Courage

The Israelites languished in captivity until the day when God moved the heart of their captor king, the mighty King Cyrus of Persia (Ezra 1). At the Lord’s prompting, Cyrus proclaimed that the Israelites could return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Not only did God move the king’s heart, he also stirred the hearts of some of the Jews to seize this amazing opportunity.

As a part of God moving his heart, Cyrus instructed the neighbours of those returning to Jerusalem to provide them with silver, gold, goods and livestock. Pretty sweet! However, Cyrus wasn’t finished yet. He also brought out items that a previous king had taken from the temple and gave them to the temple-building entourage.

Through His movement in peoples’ hearts, God opened up a way for the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

I am so glad that God stirs us and others to action. I am excited about how God might move in my heart and the hearts of those around me today.

Lord, help me to hear your voice. Grant me the courage to act on your nudges. Thank you that when you bring us to something, you will also bring us through it. My life is yours. Amen.

Being a bit of a rebel at heart, I applaud Peter and John’s courage in standing up to the Jewish authorities in Acts 4:1-22. The Sanhedrin, a council of Jewish religious leaders, was the power centre of Jewish religious at the time. Because Peter and John were teaching about Jesus, the Sanhedrin called them in for questioning (see my previous post, “God’s Power in and through Imperfect Instruments”).

These powerful Jewish leaders commanded Peter and John to stop teaching in Jesus’ name. Disobeying the Sanhedrin was not a good idea as it could lead to expulsion from the synagogue, being shunned by their fellow Jews, or even worse.

Peter and John responded in this way: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (vv. 19-20).

Peter and John chose the way of rebellion in this instance so that they might obey the Lord. The questions I have for us today are:

Who or what do we need to defy in order to obey God more fully?

Who is the person in our lives who may be hindering us from following Jesus more closely?

What are the forces (e.g. materialism, naturalism, individualism) that may be eroding our commitment to God and His Word?

Let’s be inspired by the rebellious courage of Peter and John and lovingly stand firm for truth, no matter what the cost.

As a young camp counsellor, I had strong opinions about what constituted a good camp speaker. When Mr. B stood up to speak at the start of camp, I just knew we were in trouble. Yet, God used this imperfect instrument in an incredible way to reach into the hearts of many that week, including myself.

In Acts 4, the Jewish leaders were alarmed that the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They detained Peter and John for questioning. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, responded powerfully to their questions. He spoke with God’s power and even the Jewish leaders took notice. “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (v. 13).

After deliberating amongst themselves, these same religious leaders exercised their human authority by commanding Peter and John to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. I love Peter and John’s response: “...Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (vv. 19-20).

It is intriguing to me that when Peter spoke with God’s power, people paid attention. Yet, when the Jewish leaders exercised their authority, which in this case was contrary to God’s desires, it had little effect. It’s a good reminder that the most powerful authority that we wield as Christian leaders is the authority that God entrusts to us by His Spirit. God’s power can make a huge difference in and through imperfect instruments.