“…he received living words to pass on to us. Our fathers refused to obey him…” Acts 7:38-39 NIV
Today is Acts 7.
Stephen stood before the council of religious leaders. A group of men had “secretly instigated men” to speak lies about him. Then Stephen spoke. He recounted the history of the Jewish people. He spoke of how time and time again God had come to them and rescued them, yet they had chosen to go their own way and worship the false gods of the nations around them. God gave them “living words.” Yet they “refused to obey.”
This is true of us today. Jesus came as the living Word to us. He has provided us with His Holy Scriptures so that we can listen to His Word and have it transform our hearts from being dark and sin filled to hearts in His image. Yet, we often refuse to obey.
Stephen used the term, “stiff- necked people” to describe the men who would not listen to the “living words” of God. He said they resisted the Holy Spirit just as their fathers (ancestors) did time and time again. Simply put, they would not obey what God said. These men had hard hearts that wanted to do what they wanted to do when and how they wanted to do it. They didn’t want to walk in the ways of God. They wanted their way…
Hearing the truth, they did not repent. Instead they chose to kill Stephen for speaking the “living Words” to them. They resisted and rejected God…
May that never be said of us. We must listen to the Word of God. We must receive it so that we can obey it and be transformed by it. The Word is the truth that brings freedom into our lives.
“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.” Acts 5:42 NIV
Today is Acts 5.
Can’t stop talking!!
What the disciples had experienced with Jesus was real. They were willing to stand boldly and proclaim it. Even in the midst of threats by the authorities, prison, and beatings, they could not stop talking about Jesus.
When they were told to stop, Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than men…” God had given them a command, “Go…and tell the people all about this new life.”(verse 20 ESV) They obeyed!
When we have a real encounter with Jesus and experience the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we are changed. We can’t stop talking about all that He has done! “Every day… from house to house” everywhere we go, we cannot stop “teaching and preaching” who Jesus is!
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 ESV
Boldness! Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit” spoke with boldness. Even when arrested and brought before the powerful religious leaders, Peter and John were not afraid.They continued to testify of Jesus and His salvation. This boldness gave evidence to the council of a fact. These men had been with Jesus!
Peter and John were “common men,” fishermen. They were “uneducated.” They were not the elite But there was one characteristic that stood out about them, “they had been with Jesus.”
When we live our lives surrendered to the Holy Spirit, filled with Him, it will be evident that we have been with Jesus as well. The same Holy Spirit, that enabled Peter and John to be bold and to display Jesus in their lives, desires to fill us and give us boldness as well.
After the council released Peter and John, they went to their friends and prayed. They asked for God to continue to grant them boldness so they could continue to speak His Word “with all boldness, while {He stretched} out {His} hand to heal, and signs and wonders {were} performed through the name of {His} holy servant Jesus.” (Verse 30) When they prayed the place was “shaken” and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Verse 31) With great power they testified of the resurrection of Jesus. (Verse 33)
We have a purpose in our lives. We are to know God and to make Him known. Peter and John gave evidence that they had been with Jesus, they knew Him. Everywhere they went they witnessed of Him, made Him known. God’s purpose for us has not changed! What God has called us to He will empower us to do! He longs to fill us with His Holy Spirit so that we can be witnesses! We can proclaim the Word of God with Boldness through the power of the Holy Spirit!
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” Acts 1:8 NIV
Acts begins where the Gospel of Luke left off. For 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. Could you imagine what the disciples had witnessed with their own eyes? They had seen Jesus as the soldiers arrested Him in the garden. They had seen Jesus as He was beaten and nailed to a cross. They had seen Him as He breathed His last breath. Then they had seen the empty tomb! They had seen Him, in His risen form, as He showed them the nail prints in His hands. They had shared meals with Him, listened to Him teach them, and then they saw Jesus as He ascended into heaven!
But in all this, Jesus instructed them to wait. Jesus wanted to empower them to be “witnesses.”
Jesus had already told them that the Holy Spirit was going to come. Jesus came to us as “Emmanuel, God with us”, but the Holy Spirit would come to begin something new — God IN us!
Jesus said “… in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…” (verse 5) The disciples obeyed the words He spoke to them. They went to the upper room and were “constantly in prayer.” (Verse 14)
“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word.” John 8:37 NIV
Dear Princess Warriors,
Last week at WOW we began to learn what it is to have a heart at home in the Word. We learned about the relationship of oneness God desires to have with us. It is man’s true spiritual home where God dwells in man and man dwells in God – attached, connected, united, indivisible, and inseparable. Jesus, the Word made flesh, came to establish this relationship when He came to earth and made His dwelling among us. He died a cruel death on the cross making it possible for the heart of God to once again dwell in the hearts of men as it was in the beginning. God truly desires for us to have our hearts at home in the Word.
