Day 324: Acts 25, 26, 27 and 28

We want to hear your ideas, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this religious group (NCV, Acts 28:22).

In 2004 Alan Sorensen and Scott Rasmussen of Stanford University evaluated the effects of book reviews from the New York Times. Not surprising, they found a positive review results in more book sales than a negative one. Perhaps more surprising is that even a negative review increases a book’s sales by over 34% [1].

This study may bear out the claim Any publicity is good publicity. P. T. Barnum is credited with expressing a similar sentiment: “I don’t care what they say about me as long as they spell my name right.” And poet/writer Oscar Wilde is reported as saying, “There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is NOT being talked about.”

After Paul was transported to Rome and awaiting his trial before Caesar, he was free to have guests even though he was under house arrest. Local Jewish leaders told him they hadn’t heard anything bad about him, but that many people were talking trash about Christianity. Apparently that negative press made them want to hear about it all the more.

While negative press may not be the worst thing in the world, Jesus tells us: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (NIV 1984, Matthew 5:16).

TODAY’S MEDITATION

How can you live in such a way that others will recognize you are a child of God? Pray that others will see the positive changes in your life, resulting in praise to God.

Day 323: Acts 22, 23 and 24

When they heard [Paul] speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet (Acts 22:2).

From his travels Paul returns to Jerusalem knowing he has been branded a traitor by the Jews there. One day in the temple he is recognized by some Jews visiting from the Roman province of Asia (where Paul has spent a great deal of time ministering) and they turn on him. The violence of the attack attracts Roman soldiers who break up the beating and arrest Paul, taking him to be the troublemaker. Paul asks permission to address the crowd and his request is granted.

Paul was well-versed in multiple languages, but when they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. This gained Paul a hearing from the very people who were set on his arrest and punishment. There’s something about someone speaking to us in our own language.

On the Day of Pentecost, what got the crowd’s attention was that every person heard the disciples speaking to them in their own language (Acts 2:8). To the Corinthian Christians Paul wrote: I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22).

We have a large Hispanic population where I minister. I could complain about how they refuse to learn English, or I can put my energies into learning to speak Spanish. I know which one Paul would choose.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

What difference would it make if you could speak the language of those to whom you’ve been called to minister? What’s stopping you?

Day 322: Acts 19, 20 and 21

There is danger (Acts 19:27).

As a kid in the 1960s, I loved the TV show Lost in Space (1965-1968, CBS), built around a failed attempt to colonize a planet in the Alpha Centauri system. The Robinson family’s sabotaged spaceship (the Jupter II) went off course and became lost with no apparent way home.

Nine-year old Will was best friends with the family robot, tasked with keeping the boy out of trouble. When peril threatened, the robot would shout, “Danger, danger, Will Robinson!”

Thirty-some years later when my kids were about the same age, they would often mimic Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s familiar expression: “Danguh, danguh, danguh.”

After the crucifixion, when Peter and John were taken before the Sanhedrin, their interrogators recognized the disciples had been with Jesus (4:13). In the Old Testament we read that the Israelites were afraid of Moses when he descended Mt. Sinai because his face was radiant after being with God (Exodus 34:30). Danguh, danguh, danguh.

In today’s reading, artisans complain that Paul’s ministry in Ephesus is threatening their livelihood. So many people are abandoning handmade idols to worship Jesus that the idol making industry has taken a hit.

As followers of Christ, do we still have the potential of being dangerous in our communities? Does society look at us and say, It’s only the church; they never do nothin’! Or do they exclaim, Danger, danger, Will Robinson!

TODAY’S MEDITATION

How can you be dangerous for Christ this week?

Day 321: Acts 16, 17 and 18

They tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them (CEV, Acts 16:7).

In 1990, the song Unanswered Prayers hit #1 on the Billboard country music charts, which helped keep Garth Brooks’ album No Fences on top for 30 weeks. Based on a true story, the song details a husband and wife at a home town football game where they run into his high school flame. Thinking back, all those years ago he had thought that girl was the one, but realizes the best thing God ever did for him was not answering that particular prayer… at least not in the affirmative.

