All posts by Tom Vander Well

Wayfarer, husband, father, consultant, thespian, writer, thinker, and back porch musician. Pressing on through the journey one step at a time.
Chapter-a-Day

Mom and the Ministry

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Mom and the Ministry (CaD Gal 2) – Wayfarer

“On the contrary, [James, Peter, and John] recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.”
Galatians 2:7 (NIV)

It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday so I’ve been thinking about my mother a lot this week. This will be the second Mother’s Day since her earthly journey ended back in March of 2023. Mom was old school in many ways. I think she really enjoyed it when I began my career as a pastor. When my path led to my career in business, she would regularly ask me, “Are you ever going to go back into ‘the ministry?'” It didn’t matter how many times I explained to her the concept of the priesthood of all believers, that ministry is not confined to being a pastor, and that my job is ministry. She would politely listen and end with, “I know, but are you ever going to back into the ministry?”

In the early years of the Jesus Movement, the focus of the disciples primarily remained preaching Jesus’ message to their fellow Jews in Judea. It was what they had done when Jesus was still with them. It’s what they knew. They were comfortable with it. When God opened the door for Peter and the rest of Jesus’ followers to let go of Jewish customs, like adhering to strict dietary restrictions and men having to be circumcised, it was a tectonic shift in thought and life.

In today’s chapter, Paul continues to explain to the believers in Galatia that he was recognized as an Apostle by Jesus’ inner circle. I find it fascinating that Peter, James, and John were happy to let Paul take Jesus’ message to the non-Jewish Gentiles while they stuck with taking the message to their fellow Jews. At the heart of the conflict that Paul is having with the Galatian believers and the “teachers” from Judea telling them they had to become Jews and be circumcised is the fact that the leading Apostles were still hanging around Jerusalem contentedly living and ministering within the Jewish people and culture. It placed Paul in a position in which he appeared to be an outsider doing things differently than the “real” Apostles back in Jerusalem.

As I meditated on this in the quiet this morning, there were two main themes that my heart chewed on.

First, I am reminded that the concept of “ministry” is not narrowly defined in Jesus’ paradigm but expansively defined. Ministry is what every disciple is called to do every day with every person we interact with. Apologies to my mother, but one of the core mistakes made by the institutional churches and denominations was that they promoted the notion that “ministry” was confined to an institutionally defined, approved, and professional class within the institution. The result was that the vast majority of institutional church members came to view “ministry” as a narrowly defined, professional vocation rather than the calling and mission of every believer.

The second theme is the unfortunate reality that we as humans have a hard time with change, and this can be especially true when it comes to transforming our belief systems. Peter and the Twelve said that they affirmed Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles. They even affirmed Paul’s teaching that Gentiles were free from the Jewish law and ritualistic rules. However, when Peter himself visited Paul and Barnabas in Antioch he shied away from the Gentile believers once his posse of Jewish believers joined them from Jerusalem. Old habits (and beliefs) die hard. Just like my mother having a hard time wrapping her heart and mind around the truth that “ministry” is not confined to vocationally being the pastor of a church.

And so, I exit my quiet time and enter another day of ministry in the marketplace.

Have a great weekend, my friend.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Members Only (or Not)

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Members Only (or Not) [CaD Gal 1] – Wayfarer

I did not receive [the Gospel] from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:12 (NIV)

I have an issue with church membership.

Let me explain.

Many years ago I was hired to be the pastor of a church. I accepted the call, moved my family, and began leading a wonderful group of people. About a year-and-a-half into my three-year commitment, I received a call asking for an emergency meeting of the church elders. For those of you who have never been on the staff of a church let me tell you that an emergency meeting of the elders is never a good sign.

I joined the elders in my office and found out that the “emergency” was that I, the pastor that they asked to lead them and had been doing so for over a year, was not a member of the church. What the elders with their undies in a bunch were getting at is that I had not gone through the official, denominational bureaucratic hoop-jumping steps of church membership. Forget that they hired me to be their pastor and that I had been faithfully and passionately serving them for over a year. I hadn’t checked a legalistic denominational box which called my loyalty and leadership into question.

