March 25th, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Jesus Is Lord!

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Almighty God, You call and send, You challenge and support, You guide and sustain. May I honor You in all things.

Read Acts 17:1-15

[1] When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. [2] As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, [3] explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. [4] Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. [5] But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. [6] But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, [7] and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” [8] When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. [9] Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go. [10] As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. [11] Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. [12] As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. [13] But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. [14] The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. [15] Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright &copy 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.&reg Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Meditate

“Why do you keep on saying that I am your Lord, when you refuse to do what I say?” (Luke 6:46, CEV). That’s telling it plainly!

Think Further

The message that “there is another king, one called Jesus” (7) challenges authority establishments today just as it did in Thessalonica: the refusal of some employers to allow workers to wear a cross while on duty; the rejection by new atheists of any creationist view as unscientific; the dismissal of all absolute claims in postmodern academia; the marginalization of religious values in taking and evaluating political decisions. All these cases illustrate how Jesus’ unique claims get under the skin of the brokers of today’s power structures.

Of course, Paul’s preaching in the synagogues of Thessalonica and Berea was an exposition of Scripture, not a political manifesto (2,3,11), but it had clear implications for the religious authority of the rabbis and the secular authority of the emperor. The early Christians affirmed their creed, “Jesus is Lord,” in every area of life. Our challenge in the twenty-first century is to submit every thought, every activity to the Lordship of Jesus. Perhaps too often we echo the credo of the founder of a well-known fast-food franchise who is alleged to have said, “I believe in God, the family and McDonalds, but in the office the order is reversed!” 

It is relatively easy in church on Sunday to say “Jesus is Lord.” On Monday among colleagues at work or with friends in the neighborhood it’s not so simple. Paul’s primary means of witnessing to Jesus in Thessalonica and Berea was to share the message of the Scriptures. And for us also, regular Scripture engagement is critical. The Willow Creek Church, after researching spiritual growth in 1,000 churches across America, concluded, “The Bible’s power to advance spiritual growth is unrivaled by anything else we discovered. Reflection on Scripture is by far the most influential spiritual practice” (Greg L. Hawkins and Cally Parkinson).

Apply

Having reflected on today’s passage, what do you need to yield to Lordship of Christ? Pray about it now.

Closing prayer

Lord, I love Your Word. May its message engage me and motivate me to share the Good News with others.

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