Complete Life Change

Acts 9:4-5 (NIV) – He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

Have you had a life changing experience? The most dramatic of those usually only come once in a lifetime and define us for the rest of our lives. I have shared my own story of encountering Jesus on a trip to Northern Arizona hundreds of times because my life started in a completely different direction that day and I have never gone back.

Jesus came to Paul (then known as Saul), in such a life changing encounter, on the road to Damascus. We first read it in Acts 9, but it is so significant to Paul and the whole Christian church that Luke recorded it three different times in Acts. Your personal life changing encounter with Jesus won’t be exactly like Paul’s, but it is likely to have one or more features that Paul’s had:

1. You won’t expect it - Paul was not seeking Jesus when he met him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-2).
2. Jesus will give you a new life mission – Paul’s life purpose went from destroying the church to expanding it throughout the then known world (Acts 26:14-18).
3. Jesus will not promise it to be easy but he will ultimately promise to make a difference in others’ lives through you – Jesus warned Paul he would suffer at the hands of those he tried to help but many would come to receive eternal life (Acts 9:16; 22:15; 26:16-18).
4. Others will see a change in you but may not understand it – Paul’s traveling companions saw the light when Jesus came but they did not understand his voice (Acts 22:9).
5. You may need others to help you fully understand what follow Jesus will mean for you – Jesus did not tell Paul everything he needed to know in the first encounter. Instead, he called the Christian Ananias to Paul and give him the rest of the details he needed to know then (Acts 9:10-16; 22:10-16).

How many of these have you experienced in the ways Jesus has called you?

What Should We Do?

Acts 2:37 (ESV) – Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

This question was the first of many Peter received as the most prominent leader of the church’s earliest years. The Jews who just heard him preach had seen the sign of the coming of the Holy Spirit and knew something was happening. They had experienced the conviction of the Holy Spirit but they did not fully understand the working of the Holy Spirit, let alone how or if the Spirit would speak to them personally. They did what most of us would in such a situation. They asked someone who looked like he did know what was happening. They asked the man who had just preached to them and those with him, “What should we do?”

Note how Peter answered them. Luke gives us no record of divine revelation for an answer to such an important question. Instead, Peter drew on what he had seen and learned from Jesus. The first word of instruction he gave was the same word Matthew used to summarize Jesus’ preaching in Matthew 4:17, “Repent.” The call for water baptism is a core piece of the Great Commission Jesus gave them just a few days before (Matthew 28:19). Of course, the Holy Spirit had just filled Peter and the rest of the disciples and He no doubt empowered Peter’s boldness as well possibly forging the lessons from Jesus’ ministry into Peter’s mind then words. Did Peter’s response come from his own reasoning or the Holy Spirit’s inspiration? In all likelihood, both contributed. This is likely the kind of wisdom James tells us to pray for (James 1:5) and Solomon tells us to seek (Proverbs 2:6 et al). It is God-given but can use either or both supernatural guidance and natural reasoning, drawing from learning and experience as well as inspiration.

Decision-making is a core component of leadership and wisdom is key to good decision-making. People will continue to seek those who are wise for direction in their lives. We grow more wise as we learn from those who are wise, reason through our own experience, and seek the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. 

Lots

Acts 1:27 (ESV) – And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. 

In this passage, Jesus had ascended to Heaven but the Day of Pentecost had not yet come. The apostle Peter directed the other remaining apostles to fill the spot vacated by Judas when he took his own life after betraying Jesus. This is a very interesting detailed account for many reasons. However, we must recognize that Luke is describing what happened not prescribing what should happen when we face a big decision.

The process they used actually follows the Story Shaping model I describe in my book, How to Make Big Decisions Wisely. In reading the backstory, Peter recognized that Judas’ death left a spot open in what used to be a group of twelve disciples, a significant number for the People of Israel, whose twelve tribes had always defined them. Peter immediately sought to catch God’s story by turning to Old Testament scriptures in Psalm 69:25 and 109:8 that Peter interpreted to encourage filling the vacancy. However, those scriptures were not specific about who should fill the vacancy.

