For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Acts 13
I have mentioned before how people were often more drawn to the signs and wonders done by Jesus and His disciples than they were to Jesus and His message. The proconsul, Sergius Paulus, whom Paul and Barnabas spoke to on Cyprus, stands in contrast to that trend. God struck his attendant, Elymas, blind at Paul’s word for standing in opposition to God as Paul and Barnabas taught His word. “When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord”. (Acts 13:12). Did you see the distinction? It was the teaching, not the miraculous blindness that amazed this proconsul. No doubt what happened to Elymas served to reinforce the truth of the teaching. However, it does not seem that it stole the spotlight as was the case with so many other people.
I, too, want to be amazed by the God who is behind all the wonders rather than the wonders themselves. It is one thing to look at creation, witness a miracle, or receive an answer to prayer and be amazed by what I see. But when I can look past those things to see the God responsible for it all and be amazed by Him, it is then that God’s truth takes root in fertile soil. It may well be that this proconsul entered into a true faith that did not fade away with the memory of the miracle he witnessed.
Ex. 23-24
The Pharisees often accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath laws. Jesus responded by pointing out that it was they who were abusing the Sabbath. Indeed, the way I read the laws in Exodus 23:10-12, the Sabbath was not as much about not doing work as it was about giving rest. God’s people were to cease work in the Sabbath year or on the Sabbath day so that the land, the animals – both wild and domesticated – and the slaves and the foreigners might rest and refresh. I would say that it was in giving this rest that the people honored God. Let’s not make life in general and, more specifically, our service to God about us. We honor God when we work to give to others what God has so freely and abundantly given to us.
Ps. 16
What does the psalmist expect God to do? What does he promise to do? David asked God to keep him safe. But what does that really mean? He goes on to talk of how God counsels and instructs him and keeps him secure so that nothing can shake him. He says that he will rest secure, “because You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead….You make known to me the path of life”. (Ps. 16:10a,11a). I think David is looking beyond his physical protection. He seems to understand that good exists only in God. As such, in God’s presence is the only place to find true joy, peace, pleasure, and life. It is the only safe place to be. So maybe when David says, “Keep me safe, my God” (Ps. 16:1a), he is really asking God to keep him in His presence.