Selah! (Acts 20:13-27)

Last night Mara surprised me by going through her bedtime routine without us even knowing about it.  She came into the living room dressed in her pj’s with a great big smile on her face.  When I asked her what was going on, she replied, “Mama, I know I always complain when we’re getting ready for bed, so today I decided to do everything by myself, so you wouldn’t have to hear me complain!”  All I could do was Selah!  (Selah is a Hebrew word used frequently in the Psalms, which means pause and calmly think of that.)

This morning her words were still rolling around in my head.  How – at 6 years old – could she recognize and acknowledge a specific situation in which she was prone to complain?  And not only that, but to intentionally take action to keep history from repeating itself.  Maybe her words stayed in my head because I had set myself up to complain just yesterday afternoon when I didn’t allow enough time to get us out of the house before going to gymnastics.  Or maybe it was because I haven’t had the urge to write for several weeks now (in case you’ve noticed).  I’ve just been waiting for God to give me something to say.  Turns out He gave Mara something worth saying.

Since I last posted, we have continued to follow Paul on his third missionary journey.  In today’s study, we catch up to Paul on the last leg of this journey.  Go ahead and read Acts 20:13-27.  I’ll warn you that the beginning of the passage includes several cities that may be unfamiliar.  Just push through, saying the names confidently … Don’t even think of using them as an excuse to get out of reading the rest.  (Yes, I’m talking to you.  Laughing.)

If you look earlier in Acts 20, you’ll see that Paul and his traveling partners (once again including Luke, the writer of Acts) begin our passage in Troas.  They are headed to Jerusalem, making several pit stops along the way.  One stop Paul was trying to steer clear of was Ephesus, but Paul wasn’t avoiding the Ephesians altogether.  Luke tells us (vs. 17) that Paul “sent to Ephesus and summoned the elders of the church [to come to him there].” (Amplified).  So if he wanted to talk to the elders, why wouldn’t he just go to Ephesus?

We discussed a few of the possibilities in Tentmakers on Sunday.  Maybe there was still some unrest after the Artemis (Diana) riot (Acts 19:23-20:1).  Maybe Paul was afraid that the need would be so great that he wouldn’t be able to leave in time to make it to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost (Acts. 20:16).  In verse 25, Paul tells the elders that this is goodbye.  Maybe he couldn’t bear the thought of saying that to the whole congregation.  Maybe … (you can fill in your own “maybe”).  The ‘Maybe ...’ I filled in this morning came from Mara’s statement about avoiding complaining.  I wonder if Paul sensed that he would be tempted to complain about (and work on) the problems he would see in the church from close-up instead of keeping the focus on his farewell address. 

Now What?  Well, next week we’ll be studying the rest of Paul’s message to the Ephesian elders.  Until then, I challenge you to do what I’ll be doing for the foreseeable future:  Recognize and acknowledge when and where you may be tempted to complain, and (like Mara … and maybe Paul) do something intentional to turn your complaining into a great big smile.  “… if only I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from … the Lord Jesus, faithfully to attest to the good news (Gospel) of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).  Selah!

Hooked (Acts 18:24-28)

Now What? … If you check this blog regularly, ‘Now what?’ is a question you may have been asking over the last few weeks.  I assure you that my silence is not because I have been ignoring my commitment to you.  In fact, you are on my heart and mind every time I sit down to study, regardless of how prolific I may (or may not) seem.  So to answer ‘Now what?’ question, let’s go to Acts 18 and pick up with verse 24: 

            “Meanwhile, there was a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, who   came to Ephesus…” (Amplified)

As much as I’d like to sprint through the coming verses, I just can’t do it … at least not without first taking the bait here in verse 24.  What bait?  The word meanwhile (or a similar word depending on your translation) is a lure begging us grab hold, so that we can be drawn toward what is just out of our sight.  Look back at the preceding verses.  What was going on in the meanwhile? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Paul had left Corinth with his new friends Priscilla and Aquila and headed for Syria.  On their way, they stopped at Ephesus (vs. 18-19).  Although Paul couldn’t stay in Ephesus at the time, he left Priscilla and Aquila there, in hopes that he himself could someday return (vs. 19-22).  Meanwhile … go ahead and read Acts 18:24-26.

While Paul leaving the others in Ephesus doesn’t seem like that big of a deal back in verses 19-22, we see in verses 24-26 that their continued presence in Ephesus was pivotal for the life and ministry of a new man on the scene, Apollos.  Apollos came to Ephesus powerfully teaching the Scriptures (what we would recognize as the Old Testament) along with the baptism of John.  That is, Apollos knew the prophecies concerning the Jewish Messiah – the Christ – and John the Baptist’s preaching of urgency to repent in preparation for His coming (Lk 3:1-18), but Apollos didn’t yet know Jesus by name (vs. 25).  Priscilla and Aquila had the privilege of sharing the Good News with Apollos.  I imagine their opening words to be similar to Paul’s recorded in Acts 19:4:  “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, continually telling the people that they should believe in the One Who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”  The Christ Whom Apollos had been preparing for had come and He “died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures … was buried … and arose on the third day as the Scriptures foretold” (1 Cor 15:3-4).

All of a sudden, I’m thinking of Back to the Future.  You know when Marty goes back to 1955 and tells Doc that what he was dreaming of had come true – the flux capacitor, time travel, … Doc didn’t receive Marty’s message with skepticism, but rather with excitement!  Read Acts 18:27-28 to see how Apollos reacted to the Good News.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

How did you describe Apollos’s response?  I think Apollos did what God wants us all to do – not that we all must have a desire to travel abroad, but that our desire would be to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others!  Once again Priscilla and Aquila’s presence in Ephesus proves important to God’s work through Apollos in that they – having lived in Achaia, Corinth specifically – were able to send a letter with Apollos, introducing him as a friend to be trusted.

Now What?  Well, we started today by taking the bait back in Acts 18:24.  If you look just into Acts 19:1, you’ll quickly see another ‘lure’ – “While Apollos was in Corinth, …” (emphasis mine).  I encourage you to take the bait again and read into Acts 19.  Look for a continuation of themes and circumstances we have studied today.  I’ll catch up to you again in Acts 19:11.  Until then …

Lord God, I pray that we as believers will be hooked on Your Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to draw us increasingly closer to You.  Knowledge isn’t power.  The application of knowledge is power, so like the men and women of Scripture, I ask that You give us eyes to see opportunities to apply every lesson.  In Jesus’s name, Amen.