“Now why do you delay?  Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” (Acts 22:16)

Many will miss heaven simply because they procrastinated.  Delayed obedience is just another way of saying disobedient.  Can you imagine speaking to Jesus on the Judgment Day and trying to explain why you were too busy to accept the salvation He died to give you?  I doubt that will go over too well.

When you know the right thing to do – do it.  Paul knew he was a sinner, and Ananias knew the answer was baptism.  There was no reason to delay, and Ananias urged Paul to show some hustle in his obedience to Jesus.  Thankfully, Paul heeded the advice!

Procrastinating obedience is a sin.  Don’t get tricked into delaying the most important things in life.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

“Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing…” (Acts 21:16)

The only thing we know about Mnason is he was a Christian of consistency.  Long-standing faith doesn’t sit down when the going gets rough.  Long-standing discipleship keeps reaching upward and finding new growth.  Long-standing faith doesn’t come up short – it finishes strong.

Be Mnason – be a long-stander.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner, you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Every day, find a small way to give back.  Jesus has made our cups overflow – let that overflow reach others.

In your life, you will have many opportunities to be a taker, but you will also have many opportunities to give.  But, as Paul said, giving requires “working hard in this manner”.  It takes a special kind of person to understand and see the needs of others and work the extra amount required to meet them.

However, is there anything more satisfying in life than giving?  When we learn to give, we become aligned with our heavenly purpose as servants, and we will often find that the desire to give becomes almost addictive.  The reason it feels good is because we are doing what we were made for.

The devil is a lion that roars and consumes.  Jesus is a lamb who gives Himself as a sacrifice.  Giving is the way of the Lamb.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

“Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.” (Acts 19:18)

Why don’t we confess our sins more often?  The passionate believers in Acts 19 confessed their sins and disclosed their practices so that they might be free of those things that belonged to the old man and replace them with the new man built up in Christ.

Yet, this is the double-bind of confession.  When we confess, we disclose our sins, which is freeing… but if we confess, we must disclose our sins, which is terrifying.  We must be vulnerable to be free.

We cannot remove guilt and shame while trying to hide our guilt and shame.  It is only in disclosure that the shackles come off.  Yet, that is a paralyzing proposition!

What if people shun me because of my confession? (Some will.) *Others will draw close with grace and love.*

What if I confess my sin and still struggle with it? (You will.) *But you won’t struggle alone.*

What if my life is never the same after I confess? (It won’t be.) *What if that’s a good thing?

Grace abounds where confession begins.  It is the leap of fear worth making.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

[Paul was] saying, “I will return to you again if God wills.” (Acts 18:21)

Today’s lesson from the apostle Paul – make your plans, but accept the unknown, too.  Paul planned to return to Ephesus, but he recognized that might not be God’s will.

Hold your plans loosely in your hands.  When we become too attached to our expectations of how the future will unfold, our focus becomes on our will, not God’s.  Dream and plan and hope and envision… but leave room for the imagination of your Maker.  He is weaving your life into a much larger tapestry of the kingdom, and accepting His will allows us to be intertwined smoothly into His grander vision.

Don’t miss out on His plans because you were so beholden to your own.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

“Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)

In Christianity, the traits of questioning and examination are praised, not condemned.  There is no such thing as “blind faith” in the New Testament – such terminology is man-made and anti-Scripture.  The Bereans were lauded for their honest skepticism.  The did not accept doctrine based upon emotionalism or traditionalism or cultural preference.  They compared what was being taught to the Scriptures and examining it for truth by comparing it to truth.  They asked questions, they listened actively, and then they made sure to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling (see Php 2:12).

We’d better not check our brains at the door if we are going to follow Jesus.  He requires us to love God with all our heart… and all our mind, too.  Christianity asks you to be a critical thinker and a student.  There is no room for a passive faith.  The Word is active and sharp, and those who wield it must do so with diligence and care.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

And when she and her household had been baptized, she [Lydia] urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. (Acts 16:15)

Lydia’s hospitality was pushy.  Lydia didn’t wait for Paul to ask for help.  She didn’t sit by the phone waiting for the needy to call for assistance.  She found the need and filled it.  She prevailed upon Paul for the opportunity to be hospitable.

Let our love and hospitality be like Lydia’s.  Find the need; seek it out.  Search with an active eye for the good you can do.  When you begin to look for needs, you will find no end of ways to let your light shine.

Take a long, hard look around the church building next Sunday – consider the lives of those there, and you will see ways you might bring a “cup of cold water” to refresh the saints.  As you drive through your community, read the news, and interact with those in the world around you, view those interactions through the lens of “what good can I do today?”, and opportunities will arise like hidden gems in the roughness of this broken world.

Be like Lydia – be pushy with your love.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

“Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls…” (Acts 15:24)

Words can be unsettling.  Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can touch your soul.  It was *just* words that the devil used to unsettle souls in the early church.  It is *just* words that can destroy the church now.

The words we say to each other – do they build up, or do they tear down?

The words we listen to – do they cause us to dwell on good and pure things, or do they stir our hearts up to anger, dismay, or deception?

The words we use and the words we hear have a profound impact upon us.  Choose them carefully.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

“Through many tribulations, we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22b)

If following Christ is hard – you are doing it right.

If living by faith scares you sometimes – you are doing it right.

If “Jesus first” leads to sacrifices and losses – you are doing it right.

If kingdom ethics has caused you to be uncomfortable – you are doing it right.

If a God-guided conscience has forced you to make painful decisions – you are doing it right.

If the devil’s arrows have caused you to stumble or frustrated your progress  – don’t quit. You are doing it right.

The apostles never said it would be easy.  They just said it would be worth it.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites

“For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay…” (Acts 13:36)

No matter how great or how humble, we all may only serve our own generation and then be joined to the ranks of ancestry.  Just like the earth revolves around the sun, there are seasons for each generation.  As one generation is rising up, another is dying off, while a third is in their prime.

We don’t need to change things forever; just do what good we can while we are here and do our best to serve our generation while we can.  It is a principle of nearness – don’t worry about what is far off; just do what is right in front of you.

It also is a good reminder that we each have a purpose in our own generation.  We have work that He has prepared for us to do.  You were not born in the wrong time – you were born in exactly the right time.

Matthew 4:4 #Biblebites