At the next congregational meeting, I officially and dutifully jumped through the hoops and requested that I be accepted into membership of the church. I’m happy to say that my request was almost unanimously approved.

I wish I could say that this was a one-time anomaly. Actually, I have two almost identical stories involving churches in different denominations and locations. I’ve learned that church “membership” carries a lot of weight with some people despite it being a human institutional invention with no Biblical authority or priority. My struggle is not that the institution wants to do things that bring order to the organization. I get that. My struggle is that somewhere along the line individuals place a greater priority on institutional human rules than the clearly stated life priorities God gave us in His Message. It’s at best silly and at worst an indicator of deeply messed up spiritual priorities.

This morning, our chapter-a-day journey enters Paul’s letter to believers in the region of Galatia today. These are local gatherings of Jesus’ followers whom Paul founded when he traveled through there years before. It was Paul who preached Jesus’ message to them. It was Paul who lived among them and helped them establish and organize their local gathering. Paul is writing to his spiritual children.

But there’s a problem.

The Jesus Movement came out of orthodox Judaism. Paul himself was an orthodox Jew. The believers in Galatia, however, were mostly non-Jewish Gentiles. Some orthodox Jewish believers from Judea began visiting these local gatherings in Galatia with their undies in a bunch and calling emergency meetings of the elders. They proceeded to claim that 1) Paul was not an officially and institutionally sanctioned apostle of the Jesus Movement and that 2) If any non-Jewish person wanted to be an official believer in Jesus they must first go through the orthodox Jewish hoop-jumping steps to get their orthodox Jewish membership certificate, and only then would they be official, card-carrying members of the Jesus Movement. What were the hoops they had to jump through? For men, the major hoop was having the foreskin of your penis cut off.

As you might imagine, this stirred up some conflict and confusion.

These are the circumstances in which Paul picks up his papyrus and stylus to write his friends back in Galatia.

In today’s chapter, Paul addresses the concerns raised about him not being an official apostle of Jesus. Paul reminds the Galatian believers that he was once more zealously orthodox in his Jewishness than any of those who were questioning his authority. He then establishes that it was the risen Jesus who appeared to him and called him to take Jesus’ message to the non-Jewish people. Third, Paul explains that while he had established a relationship and understanding with Peter and James (the recognized, apostolic leaders of the central Jesus Movement in Jerusalem) he was largely unknown to those who were now questioning his card-carrying membership in the Movement.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on the tension between divine purpose and human organization. When I was a child, most of those who considered themselves Christians were certificate-wielding members of large denominational institutions of human origin. Most of those institutions have now fractured and imploded into small fragmented networks of like-minded congregations. Many believers have abandoned denominational loyalties. I have personally found it fascinating to observe and experience. I don’t grieve the change.

The Apostle’s Creed states, “I believe in the holy catholic church.” “Catholic,” by the way, translates to “universal.” It is not a reference to the institution of the Roman Catholic Church. Rather, it means that I am part of the Church (capital “C”) made up of every other believer in the world as determined by the indwelling Holy Spirit in each believer and having nothing to do with jumping through hoops, attending a class, and receiving a certificate of church membership. It means that I am part of what God is doing in the Great Story on a grand scale and that I have a Church family made up of all believers, regardless of human denomination, nationality, tribe, ethnicity, political views, or local church (lowercase “c”) membership.

Along my spiritual journey, I have personally been led not to sweat my church membership, and to prioritize being a part of what God is doing in His

Along my spiritual journey, I have personally been led to not worry so much about my local church membership certificate, and rather prioritize being a part of what Jesus is doing in His Church.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Note: The featured photo is of an editable church membership certificate that can be purchased and downloaded at Etsy.

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Opportunity in Interruption

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For two whole years Paul stayed [in Rome] in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!
Acts 28:30-31 (NIV)

Over the past few weeks, I’ve mentioned that our local gathering of Jesus’ followers has been talking about “interruptions.” Sometimes life interrupts us with unexpected tragedies, challenges, or obstacles. Sometimes God interrupts us like Saul on the road to Damascus. When interruptions happen, how do we react, respond, and cope?

