Week 2, April 2026, Devotion Part 2

And when they read it, they rejoiced at the exhortation. And Judas and Silas, who were themselves prophets, exhorted the brethren with many words and strengthened them.   Acts 15:32

Did those Gentile converts come to see themselves as being on fire for the Lord? What if theirs was nothing more than a flash in the pan, given their more accommodating “anything goes” culture? Flintlock muskets used to have small pans to hold charges of gun powder. The flare-up of gunpowder without the actual firing of a bullet was termed a “flash in the pan.” No wonder the Jerusalem Council sent in their big guns to arm the Greeks properly for the spiritual warfare they were about to be called on to fight. It comes with every believer’s territory, because God’s Adversary and our Accuser before Him, is on the prowl relentlessly to disarm the veracity of God’s truth, designed for our lasting freedom and joy. We display an empty cross, not a crucified Christ, in the Protestant church.

The letter was written to inform its recipients, but Judas and Silas were sent to help transform their lives. Theirs was not the fiery rhetoric of Old Testament seers, but the gist of Paul’s model as articulated in 1 Corinthians 4:3, “The one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.” When our risen Lord opened up the Scriptures and shared a meal with Cleopas and his unnamed traveling companion on the Emmaus road, He transformed their dead hopes into living ones. This was in factual conformity with His identity as the “living Word” of our triune, holy, and living God.  Part 2 of 2

Comment: My loved ones are too old for Easter baskets, but suitably mature to love fun T-shirts as Christmas gifts. The hot-rod builder’s says “SELF-EMPLOYED - I’m not talking to myself. I’m in a staff meeting.”  The one for the lady of the house reads, “Please cancel my subscription to your issues.”  Yet the road away from Easter’s glory and back into the grind of everyday life is plastered with issues. We might be in the grip of health and financial problems, or struggle with anxiety and lack of self-confidence. Disapproval of something or someone is predictable grist for the mill.  How many of us look in vain for daily good news in the media, or thrill to the decrees issued from the seat of political power?  Oddly, that’s exactly how the Jesus-of-Nazareth narrative got started.  “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.”  What about the commands of God as seen in Psalm 148:6? “He established them forever and ever; He issued decrees that will never pass away.”  None of the issues we face are of the scope of Job’s suffering.  But what if we took a prayerful hint from chapter 22:28?  “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways. When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence. And the humble person He will save.”  Acts 15