanted to learn more.

Our Christian journey does not end with our baptism.  

That is when it begins.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

A New Truth (Part 1)

Acts 10: 9b-16

“9b Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 Then he heard a voice saying, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” 15 The voice said to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” 16 This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.”

Peter, praying on the roof of a friend’s home in Joppa, was given a vision of the new thing God planned to do. Orthodox Jews believed that God had no use for the Gentiles.  God revealed to Peter that he did, indeed, have use for the Gentiles.  Prior to this vision, Peter would have called the Gentiles unclean.  Through this vision, God was asking Peter to unlearn an entire lifetime of prejudice and ignorance.

We often think that our prejudices are also God’s prejudices and we may even blame our prejudices on God as we point to scripture as justification.  This very thing was done to justify slavery and to oppress women in this nation not so many years ago.

To Peter’s credit, he allowed himself to be used by God and took actions consistent with God’s vision (as we shall see).

To grow spiritually, we must be open to new truths revealed by God and be willing to be led by God into those truths.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Perfect Church

Acts 9:31

“31 Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”

There is something beautiful about this verse. It sounds as if the early Christians lived in perfect intimacy with God.  But in the letters of Paul, he routinely addressed problems that involved conflicts, divisions, heresies, false teachers, and bad practices.

I wonder if the people who described the early church to Luke painted an idyllic picture and left out the problems, much the same way that we would describe the church we attended when we were young or the church in which we raised our families.

Despite any problems they may have encountered, the church continued to grow.  What really matters, is that the people were striving to live according to the teachings of Christ and were listening to the guiding and leading of the Holy Spirit.  They were a people of prayer, worship, service, fellowship, forgiveness and above all, love.

The perfect church does not exist...but our perfect redeemer does.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Barnabas, Son of Encouragement

Acts 9: 26-30

“26 When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.”

The Disciples did not believe that Saul was truly a disciple of Christ, but Barnabas (whose name means Son of Encouragement) vouched for him before the Apostles.  It is because of Barnabas that Saul was accepted by the disciples in Jerusalem and rescued when the Hellenists (Greek speaking Jews) tried to kill him.

I can think of many people in my life who have helped me along the way in my Christian journey.  If it had not been for them I do not know where I would be now.  I am sure that throughout Saul’s life he was grateful to Barnabas and the support Barnabas gave him in that crucial time of his life.

As Christians, we are to follow the example of Barnabas and build up other believers, to encourage them, to strengthen them, and to show them the way.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Fruits of Our Love

Acs 9: 19-25

“19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” 22 Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah. 23 After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.”

As soon as Saul regained his strength (and his eyesight) he began to preach the good news of Jesus Christ...in the synagogues.  This surely was a surprise to the Jews that heard him and were not familiar with his conversion to Christianity.  

Have you ever run into anyone who, after having a religious experience (not necessarily Christian), has been drastically changed and they are like a different person?  This has happened to me on several occasions.  Sometimes I wondered if they were sincere and at other times it seemed genuine.

What makes the experience genuine is not really what the person says or professes to believe, it is how they live and act toward others over the course of their lives.

We have the privilege of knowing that Paul’s conversion was real from the beginning in Damascus to the end of his life in Rome.  Through his letters, we know his thoughts, and through the churches he founded we know the fruits of his love.

What is our story?  Will those around us know us through our love? 

And what will be the fruits of our love?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)