Today’s chapter is the final chapter of Acts. Luke obviously brought it to a conclusion before Paul’s earthly journey was finished. The events and experiences Paul went through, even in today’s chapter, are a good reminder that life does not always turn out the way we want or expect. Paul is shipwrecked. A poisonous viper bites Paul and dangles from his outstretched hand before he shakes it off. The castaways find themselves spending three months on the island of Malta, which none of them had even heard of, and dependent on the kindness and hospitality of others. When Paul finally does get to Rome, he is literally chained to a Roman soldier day and night while under house arrest.

I spent some time meditating on how I would have reacted and responded to these circumstances: shipwreck, castaway, snake bite, house arrest, and chained to someone 24/7/365 for two years.

Luke ends with a rather positive proclamation regarding Paul’s attitude. He was welcoming, upbeat, bold, and optimistic. He used his chains as an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with his guards and to be an example through his words and actions as he welcomed guests and extended hospitality to everyone. Paul was able to see the golden opportunities in life’s interruptions, including his chains.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about life’s most recent interruption that surfaced this past Friday evening. It was one of those moments when what you’ve been planning and expecting to happen for years suddenly vanished with the receipt of one unexpected email. Life’s trajectory suddenly changes. I can react with anxiety and/or fear. I can brood about how unfair it is. I can even look for a scapegoat to blame for this interruption. Or, I can “trust the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I can acknowledge Him knowing that He will make my path straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

I have learned along life’s road that when interruptions occur, my immediate emotional reactions aren’t very healthy or productive. When my mind, will, and spirit work together to respond with faith, I have the opportunity to see God’s opportunities.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Earned Respect

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Earned Respect (CaD Acts 27) – Wayfarer

The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.
Acts 27:3-4a (NIV)

I have always loved being on the water, and have dreamed of being at sea. As a kid, I planned to join the Navy so I could sail around the world. There was a period of my childhood when I wore a sailor hat all the time. My mom loved to tell stories of me wearing my sailor hat so much that I would forget it was on my head. I’d go to bed with it on or jump into the swimming pool with it still on my head. That love is still with me. I’d rather be on a cruise ship on the ocean than any other kind of vacation.

Today’s chapter is a fascinating and dramatic retelling of Paul’s ocean voyage to Rome in order to face trial before Caesar. I find it riveting simply because of the details Luke provides about what a voyage by ship was like at that period of history. Luke was on board with Paul, so the chapter is a primary source description of the events. The fact that they got caught up in a raging storm, spent 14 days adrift, and were eventually shipwrecked makes for exciting action. I seriously had sea shanties going through my head as I read.

After finishing the chapter and reflecting back on the events, there was one thing that stood out amidst all of them.

Paul is still a prisoner of Rome, and there were a number of other prisoners who were being transported to Rome at the same time. There was a centurion named Julius who was in charge of the prisoners and the other Roman soldiers guarding them. Early in the voyage, the ship makes port in Sidon. Julius allows Paul to disembark to meet with friends there.

This is a tremendous risk for Julian. If a prisoner were to escape, Julian would be killed for allowing it to happen. In letting Paul off the ship and trusting him to return, Julian was putting his own head on the line. Even Luke is careful to note that this was an act of incredible kindness. Later in the chapter, as it becomes clear that the ship is about to fall apart, the soldiers under Julian’s command want to execute all the prisoners in order to ensure no one would escape so as to save their own necks. But Julian, “wanting to spare Paul’s life” vetoes the idea.

As I meditated on Julian’s actions, I was reminded of Paul’s words to the disciples of Jesus in Thessalonica:

“…make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 (NIV)

Paul had obviously lived and conducted himself as a prisoner in such a way that he won the respect of Julian the centurion. The fact that Paul’s disembarkation in Sidon was to meet with fellow believers “to provide for his needs” was an example of Paul’s ambition to “not be dependent” on Julian or the Roman Department of Corrections. Paul earned Julian’s respect, and in doing so Paul saved his own life and the lives of all the other prisoners on board with him.

