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The disciples asked Jesus, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" ."Men of Galilee," [the angels] said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?" (Acts 1:6, 11). I suppose there's nothing inherently wrong with gazing into the sky, especially if you've just been watching Jesus ascend to heaven! But the time comes when continuing to gaze at...
Keep Reading"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;and you will be my witnesses." (Acts 1:8) Do you try to influence others by raising your voice? Texting in ALL CAPS? Emailing with an abundance of exclamation points? Flooding your Instagram feed with motivational (always scripturally-based, of course) sayings? What's behind that desire? In other words, who or what...
Keep Reading"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). I am not a naturally take-charge person. If someone else wants to lead, I'm more than fine with that. Which is perhaps why the Holy Spirit has, at times, had to sneak up on me with His opportuniti...
Keep Reading"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? Acts 1:11a One of our children allows things to become messier than the others do, and when the mess reaches an overwhelming level doesn't know where or how to begin cleaning it up...so just does something else instead. The mess gets messier, mom's blood pressure rises, chaos takes over, and the ent...
Keep ReadingIn my first book, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1) As we begin this final week of our Influence series, we'll move from influences to being influencers. So far, we've looked at being shaped and formed ("influenced") by paying close attention to who God really is, by learning how to come under the influence of the wisdom of God rather than the...
Keep ReadingThe eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture (Acts 8:32). A eunuch is a man whose future has been cut off. In the ancient world, a man would "live on" after death through his offspring. The man we meet in this passage in Acts 8 was "an important official," a man trusted with "all the treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians" (8:27). So he was important, powerful, a m...
Keep Reading"Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. "How can I,"he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" (Acts 8:30b-31a). After reading about Philip and the Ethiopian this morning, I went for a walk and racked my brain to see if stashed in there were any memories of me coming upon someone who asked what a particular scripture meant. Blank. (Btw, Blank is how Con...
Keep ReadingPhilip and the Ethiopian Acts 8:26-40 I will never forget the first time I visited Minnesota. It was March, and there was still some snow on the ground and ice on the lakes, and yet I had to ask why there were kids in swimsuits playing in sprinklers on a random 60-degree day. The soil in the fields we passed was so black I asked if there had been fires that burned everyt...
Keep Reading"How can I understand unless someone explains it to me?" (Acts 8:31). My love of all things medieval intensified in college. I collected (benign) dragons, devoured medieval literature, and joined the fencing club. I had read about fencing and watched movie duels, but it was far different applying that knowledge. Despite my eagerness, my instructor didn't hand me a foil an...
Keep ReadingAn Ethiopian eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way homehe was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet (Acts 8:28). God doesn't want you reading your Bible alone. For good reasons! Week 3 of our Influence series has begun, and this week we'll be looking into how the Holy Spirit speaks and shapes us as we listen to Scripture togethe...
Keep ReadingThe spiritual person makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subjectto any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he mayinstruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:15-16). It's never a good idea to take an idea out of context. "We have the mind of Christ." Influenced as thoroughly by Western individualism as all of...
Keep Reading" No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (I Corinthians 2:9-10a). "Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgottena thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. The living word awakened my soul, gave it light, h...
Keep ReadingWe, of course, have plenty of wisdom to pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it's not popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be out-of-date in a year or so. You don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but more like the oldestwhat God determined as the way to bring out his best i...
Keep Reading"We speak a message of wisdom among the mature,but not the wisdom of this age." (1 Cor. 2:6) Motivational posters, t-shirt slogans, and Instagram quotations surround us, offering "wisdom" for living. Follow your heart. Don't stop until you're proud. Be you. Do you. For you. Sure, they offer inspiration to stick to that diet or go the extra mile on the Peloton. But as ...
Keep ReadingNone of the rulers of this age understood the wisdom of God, for if they had,they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:6-16). Welcome to week 2 of our Influence series. This week we'll be looking at the interplay of "wisdom" and "Spirit" and "the mind (thoughts) of Christ" in Paul's letter to the believers in the city of Corinth. Corinth in Paul's ...
Keep ReadingBut the Pharisees and teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners " (Luke 15:2). As we've seen so far this week, the parable of the prodigal son is told in response to some religious leaders who are calling into question Jesus' willingness to enjoy the company of people whom the religious people knew to be "sinners." Light cannot enjoy fellowship with darknes...
Keep ReadingThe Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 I'm a rule follower. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, I thrive on words of affirmation, and it should come as no surprise that I'm also an oldest child. I have two younger brothers, and one decided several years ago that he would go his own way. There are reasons for his subsequent silence--some I know and some I don't--but I'm sure of this...
Keep ReadingThe Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 I'm not a rebellious person by nature. I was an excellent teenager, and I gave my mom zero gray hairs in high school. I wish I could say the same about my first couple years at college! At first the freedom of living away from home was overwhelming, but it didn't take long for me to embrace it. I loved it so much that I began to tell myself...
Keep ReadingJesus' Parable of the Father and his Sons, Luke 15:11-32 The poet George Meredith wrote, "I speak of the unremarked forces that split the heart and make the pavement tossforces concealed in quiet people and plants." (Quoted by Eugene Peterson in his Introduction to Nahum in The Message Bible.) We have all been amazed at the way a simple plant can force its way up through...
Keep ReadingLuke 15:11-32 We're kicking off a new series this week: Influencer. We'll start with one of Jesus' best-known and loved stories, the one we call The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). It's a story about how we get lost, how we get found (if we're willing), and the costs of finding. Luke opens this chapter by drawing our attention to three groups of people who f...
Keep ReadingClick here to listen to this post! So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed"...
Keep ReadingClick here to listen to this post! Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb (Matthew 27:58-61). Don't skip past this day. Yes, spring is upon us and there are chores to be done. The pan...
Keep ReadingClick here to listen to this post! "The hourhas come for the Son of Man to be glorified . Now my soul is troubled,and what shall I say? 'Father,save me from this hour'?No, it was for this very reason I came to this hourNow is the time for judgment on this world;now the prince of this world will be driven out.And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peopl...
Keep ReadingClick here to listen to this post! Some of the disciples said to one another, "What does He mean We don't understand what He is saying" Jesus saw that they wanted to ask Him about this... (John 16:17a, 18b, 19a). Children embrace their lack of understanding. Maybe this is one reason Jesus says we must become like little children to enter the kingdom. Children don't un...
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