Day 320: Acts 8:1 - 9:43

I've always considered Ananias to be such a strong example of what it means to faithfully serve God no matter what. There are two very big points that I can't help but notice about this part of the story. First of all, Ananias apparently had such a history of obedience to God that God went ahead and told Saul that he would be coming before he ever even told Ananias. God already knew that he would do it, and in my opinion, God had to have known that because it wasn't the first time He had asked Ananias to do something difficult. The second, much more obvious point is the fact that Ananias was so in love with God that he was willing to risk his life to go down and pray for a man who had been known as a Christian killer. I don't know how you would have responded to that, but I can say with a fair amount of certainty that I would've had a very difficult time not just because of the fact that I might die, but human nature would tend to think that someone who had so violently ended the lives of so many children didn't even deserve to live, much less be healed of blindness. Just think, as instrumental as Paul was in the beginning of the Christian church, it all may have never happened if Ananias hadn't been faithful to do what God asked him to do.

- Father, teach me to be as obedient as Ananias. I know there have been times when I've ignored Your commands because it was too difficult or "dangerous," but continue to remind me that only You can see the real effects of my obedience and You can take care of the rest if I will just be faithful. -

Day 319: Acts 5:28 - 7:60

Among the many thousands who have died for the sake of Christ, I would dare to say that not a single one has ever been as widely known and preached as Stephen, the first Christian martyr. The story of Stephen is such an inspirational story that we can all learn alot from regardless of whether or not our natural lives are currently hanging in the balance. Something I can't help but notice about Stephen is his quick boldness to preach God's Word with absolutely no regard to what might happen to him personally. I can imagine many of us would probably begin to back-pedal and try to talk our way out of such situations, and yet Stephen was content to do what needed to be done so that he might have just as much of an impact, if not more, after death. It's God's will for each of us to have such a passion for His name that we would be willing to focus on Him first and our own personal lives second. We can all learn a little something about boldness from a man like Stephen, and I know that God will show us more if we will just ask Him.

- God, help me to be strong like Stephen even in the face of terrible adversity. Help me to not regard my life as my own, but remember that You are the One who gave it to me and the least I could do is be willing to give it right back to You. -

Day 318: Acts 3:1 - 5:27

As grateful as I am that we live in such a time where we have so many technological and medical advancements, I sometimes wish I lived in Bible times where the line between true believers and non-believers was very sharp and defined. In today's society, there are hundreds of thousands of "Christians" who would say without hesitation that they would be willing to endure all sorts of punishment and torture for the sake of God's name, and they can say it without hesitation because they know chances are good that they'll never be in a situation where they have to prove it. We live in a society where "suffering" for His name's sake means feeling uncomfortable about sharing your faith or, God forbid, someone making fun of you for being a Christian. In our attempts to be more palatable and user friendly, we have blurred the lines of true Christianity to such a point that it is worth no more than a trinket that can be tossed around and used when most convenient. In the times of Peter and John and the rest of the Apostles, Christianity was the most inconvenient faith anyone could be a part of, and that in and of itself is what made their passion so much more evident. We as believers must find a way to get back to that point where we aren't happy unless we are suffering for His name's sake. We must learn to take all of the conveniences of this Christian faith that we have developed and throw them out the window. Of course, we are fortunate to live in a society where going to jail for our faith may not be as likely as other times in history, but that does not excuse us from the responsibility to take this message that He has given us to the ends of the earth and not stop until the last breath of air has escaped from our lungs. God has given us one life here on earth and He didn't intend for us to waste it making sure that we die comfortably. If we are meant to die, we may as well do it for the One who gave His own life for us.

- Father, set Your church on fire again so that they may have a true passion for Your name. Help us not to be caught up in our own desires and comforts, but consume every area of our lives with Your fire. Show us what it means to be true followers of You and give us the strength to not quit until we are standing before Your throne -

Day 317: Acts 1:1 - 2:47

Every time I read Acts 2, I can't help but be amazed and inspired by what God did among His faithful servants. Among the most inspiring things is Peter's sermon that ended up converting 3000 people. So many times as a youth pastor, I try my hardest to think of clever, well-thought-out, interesting sermons that will be able to get my point across while remaining interesting, and although I've had the amazing opportunity to lead people to the Lord, I've never lead 3000 people at once. As ministers of this wonderful Gospel, we sometimes feel the pressure to dress it up and make it sound as good as possible to those listening. We throw in a few jokes and maybe put up a power-point presentation and yet oftentimes we end up focusing much more on the presentation than we do on the actual message. We can see in the latter part of Acts 2 that Peter didn't spend alot of time trying to formulate the perfect sermon or think of some clever things to say; he simply allowed himself to be used by God in the exact capacity that God desired. If we will just get to the place in our relationship with the Father where we are willing to let go and let Him do what needs to be done, He will accomplish the unthinkable through our hands.