In the quiet this morning, I can’t help but be instructed by Paul’s examples in both word and deed. Yes, the story of his voyage and shipwreck makes for fascinating reading. The real story of Paul’s survival, however, is rooted in something far more significant. Paul had lived and conducted himself as a prisoner in such a way that a Roman centurion twice risked his own neck for him.

May my daily life win the respect of outsiders.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Paul v. The System

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Paul v. The System (CaD Acts 26) – Wayfarer

“They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I conformed to the strictest sect of our religion, living as a Pharisee.”
Acts 26:5 (NIV)

Over the last year or two, I have been listening to podcasts and watching documentaries about religious sects and mega-churches that have ended tragically in all manner of scandals and abuses both personal and corporate. I didn’t make some kind of conscious decision to do so. Looking back, it’s sort of fascinating that I found myself intrigued by the subject. I just finished another documentary series yesterday.

I have written in these chapter-a-day posts before about the common patterns of fundamentalism that can be found in more than just religious groups. Fundamentalism can be found in businesses, social groups, political groups, and family systems.

The Jewish religious system at the time of Jesus, and the time of Paul, bore all the marks of fundamentalism. In today’s chapter, Paul’s testimony before the Roman Governor Festus and King Agrippa describes it. It was a closed system with strict in-group and out-group distinctions. Stringent rules regarding thought and behavior were strictly dictated and enforced. Refusal to conform resulted in, at best, the threat of being ostracized and, at worst, the threat of death.

I found it fascinating that Paul states “They have known me for a long time.” As Paul stands before his accusers, he’s facing men whom he’s known almost his entire life. Paul was among the elite of this Jewish ruling class. He was a student of the greatest Jewish teacher of their time. He was on the fast track to leadership in this very ruling body. He drank the Kool-aid and conformed to the strictest of their religious rules. Had he not met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul might very well have been sitting among those accusing them.

Paul likely knew many of his accusers by name. He likely had dined in their homes, knew their families, and had shared memories from long-term relationships. He had been “in” with them, now he is “out.” Fundamentalist systems always turn on those who refuse to conform and comply. They want Paul dead in the same way Paul, when he was one of them, wanted Stephen dead back in chapter seven; In the same way they wanted Jesus dead. It’s the same system, operating in the same fundamentalist paradigm. Traitors to a fundamentalist system who threaten the power (and wealth) of the leaders of that system are systemically eradicated. The exact, same pattern can be seen in each of the podcasts and documentaries I’ve consumed regarding religious sects and megachurches in our own day.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on Jesus’ words in John 8:31-32: “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Fascinating that I’ve never paid much attention to the beginning of verse 31: “To the Jews who had believed him.” The religious system had people trapped, one might even argue “enslaved,” in strict religious rule-keeping and blind obedience to leadership through the threat of top-down intimidation and social ostracism. Jesus wanted to free them.

Paul had been spiritually freed from the system. Now he wants his old friends and comrades to experience the same freedom. He wants Agrippa to experience it, too. He even tells Agrippa and the entire courtroom: “I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

Along my life journey, I have experienced both unhealthy fundamentalist systems and the spiritual freedom of being Jesus’ disciple. I will always steer clear of the former as I daily embrace the latter.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

To Appeal, or Not?

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To Appeal, or Not? (Cad Acts 25) – Wayfarer

“If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
Acts 25:11 (NIV)

Paul has been imprisoned for two years. He had been a political blue-chip for the Roman Governor, Felix, who wanted to stay on the good side of the Jewish rulers who wanted Paul dead. Paul gave him leverage. Felix gets recalled to Rome and a new Governor named Festus arrives. As Festus gets the political lay of the land, he quickly understands that the trial and fate of Paul is a political hot potato.

Festus begins with a political gesture to his Jewish constituents by traveling to Jerusalem to visit them on their home turf for a little over a week. Obviously, there were a number of political issues to discuss, but Paul’s fate was certainly on the list of Jewish demands.

