Acts 1:15-26

This week's schedule:

Wednesday (tomorrow): Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-20
Thursday (May 17): Reading 2: 1 John 4:11-16
Friday (May 18): Gospel: John 17:11-19

Thanks for checkin back!  I'm excited to get into the book of Acts.  For some reason, it is just one of my favorite books--I guess I just really enjoy reading about the early church and what it looked like.

With that, let's get into it, shall we?

Pray:
Lord, I thank you so much for your Word.  You are the author of all things--those things written in ink as well as those that are only written on your hearts.  Guide us as we study your Word today.  Speak to us and lead us according to your great will.  In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Read Attentively:

Acts 1:15-26


15  During those days Peter stood up in the midst of the brothers (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty persons in the one place). He said, 16 “My brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled which the holy Spirit spoke beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was the guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was numbered among us and was allotted a share in this ministry. 18 He bought a parcel of land with the wages of his iniquity, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle, and all his insides spilled out. 19 This became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so that the parcel of land was called in their language ‘Akeldama,’ that is, Field of Blood.
20 For it is written in the Book of Psalms: ‘Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.’ And: ‘May another take his office.’ 21 Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 So they proposed two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own place.” 26 Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles.

My immediate thought here is ... wow... they sure did move on quickly from telling about how Judas died to filling his office--especially after so gruesome an explanation of the death (bursting open and all his insides spilling out and all ... ).  I also think it is interesting that they are recounting the way he died, almost as if on purpose--to remind everyone of what befalls those who betray the Lord.  Maybe not, but that's just my take on it at the moment.

I also find it interesting the way they went about deciding on the new apostle to take Judas' place--they prayed a simple prayer and then went on to "cast lots" or vote.  And Matthias won the vote, so he was counted as one of the apostles.

Imagine/Meditate: It's like they just trusted God to work inside their daily routine--not asking for anything special or some miraculous sign.  That's pretty amazing to me--I think so often, we get caught up in this idea that God has to speak in some out of the ordinary way...but isn't God's voice usually that still quiet whisper???  Doesn't He bless us daily in the sunrise and sunset?  Doesn't He guide us by the windows that open and the doors that close, rather than yell out "HEY YOU--TURN LEFT!! TAKE THAT ROAD!!!"  His voice is often quiet and "ordinary"...it beats within our own heartbeat, whispers within our own thoughts.

Our God is a God of order--just look at creation...it is incredibly orderly and logical; one thing leading to the next and all interdependent on each other.

Apply:

We got to stop looking for the "signs" and "miracles"...at least the way that we think of those things...we have to look closer; listen more intently; find the joy and the MIRACLE in this everyday thing we call LIFE.  It's true--God DOES sometimes speak to us loudly or amaze us with His miracles that bend the laws of nature...but if you think about it, usually that is when we are REALLY off course and in a heap of trouble and He is trying to get our attention...it's kind of nice not to be in a place where God has to YELL for me to hear Him.

I think I'll wait here a while ... basking in the miracle of the morning sunlight and listening to the whispers on the wind.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Pray:  Father God, as I approach your Word today, open my eyes, that I might see your face; open my ears, that I might hear your voice; open my heart, that I might accept what you have for me today.  Let my love for you ever increase and let my life be forever changed by this washing with Your Word.  In your name, I pray, AMEN.


Read Attentively:


Ephesians 1:15-23
15

15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. 18 May the eyes of [your] hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, 20 which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens, 21 far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Ok..so from the beginning, I notice one thing--there are a LOT of comma splices and run-on sentences here.  (English geek, I know...) That means that this passage can be difficult to understand unless you understand the purpose for all of those commas.  

As an overview, I can tell that this is a prayer or blessing that the author wrote for the reader.   I know this because the author starts off saying that he always remembers the reader in his prayers and then goes on to say HOW he does so and what he prays for.  

When I run into a bunch of run-ons and comma splices, I understand that the author is sort of "listing" a bunch of things that are all related.  SO, I find it helpful to LIST the things in order that I find in the passage, often using the commas to help guide that list.  Here's what that might look like.  (Keep in mind, these techniques are not always perfect).  

I am going to start off where I see the first "that", because THAT is where the list really begins.  I am also going to OMIT the "asides" caused by comma splices because they make the passage confusing.  These "asides" are marked by commas--->one at the beginning of the aside and one at the end of the aside.  Finally, I will INDENT and add an arrow after the quality or virtue that is being prayed for so the extra words don't confuse our list.  We can come back to the post-amble later, but for the moment, I just want to get down to the bare bones-->what is this guy asking God for here?? 

