I wrote on January 29 that the gospel of Jesus’ Kingdom was and is very inclusive. I just noticed a concrete example in Acts 16:

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us. (Acts 16.14, 15, ESV)

Recall the inclusive list in Galatians 3.28:

• Jews and Greeks
• Slave and Free
• Male and Female

And what is Lydia? Greek, Free (and wealthy), Female.

The same day I read Acts 16, I read Matthew 11 where we find:

[Jesus said, ] “Why is it that when John came to you, neither feasting nor drinking wine, you said, ‘He has a demon in him!’? Yet when the Son of Man came and went to feasts and drank wine, you said, ‘Look at this Man! He is nothing but a glutton and a drunkard! He spends all his time with tax collectors and other affluent sinners.’” (Matthew 11.18, 19, TPT)

TPT translates verse 19 as “other affluent sinners” when most translations just say, “tax collectors and sinners.” But we know tax collectors were wealthy, and the TPT note says that “affluent” comes from the Hebrew version.

The point is that although Jesus came to preach to the poor (see Luke 4.16 – 21), he didn’t neglect the wealthy.

And just Paul pledged to remember the poor (Galatians 2.9, 10), God gave him fruit among the wealthy as well.

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. (1 Corinthians 1.26, ESV) Queen Elizabeth is reported to have said, “I’m saved by an m. It doesn’t say ‘not any were noble.’ It says ‘not many….'”

As we go into tomorrow’s Super Bowl featuring the great young quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, and the great old quarterback, Tom Brady, it’s fun to see what they said about Mahomes when he was drafted:

10. Patrick Mahomes, QB Texas Tech — Kansas City Chiefs (from Buffalo)

Grade: C-

Analysis: Calling Mahomes a project is a major understatement. He’s nowhere near ready to play in the NFL. And, honestly, he may never be. Between his inconsistent accuracy due to poor mechanics, his tendency to bail from clean pockets and his lack of field vision, he’s going to leave as many big plays on the field as he creates. This was a risky pick.
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/04/2017-nfl-draft-grades-picks-analysis-results

For that matter, Tom Brady was drafted 199th in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft. 

Don’t let the experts fool you. They would have missed these picks too:

• Joseph as ruler of Egypt – too arrogant, and in Egypt, the wrong nationality
• David to be king – 8th son, probably the result of an affair
• Jeremiah as a prophet – too young (Jeremiah 1:7)
• Jesus’ original disciples (See Matthew 10.1 – 4)
  • Fishermen? Are you kidding?
  • A tax collector AND a tax protester?
  • All Galileans except Judas Iscariot from Judea – probably the smartest in the bunch
• Saul of Tarsus – hotheaded persecutor

Formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. – Paul, 1 Timothy 1.13

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16.7, ESV)

I just have one more comment to make on Heather Holleman’s 4 Ways to Move Forward in February, and it’s on the last one:

If we’ve gone ahead of God in January–perhaps with unwise choices or alliances–we can pray that God “releases [our] foot from the snare” (Psalm 25:15), that we can live free from condemnation (Romans 8:1), and that God would mercifully make “all things work for good” (even our mistakes). 

Maybe because I’ve done so much thinking and writing of the events of January 6, but I can’t help but believe that Heather also knows people who are at least in sympathy and maybe involved with the rioters. “…gone ahead of God…unwise choices or alliances.”

No matter what our unwise choices, there is good news. She suggests a three-part remedy:

• Pray that God releases our foot from the snare:

My eyes are ever on the LORD, for only he will release my feet from the snare. (Psalm 25.5, NIV)

• Pray that we live into our freedom from condemnation:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8.1, 2, NIV)

• Pray that God will make all things work for good – even our mistakes:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8.28, NKJV)

As I wrote last week, no matter who we are or what we have done, God is forgiving and compassionate and wants our next action to be in the right direction.

You are my dear children, and I write these things to you so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we continually have a forgiving Redeemer who is face-to-face with the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2.1, 2, TPT)

¹⁰  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
¹²  as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
¹³  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
¹⁴  For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. (Psalm 103.10 – 14, ESV)

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, ESV)

Here’s another of Heather Holleman’s wisdom for February principles:

Lots of activity isn’t the same as bearing eternal fruit for God’s kingdom. We’re told in John 15 to abide with Him because apart from Jesus we “can do nothing.”

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15.5, ESV)

Avoiding lots of activity goes with yesterday’s “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Again, my friend Skip Gray used to quote the Apostle Paul this way:

This one thing I do…not these 14 things I dabble in. – Skip Gray on Philippians 3.13.