- Lord, help me to just let go and allow You to work through me. You are the only One who can truly achieve all that You want me to do and I know that if I will surrender completely to You, You will take my life and utilize it to change this generation. -

Day 316: John 19:1 - 21:25

When we hear the term "crucified with Christ" we often think of being willing to simply die for Him. Although it is a very honorable and noble thing to be willing to die for something or someone, death was more of a relief during the crucifixion than anything. Being crucified with Christ is so much more than allowing the humanistic part of our nature to take a "bullet in the head." If Jesus had been willing to take a bullet to the head or even have his head cut off instantly, that would have been much easier, but love never takes the easy way out. True love is not only willing to die for the subject of its love, but it is willing to suffer and go through inconceivable pain if that's what it takes. If we are truly in love with the Father, we should be willing to not only die for Him, but we should be willing to live for Him in whatever capacity He requires without questioning or doubting. All too often we are more than happy to say that we would die for Christ because in our society, that promise will likely never be put to the test, but God wants more than our death, He wants our life and every single aspect of it.

- Lord, I want to be the kind of Christian that is willing to endure any and every level of pain and agony if that is what is required to be closer to You. You sent Your only Son down to this earth not just to die for our sins, but to live a life of controversy only to end it with the most horrific torture and agony available at the time. I don't want the kind of life that anyone can handle. I want to live a life that could only be possible by the strength that comes from knowing You and Your Word. -

Day 315: John 16:20 - 18:40

Having grown up in a Christian home, it's sometimes difficult to read the story of the crucifixion through the same eyes as one who isn't familiar with it. If we read about anyone else in history standing firm and allowing himself to be captured, beaten, and ultimately crucified for doing absolutely nothing wrong, we would no doubt take a step back and think about how brave and courageous that person was, and yet when we read about Jesus doing it, it has the tendency to just sound like the average thing that He might do. It is imperative that we as believers remember that though Jesus was 100% God, He was also 100% man and He had to show the same amount of bravery and suffered the same level of pain that you and I would have. Jesus was able to stand firm and allow these things to happen to Him not because He was some super-human that couldn't feel pain, He did it because His love for His people was stronger than any pain that could ever come near Him. And as we learned in previous passages, not only will we be able to do those things, but greater things will we be given power to do! Once God has revealed His love to us and shown us how to really love those that He has called us to, we will have the power to stand up to anything that the devil throws at us because we can take heart in knowing that God will be glorified.

- Father, give me courage in every area of my life. Help me not to shy away from the dangerous encounters that the Devil might throw my way, but help me to face those situations head-on because I know that You have given me strength and You will be glorified in all that I do as long as I keep my focus on You. -

Day 314: John 14:1 - 16:19

In this passage, we read one of the most powerful quotes in the entire New Testament - "The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing, but even greater things." It's interesting because I'm not sure many Christians would directly disagree with what Jesus said here, and yet so many live their lives in direct defiance. So many times we read about Jesus walking on water or opening blind eyes or raising the dead and we find ourselves thinking things like, "Well yeah, He's Jesus. Of course He can do that sort of thing, but I'd be lucky if I could just get my own finances together." We say we have faith and yet our lives tend to be lived in opposition to His Word. Instead of trying to barely get by on our own, perhaps God wants us to live for something more, something greater. Jesus promised us that if we would trust in Him, not only would we have the power to accomplish the same things He did, walking on water included, but even greater things would He give us power to do. The way I see it, we could waste our lives focusing on how our own power can "improve" our lives, or we can put our trust in Him and allow His power to change the world through us.

- Lord, I want the power that You've promised me. Your Word says that not only will I be able to accomplish what You have, but even greater works will I be able to perform. Give me that kind of power, not so I can waste it on my own life to impress people, but so that I can bring Your Word to a hurting and dying world and change it all for You. -