Two times Paul and his missionary troop encounter a divine detour. First, they plan to travel due west from Galatia into Asia, but God shuts that door. Then they divert north and attempt to visit Bithynia (the northernmost part of Asia Minor bordering the Black Sea), but again God says, No. By default they end up in Troas, where Paul has a dream bidding him come to Macedonia. Troas is, by the way, the seaport lying on the most direct route to Macedonia.

If Paul hadn’t been responsive to the Spirit’s leading, he would not have met Lydia (the seller of purple cloth), who was already a gentile convert to Judaism and in whom the Spirit was at work drawing her to Christ. God said, No, to Paul’s plan because he had a better plan.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

God knows what’s best for you. Thank him for guiding your path up to now – even the times you didn’t understand what he was doing. Ask for grace to trust him in days to come.

Day 320: Acts 13, 14 and 15

We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God (Acts 15:19).

Although we would never admit it, legalism betrays a fear that Christ’s death on the cross was insufficient to guarantee our salvation. Whatever it might be, there is always something in addition to Christ’s shed blood necessary to pay for our guilt.

As the early church shifted to include the Gentile population, many believing Jews thought Gentiles should be circumcised and obey Jewish law in order to be saved. In other words, they were expected to convert to Judaism first, and only then could they be received as Christians. On one occasion Peter almost bowed to the pressure of the Judaizers, but then Paul took him to task and the matter was favorably resolved.

Today we have our own forms of legalism. Legalism may influence our choices of food or beverages; it may dictate that Sunday and only Sunday (or Saturday and only Saturday) is set aside for worship. It may require women to wear long hair and long dresses and men to wear short hair and short dresses... nah! Just seeing if you were paying attention. The point is we put our hope in following a set of rules.

Whatever the recipe of our particular brand of legalism, the security that it brings is false. When we get right down to it, legalism says all that really matters is following the rules better than the next guy.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Consider the words of that old hymn: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness” [6]. What’s that look like in practice?

Day 319: Acts 10, 11 and 12

God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and do what is right (Acts 10:34,35).

Here we see the progression from Christianity for Jews only to Gentiles tolerated to Gentiles actively engaged. Before Peter’s dream of clean and unclean animals, he would never have considered that non-Jews could be included in the gospel message. Without the dream, he would have rejected those sent by Cornelius, and without Cornelius he would not have understood the dream.

Word of Cornelius’s conversion got back to Jerusalem before Peter did, so when he got home he had some ‘splainin’ to do. After he told the full story, the Jerusalem Christians, who had not appreciated Peter’s Gentile connection, were appeased.

Following Stephen’s execution but prior to Peter’s Caesarea experience, many Jewish Christians had been persecuted by non-Christian Jews and run out of Jerusalem. Naturally, when they arrived in a new city, they would share the message of Christ with their new Jewish friends and as a result many believed in his name.

Only after Peter returned from Caesarea did Christians actively seek ways to deliver the gospel to Gentiles. We read in 11:20 that Christians from Cyprus (in the Mediterranean) and Cyrene (modern day Libya) brought the message of Christ to Antioch (modern day Turkey, just north of the Syrian border) targeting the Gentile population.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Give thanks for whoever brought the gospel to you. Ask where you can take it next.

Day 318: Acts 7, 8 and 9

This man is my chosen instrument (Acts 9:15).

If there was an unlikely candidate to spread the name of Christ throughout the first century world, it was Paul. Raised a devout Jew, educated in one of the most prestigious rabbinical schools in the world, and recognized as an up-and-comer with the reputation of being a no-nonsense Pharisee, his passion was to destroy the church before it got off the ground.

Yet this was the man God chose to take the message of Christianity to the world.

After earning his degrees (journalism from the University of Missouri and law from Yale), Lee Strobel served as the award-winning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune. His research into the resurrection convinced this avowed atheist to receive Jesus as his forgiver and leader. He is now a NY Times best-selling author of nearly twenty books, espousing the cause of Christ.