Peter started crafting a new story as he set specific criteria for the one to take Judas’ place. The new apostle was to be “one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us.” (Acts 1:21-22a, NIV) Peter even gave thoughtful rationale for this criterion: “For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:22b)

This apparently limited the choice to two qualified individuals: Joseph, also known as Justus and Barsabbas, and Matthias. To choose between them, Peter prayed and asked God to show them his selection. The disciples then turned to an Old Testament method of seeking God’s direction: casting lots. The New Testament does not record Christians ever using this method again after Pentecost, but many Christians today use other methods of seeking tangible signs from God to determine what to do. I have heard some incredible stories where people prayed that specific and unlikely events would happen as a “sign from God” that he wanted them to make one choice over another. We often call these “fleece,” from the story of Gideon in Judges 6:36-40, in which Gideon asked God’s confirmation with fleece left out overnight being wet in the morning and the ground remaining dry and the opposite, and seemingly impossible, occurrence the next day.

Although we have these stories in the Bible of using signs like lots and fleece to make decisions, we must note they are rare and not recorded after the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost in the next chapter. God is not constrained in any way to let us know what he wants us to do, but always “casting lots” by saying, “If God wants me to do _______, then _____ will happen to let me know,” can be risky because we cannot always differentiate a miracle from happenstance. Be open to signs but, like Peter and the apostles, do not let this replace the more reliable steps in catching God’s story of searching the scriptures first then seeking confirmation of the church.

The Kinds of Instructions Jesus Gives

Acts 1:4 (ESV) – And while staying with them, [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father.

Luke records Jesus’ last words to his disciples in Acts 1:4-8. These show Jesus giving one, two-part command (don’t leave Jerusalem but wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit) followed by a prophecy of what would follow (“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8). Christians today often read verse 8 as a command, but Jesus worded it more as a promise. The disciples’ responsibility was to wait. God would send the Holy Spirit. Once they received the Holy Spirit, they would become witnesses and the message would start to move around the world. We see the reality of that promise today as Jesus’ church fills the world. Yet, even as that mission continues, sometimes, as in Acts, God gives specific direction in the next steps and sometimes it is up to his people to move the mission forward in the best way they can determine.

Jesus’ command in Acts 1:4 only directly and specifically applied to the next step, but his promise applied thousands of years into the future.

If you are like me, you often wish God would give you specific direction for every step you need to take to fulfill his master plan for your life. Yet, for his own reasons, often he seems to work as he did for the apostles: a next step instruction and a long-term promise. Sometimes, though, as we’ll see with Paul later on in Acts, the order is reversed. Jesus has already given us the long-term mission and the short-term promise of his presence without specific direction on how to fulfill the next step. The mission drives us to decide and take action anyway.

The disciples needed to obey the instruction they had from Jesus before the promise would be fulfilled. What do you know Jesus wants you to do now? Don’t worry about all of the things you don’t know. Act on what you do.

We Can’t Know Everything but We Can Know Some Things

Acts 1:7-8 (ESV) – [Jesus] said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 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.”

As a young Christian new to Spirit-filled churches, I was always fascinated by people who often inserted the words, “The Lord told me,” into their conversations. I did not have an experience of unmistakable divine revelation on a daily basis. I wondered if there was something wrong with me or if I needed to develop some special skill so I could hear everything from God. I used to agonize in listening prayer for some major decisions, and I often heard nothing at all.

Those questions stayed with me as I entered into full time ministry, and seventeen years ago I began an in depth study of how the apostle Paul made decisions as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles to see if God gave him special divine guidance in all of the decisions he made. I have returned to that subject many times since for my own personal decision-making and to help others make better decisions. When I began teaching the graduate course, The Shape of Practical Theology, on my arrival at Southeastern University, I saw what I discovered in that first study should form a practical theology for Holy Spirit-filled Christians. Several encouraged me to take the Story Shaping model I developed for that course into a book that could help anyone make better decisions. With help from colleagues and friends and the incredible team at Zondervan, my first book from a major publisher, How to Make Big Decisions Wisely: A Biblical and Scientific Guide to Healthier Habits, Less Stress, a Better Career, and Much More, comes out February 25, 2020.

My personal devotional study through the Bible has returned to the Book of Acts, and I thought it would be helpful for me to take a fresh look again in my reading and reflection on the Greek text. There are always new and fresh insights when we come to the scriptures with an open heart. As I find inspiring thoughts related to biblical decision-making, I will write a few for PowerWords that I pray will be inspirational and helpful for you, as well.

It only took a few verses into Acts to see the core concept I discovered seventeen years ago spoken by Jesus himself. The disciples wanted to know if one of the key hopes of the nation of Israel was about to happen. Look at his response: “It is not for you to know…” Jesus’ words here confirm that he will not tell us everything. If he did not answer the question asked by the disciples he’d spent every day of the previous three years with, should we expect him to tell us everything we want to know?