SO...I'll summarize that first run-on sentence as a starting point... 

I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, THAT: 

-The God of our Lord Jesus Christ...may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation

                            ---> resulting in knowledge of Him 

-the eyes of your hearts be enlightened

                            ----> that you may know: 

                                                  -what is the hope that belongs to His call

                                                  -what are the riches of glory in his inheritance...

                                                  -what is the surpassing greatness of His power...

STOP.  These are the 2 things that the author is praying for--that God would give the reader a spirit of wisdom and revelation and that their eyes would be enlightened.  Everything that comes after "power" is a SUB-POINT of "what is the surpassing greatness of His power"...it is an explanation or an expansion of that power.  The author is EXPLAINING to the reader exactly what that power entails.  We could make a new list about that power like this:  

What is the surpassing greatness of His power:

        -raising Him from the dead

        -seating Him at His right hand in the heavens

        -far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name...

        -put all things beneath His feet

        -gave Him as head over all things to the church...

        -the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way

All of these things literally are describing and explaining God's power and what His power includes. 

When we list it like this, it is a bit easier to break down and understand.  This is a good place to move on to the next step in PRIMA--> Imagine

Imagine: Think about this...this amazing apostle of the Lord is writing to YOU...telling you that he is praying for you---not only that, he tells you exactly WHAT he is praying FOR...  that's pretty cool, right?  I know that sometimes when people say they are praying for me, I wonder if they really are, or if they just felt like that was the right thing to say at the time...but when it is spelled out like this, you know they really ARE praying for you..and if they weren't, they certainly just did when they extended that blessing.  The really cool thing here, is that scripture transcends time, so the author meant this prayer and blessing NOT just for the reader at the time--the church in Ephesus--he ALSO meant it for YOU and me.  That's pretty cool.  

Meditate: The author also uses this blessing as a way to remind the reader of God's power and promises.  Prayer should always do that--> it should always remind us of God's greatness.  Jesus demonstrates this for us in the Our Father when he says "Hallowed be thy name".  That means "HOLY be your name" ..it reminds us of the CHARACTER of God.  One of the most powerful thing about praying WITH someone (like in a way that they can actually HEAR you...) is that your words can remind them of God's character and His promises.  If you only go home and pray for them when you are alone, they cannot benefit from the promises that YOU know about that has caused you to know that God CAN indeed help them.  It's like taking a minute to tell them "hey, I'm praying for you NOT because I pity you, but because this God we serve is AWESOME, He loves you, and He is ABLE to help you with this situation."  Praying for someone is ALWAYS powerful, but praying for someone OUT LOUD or IN WRITING can be something even more powerful because it plants a little seed of God's promises into the heart of the person you are praying for.  

All of that being said, we haven't even really looked at what is being prayed FOR yet today...we have simply looked at the FORM of the prayer and the RATIONALE as to why it was written down.  

TRY THIS: pray this prayer for yourself over the next few days...just insert "I" or "me" for the "you"s.  I also like to put it into first person, changing the references to God to "you" instead of "Him".... something like this: 

"Father of Glory, give me a spirit of wisdom and revelation, resulting in knowledge of you.  May the eyes of my heart be enlightened, that I may know what is the hope that belongs to your call, what are the riches of glory in your inheritance...and what is the surpassing greatness of Your power...which You worked out in Christ by raising Him from the dead and seating Him at Your right hand in the heavens, far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named...you put all things beneath His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church..."

It's important to look at those big words and figure out what they mean.  

Essentially, the last part talks about the fact that God is bigger and stronger than ALL things, but specifies these 4 things: principality, authority, power and dominion.  

Principality---> principles, ideas, thoughts, temptations

Authority---> governments, anyone who is above yourself in power (could be a teacher, parent, etc.)

Power ---> this includes the powers of evil and the works of satan

Dominion ---> anything that has power over you or that "dominates" you...this could refer to       addictions, oppressions, depressions...any spirit that could dominate you 

Let's move onto the next step and complete our PRIMA--> Apply

Apply: There are a couple of things to take from this (and a lot more if we had more time to break it down!) I'm taking away these things today: 

1. This is an awesome and powerful prayer that I can pray for myself and also for my friends, loved ones and the greater body of believers out there.  