The WOW verse for this week is the words of Jesus that He spoke to a group of Jews who did not desire to live in a deep and intimate relationship with the Word. In fact, Jesus states some of the saddest words in scripture with regards to their spiritual hearts: “…you have no room for my word.” These men did not want to receive, understand, believe, and obey the Word. Their spiritual hearts were hard and black… unreceptive. They did not desire to experience their true spiritual home.
This semester at WOW we have been learning this truth: the Word of God is the indispensable necessity of our lives. The words Jesus spoke in our verse this week remind me of how important it is for me to make room for His Word. In order to make room for the Word, I must hold the Word, who is Jesus, in the place of highest honor. I must revere Him as my supreme authority, my Lord. I must live my life in total submission to Him. As I make room for the Word in my spiritual heart, I will trust in the Word having complete confidence in Him resting my mind on His integrity and truthfulness. I will live my life in total dependence on Him. When I make room for the Word in my heart, I will allow His Word to transform my mind and influence my conduct. I will live in total obedience to Him.
As you read the words of our verse this week and reflect upon them, I would encourage you to ask yourself this question: “Am I making room for the Word to be at home in my spiritual heart?” It is His desire to establish a permanent and lasting relationship of oneness, Home, within our hearts. He wants us to live attached, connected, united, indivisible and inseparable from the Word. May our deepest desire be to make room for the Word in our hearts.
Our song this week is “Make Room” by Meredith Andrews featuring Sarah Reeves & Chris McClarney
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”John 1:14 NIV
When I was engaged to my husband Rich, he lived in a small apartment in St. Charles, Missouri. It held his bed and his clothes. It was a place he landed on occasion after work or school. It really was not his home. Cleaning it, decorating it, and making meals there was not a thing of concern to him. He was too busy with working full time and going to school full time. However, all this changed when we got married and I moved in. I did my best to give the apartment and his new life a woman’s touch. It went from a dirty bachelor pad to a cleaned-up home. It went from plain white walls to decorations and pictures. Rich went from his nightly dinner of McDonald’s cheeseburgers to home cooked meals. He went from sitting alone each night to companionship. I had come and turned a place he used only to sleep in, to a place where he abided with affection and found refuge and rest. With he and I together in that little apartment, we experienced home.
This month at WOW our verses are about a special relationship of oneness with God – home. Our spiritual hearts experience their true home as we live attached, connected, united, indivisible, and inseparable with God. It is God in man and man in God. As we have faith in Him, loving and obeying His Word, desiring to delight to do His will, we will experience this relationship with God. We will be led home to the heart of God expressed in His Word, knowing Him and all His goodness.
This week’s WOW verse speaks of this expression of God’s heart. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory…” Jesus is the Word made flesh. He came to dwell with us. Not only did He dwell with us, but He died on the cross so that the heart of God could once again dwell in the hearts of men like it was in the beginning before sin entered our world. This is the relationship of oneness with God that He desires for us to experience with Him.
In a small way, this relationship of oneness is similar to the relationship Rich and I experienced when we were married, and I moved into his apartment. When I came to dwell with Rich, our lives changed for the better as we have experienced home together. Jesus, the Word of God, came to establish a relationship of home with us, a place of intimate relationship. He has come to dwell within us through His Word. When we receive the Word into our lives, understanding what He desires to do within us, and believing every Word He is speaking, we will obey Him. We will truly experience Him and His love. We will know Him as our true spiritual home.
Perhaps as you read this, you realize that your heart has been empty and void of its true spiritual home? The Word, Jesus, is longing to come and reside inside of you. The Word wants to clean up the mess that sin has left behind in your spiritual heart. He wants to make Himself at home in your heart filling you with His love. He wants to change your heart into His image so that you can experience Him fully. May we receive the Word, understanding and believing Him. May we obey what He says! May our hearts experience this beautiful relationship of oneness, home, – attached, connected, united, indivisible, and inseparable – with Jesus, the Word!
“And he said to me, ‘Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you.’” Ezekiel 3:10 NIV
The first time I saw my husband, Rich, was at a church I attended during my college years. He and his friend decided to visit that church because they had discovered that there were “a lot of single girls there.” When Rich walked in and sat down right in front of me, I noticed him and thought he was quite handsome. As the congregation was singing, he turned around in the middle of the song and winked at me. All I could think was, “That guy is nothing but a flirt. He’s not serious about God at all.” I was not impressed! However, a couple of weeks later we ended up riding alone in a car for a two-hour trip to Worlds of Fun with a group of friends. As we drove along, we took turns talking and listening to each other. I listened as he shared his thoughts, his feelings, his desires, and his plans for his life. As he talked, I began to see someone very different than that “flirt.” I began to see his heart. The more I listened to him the better I came to know him. During the weeks that followed, we spent more and more time together; and as I came to know him, I began to love him. Eight months after that “first wink” in the middle of a church service, we were married. The rest, as they say, is history.
