Thursday, November 5, 2026

Opening Scriptures

As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went – into villages, towns or countryside – they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed. Mark 6:54-46

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” Mark 7:5-8

Opening Prayer

Gracious Father, thank you for this day, another chance to love and serve You. Help me make the most of it and do everything I can to please You. May Your priorities be mine. Remind me that, apart from You, I can do nothing. Help me follow the Spirit today as He guides me in grace, truth, and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Help me not to be foolish, but to understand your good, pleasing, and perfect will. Open my heart and mind to all You want me to know and learn. As I draw near to You, please draw near to me and help me sense Your presence. Help me to stand strong against the evil one, and to think and act as Your child. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Daily Bible Reading

Acts 5:12-42

The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.

Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out. “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people all about this new life.” At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people.

When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin – the full assembly of the elders of Israel – and sent to the jail for the apostles. But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported, “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss, wondering what this might lead to.

Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.” At that, the captain went with his officers and brought the apostles. They did not use force, because they feared that the people would stone them.

The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead – whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

Reflection  

It seems that every day was filled with adventure during this amazing season in the life of the young Church. Through the dynamic work of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were performing many miracles in the community. These “signs” were intended to prepare the way for proclamation of the Word. Prayer, teaching, and fellowship were continuous. God’s New Covenant people were meeting regularly in the temple courts, right next to God’s Old Covenant people, although the latter kept their distance.

The disciples were boldly proclaiming the Good News to anyone who would listen, and “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” The Spirit’s miraculous work became so intense at one point that “people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.” Word of what was happening spread to the surrounding villages and soon everyone was “bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.”

Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. Rather than celebrating the amazing things God was doing in their city, the increasingly unsettled Sanhedrin saw their previous threats ignored. This time they arrested more of the apostles, but carefully, because “the people held them in high regard.” The jealous leaders put the apostles in the public jail overnight (for all to see, as a warning?) to await trial the next day, but God intervened.

The unfolding events reflect the constant tension between the forces of darkness and the God of Light. With ease, an angel (the Sadducees didn’t believe in) releases the apostles from jail and sends them back to the temple courts to continue preaching. Jesus’ disciples obey and the religious leaders are left clueless. The Sanhedrin formally gather in the Council chambers, but the prisoners are gone. After a time of uncertainty, the “escapees” are located and begged to come back. They comply and the trial begins.

Almost pathetically, the high priest attempts to assert his authority. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” but God is in control, not this man. Peter shares another sermon. Things accelerate quickly. No mention of the apostles’ mysterious disappearance. No acknowledgement of Jesus by name. No more warnings. The Sadducees want death, but a wise Pharisee convinces them otherwise.

Flogging was bad, but better than execution. Though the excessive punishment does not seem to fit the crime, neither did it dissuade the apostles from continuing to declare the good news about Jesus. We must obey God rather than men!

Flourishing Habit

Flourishing Christians

In Acts, the apostles were simply continuing what Jesus had started (Opening Scripture). The Spirit was moving. The crowds were drawn to the miracles. The Gospel was faithfully proclaimed. Many responded in faith and were saved, and the established religious professionals remained jealous and hostile.

With all the miraculous things taking place right in front of them, you wonder how the Jewish leaders could be so blind and resistant to what God was doing?

What about you and me? God is active around us as well. Are we sensitive to the Spirit’s movement in our lives? Are we seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? Or are we captivated by lesser things?

Peter’s accusation of Ananias was that he discredited what the Holy Spirit was doing in and through the young Church. Ananias and Sapphira had “born false witness” to God’s holy and supernatural activity among His people. They had broken faith with “all the believers” who “were one in heart and mind.”

Like Achan in the Old Testament (Joshua 7) and Judas a short time before them, Ananias and Sapphira were seduced by material things. Their deception and manipulation were prompted by greed and self-interest. Perhaps a similar incentive was stirring in the religious aristocracy in first-century Jerusalem. To those not blinded by their own desires, it should have been obvious where God was at work.

Ask God to show you what He wants to accomplish in and through you today.

This week’s collective prayer: Father, strengthen my calling to The Great Commission. Amen.

Remember: Nothing changes until something changes!