Acts, Chapter 5: Obeying God and Telling the Truth

Sep24

Chapter 5 of Acts continues with more signs and wonders–the sick are healed, unclean spirits are cast out, the apostles are freed from imprisonment twice, and they are enabled to rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus’ name.

BUT the chapter begins with a rather more sobering example of the power and holiness of the Holy Spirit. Ananias and Sapphira conspire to lie to God, and the Holy Spirit, who sees their unrepentant hearts, strikes them dead.

Psalm 1 that we’ve been reading has these warnings:

The ungodly are not so,

But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

God’s signs and wonders are not always healing and freedom and joy. For those who do not stand in awe of His holiness and who do not come to Him with respect, repentance, and humility, the sign of His presence is judgment and ultimately death. I won’t ask you to give examples of this kind of miracle, but if you look around you can see it everywhere. The wages of sin is death.

But the gift of God is eternal LIFE through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Acts, Chapter 4: Signs, Miracles, and Wonders

Sep22

My question last week, after reading about Pentecost and the healing of the lame man was: “where are the miracles today?” The Holy Spirit is still at work in the world, so why don’t I see more signs and wonders and marvelous works of God by the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus?

As I read chapters 4 and 5, I started to pick out and count all of the miracles, signs, works, and wonders of the Holy Spirit in these chapters alone:First in chapters 1-3: the resurrected Jesus, the acension of Jesus, wind and fire at the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the gift of many languages, Peter’s preaching, 3000 people repent and are baptized, the unity of the church, the lame man healed.

Then, in chapter 4,:

  • Another 2000+ men are added to the church (not to mention the women whose number God only knows).
  • Peter, filled with the Spirit, preaches so boldly and eloquently that he astonishes the Sanhedrin.
  • Peter has courage that wasn’t present before the resurrection (Peter denied Jesus and ran away), and he says, “we cannot but speak of the things we have seen and heard.”
  • After the believers pray for courage and signs and wonders, the prayer meeting place starts shaking (earthquake tremor?) and they get the boldness they asked for.
  • The believers are so moved to generosity that no one among them lacks anything, a miracle if ever there was a miracle.

And that’s just the first four chapters of the book of Acts. They saw signs and wonders and were astonished, and I’m sure the Holy Spirit is still at work in much the same ways. So, I’m thinking maybe the problem is not with the lack of miracles in our day but rather with my vision and my sense of wonder and gratitude. I asked the Lord to give me the ability to see and respond to the signs and wonders He is doing now, and I’m going to be looking carefully this week to see what He shows me.

Blaise Pascal wrote: God is “willing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from him with all their heart. God so regulates the knowledge of himself that he has given indications of himself which are visible to those who seek him and not to those who do not seek him. There is enough light for those to see who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition.“

How have you seen God at work in the past week?

Acts, Chapter 3: Such As I Have Give I Thee

Sep21

Peter and John went to pray;

they met a lame man on the way.

He asked for alms and held out his palms, 

and this is what Peter did say:

“Silver and gold have I none,

but such as I have give I thee.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

RISE UP AND WALK!

Peter offers to the lame man and to the people who gather to see the miracle, the best thing he has to give: Jesus and His healing power.

 What struck you as you read this story about Peter and John and their gift?

Psalm 1: I Shall Not Be Moved

Sep19

The Charlotte Mason education folks (which is partly where I got the idea for our Cultivating Beauty and Truth feast) are really into folk songs, but I didn’t add a folk song to our feast. I figured we had enough on our plate as it is.

Nevertheless, our psalm that we are memorizing, Psalm 1, never fails to remind me of this song, sung here by Johnny Cash. I suppose it’s a folk song, and it’s definitely taken from Psalm 1. Enjoy.

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, 

nor stands in the way of sinners, 

nor sits in the seat of fscoffers; 

 2  but his delight is in the law of the Lord, 

and on his law he meditates day and night. 

 3  He is like a tree 

planted by streams of water 

that yields its fruit in its season, 

and its leaf does not wither. 

In all that he does, he prospers. 

 4  The wicked are not so, 

but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 

 5  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, 

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 

 6  for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, 

but the way of the wicked will perish.

Acts, Chapter 2: Pentecost

Sep18

I’ve heard it said that this filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the reverse story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Man in rebellion had one language, but God confused their languages. Now those who speak many languages are called to follow Jesus, each in his own language by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And then Peter gets up to preach. Was this his first public sermon? If so, it’s a good start–short, sweet, and to the point: “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (vs.36)

And a bunch of people became believers and followers of Jesus in response to Peter’s sermon. When I looked up Pentecost, I read that the holiday was the same as the Feast of Weeks, or the Harvest Festival for the Jews (celebrated 50 days after the Sabbath of Passover Week). That’s why so many Jews from all over the Diaspora were in Jerusalem, for the Feast of Weeks. Therefore, Pentecost is the beginning of God’s Harvest of disciples following Jesus. “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

What would you say is the focus of this chapter and of Peter’s sermon?

Acts, Chapter 1: Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

Sep17

For our Cultivating Beauty and Truth feast, we are also reading through and studying the book of Acts.

