Day 329 (Saturday) - Acts 21:1-23:25

I find it inspiring that Paul is willing to risk everything by going to Jerusalem. I can hear people saying things like, “Don’t go because if you get jailed you will not be able to do more good in other areas or plant more churches.” But Paul has this great faith in God and knows that it is all in God’s hands in the first place. Paul is ready to die if he needs to. I wish I had that kind of faith all the time.

Day 328 (Friday) - Acts 19-20

Paul’s preaching about Jesus in the city of Ephesus was starting to have a major impact on the community, not only on people receiving Christ but on the economy. That’s right, the preaching of Jesus was shutting down the city’s religious tourism and idol buying. The tradesmen were furious and wanted Paul to hit the road because he was affecting their businesses. It’s interesting that the issue wasn’t the loss of a god, but revenue from worshiping that god. I wonder how that correlates with the church today? Do we make decisions based on our worship of God or the revenue it generates?

Day 327 (Thursday) - Acts 16:11-18:28

I love chapter 17! Paul was masterful at engaging people where they were to explain the truth about Christ. I think his tactics would be frowned upon in most churches today, but I believe he hit the nail on the head most of the time. Paul notices all the gods that people worshiped and they had one god for all the stuff they didn’t understand. Paul used that image to explain who that God was. The introduction to God caused many to seek God and many found him. Super Cool!

The picture above is a shrine to an unknown god that was found in Rome. It would have been just like the one Paul was talking about.

Day 326 (Wednesday) - Acts 14:1-16:10

If you believe that church conflicts are something that the first church never experienced, you’d be dead wrong. There were major disagreements between major players in church leadership and we have one today with Peter and John-Mark. Paul did not want John-Mark to join him and Barnabas but Barnabas felt strongly that John-Mark should join them. Paul felt John-Marl lacked some form of commitment and that was his motivation for exclusion. The disagreement was so strong that Barnabas and John-Mark left Paul and Paul ended up going alone. One is a lonely number!

Day 325 (Tuesday) - Acts 12-13

Religious relics are a rather interesting thing. One I’ve always found strange can be found at the Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains. Here is an excerpt from their web site.

The pious Eudocia, wife of Emperor Teodosio II, journeyed to Jerusalem and found the chain that had bound Peter during his second imprisonment. According to the Acts 12:6, an angel caused the chains to fall from Peter's hands and led him past slumbering guards to freedom.

The chain was eventually given as a gift to Pope St. Leo the Great (440-461). In Rome there was already a chain that was greatly prized which had bound the saint during his nine month imprisonment in the Mamertine Prison near the Forum. When the pope compared the two chains, they miraculously fused together into one unbreakable series of links. Because of this miracle, Empress Eudocia built the Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains, and dedicated it to the apostle in the year 442. The relic is now kept in a golden urn beneath the high altar, close to the famous statue of Michelangelo's Moses.

Day 324 (Monday) - Acts 9:23-11:30

Peter, as the first pastor of the first church has one major message, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.” Peter goes on to say that this is the Good News. We hear about this Good News all the time in Christendom and the scriptures but it is here in 10:34 that Pastor Peter defines what the Good News is. All people in every country and every walk of life have the same access to God and the same deep love he has for all. That is Good News!

Day 323 (Sunday) - Acts 7:30-9:22

Stephen was one of seven men who were selected a deacons in the church. He was preaching to the Jewish religious leaders in hope that they would receive the Good News about Christ when they dug him outside the city walls and threw stones at him until he died. Once the news made it to the church, their individual commitment and devotion to Christ was exposed. Persecution is a powerful event in the life of faith. It is interesting that the stronger the persecution the stronger the devotion of the church in the persecuted area. A persecuted church believes in what it is there for and is devoted to it. It could be that if persecution hit the western church, we would lose 90% but the remaining 10% might be the only church that was ever really there in the first place.