From 1985 to 1992, Kirk Cameron starred in ABC's family sitcom Growing Pains. Another atheist, Kirk became a believer in Christ and has since co-founded The Way of the Master (an evangelism training program) and The Firefly Foundation, which among other things provides terminally ill children and their families a free summer camp experience.

Former marine turned lawyer, and the first to be imprisoned for his role in the Nixon administration’s Watergate break-in, Charles Colson accepted Christ and devoted his life to his organization Prison Fellowship, which ministers to inmates and their families.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

If God can use these unlikely candidates for ministry, why is it he can’t use you?

Day 317: Acts 4, 5 and 6

No one else dared join them . . . Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number (Acts 5:13,14).

These verses seem oxymoronic. In the aftermath of Liargate – the story of Ananias and Sapphira – people didn’t take joining the church lightly. Church membership was obviously not for the faint of heart, but a commitment to be taken seriously. Those who weren’t serious stayed away. No one wanted to see a headstone with his name on it.

Rather than experiencing a drop in numbers, men and women still received Christ and many were added to the church. In addition to growing in numbers, we see not only the power displayed among the saints and the vibrant church experience they enjoyed, but also the reverence and awe evoked among those who were not yet counted as members (vv. 15,16).

Could it be that we have made it too easy for the tentative to make half-hearted decisions for Christ, and welcomed the non-committed into church fellowship with the promise that, after all, grace is free and costs us nothing? Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, . . . grace without discipleship” [5].

We make grace cheap when we divest Christian commitment of all responsibility, fearing that demands will discourage conversions and impede church growth. Maybe, exactly the opposite is true.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

Is your commitment worthy of God’s free gift of grace? What would such commitment look like?

Day 316: Acts 1, 2 and 3

He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

We don’t really have any record of Jesus’ post-resurrection teachings, other than this statement from Acts, ascribed to Luke. However, we should not be surprised that he chose as his topic one of his favorites from the previous three years with his disciples.

In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus told several stories which encapsulated the mysteries of the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed (v. 31). The kingdom of heaven is like yeast (v. 33). The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field (v. 44). The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls (v. 45). The kingdom of heaven is like a net (v. 47).

In the first century, Rome was the dominant kingdom. The empire wielded power like a centurion’s sword. Anyone who dared cross it was cut to pieces. The Sadducees appeased their Roman masters, cooperating in order to maintain the status quo. The Pharisees preached that legalistic obedience to the law would persuade God to expel the dominant kingdom from Jerusalem. Zealots brandished their own swords in guerilla style attacks aimed at overthrowing their Roman oppressors. Essenes withdrew into cloistered communities, where they could practice their religion away from the dominant kingdom and prying Roman eyes [4].

Jesus taught another way, which he called the kingdom of God.

TODAY’S MEDITATION

How can your life reflect kingdom values?

Day 324: Acts 25, 26, 27 and 28

We want to hear your ideas, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this religious group (NCV, Acts 28:22).

 

In 2004 Alan Sorensen and Scott Rasmussen of Stanford University evaluated the effects of book reviews from the New York Times. Not surprising, they found a positive review results in more book sales than a negative one. Perhaps more surprising is that even a negative review increases a book’s sales by over 34% [1].

This study may bear out the claim Any publicity is good publicity. P. T. Barnum is credited with expressing a similar sentiment: I don’t care what they say about me as long as they spell my name right. And poet and writer Oscar Wilde is reported as saying, There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is NOT being talked about.

After Paul was transported to Rome and awaiting his trial before Caesar, he was free to have guests even though he was under house arrest. Local Jewish leaders told him they hadn’t heard anything bad about him, but that no one had anything good to say about Christianity. Apparently that negative press made them want to hear about it all the more.

While negative press may not be the worst thing in the world, Jesus tells us: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (NIV 1984, Matthew 5:16).

How are you making sure your light shines positively?