As the Book of Acts begins, Dr. Luke is sending a second letter to his friend Theo, about all the things that Jesus does after the resurrection. Jesus hangs around and talks to his disciples for forty days, telling them that the Holy Spirit is going to immerse them in power and that they are to be witnesses locally and “to the end of the earth.” Jesus ascends into the sky; two men (angels?) tell the witnesses that Jesus will come back (at some unspecified time); and the witnesses return to Jerusalem to pray, the 11 disciples, the women followers, other men who were followers of Jesus, and Jesus’ family, 120 of them in all.


They decide that they need someone to replace Judas Iscariot (not sure why?). So they look for someone who has been with Jesus during his entire ministry and can witness to the resurrection, and they nominate two guys: Joseph Barsabas and Matthias. They roll the dice, and choose Matthias. And I think that’s the last we hear of Matthias or Joseph Barsabas in the BIble?


Someone called this book of the Bible “The Acts of the Apostles”, and it does tell about what happened with the apostles or followers of Jesus after His ascension. Another writer said it should be called “The Acts of Jesus” because it tells how Jesus continues toward to establish His church. But I think the best title would be “The Acts of the Holy Spirit” because right here at the beginning the Father and the Son begin to work through the agency of the Holy Spirit as the Three-in-One work together to spread the gospel of Jesus over “all the earth.”


Read more about the ascension of Jesus and its meaning.

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What did you you learn or notice about God or about His disciples in this chapter?

Heidi and Toasted Cheese

Sep16

For our Cultivating Beauty and Truth study feast, we’re reading Heidi by Johanna Spyri. It’s not the first time I’ve ever read Heidi, but it has been a long time since the last time I read it, probably out loud to my now-adult children. I am savoring the story and the characters and the scenery.

From The Storybook Cookbook by Carol MacGregor: A delightful variation of this Alpine treat, Heidi’s Toasted Cheese Sandwiches:

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp. salt

8 slices of Swiss cheese or 8 slices of American cheese

8 slices of bread

4 Tbsp. butterCurrant jelly (optional)

1. Crack the eggs on the edge of a bowl or piepan and drop them into the bowl. Beat the eggs slightly with a fork. Stir in the milk and the salt.

2. Make the cheese sandwiches by putting two slices of Swiss cheese or two slices of American cheese between two slices of bread. (American cheese has a stronger flavor.)

3. Put a frying pan on the stove and turn the heat to medium. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the pan, but do not let it burn. 

4. Dip the sandwiches on both sides in the egg-and-milk mixture. Let them soak a minute. When the butter is hot, brown 2 of the sandwiches on both sides, turning them with a spatula. Add the rest of the butter to the frying pan and brown the last 2 sandwiches. A teaspoon of currant jelly on top each sandwich makes them even tastier.Makes 4 sandwiches.

I’ve never made grilled cheese sandwiches with soaked in an egg mixture nor have I ever put any kind of jelly on top. But it sounds as if it could be good. So, other than an appetite for grilled cheese and fresh goat’s milk, what do you remember about reading Heidi?

Let Us With a Gladsome Mind by John Milton

Aug15

Milton wrote this hymn text in 1623 when he was fifteen years old. It wasn’t published until 1645 in book of poems called Poems, Both English and Latin. And the text wasn’t used in churches until the mid-1800’s when it was adapted for a Congregationalist hymnal. The poem is a paraphrase of Psalm 136. You can read a full history of Milton’s poem and the various changes and edits that have been made to make it more singable or more understandable to a modern audience.

Let us with a gladsome mind Praise the Lord for He is kind;
For His mercies aye endure, Ever faithful, ever sure.

Let us sound His Name abroad, For of gods He is the God;
For His mercies aye endure, Every faithful, ever sure.

He with all-commanding might Filled the new-made world with light;
For His mercies aye endure, Ever faithful, ever sure.

He the golden-tressed sun Caused all day his course to run;
For His mercies aye endure, Ever faithful, ever sure.

All things living He doth feed, His full hand supplies our need;
For His mercies aye endure, Ever faithful, ever sure.

Let us, then, with gladsome mind, Praise the Lord for He is kind;
For His mercies aye endure, Ever faithful, ever sure.

So, my Sunday encouragement to you comes from and oft-remembered admonition that Elizabeth Elliot often quoted and from something I wrote about a week ago. I was talking to myself, but perhaps someone else needs to hear these words, too.

Do the next thing. Do the thing that you can do, that you know to be right and good in this moment, today. And if you fail, get up tomorrow and try again. Forgive yourself, accept the grace and forgiveness of God, and do the next thing, with joy. For His mercy is forever and always, and He will strengthen you, step by step, day by day, to build a life of goodness and praise —with a gladsome mind.

Schola or Mother Culture or Just Plain Fun

Aug3

For twelve weeks this fall a group of ladies from my church in Friendswood TX and from online community will be enjoying a “Fall Feast” of Bible study, literature, music, art, and joy through a schedule of S-L-O-W reading and looking and listening. We will be reading and and singing and discussing the following elements of a feast to feed the minds and hearts of those who participate:


1. Bible: the book of Acts. We will be using a Bible study tool from Love God Greatly called Empowered, but if you just want to read the assigned passages of scripture each week and study them on your own without the Empowered study helps, you can do that.