I wrote back in May that Dr. Greg Ogden (among many others) advocates that churches be “laser-focused” on making disciples. However, churches and their members (us!) are often busy – read, “activities” – but not fruitful. Heather Holleman’s warning is a good one:

Lots of activity isn’t the same as bearing eternal fruit for God’s kingdom.

And we are called to fruit – not, just activity.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. (John 15.16, NIV)

Yesterday I shared Heather Holleman’s 4 Ways to Move Forward with Wisdom for February Here’s the first one:

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Jesus said “no” to certain tasks often (Mark 1:35-38). Jesus also followed the exact instructions of the Father and did not go beyond this (John 14:31).

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” (Mark 1.35 – 38, ESV)

I couldn’t agree more with that principle: Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. My Navigator hero Skip Gray used to say,

The need does not constitute the call.

Once a church asked me to serve on the Christian Education Committee. I declined. I explained to them, “While you all are talking about Christian education, I intend to be doing it. I can’t both teach and attend meetings talking about teaching.”

June and I have learned over the years that if we commit to four things that “meet only once/month,” we’ve just accepted a weekly commitment! And too many commitments means that it’s harder to live with the margin that Jesus lived with, as I’ve written about before.

So, thanks to Heather Holleman for that reminder:

Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1.9 – 11, ESV, emphasis mine)

I always like to share insights from others when I find them. Heather Holleman published some wisdom on her blog January 30: 4 Ways to Move Forward with Wisdom for February. Here they are:

1. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. Jesus said “no” to certain tasks often (Mark 1:35-38). Jesus also followed the exact instructions of the Father and did not go beyond this (John 14:31).
2. Lots of activity isn’t the same as bearing eternal fruit for God’s kingdom. We’re told in John 15 to abide with Him because apart from Jesus we “can do nothing.”
3. Our educated, strategic, and humanly good plans don’t replace the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. We’re told in Proverbs 3 to “trust in the Lord” and “lean not on [our] own understanding.”
4. If we’ve gone ahead of God in January–perhaps with unwise choices or alliances–we can pray that God “releases [our] foot from the snare” (Psalm 25:15), that we can live free from condemnation (Romans 8:1), and that God would mercifully make “all things work for good” (even our mistakes). –Heather Holleman, January 30, 2021, emphasis hers.

This is all she wrote. I think I’ll share a few observations on some of these over the next couple of days.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5.15 – 17, ESV)

Regular readers of the Ewellogy know that I don’t miss many space anniversaries, but I missed one last week: the 35th anniversary of the Challenger disaster, January 28, 1986.

I remember the day well since I was working in Space Command Headquarters in Colorado Springs. We all gathered around televisions to learn what we already knew: that the Space Shuttle Challenger, carrying, among others, schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, had crashed shortly after launch. 

A January 30 article in the Wall Street Journal recounts that Peggy Noonan wrote President Reagan’s speech to the nation containing these memorable words:

The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.

I read about the 35th anniversary of the tragedy the same day I read Acts 13 and 14. Here’s a typical sentence:

The Jewish leaders stirred up a violent mob against Paul and Barnabas, including many prominent and wealthy people of the city. They persecuted them and ran them out of town. (Acts 13.50, TPT)

A case could probably be made from scripture that riots and rioters are ALWAYS wrong. I’m still stunned that so-called Christians, “righteous” people would take part in a riot. Please see Saturday’s blog if you missed it. 

In Acts 13 and 14 (and perhaps the whole of Acts), the pattern is similar:

• Paul arrives at a city and goes to the synagogue.
• He preaches the gospel to Jews.
• Some Jews believe, some don’t.
• The ones who don’t stir up enough people to cause a riot and run Paul out of town.

Exciting times! The Word is increasing, and there is opposition. The Kingdom is advancing, and Satan doesn’t like his territory encroached on.

When they had preached the gospel to [Derbe] and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. (Acts 14.21, 22, ESV, emphasis mine)

“Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” sounds a bit like “The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.”

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6.10 – 12, ESV)

Yesterday I wrote about the misguided zeal of those who rioted in the Capitol on January 6 and who threatened a pastor who apologized for an erroneous prophecy. Let’s be more positive. I read in Acts 12 how it’s supposed to work. Let’s start with the end!

But the word of God increased and multiplied. (Acts 12.24, ESV)

Isn’t that the goal? The Word of God increasing and multiplying? And how did it happen? The chapter opens with Herod beheading James and imprisoning Peter.

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people. (Acts 12.1 – 4, ESV)

What was the church’s response? Rioting? Why not? There were thousands of them. NO! Prayer.

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. (Acts 12.5, ESV)

They prayed for Peter, and he was released by the act of an angel (see Acts 12.6 – 11). Herod had his guards executed – killed, not by rioting Christians, but by Herod himself.

Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. (Acts 12.18, 19, ESV)

Then Herod dies. He is NOT killed by rioting Christians, but by worms (see Acts 12.20 – 23)!

Which brings us to where we started: Herod, the ruler, the persecutor and murderer, is dead, but God’s Kingdom expands.

But the word of God increased and multiplied. (Acts 12.24, ESV)

Again, as we wrote yesterday, God’s instructions are clear:

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (1 Peter 2.13 – 17, ESV)

I keep trying to get away from this topic, but the cover story of World Magazine’s February 13 issue talks about the mindset of some of the rioters of January 6. Apparently, Christian believers were among them. The article, Crisis of Fath, also talks about Christian leaders with followings publishing prophecies that Donald Trump would win the election. Here’s a snippet telling what happened when one such “prophet” apologized:

On the morning after the Capitol Hill riots, preacher Jeremiah Johnson posted a public apology on his namesake ministry’s website: “I would like to repent for inaccurately prophesying that Donald Trump would win a second term as the President of the United States.”… On Jan. 7, the day after Congress certified that Biden prevailed—and after a mob of rioters stormed the Capitol in protest—Johnson posted an apology for being wrong about Trump. He rejected the notion that Trump didn’t win because people didn’t pray enough. And he refused to say Trump actually did win but the election was stolen: “I want to go on record: I was wrong, I am deeply sorry, and I ask for your forgiveness.” Johnson says the response was brutal. In an update on Jan. 10, he wrote: “Over the last 72 hours, I have received multiple death threats and thousands upon thousands of emails from Christians saying the nastiest and most vulgar things I have ever heard toward my family and ministry. … I truthfully never realized how absolutely triggered and ballistic thousands and thousands of saints get about Donald Trump. It’s terrifying. It’s full of idolatry.”  – World Magazine, February 13

This reminds me of an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal about climate activists. Here’s a snippet of that:

Unfortunately, America is absurdly supplied with citizens whose professed passion for climate science is not matched by a desire to know anything about it. – “Biden’s Age of Climate Decadence,” Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., Wall Street Journal, January 27, 2021

We could paraphrase that provocative sentence into something like,

There are thousands of Americans whose passion for Christianity is not matched by a desire to know anything about it.

Scriptures are clear, and tomorrow I want to post an uplifting story from Acts about how things are supposed to work. In the meantime:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way… I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling… (1 Timothy 2.1, 2, 8, ESV)

Acts 8, 9, and 10 give us a clear picture that no one, meaning NO ONE, is excluded from the opportunity to be part of God’s Kingdom.

• A black government official – Acts 8.26 – 40
• A Jewish, anti-Christian terrorist – Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9.1 – 22
• A Roman military officer – Cornelius, Acts 10

The Passion Translation has an intriguing note relating these conversions all the way back to Noah’s three sons:

At last the gospel broke through and penetrated into the non-Jewish cultures and people groups. The Holy Spirit was now uniting Jewish believers and non-Jewish believers into one mystical body of Christ on the earth. Because of this, there would no longer be a distinction between Jew and non-Jew, but one family of believers formed by faith in Jesus Christ. See Gal. 3:26-29. The three conversions of the Ethiopian dignitary in ch. 8, Saul of Tarsus in ch. 9, and the Roman officer Cornelius in ch. 10 prove the power of the gospel of God. One could view these three as representing all of the sons of Noah: Ham (Ethiopian), Shem (Saul), and Japheth (the Roman Cornelius). A black man, a Jew, and a gentile were converted! (Acts 10.38 note, TPT)

And all three people were missional right away!

Saul (later called Paul) began his public preaching in Damascus immediately even though he didn’t know much at that time…

And immediately [Saul] proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” (Acts 9.20, ESV)

It’s likely that the Ethiopian began to sow the seeds of the gospel in his homeland, which today is over 60% Christian.

Cornelius had a house full of people when Peter (reluctantly!) preached in Acts 10, and the Holy Spirit came on all of them.

God is inclusive while we sometimes try to exclude. Saul had a hard time being accepted in Jerusalem, not because he wasn’t Jewish, but because of his history as a terrorist. Barnabas had to come to his rescue.

And when [Saul] had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. (Acts 9.26, 27, ESV)

All of Acts 10 and half of Acts 11 is given to Peter’s visit to Cornelius. Peter had to be convinced to go, and the Jews had to be convinced that it was OK for him to go.

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” (Acts 11.1 – 3, ESV)

I wonder what part of Acts 1.8 did Peter and his Jewish friends not understand?

[Jesus said,] “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, ESV)

Have we gotten the picture?

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3.26 – 28, ESV)