Psalm 119:81-88; Acts 4:13-37

Psalm 119:81-88
At the risk of being overly repetitive, I have to remind you (and myself) that I am looking, in Psalm 119, at the blessings that come from God's Word. It's such a long chapter, that it's easy to lose track of what's what.

This section is talking about trusting God's Word when you feel attacked by some kind of enemy. The psalmist is physically exhausted from the stress of the attacks, and even his eyes seem to fail him. I want to mention that I think it's perfectly acceptable to think of these attacks as something other than physical as in war or something like that. The "enemies" could come in many different ways in our lives. Many times our worst enemy is within us. During these times of extreme stress, the Word of God gives us strength and comfort. It shows us that there is hope. "They almost finished me off, but I refused to abandon your commandments. In your unfailing love, spare my life; then I can continue to obey your laws." vv. 87-88

Acts 4:13-37
The Jewish rulers were amazed and threatened when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, who were ordinary men who did not have formal education in the Scriptures. However, they could not deny the miracle of the healed man, standing right there before them. They (the leaders) were puzzled as to what to do with the disciples. They could not deny the miracle, but they didn't want them to preach in Jesus' name. And so they firmly commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. vv. 19-20 records their classic response, "Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard." At this, the council threatened them further, but in the end let them go because they were afraid of the people who were praising God for this miraculous sign--the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.

As soon as they were released, Peter and John reported to the believers all that had happened, and "all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God:" remembering that He is the sovereign Lord of the universe whose prophesies were fulfilled in Jesus. They continued in prayer asking for boldness in preaching God's word. It's pretty amazing that they didn't ask for safety or for relief from the persecution but for boldness to continue spreading the truth.

After they had prayed, v. 31 tells us that "the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness." The next few verses tell how the community of these early believers worked, how they shared and witnessed and sacrificed for the ministry. The example of Barnabas was given; he sold a piece of property he owned and brought the money to the apostles to use in the ministry.

The earliest days of the church after Jesus' return to heaven saw many miracles and signs that are no longer necessary since we have the completed Word of God. Also, the ministry of the Holy Spirit was changing at this time. As we know, He is an eternal part of the trinity--the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--but He is beginning a new phase of human history here, that of the church. During this age which we are still in, the Holy Spirit actually dwells or lives within the individual believer. We will see more about this as we work our way through the New Testament.