Acts 28 – Brandon Hatmaker “Unusual Suspects”
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Two things stand out to me in Acts 28. The first is found in verse 11 and 12. “After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.”
Throughout scripture there is so much symbolism and significance in how things were done as much as what was done. Yet here God used an Alexandrian ship with not just one godhead but twin gods on it. How unusual. I’m reminded that God uses things we cannot even fathom for His glory. He’s always at work in ways we cannot imagine. His path sometimes may seem indirect or even unconventional, but there is always much to be learned on that path. Many times it’s to remind us that it’s not of us, but of Him.
The second thing that stood out to me today in Acts 28 is not only the boldness of his words, but also the indictment of Paul’s words as he reminded them of what Isaiah wrote, “Go to this people and say, You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”
Many times we are surprised God would want to use us or even speak to us. We may feel like that Alexandrian ship. Out of place. When we feel like God cannot or will not use or even pursue us in fresh new ways, not only are we perceiving God wrong, but in our defensiveness or insecurity we may stop listening and most certainly stop seeking.
The problem is, when we’re off base and resisting God, we don’t always know it. We become calloused without even recognizing our condition. With that in mind, we should be constantly asking God to show us blindspots. We should be begging him to show us where we have closed our eyes. And to do so with a heart to make whatever changes are necessary.
God, open our ears that we might perceive your truth. Show us where we close our eyes. Forgive our arrogance and callousness. Help us to see you clearly. Amen.
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ReplyDeleteI really like the God using things we don't understand why insight. I think that at times we loose our focus, not because of bad things, on God and we are shaken. We start to look to find our satisfaction in our jobs, families or friends, even churches. All of these are good things but, they are also not suppose to be our base of who we are. Paul is grounded in God. That faith still blows me away. There have been times in my relationship with God that I thought I am on top of it. I have having daily queit time, going to "the" church, I got it Godly going on. Then one of the "good" things, maybe my job, start to go south and all is lost. I start to panic and let my focus stray and my world spin out of control.
To say we must be strong like Paul is an understatment and a false statement. We must be strong like who we are, born again in Christ. We need to make sure we are as strong as we can be in Christ. To use others, like Paul, for a goal or reference is one thing but, we can not measure up to others. We can only be as good as WE can be.
Father God, give us hearts to welcome everyone who comes to visit, patience when sharing all matters of the kingdom of God, and love when preaching the cross. May our doors always be open.
ReplyDeleteMichael... love the quote "to say we must be strong like paul is an understatement and a false statement". Good stuff. It doesn't have to make sense to be true, eh?
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