[1] Sorensen, Alan T. and Scott J. Rasmussen. “Is Any Publicity Good Publicity? A Note on the Impact of Book Reviews.” Palo Alto: Stanford University, 2004.

Day 323: Acts 22, 23 and 24

When they heard [Paul] speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet (Acts 22:2).

 

From his travels Paul returns to Jerusalem knowing he has been branded a traitor by the Jews there. One day in the temple he is recognized by some Jews visiting from the Roman province of Asia (where Paul has spent a great deal of time ministering), and they turn on him. The violence of the attack attracts Roman soldiers who break up the beating and arrest Paul, taking him to be the troublemaker. Paul asks permission to address the crowd and his request is granted.

Paul was well-versed in multiple languages, but when they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. This gained Paul a hearing from the very people who were set on his arrest and punishment. There’s something about someone speaking to us in our own language.

On the Day of Pentecost, what got the crowd’s attention was that every person heard the disciples speaking to them in their own language (Acts 2:8). To the Corinthian Christians Paul wrote: I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22).

We have a large Hispanic population where I minister. I could complain about how they refuse to learn English, or I can put the effort into learning to speak Spanish. I know which one Paul would choose.

Do you speak the language of the people you’re trying to reach?

Day 322: Acts 19, 20 and 21

There is danger... (Acts 19:27).

 

As a kid in the 1960s, I loved the TV show Lost in Space. Its premise was built around a failed attempt to colonize a planet in the Alpha Centauri system. Unfortunately, the Robinson family’s spaceship was sabotaged, went off course, and became lost in the far reaches of space with no apparent way home.

Nine-year old Will was best friends with the family robot, tasked with keeping the boy out of trouble. When peril threatened, the robot would shout, Danger, danger, Will Robinson!

Thirty-some years later when my kids were about the same age, they would often mimic Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin’s familiar expression: Danguh, danguh, danguh.

After the crucifixion, when Peter and John were taken before the Sanhedrin, their interrogators recognized the disciples had been with Jesus (4:13). In the Old Testament we read that the Israelites were afraid of Moses when he descended Mt. Sinai because his face was radiant after being with God (Exodus 34:30). Danguh, danguh, danguh.

In today’s reading, artisans complain that Paul’s ministry in Ephesus is threatening their livelihood. So many people are abandoning handmade idols to worship Jesus that it has impacted the silversmiths’ income.

As followers of Christ, do we still have the potential of being dangerous in our communities? Do negative elements of society look at us and say, It’s only the church; they never do nothin’! Or do they exclaim, Danger, danger, Will Robinson!

How will you be dangerous for Christ this week?

Day 321: Acts 16, 17 and 18

…they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not let them (CEV, Acts 16:7).

 

In 1990, the song Unanswered Prayers hit #1 on the Billboard country music charts, which helped keep Garth Brooks’ album No Fences on top for 30 weeks. Based on a true story, the song details a husband and wife at a home town football game where they run into his high school flame. Thinking back, all those years ago he thought that girl was the one, but realizes the best thing God ever did for him was not answering that particular prayer… at least not in the affirmative.

Two times Paul and his missionary troop encountered a divine detour. First, they planned to travel due west from Galatia into Asia, but God shut that door. Then they diverted north and thought they’d visit Bithynia (the northernmost part of Asia Minor bordering the Black Sea), but again God said, No. By default they ended up in Troas, where Paul had a dream bidding him come to Macedonia. Troas was, by the way, the seaport lying on the most direct route to Macedonia.

If Paul hadn’t been responsive to the Spirit’s leading, he would not have met Lydia (the seller of purple cloth), who was already a gentile convert to Judaism and in whom the Spirit was at work drawing her to Christ. God said no to Paul’s plan because he had a better plan.

What unanswered prayers are you thankful for today?

Day 320: Acts 13, 14 and 15

We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God (Acts 15:19).

 

Legalism comes from believing that Christ's death on the cross was insufficient to guarantee our salvation. Whatever it might be, there is always something in addition to Christ's shed blood, necessary to pay for our guilt.