Upon arriving back in his seat of power in Caesarea, Festus convenes the court and brings in Paul to hear Paul plead his case. Festus, still in a conciliatory mood with the powerful Jewish faction under his rule, asks Paul if he’s willing to be tried by the Governor in Jerusalem.

In this moment, Paul makes a decision that will seal his fate and determine the rest of his earthly journey. We know that Jesus had appeared to Paul and told him he must testify about Him in Rome (Acts 23:11). It is entirely possible that Paul was afraid that the new Governor, clearly trying to appease the Jewish rulers, would take him to Jerusalem and hand him over to them. To ensure that he would testify in Rome, Paul used his legal right under Roman law to appeal his case to Caesar in Rome itself. In doing so, Paul ties Festus’ hands politically. Festus is bound by duty to send Paul to Rome.

Along my life journey, I have encountered followers of Jesus who believe that God has called them to do this or that. Subsequently, I have watched individuals try to make it happen. In some cases, the results have been disastrous, much like Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It has left me believing that if God’s purpose is for me to go here or there and do this or that, then nothing can stop it from happening.

Was Paul’s appeal to Rome necessary or not? If God wanted Paul to testify in Rome, could/should Paul have trusted that God would see to it he won his trial in Jerusalem so he could travel to Rome of his own free will? Was his appeal to Caesar an act of obedience or an act of doubt? We’ll never know.

I have found along the way that God’s purposes and my free will are a lot like the mysterious circle dance of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in which One is Three and Three are One. There’s a tension. On one hand I can be too passive and think I’m trusting God to make things happen. On the other hand, I can willfully try too hard to make things happen and think I’m being obedient to what God has purposed for me.

Life is a bit like the Waverunner we have at the lake. If you don’t have your finger on the accelerator and are propelling yourself forward, you can’t steer the thing. My part is to willfully and obediently walk in discipleship (propelling myself spiritually forward). Then, I can trust God to steer me where He ultimately purposes for me to be.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Political Imprisonment

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Political Imprisonment (CaD Acts 24) – Wayfarer

At the same time {Governon Felix] was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.
Acts 24:26 (NIV)

Wendy and I are long-time readers of the Wall Street Journal. Over the past year, we’ve been following the case of Evan Gershkovich, a WSJ journalist in Russia, who has been arrested and imprisoned on a trumped-up charge of espionage. It is a game the Putin regime plays on a regular basis, arresting high-profile individuals who can be traded for his henchmen who have been captured in the West. It’s a terrible situation for the victims like Gershkovich who’s done nothing to deserve his fate, but it has worked time-and-time-again for Putin, so he’ll keep doing it. It’s the way the world works.

In today’s chapter, Paul is tried before the Roman Governor, a corrupt and incompetent leader named Felix. Felix only lasted a few years as Governor and was eventually recalled to Rome to answer for his poor leadership.

It’s easy to miss the political game into which Paul has been swept, but it’s important context. Paul has one motivation: To be a witness of Jesus, His resurrection, and the eternal salvation He offers. For every other player in the events of these final chapters of Acts, their motivations are personal and political.

The Roman Empire holds sway throughout the Western world. The Empire’s prevailing desire is to maintain power, maintain peace, and keep tax revenues flowing to Rome. In Judea, keeping the peace means dealing with the Jewish leaders who control the Jewish population. The Jews hate the Romans and the Romans despise the Jews, but they have to deal with one another.

To complicate the issue, Paul was born a Roman citizen. His parents were tentmakers in Tarsus, and were likely providers of tents for the Roman legions. It’s speculated that their family may have been granted citizenship for their service in outfitting Roman armies, or perhaps they were wealthy enough to purchase citizenship.

Being a citizen of Rome was not something every person born in the Empire received like you do in countries like the United States. Citizenship had to be purchased or granted, and relatively few people had it. Roman citizenship was more like having an elite status with the airlines that gave you all sorts of perks like free first-class upgrades that the majority of fliers back in economy class could only dream about.

