Series: Advancing
Message: Best Frenemies
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Japhet De Oliveira
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Jessyka Albert
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin today in prayer. Ask God for understanding through the Holy Spirit and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Acts 8:1-25 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: Peter corrects Simon in no uncertain terms. Using references to the First Testament stories in his language, he lets Simon know that he sees the inner working of Simon’s heart. His motive is being called into question. At first you may think that this could be another Acts 5 moment, but when Simon appears, everything changes. The story closes with the Gospel advancing further into many of the Samaritan villages.
There is a lot at stake when you raise yourself far above everyone else. The pride we have so often prevents us from reconciliation. It is why we can be frenemies with others—seeming superficially cordial while still bearing resentment and anger. It’s hard to know whether to continue to keep friends who are inauthentic and who end up hurting us. Peter and John could have pushed Simon out of the group. Did the church really need someone like Simon in its community, someone who had the motive all wrong? If the church were a place that existed for people who do the right things and think the right thoughts, Simon would have been ostracized. But the church has to be a place that welcomes everyone. This is incredibly difficult, as most of us have very limited tolerance levels. Perhaps some of us have misunderstand the word “peculiar” in 1 Peter 2:9 (KJV), thinking that it meant “weird” rather than simply meaning someone Jesus calls His own. When we understand that Jesus is the one who reconciles us not only to Him but with each other, we start to become the church He has called us to be. That is how we advance the Kingdom against all odds. When everyone else is focusing on what they need, by the power of the Spirit we focus on others. When everyone is creating wedges in the community between us and them, by the power of the Spirit we create one community for all. When everyone else is seeking their own preferences, by the power of the Spirit we let our personal preferences go in the interest of the greater cause. When everyone else is spending time excluding others, by the power of the Spirit we embrace everyone.
That is the church. Not a physical place. Not a building on any street. It is the Spirit of God living in us.
Recalibrate: What area of your life does Jesus want to transform by the power of the Spirit?
Respond: Pray for the power of the Spirit to bring reconciliation.
Research: Read one of the recommend commentaries.
Recharge: Wonder/Adventure/Purpose
With your child, choose some favorite toys and place them around the house creating an adventure story about what they are doing and why. (Example: The teddy is at the piano about to play a song.) Ask your toddler to help you bring them all back together. Jesus does the same thing.
Create a poster or drawing of what is going on inside your heart and head. How do you feel? Choose colors or words to describe yourself. Know that no matter what, Jesus loves you and He has an adventure planned just for you.
What do you think of the saying that when bad things happen they can either make you “bitter or better?” Which one is easier? What happened in Acts 8:1-25 after Stephen was killed. Did the believers become bitter or better? Why did they react as they did?