In the early church as the church shifted to include the Gentile population, many believing Jews thought Gentiles should be circumcised and obey Jewish law in order to be saved. In other words, they were expected to convert to Judaism first, and only then could they be received as Christians. On one occasion Peter almost bowed to the Judaizers' pressure, but then Paul took him to task and the matter was favorably resolved.

Today we have our own forms of legalism. Legalism may influence our choices of food or beverages; it may dictate that Sunday and only Sunday (or Saturday and only Saturday) is set aside for worship. It may require women to wear long hair and long dresses and men to wear short hair and short dresses... nah! Just seeing if you were paying attention. The point is we put our hope in following a set of rules.

Whatever the recipe of our particular brand of legalism, the security that it brings is false. When we get right down to it, legalism says all that really matters is following the rules better than the next guy.

Your hope is built on nothing less than Jesus plus what?

Day 319: Acts 10, 11 and 12

God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right (Acts 10:34,35).

Here we see the progression from Christianity for Jews only toGentiles tolerated to Gentiles actively engaged. Before Peter's dream of clean and unclean animals, he would never have considered that non-Jews could be included in the gospel message. Without the dream, he would have rejected those sent by Cornelius, and without Cornelius he would not have understood the dream.

Word of Cornelius's conversion got back to Jerusalem before Peter did, so when he got home he had some 'splainin' to do. After he told the full story, the Jerusalem Christians, who had not appreciated Peter's Gentile connection, were appeased.

Following Stephen's execution but prior to Peter's Caesarea experience, many Christians (Christianity started out largely as a sect of Judaism) had been persecuted by non-Christian Jews and run out of Jerusalem. Naturally, when they arrived in a new city, they would share the message of Christ with their new Jewish friends and as a result many believed in his name.

Only after Peter returned from Caesarea did Christians actively seek ways to deliver the gospel to Gentiles. We read in 11:20 that Christians from Cyprus (in the Mediterranean) and Cyrene (modern day Libya) brought the message of Christ to Antioch (modern day Turkey, just north of the Syrian border) targeting the Gentile population.

Someone brought the gospel to you. To whom will you take it next?

Day 318: Acts 7, 8 and 9

This man is my chosen instrument (Acts 9:15).

 

If there was an unlikely candidate to spread the name of Christ throughout the first-century world, it was Paul. Raised a devout Jew, educated in one of the most prestigious rabbinical schools in the world, and recognized as an up-and-comer with the reputation of being a no-nonsense Pharisee, his passion was to destroy the church before it got off the ground.

Yet this was the man God chose to take the message of Christianity to the world.

After earning his degrees (journalism from the University of Missouri and law from Yale), Lee Strobel served as the award-winning legal editor of The Chicago Tribune. His research into the resurrection convinced this avowed atheist to receive Jesus as his forgiver and leader. He is now a NY Times best-selling author of nearly twenty books, espousing the cause of Christ.

From 1985 to 1992, Kirk Cameron starred in ABC's family sitcom Growing Pains. Another atheist, Kirk became a believer in Christ and has since co-founded The Way of the Master (an evangelism training program) and The Firefly Foundation, which among other things provides terminally ill children and their families a free summer camp experience.

Former marine turned lawyer, and the first to be imprisoned for his role in the Nixon administration Watergate break-in, Charles Colson accepted Christ and has devoted his life to his organization Prison Fellowship, which ministers to inmates and their families.

Now, why is it God would never call you into ministry?

Day 317: Acts 4, 5 and 6

No one else dared join them . . . Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number (Acts 5:13,14).

 

These verses seem nonsensical. In the aftermath of Liargate (Ananias and Sapphira died three hours apart, after lying to God), people didn’t take their decision about joining the church lightly. Obviously church membership was not for the faint of heart, but a commitment to be taken seriously. Those who weren’t serious stayed away. No one wanted to see a headstone with his name on it.