The Jewish ruling council couldn’t just deal with Paul as they did Jesus, who was a nobody in Rome’s eyes. Rome took care of its citizens, which means Felix has a political blue-chip in Paul. The Jews want Paul dead, but Felix holds the power to give them what they want or hold on to Paul and string them along just to make them mad. Furthermore, being a citizen was typically a sign of wealth, and Paul’s testimony was that he came to Jerusalem with money for the poor. If Paul has access to money, perhaps he will offer Felix a bribe for his release. Felix doesn’t care about Paul. He cares about himself, his pocketbook, and his power.

The thing I found fascinating as I meditated on the chapter this morning is to compare Paul to everyone else in the situation. Paul is simply a disciple of Jesus who is focused entirely on bringing God’s Kingdom to earth in any and every way he can. This is such a contrast to both Felix and the Jewish leaders who represent people of this world, living for this world, and representing kingdoms of this world. Felix keeps summoning Paul for conversations hoping Paul will offer him a bribe. Why would Paul offer Felix a bribe? Paul cares more about the opportunity to talk to Felix, the Roman Governor, about Jesus than he cares about his freedom.

In the quiet this morning, I can’t help but wonder how I might fare if I were unjustly arrested and detained simply because of my faith. As I think about it, I tend to think that the situation would reveal a lot about me and that which I believe. If I am focused on this life and the things of this world, then it would likely cause all sorts of spiritual, mental, and physical anguish. If, however, I am focused on God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, then I suspect I have a completely different attitude entirely.

Of course, I hope never to end up in those circumstances. Yet, as I reflect on it in the quiet, I realize that the same contrast exists today as I live in freedom and affluence. Do my life and my actions reflect a person who is living for this world and the things of this world, or do they reflect a person living to bring God’s Kingdom to earth?

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Politics and Religion

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Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”
Acts 23:6 (NIV)

It is a major election year here in the United States, which means that politics is already at a fever pitch and it’s only going to get worse. Both the trials of a former President and a number of important appeals before the Supreme Court with regard to hot political issues and elections have put politics and the legal system on a collision course.

Another hot topic of late is a new book by Salman Rushdie regarding his miraculous survival of being attacked and stabbed 15 times. Rushdie has famously been living under the threat of a fundamentalist Islamic fatwa calling for his death for decades.

Politics and religion are both kingdoms of this world and I have long observed that they often intertwine. They came to mind this morning as I read the chapter. Paul is on trial before the religious ruling council in Jerusalem, the same body that tried Jesus and had Him executed some 20 years earlier. Now it is Paul who has threatened their power and fundamentalist religious politics.

You’ve got to hand it to Paul. He was a lawyer trained by the very system that is now trying him. He knows that system and its internal politics as well as anyone, and he makes a brilliant political move. Paul knew that the ruling council was politically divided into two major factions who hated one another. He also knew that the major divisive issue between the two factions was whether there was a resurrection and life after death. So, he loudly proclaims “I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”

It was a shrewd political play. Suddenly, he shifts the focus from himself and Jesus and stirs the festering theological rancor that divides the ruling council itself. In making a stand for “resurrection,” he makes allies of every Pharisee on the ruling council while tearing off the scab of a festering conflict within the ruling body itself. The entire ruling council erupts, turns on each other, and Paul is whisked away by the Romans amidst the tumult. Paul was a Roman citizen, and he knew that the Romans would politically refuse to let the Jewish ruling council harm one of their citizens.

Paul is safely placed under the political protection of Rome, while 40 of his fundamentalist religious enemies take an oath to neither eat nor drink until they’ve murdered him. I can’t help but think that Paul and Salman Rushdie could have a fascinating conversation about living under the threat of death from fundamentalist religion.

Politics and religion. Two kingdoms of this world combine to make a combustible cocktail. It was true in the events of today’s chapter. This is true in current events. All I have to do is read the headlines.

In the quiet this morning, I am once again reminded of the contrast between the kingdoms of this world, and the Kingdom of God that Jesus brought to this world. The Kingdom of God on earth is focused on each individual disciple who is empowered and called upon to live and relate in a manner consistent with Jesus’ teaching and opposite the kingdoms of this world. If my personal faith in Jesus and my focus on daily living as His disciple transforms into being just another member of an earthly, collective religious system then my faith withers on the Vine and I become just another religious minion subject to a kingdom of this world.

