DAY ONE - Trials and Triumphs
Acts 8:1-8
These eight verses paint two very different pictures of what is going on at this time. The first half (1-3) talk about the persecutions of the people of the church. The second half (4-8) shows the success of the spreading of the gospel. It is interesting that at the same time there were both great persecutions and great conversion.
Have you ever noticed in your life a time when great trials and great triumphs seemed to coincide? When you are winning one battle but struggling with another? Make two columns in your notebook, titling one "triumphs" and the other "trials." Make a list under each of the things in your life right now that fall under each category. No triumph is too small to include, it could be that your children didn't fight today, or that you finally figured out a laundry schedule, or that you've managed to read one scripture verse each day. No trial is too trivial - even a struggle with meal planning or getting out the door on time can be frustrating and fill you with a desire to overcome it.
Study both lists. Rejoice and pray a prayer of gratitude for the triumphs. Give the trials over to God and ask for peace and endurance as you wait for them to move to the triumph list.
DAY TWO - The intent of your heart
Acts 8:9-25
The Samaritan convert Simon seems outwardly to be desiring something righteous within the church: priesthood power to bless the lives of others. But Peter, the leader of the church, is able to see that Simon's "heart is not right before God" and that the "thought (intent) of Simon's heart" needs to change.
There is no doubt that, given our sinful nature, we too can get caught up in the wrong motivations for our actions. It takes humility, prayer, and a good hard look at our hearts to discern wrong motivations. Peter points out the dangers to our soul if we let these ill-intents grow: we could find ourselves "in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity."
Take time to look inside and pray today for God to reveal any wrong motivations within. Follow Peter's advice to pray for forgiveness and a change of heart.
DAY THREE - He arose and went (to the desert place)
Acts 8:26-40
Can you believe the miracle of a story that comes out of a desert place? Philip wakes up one morning and is simply told to start walking, straight into a desert wasteland. Do you think he wondered what such a place could possibly hold for him? That he would chance upon a caravan, carrying a man reading Isaiah, studying a specific passage about Jesus, who would then jump out of his chariot into the waters of baptism? And to top it all off, Philip would simply be carried away and find himself transported from arid desert to bustling city? Now that's a story!
What desert place has God asked you to walk into? What path did you feel led to walk, even though it seemed empty? What miracles happened, what unexpected circumstances, what story was written? Record it now in a simple version.
DAY FOUR - Gentle teaching
Acts 8:29-38
This same passage as yesterday contains a beautiful example of gentle teaching. As mothers, we are charged with instructing our children in so many things. Some days each command just spews forth like a rattling machine gun, one after the other, trying to exact order and obedience in our families. Oftentimes this doesn't produce the results that we are after: either our children fall into a meek line of submission, or revolt outright against us.
Philip takes things much slower, and with astonishing success. Go through this passage and highlight Philip's method of gentle teaching. Then list these steps in your notebook so that you might reference them in the future.
DAY FIVE - Our past
Acts 9:1-19
At this time of the beginnings of the early church, two leaders emerge. One is Peter, one is Paul (formerly known as Saul.) By all accounts, both men were raised in the Hebrew tradition. Both likely went to the Synagogue every Sabbath. Both were likely taught from the scriptures as they grew up. But when they encounter Jesus, they have a vastly different reaction.
Peter hears Jesus and follows him immediately. He spends three years walking beside Jesus, hearing him teach, watching him perform miracles. He sees the ups and the downs. He prays with Jesus. his faith is gradually strengthened more and more, growing up spiritually until he is ready to emerge as the leader of the church when Jesus ascends to heaven.
Paul, on the other hand, stands staunchly with the religious leaders of the time against Jesus and his followers. He sees this group as a bunch of troublemakers, and puts all his effort into quashing yet another rebellion of the people. His conversion to Jesus comes abruptly on the road to Damascus. He goes from prosecutor to preacher almost overnight.
What did your call to the gospel look like? Was yours a gradual conversion? Was there a rebellion and a return? Do you feel committed now or do you feel some wavering? Were you raised in a Christian home or did you come to it via some other path? Isn't it comforting to know that God can use our past, no matter what it is, to bring glory to him?
Highlight verse 15. Write it in your notebook, but replace the word "he" with your own name:
"For ___(your name)___ is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel."
Read it again to remind yourself that no matter where you came from, you have been chosen as a vessel unto the Lord, to complete the sacred duties he has trusted you with.
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