Rather than experiencing a drop in numbers, men and women still received Christ and many were added to the church. In addition to growing in numbers, we are given a hint not only of the power displayed among the saints and the vibrant church experience they enjoyed, but also the reverence and awe evoked among those who were not yet counted as members (vv. 15,16).

Could it be that we have made it too easy for the tentative to make half-hearted decisions for Christ, and welcomed the non-committed into church fellowship with the promise that, after all, grace is free and costs us nothing? Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, . . . grace without discipleship.

We make grace cheap when we divest Christian commitment of all responsibility, fearing that demands will discourage conversions and impede church growth. Maybe, exactly the opposite is true.

What does your commitment look like?

Day 316: Acts 1, 2 and 3

During the forty days after his crucifixion, . . . he talked to them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3).

 

We don’t really have any record of Jesus’ post-resurrection teachings, other than this statement from Luke. However, we should not be surprised that he chose as his topic one of his favorites from the previous three years with his disciples.

In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus told several stories which encapsulated the mysteries of the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed (v. 31). The kingdom of heaven is like yeast (v. 33). The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field (v. 44). The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls (v. 45). The kingdom of heaven is like a net (v. 47).

In the first century, Rome was the dominant kingdom. The empire wielded power like a centurion’s sword. Anyone who dared cross it was cut to pieces. The Sadducees appeased their Roman masters, cooperating in order to maintain the status quo. The Pharisees preached that legalistic obedience to the law would persuade God to expel the dominant kingdom from Jerusalem. Zealots brandished their own swords in guerilla style attacks aimed at overthrowing their Roman oppressors. Essenes withdrew into cloistered communities, where they could practice their religion away from the dominant kingdom and prying Roman eyes.

Jesus taught another way, which he called the kingdom of God.

How will your life reflect kingdom principles this week?

Day 324: Acts 25, 26, 27 and 28

We want to hear your ideas, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this religious group. (NCV, Acts 28:22)

In 2004 Alan Sorensen and Scott Rasmussen of Stanford University evaluated the effects of book reviews from the New York Times. Not surprising, they found a positive review results in more book sales than a negative one. Perhaps more surprising is that even a negative review increases a book's sales by over 34%. [1]

This study may bear out the claim Any publicity is good publicity. P. T. Barnum is credited with expressing a similar sentiment: I don't care what they say about me as long as they spell my name right. And poet and writer Oscar Wilde is reported as saying, There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is NOT being talked about.

After Paul was transported to Rome and awaiting his trial before Caesar, he was free to have guests even though he was under house arrest. Local Jewish leaders told him they hadn't heard anything bad about him, but that no one had anything good to say about Christianity. Apparently that negative press made them want to hear about it all the more.

While negative press may not be the worst thing in the world, Jesus tells us: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven (NIV 1984, Matthew 5:16).

How are you making sure your light shines positively?

[1] Sorensen, Alan T. and Scott J. Rasmussen. "Is Any Publicity Good Publicity? A Note on the Impact of Book Reviews." Palo Alto: Stanford University, 2004.

Day 323: Acts 22, 23 and 24

When they heard [Paul] speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. (Acts 22:2)

From his travels Paul returns to Jerusalem knowing he has been branded a traitor by the Jews there. One day in the temple he is recognized by some Jews visiting from the province of Asia (where Paul has spent a great deal of time ministering), and they turn on him. The violence of the attack attracts Roman soldiers who break up the beating and arrest Paul, taking him to be the troublemaker. Paul asks permission to address the crowd and his request is granted.

Paul was well-versed in multiple languages, but when they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. This gained Paul a hearing from the very people who were set on his arrest and punishment. There's something about someone speaking to us in our own language.

On the Day of Pentecost, what got the crowd's attention was that every person heard the disciples speaking to them in their own language (Acts 2:8). To the Corinthian Christians Paul wrote: I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some (1 Corinthians 9:22).

We have a large Hispanic population where I minister. I could complain about how they refuse to learn English, or I can put the effort into learning to speak Spanish. I know which one Paul would choose.

Do you speak the language of the people you're trying to reach?