We are beginning an exciting new year at WOW with a new theme, “A Heart at Home – A Humble, Blameless, Powerful Life in the Word.” Each week you and I have a wonderful opportunity to listen to God as He reveals His heart — His thoughts, His will, His desires, His feelings, and His plans — through our WOW weekly verses. This month our verses are about the heart – not the physical heart but the invisible spiritual heart, the place where we experience God in a personal, intimate relationship of oneness.
We read last week in Jeremiah 24:7 that God gave us a spiritual heart to know Him. Man’s one true purpose is to know God intimately. The best thing in life bringing more joy, delight, and contentment is knowing our God and living in a relationship of oneness. A few years ago, I was not experiencing joy, delight, and contentment in my own life. Why? It was because I was not listening carefully to what God was revealing about Himself. I had intellectual knowledge about God, but I did not know Him intimately nor have a deep personal relationship with Him.
Thankfully, God has helped me to see how much I need to “listen carefully” and to “take to heart all ‘His’ words.” As I have learned to fix my mind on all the words He speaks to me, receiving His Word into my heart, understanding His Word, believing His Word, and obeying His Word my relationship with God has become very close and intimate.
Years ago, I was given an opportunity to be in a close relationship with a young man. As I listened carefully to the words he spoke to me, I came to know that he had a beautiful heart and that I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life. Similarly, our God who speaks to you and me today is sharing who He is and what He is like because He desires an intimate relationship with us. Our role is to come to Him and listen — listen to receive, listen to understand, listen to believe, and listen to obey.
God’s Word is an indispensable necessity to our spiritual hearts. Listening to the Word God speaks is how we experience the very thing we were created for — knowing God and living in a relationship of oneness. May we long to listen to God carefully and truly take to heart every Word He speaks to us!
This week’s song is “I’m Listening” by Chris McClarney featuring Hollyn. May our hearts desire to listen to every word that God speaks to us so we may know Him. His Word is an indispensable necessity to our hearts and our lives!
“Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” John 13:3-5 NIV
“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” John 13:1 NIV
When I was a kid I had to wear prescription orthopedic shoes. I had foot issues and my feet often hurt. Often there were times that my mom would sit by me on the couch in the evening and ask me if I would like for her to rub my feet. It always felt so good. She loved me and offered herself as a servant to me not only by rubbing my feet but all the other sacrifices she did.
Jesus loved His own. He wanted to teach them a very important lesson — to serve. Why? Because living our lives as a servant focused not on ourselves but on God and His will is the way to a blessed life. (Verse 17) So Jesus washed feet. He displayed humility and love to His disciples.
The truth is you and I are by nature selfish and self focused. When we come to Jesus and ask Him for a heart that is like His, He gives us a new heart. This heart enables us to become more and more like Jesus. It gives us the desire to be humble and loving as He is. He empowers us to no longer be focused on ourselves, but focused on God and pleasing Him.
In this life, there will be many who we encounter that come to us with dirty, stinky, hurting feet. May our hearts desire be as Jesus desired on that night. May we love, bow down onto our knees, and wash the feet — meet the needs — of those around us.
Jesus help me to wash the feet of others so I can be like you.
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” John 8:31-32 NIV
“If you hold…”. Continue, abide, dwell to Jesus’s teachings/ Word. That is the mark of a true disciple. It is impossible to pattern our lives after, give our lives to, and follow closely someone we do not know or relate to on a moment by moment basis.
Jesus warned that it is possible to encounter Him, but to not allow Him to dwell in our hearts. He told those listening to Him. “…you have no room for my word.” We can fill our lives with all kinds of ideas, passions, and pursuits and yet miss the most important pursuit of all, knowing God and His Word.
There is only one way to true freedom and to fulfillment. It is to make room for Jesus in our lives.
Jesus and God the Father are one. Jesus said that He did what He saw the Father doing. “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” Hebrews 1:3. When we see Jesus, we see God the Father.
Jesus repeatedly spoke about “the one who sent” him. He wanted us to understand that He was not working on His own. He was connected in a real and intimate relationship with His Heavenly Father. Jesus said, “… but I know Him because I am from Him and he sent me.” Jesus had and still has an intimate relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. They are one.
Jesus came to show us what our Heavenly Father is like. He revealed God to us. He also came to restore the relationship mankind lost long ago in the Garden of Eden. He came to restore our connection to Him through the Holy Spirit, who we can now receive to live within us.
When the Holy Spirit lives within us, we are able to identify with Jesus in His own words, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.” May this be our desire. That we do nothing from ourselves and for our own ambitions, but that we live for the glory of God. That He is lifted up in our lives, and that we will display God as His visible representation — Image Bearer — to the World around us.
Your Love 