5/11/17
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
Our world has very particular things it wants to do and not to do. In Acts 4:13-22 Peter and John are still discussing their infraction with the Sanhedrin. They were apprehended while giving hope that Jesus is the savior, the one who could heal people from all their illnesses. What are the authorities going to do? They can’t have this kind of disorderly behavior going on!
The whole community realizes that God had done a miracle through Peter and John. The problem, as far as the Sanhedrin is concerned, is that they are not confident that there is appropriate oversight. We really like the rules and regulations. Did the church body approve this outreach activity? Did the church council assign a committee to investigate whether it would be a bona fide service project?
The leaders tell Peter and John not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John will not be stopped. They intend to obey God rather than man. Did the Sanhedrin know this? They certainly did.
As we navigate the perplexing and often annoyin maze of modern opinion, we find opposition. Real Christians must do this! Real Christians may never do that! Who gets lost? Jesus gets lost. May we rather be faithful to do good and love our neighbors in the name of Jesus, regardless of what our authorities say.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
The earliest Christians followed a Jewish tradition of pausing to pray, preferably together, first thing in the morning, about mid morning, at noon, about mid afternoon, and in the evening. “Just a Note” posts are brief observations made from Scripture readings not related to a lectionary. If I have one to post, it normally appears about 9:00 in the morning, at “the hour of prayer.”
Our world has very particular things it wants to do and not to do. In Acts 4:13-22 Peter and John are still discussing their infraction with the Sanhedrin. They were apprehended while giving hope that Jesus is the savior, the one who could heal people from all their illnesses. What are the authorities going to do? They can’t have this kind of disorderly behavior going on!
The whole community realizes that God had done a miracle through Peter and John. The problem, as far as the Sanhedrin is concerned, is that they are not confident that there is appropriate oversight. We really like the rules and regulations. Did the church body approve this outreach activity? Did the church council assign a committee to investigate whether it would be a bona fide service project?
The leaders tell Peter and John not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John will not be stopped. They intend to obey God rather than man. Did the Sanhedrin know this? They certainly did.
As we navigate the perplexing and often annoyin maze of modern opinion, we find opposition. Real Christians must do this! Real Christians may never do that! Who gets lost? Jesus gets lost. May we rather be faithful to do good and love our neighbors in the name of Jesus, regardless of what our authorities say.
If this brief meditation was helpful to you, I hope you will check out the other materials on our website at www.WittenbergCoMo.com and consider supporting us.
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