Acts 28

Acts 28

Microchurch Minute

Paul and his shipmates end up in Malta, where the natives are kind to them. After Paul suffers a viper bite and shakes it off unscathed, they go from believing he is a murderer to exalting him as a god. The chief man of the island, Publius, hosted Paul and his friends. Upon learning that Publius’ father was sick, Paul prayed over him and healed him. Islanders with all sorts of ailments then flocked to Paul for healing themselves. It was a beautiful way for Paul to spotlight the power of God and be a blessing to these folks. They very kindly furnished what was needed for the shipmates to continue on to Rome. Remember how the natives first thought that Paul was a murderer when the viper attacked? How many times do we find ourselves preemptively judging others by what we think we se as signs? We can learn from the natives here to be hospitable and withhold judgement of those that God brings to us.

Once they arrived in Rome, Paul was granted the freedom to live alone, with just one guard. He called together local Jewish leaders and shared the story of how he arrived in Rome and the associated charges. Surprisingly, they had not received any letters from Judea concerning Paul and were interested in what he had to say, so Paul continued. Through his testimony, there were still Jews that didn’t completely buy into the truth. But he continued to reach gentiles along the way.

Paul’s continual faith in God and reliance on the promises he’d received allowed him to continue sharing the gospel wherever he was and whatever circumstances arose from it. We live in a fallen world with both man made and natural disasters. But, isn’t it comforting to know that the God of the universe can use any version of what we see as roadblocks and setbacks as divine setups for His will and purpose?

God I know that you have me placed exactly where I am for a purpose. Please include me in the plans you have concerning where I am and who I will be blessed to meet.
Psalm 13

Psalm 13

Microchurch Minute

Good afternoon, y’all! We gathered Sunday to discuss Psalm 13, written by David, a man after God’s own heart. Though just a couple short verses, we unpacked quite a bit here in regards to what our prayer approach with God can look like and be productive. David starts asking why God has forgotten him. We fall into this temptation from time to time, to believe that we have been abandoned.  Have you ever felt alone? That different versions of the enemies are attacking you and you can’t find God in your midst. Sometimes we feel like whatever problem we are going though is something we “have” to take care of on our own. But let’s be real, I’m betting you’ve realized more often that not, that you actually need God to step in and take the burden that is too big for you to shoulder individually. But how do you respond to these feelings? From a position of hopelessness, David pleads with God to light up his eyes again. We see that even though David doesn’t see a way out, he still chooses to believe that God is good and will make a way. The psalm wraps up with David recognizing what God had done for him in the past, and using that as hope in what God will do in the future. He doesn’t just resolve to do it on his own and stubbornly shut God out. Instead there is a surrender of dependency on God and a shift in attitude from lament to intentional recognition of how David had seen God show up before. I’m not sure about the rest of you, but I have personally noticed that my whole demeanor changes when I choose to praise God for what He has done, in the midst of my calling out for help during times of struggle and stagnancy.

Psalm 51

Psalm 51

Microchurch Minute

Good morning y’all. We read through Psalm 51 on Sunday, David’s prayer of repentance after adultery and murder. Talk about sinful realization. The enemy puts a lie into our souls that tell us we aren’t good enough, that our sin is too great for God to love and forgive us. Lies, lies, lies. There is a difference between guilt from the enemy and conviction that comes from the Lord. When He convicts our soul of wrongdoing, we are invited to acknowledge our sins, thank God for His mercy and ask for forgiveness. He wants to forgive us (halleluiah!). David chose to call out for a new heart, a new spirit! He recognized and accepted God’s promise to wash his crimson stained life to become white as snow. Notice David then states expectantly “God when you restore me…” and then looked forward to how he will share the truth of God to unbelievers. This is how we ought to be living, so that when God forgives us and restores our spirit (because we know that He will), we can’t help but bear witness to His redeeming grace. It’s easy for western civilization “christians” to judge other based on their sinful pasts. As the living Church, body of Christ, we get to be like Jesus by observing and appreciating the repentance of those in our spiritual family. Think about that for yourself for a moment. The lowest of the lows, in places you don’t want to admit you’ve ever been – versus your comeback story from hitting your knees and giving it all to God as He washed you clean, stood you back up and empowered you to fulfill His purpose. Which would you want to be known for?