Yet, Jesus did tell them something that would happen. “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.” Jesus gave them what many Christians call the Great Commission with an incredible promise of power and effectiveness. Eleven confused young men on a hill outside Jerusalem never could have guessed on their own that a worldwide church with a billion-and-a-half people would emerge in fulfillment of Jesus’ words that day. He gave them specific divine guidance a few verses earlier in telling them to not leave Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit and the prophetic promise in Verse 8 describing what would happen.

I believe God still works the same way today. He often will let us know what he wants us to do and what will happen, but he does not always speak clearly and specifically. We can and must make most of our decisions on our own, but let’s be ready to listen when he speaks.

How to Win

John 21:21-22 (ESV) – When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

It is hard not be driven to compare myself to others to see where I stand. I know I am not alone in this. The biggest events around the world are athletic competitions. There will be winners and losers. Hard Rock Stadium was full for Super Bowl LIV with people paying more than $4,600 for the cheapest seats in the house (according to TicketCity). Most of those 62,000 sacrificed to feel the thrill of the game in hope their team would win.

Most of us tend to bring that competitive spirit into other parts of life. Have you had others accelerate when you started to pass them on the highway? Has a formerly lazy coworker ever started to work hard when you seemed to be a threat? Have you wanted to know how you well you are doing and looked at the others around you to see how your performance compared to theirs as the way to tell?

Jesus had just given Peter some very good and some very hard news before Peter asked this question. Jesus restored Peter’s ministry calling with three summons that clearly countered Peter’s three denials of Jesus a few days before. Then Jesus warned Peter his death would be through martyrdom. (See John 21:15-19) Peter then turned to see John following and asked that comparative question, “What about this man?” Peter may have wondered if he was the more favored disciple, if he would have more success in his ministry, or if his death would be more painful.

If Jesus had answered Peter with a direct answer of how he and John compared, Peter’s heart may have swollen with pride or fallen in discouragement, riding the emotional pendulum that comes from living a comparative life. However, Jesus did not answer Peter’s question the way he hoped. He said, “What is that (my plan for John) to you? Follow me.”

I believe Jesus has the same answer for us when we are tempted to compare our performance or our futures with others: “Follow me.” Jesus’ path for you is not the same as his path for me or anyone else. Certainly, we can learn from others around us, but, in life’s game, there is only one way to win: follow Jesus yourself.

Believing Without Fully Understanding

John 20:8-9 (ESV) – Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.

“How much of Jesus do I have to get right to be a Christian?” This is an important question. I have had many friends who believed some things about Jesus but wrestled with one or more key ideas before making a total commitment. Does we have to have everything figured out before we can truly believe?

John 20 tells the story of the first Easter Sunday. Mary Magdalene and two other women went to the tomb were Jesus had been buried to anoint him in the Jewish tradition (Mark 16:1). When they got there and found the tomb empty, Mary ran back to tell Peter and John, who ran to the tomb themselves (John 20:1-9). John used very interesting wording in his Gospel to describe what happened: He went in to the empty tomb, he saw that it was empty, and he believed.

Throughout his Gospel, John made it clear that believing is the distinguishing characteristic of a follower of Christ and the means to receive eternal life. He closed Chapter 20 with the Gospel’s mission statement: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Believing is what grants eternal life. Yet, back in our starting passage, John 20:8-9, it is clear that John, the “other disciple,” believed in spite of not understanding something important: the Old Testament scriptures prophesied Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead.

What does this mean? We don’t have to understand everything about Jesus to believe in Jesus.

Does this mean faith is groundless? Absolutely not! John and Peter saw an empty tomb in vs 8. That was reason to believe. In vs 30 John says he chose to record the miracles he did so we could believe. You may have had a spiritual encounter that gave evidence of Jesus’ reality. Someone may have given you an answer to a troubling question that helped you overcome a hurdle to faith. Now, it is time to believe. What if you don’t understand everything about Jesus? That is okay. I don’t and I have a doctorate, read Greek, and have been teaching and pastoring for years. I know enough, though. I have explored and seriously considered a lot of belief systems and worldviews, and I know that the world makes a lot more sense with Jesus in the center than without him. He has changed my lives and thousands of others I know. There is lots of evidence for the Resurrection. I may not be able to answer every question, but I can answer many. I believe in Jesus, and he has changed my life.

I encourage you to take that step John took at the empty tomb. Go inside, take a look, and, even if you don’t understand everything, believe. You will never be the same.