The Book of Acts reads like a novel. There’s drama, intrigue, death plots, and shipwrecks. The ending is disappointing though, right? As the book ends, Paul is under house arrest, awaiting a verdict from the emperor regarding false charges. But there’s no resolution. Not only is there no happily ever after but there isn’t even a conclusion to Paul’s story. Have you ever considered why?
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Reading the Bible often challenges our assumptions about Jesus. Take, for example, what He does to Saul. Usually, Jesus heals blind people. But why does He blind someone who can see? And what does that tell us about Him? Am I next? Is this the kind of thing that Jesus does to people? Why wasn’t I warned about this in Sunday School?
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Have you read “The Legend of Jesus”? In it, Jesus doesn’t get tired, and He doesn’t rest by the well in Samaria or fall asleep in the boat. The crowds don’t turn away from Him, and the disciples just seem to get it. They don’t keep dozing off in the garden when Jesus asks them to pray. And Peter certainly doesn’t cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant or deny that he’s one of Jesus’ followers. In “The Legend of Jesus,” Jesus doesn’t pray for the Father to let Him off the hook. And He doesn’t need a stranger to help Him carry the cross. “The Legend of Jesus” is amazing.
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Over the years, I have had many people reveal to me a terrible trial or sickness they’re facing and the sickening feeling they have that God has cursed them or punished them for some unknown sin they have committed. People brought those same kinds of assumptions to Jesus, and He opened their eyes to the many ways that God redeems the trials we face for our good.
There’s so much to do, and if you believe that what you do matters, doing more of it and doing it well is important. I’ve read all the books and I’ve tried all the apps. They’re helpful, but they tend to say the same things using different words. Jesus makes a truly unique contribution to a vision of personal productivity.
People ask, “Why doesn’t Jesus spell out more plainly the fact that He is God?” While He does express His divinity plainly enough, we often forget that Jesus carried out His ministry in constant threat of death. The authorities were looking for a sound bite they could use as evidence to prematurely end His ministry. And after just a few years, they succeeded.
As Joshua comes to the end of his life, much of the Promised Land remains just a promise. The people either avoided the hardship of the battle or decided that it would be more convenient to put the Canaanites to work for them rather than drive them out. We often face the same tension. God promises us the life that could be ours by His Spirit, but it feels like too much work. We’d rather make peace with our sins than put them to death. This is still a prescription for defeat for the people of God.
Joseph is given a dream of greatness and royalty, but he’s rejected and despised. Each time people try to harm him, he ends up closer to the throne. After his enemies presume him dead, he ascends to power and brings salvation and forgiveness to many. Joseph shows what kind of Saviour to look for and helps to identify Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s plan.
Today’s E100 reading looks at the story of Noah’s Ark. Everybody knows this story, right? Children love drawing the zebras and monkeys, and adults endlessly speculate about how everything fit and what it might have been like. But all of those things distract us from the message that Noah’s Ark is intended to convey. Do you know what it teaches? There are several important lessons that we should hear from Noah’s Ark no matter what our age.
When you read the Bible, usually the focus is on function over form. The “what” seems to matter more to God than the “how.” Why do Christians get so particular about how people are baptized then?
