Author: Dave Dishman (Page 367 of 475)

An elite leader in the Roman armed forces, Cornelius surprised most everyone with his generosity and devout faith in God. Not the Roman pantheon of gods, but the one true God.

How Cornelius arrived at such faith we do not know. But he followed the Lord and influenced those around him in the same direction. A visit from an angel led to an invitation for a visit from Peter.

Cornelius, along with his friends and family, eagerly accepted the good news from Peter. The Holy Spirit fell on all those present, confirming their faith. Then Peter baptized each in the name of Jesus Christ.

Up to this point, the newly forming Christian faith existed as a sect of Judaism. Boundaries held the faith in check. Hard for me to picture today, but this interaction with Cornelius exploded the theological perceptions of many of the early Jesus followers.

In Cornelius the faith jumped the fire line and spread to the Gentiles. Jesus came for everyone, and when he said go to all the world, he meant Roman centurions, Jewish merchants, and you and me.

The gospel continues to jump barriers, showing up in unexpected places. Why should I be surprised? God’s actions astonished Peter (Acts 10:45). I should expect no less today.

Acts 10 in week seventeen of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Landon Parenteau

I’m always impressed with Ananias and his response when the Lord told him to go to Saul, place his hands on him and restore his sight. Ananias, the disciple, moving toward his persecutor, Saul.

Ananias, after receiving clear directions, went directly to Saul’s house, stepped across the threshold and went to work. How fast did Ananias walk down Straight Street? Did he shuffle slowly, praying all the way? Or did he rush, hoping in the Lord that the confrontation would go well?

Either way, Ananias literally stepped out of his door in faith, choosing a path of bravery and obedience.

In doing so, Ananias started Paul down his own path of bravery and obedience.

I benefit tremendously from the writings of Paul and the example of his life. This story reminds me of the faith of the man who helped him see. While I may never sway the world like Paul, I do hope I can put one foot in front of the other like his healer.

Thank you, Ananias.

Read more about Ananias and Paul in my book Seers, Sayers, Schemers & Saints.

Acts 9 in week seventeen of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Benjamin Davies

When Samuel surprised Saul with the news that God chose him to be the first king of Israel, Saul objected – But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?”

Perhaps the reason for the size of the tribe of Benjamin ran through Saul’s mind. The rest of Israel nearly wiped out his tribe in a civil war only a few generations before. The few remaining men of the tribe took wives in a violent fashion and started over. A rough bunch of distant relatives. Saul descended from wild hill people, looked down upon by the rest of the nation.

Of course, the Lord then picked one of their members as the first king of Israel. Saul couldn’t believe it, and others agreed, but the Lord got the man he wanted.

No family background precludes anyone from the Lord’s grace, just as no pedigree ensures the hand of the Lord’s blessing. The Lord looks with fresh eyes on every single person born into this world.

The Lord chose a kid from the sticks to become king. Who knows how the Lord might work in and through you and me and others around us?

Because everyone is just a kid from somewhere.

1 Samuel 9 in week seventeen of reading the Bible cover to cover

And Saul approved of their killing him.

Chilling.

I often forget that Paul, the great evangelist, church planter and author of much of the New Testament, launched his career at the murder of Steven. The stoning of Steven (not stoned in the one-toke-over-the-line sense, but in the smashed-in-the-skull-with-rocks sense), propelled Saul into a spree of violence and bloodshed.

Saul began to destroy the church.

Compare Saul with a modern day Muslim extremist. Saul would have been comfortable with the beheading of Christians. He would have approved of their violent death, just like he did with Stephen. And which is a worse way to die – stoning or decapitation? Saul smiled at the violence.

I know a conversion appears later. But for Saul and those gentle people he whipped and beat and threw into prison, nothing seemed more impossible.

Which is why I must remember that the Lord grabs who he will. Like Saul, no one is beyond his reach. In my experience, the most vocally opposed to the Lord are often closer to a conversion than seems possible. They think about God and wrestle with God, and God expands into those spaces.

Saul’s story helps me remember that the Lord is never far away, even from the violent destroyers of the church.

Acts 7 in week sixteen of reading the Bible cover to cover

The Stoning of Saint Stephen by Rembrandt, 1625