2. Memorization: Psalm 1 (the first six weeks) and Psalm 150 (the second six weeks)

3. Reading: Heidi by Johanna Spyri ( a couple of chapters a week)
The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer (one chapter per week)

4. Poetry: Christina Rossetti. 

5. Art: John James Audubon’s Birds of America. 


6. Hymns: Fairest Lord Jesus (first six weeks) and To God Be the Glory (second six weeks)

7. Music: Handel’s Messiah (the first two sections)

8. Homework: Each week would have an optional assignment, probably in conjunction with the reading in Hidden Art of Homemaking, such as “draw something even if you think you can’t draw” or “try writing a poem” or “plant something and watch it grow”.

If that list looks overwhelming, don’t be intimidated! You can choose to do some of the things or all of the things. Also, we’ll be taking in all this goodness slowly, a couple of chapters of Acts each week, one Audubon painting to look at each week, a few songs from Messiah each week, etc. You can do it, and if you have children at home you can share all the beauty with them. Read Heidi aloud together. Listen to Handel in the morning when you wake up together as a family. Post the painting for the week as your screensaver. Read aloud a short poem. Don’t let fear of not keeping up rob you of an enriching time of fellowship and learning together.


So, there are four options for how you can participate in our Fall Feast:


Option 1: In person meeting on Sunday mornings 9:45 – 10:45 at Trinity Fellowship in Friendswood. Enjoy the feast each week, and come together with other ladies on Sunday mornings to talk about what we’ve gleaned, emphasis on the book of Acts with review of other elements and sharing of “homework”. Child care (children’s Sunday School) is available on Sunday mornings during this time.


Option 2: In person meeting on Friday mornings 9:30 – 11:00 at my home/library. We’ll talk about the books, the poetry, the art and the music, share homework assignments, and perhaps have some special guests to talk about specific works and ideas. You may bring children with you, and we will provide some activities for them and also a study area in the library where responsible children can work on schoolwork or read independently.


Option 3: You are welcome to come to both in person meetings, Sunday mornings and Friday mornings. 


Option 4: We will set up a Facebook group for all participants, and if you can’t make either the Sunday morning or the Friday morning meeting, you can still participate online as we discuss the artistic feast and the Bible readings in the Facebook group. Everyone who has a Facebook account and wants to participate will be added to the Facebook group, and that will be an outlet and a blessing for all of us, but especially for those who can’t come to in person meeting times for whatever reason.

If any of my blog readers would like to participate via the Facebook group, please let me know, and I’ll try to get you an invitation to the group—if I can figure out how the Facebook invitation system works!


Poet of the Day: Eve Merriam

Jul19

Whatever you do, find ways to read poetry. Eat it, drink it, enjoy it, and share it.

I find it difficult to sit still when I hear poetry or read it out loud. I feel a tingling feeling all over, particularly in the tips of my fingers and in my toes, and it just seems to go right from my mouth all the way through my body. It’s like a shot of adrenalin or oxygen when I hear rhymes and word play.

~Eve Merriam

Poet Eve Merriam was born July 19, 1916. She is the author of three books in my library. Epaminondas and A Gaggle of Geese are listed in my Picture Book Preschool curriculum book and are favorites of mine to read aloud. I also have Ms. Merriam’s book 12 Ways to Get to 11, a delightful book that combines mathematics and poetry and imagination.

Eve Merriam was well known as a children’s poet. She wrote several collections of poetry for young people, including Blackberry Ink, The Inner City Mother Goose, Funny Time, Higgle Wiggle: Happy Rhymes, and It Doesn’t Always Have to Rhyme, as well as many picture books and nonfiction biographies and nature books for children. However, she also wrote poetry for adults and had her work published in magazines and journals such as Poetry Magazine. The following poem, The Escape, comes from the October 1940 edition of Poetry Magazine.

THE ESCAPE

Suddenly in the subway
not having had time to purchase a paper at the newsstand
and having read all the car-cards
(even the Alka-Seltzer verse ones)
I came face to face with my immortal soul
and since it was three stations until my stop
I grew worried;
until I saw a boy passing through the various trains
distributing leaflets upon constipation and cure;
they were printed on both sides, with fine close print at the bottom,
so there was nothing to worry about really, nothing at all.

What a narrow escape! Nowadays, she would always be accompanied by her cellphone to distract from thoughts too dreadful to contemplate. I do recommend Ms. Merriam’s children’s books and poetry not as a distraction, but rather to encounter whimsy and perhaps even thoughts of immortality.

Picture Book Preschool is a preschool/kindergarten curriculum which consists of a list of picture books to read aloud for each week of the year and a character trait, a memory verse, and activities, all tied to the theme for the week. You can purchase an updated, downloadable version (pdf file) of Picture Book Preschool by Sherry Early at Biblioguides.