2. Spoken or Written prayer can be even more powerful and provide IMMEDIATE blessings when we remember God's character and promises in our prayers. 

3.  That God is BIGGER than and BETTER than EVERYthing that could possibly come against me.  He is fully able to defeat these things---and in the resurrection, HE ALREADY HAS!  

Check back tomorrow for a deeper look at this Sunday's 1st reading: Acts 1:15-26

Here's a look at the schedule for the rest of this week: 

Tuesday (tomorrow): Reading 1: Acts 1:15-26

Wednesday (May 16): Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-20

Thursday (May 17): Reading 2: 1 John 4:11-16

Friday (May 18): Gospel: John 17:11-19

Thanks for checkin' in!  Talk to you tomorrow!

-Candice

Saturday (April 14): Ephesians 1:15-23

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So, I ran across this today as I ran a random search for my name on google....don't ask--I am a strange bird and do this from time to time to find out just what the WWW knows about me....it's scary....put your name in and try it!

Either way, I found this and thought "huh, this is exactly what I'm thinking today"...it was from a blog post I wrote in 2006....

Are you in love with Christ?  I don't mean "are you a christian" or "do you go to church"...I mean are you IN LOVE with Jesus? 

I remember when I met my husband...for almost a year, he was just the training manager at AOL...I never imagined or desired that we would ever have anything more than a transactional business relationship.  Isn't it amazing how you can "know" someone in such a way that you never actually know him?  You might see that person every single day and talk to him every single day and never actually KNOW him.  I remember exactly where I was when I fell for him....I was in my car in front of my Dad's house...we had been talking on the phone while I was driving home from work and it was late and I didn't want to wake up Shiloh so I stayed out in my car and talked a while. 

Have you ever noticed the smog that settles over Albuquerque?  We live our whole lives wandering around in this cloud of pollution.  From the window seat of an airplane it's really quite disgusting when you look at it...there's literally this fog that just sits on top of our city.  That's what it was like before that day in my car....like I was walking around breathing in the pollution...the toxins set into my muscles...the darkness into my thoughts...and when we were talking it was like a breath of fresh air that seemed to flow throughout my body washing away all the poison I had been breathing in for so long...

As my heart and eyes began to open to the awesomeness of his love and the possiblity of what we could have together...all of the "cancer" slowly faded away... cancer that is caused by broken promises or failed attempts at trust... as I fell deeper in love, everything in my life changed--the way I looked at things, the places I went and with whom I spent my time...every thought was consumed by thoughts of him...the sacrifices that I've made for my husband and my family came so easily to me, as if they weren't sacrifices at all...the changes in my attitude towards my very dominant "feminist" side were so sudden yet so easy to let go of...that's how it is when you find love...the two of you grow together and everything in life becomes about that growth, that togetherness, that relationship...how you can nuture it, what's best for the two of you...knowing what things set him off and simply avoiding doing them--not because you're letting him "change you", but because you love him dearly and that's all that matters.  You adopt a "whatever it takes" mindset as you approach life and you guard your love and your relationship with everything you are and all the strength you have because it is just that dear to you.  When he weeps or something hurts him, it hurts you just the same.  When he is overjoyed, your joy sings with his.  Life is about the two of you...and it is beautiful.

So I ask you, are you in love with Jesus?  Does the cancer fade away when you are in His presence?  Is He the air that you breathe in a world of pollution?  Are your thoughts consumed by Him?  Are the sacrifices you make because you love Him dearly and desire to be close to Him and to guard your relationship with Him?  Or are they simply religious acts that you do out of habit or guilt or obligation or because it's "the right thing to do"?  Are you striving to change yourself or do you allow Him and His Love to transform you?  Are you ready to do whatever it takes to be close to Him, to be in His presence?  Does your heart break when His does?  Is He what your life is about?

I don't want a religion; simply a list of "to do's" and "not to do's"...I don't want want to be simply a "good person"...for who, really, is good?  If you do not have the One who is the absolute good...really, can you be good?  Do I want to be nice and generous and all those things? Sure, I guess everyone does...but it's not in me to do so...only in Him do I have hope of being anything better than what I am...I just want to be completely head over heels in love with Jesus...to know Him deeply and need Him desperately...to sit in His presence as He washes away my sin...

...for I am nothing apart from Him.

Yep. I think that about sums it up.  Wisdom from a much younger (and perhaps wiser, Candice)...

-Candice