Note: I will be out traveling on business for the next two days. Lord willing, I will plan on posting again on Friday, April 26.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

“Those People”

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“Those People” (CaD Acts 22) – Wayfarer

The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”
Acts 22:22 (NIV)

I gave a message to our local gathering of Jesus’ followers yesterday. We’re in an interesting and challenging series of messages in which we’re exploring how we react and respond when our lives get interrupted. This can take the form of life itself interrupting with challenges, struggles, trials, and tragedies. It can also be what happens when Jesus interrupts as He did multiple times to multiple people after the resurrection in John chapters 20 and 21.

In today’s chapter, Paul is being escorted by Roman soldiers to the Roman barracks for his own safety. The riotous crowd of his fellow Jews were following, screaming death threats, and threatening to stone Paul. In a courageous act, Paul asks the Roman soldiers to let him address the crowd.

Paul starts by providing his religious resume. Paul was raised and educated in Jerusalem and was a student of a man considered the greatest teacher of the time. He was a card-carrying member of the most powerful theological sect and had been the most zealous hunter and prosecutor of Jesus’ followers.

Then Jesus interrupted his trip to Damascus.

What’s interesting about this version of Paul’s story is that he gives us an additional detail that Luke failed to mention when he reports the story back in Chapter 9. After his conversion, Paul went back to Jerusalem. He went back to the Temple to pray. We don’t know where this event was on the timeline of Paul’s life. While praying, Paul fell into a trance and God told him to leave Jerusalem because the Jews there wouldn’t accept his story. Instead, God tells him, “I will send you far away to the (non-Jewish) Gentiles.”

With this statement, the crowd immediately erupts back into their murderous rage.

The good religious Jews of this time were prejudiced against those who were not Jewish. Keep in mind that the Law of Moses specifically commanded them to love foreigners living among them as they love themselves (Lev 19:34). Like good lawyers, they found ways to twist the Law to justify doing the opposite. Even the Jews who had become disciples of Jesus struggled with accepting Gentiles as equals.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking about my own prejudices. Yes, I have them. I suspect we all do to one degree or another. I once gave a message and asked my listeners to close their eyes. I then asked them who came to mind when I said the words “those people.” I had more than one person tell me that day that they had to confess their own prejudices after that.

It’s easy for me to point the finger at the Jews of Jerusalem whose racism against anyone not Jewish is glaring in the story. As a disciple of Jesus, I’m commanded to actually obey the command to love others as I love myself without loopholes, addendums, or exemptions. I can’t honestly Confess “Jesus is Lord” unless I honestly confess and repent of my own prejudices against those who pop to mind when I consider “those people.”

When Jesus interrupted Paul’s life, he was required to learn to love and embrace the very people he’d been systemically taught to ignore and even despise. Jesus asks the same of me.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Wayfarer Podcast

Interview with Heather Holdsworth

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Artist Heather Holdsworth, Author of “Landscape of Hope”

A year or two ago, I had the joy of meeting Heather Holdsworth via email when she reached out about one of my chapter-a-day posts in the Psalms. Our correspondence quickly turned to friendship. A resident of Scotland, we had several common touchpoints including our daughter and her family just living down the highway from Heather’s home in St. Andrews. She has a wonderful story, and I fell in love with her artwork on her website HeatherHoldsworth.com.

I asked Heather to be on the Wayfarer Weekend podcast a long time ago, but she was busy finishing her book Landscape of Hope at the time. The book is now published. I actually gave the book to three people this past Christmas and they all have given rave reviews of both Heather’s artwork and her insight on the Psalms.

Heather and I finally found an opportunity to connect for an interview. I think you’re going to love getting to know her. I encourage you to check out her website. She can also be found on Facebook and Instagram as HeatherHoldsworthWrites. Cheers!

Heather Holdsworth Interview (WW) – Wayfarer