Today Daily Devotional

The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

— Acts 16:14

I would love to have been there, watching Lydia turn into a new creation. As our story begins, she has no idea who Jesus is. She worships and prays to God, but she doesn’t know Jesus, God’s Son, the Savior. But as she listens to Paul’s message about Jesus, the Lord opens her heart to believe in Christ. She is then baptized, along with her household, and she generously hosts Paul and his companions. What an amazing transformation!This is what the Spirit of God loves to do—lead people to Jesus, ignite faith in them that Jesus’ death has rescued this broken world from sin, help them to know that the benefits of Jesus’ death and resurrection are theirs too, and change them to become like Jesus. Sometimes God works in the heart of an adult like Lydia. Sometimes he starts with a child of Christian parents, like me. In every case, it’s the start of a process, a lifelong journey of renewal in which we grow more and more like Christ.Like Lydia, all who are “in Christ” are new creations, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17. They are being renewed and restored for full life with God. And, again, their transformation points to the colossal project God is working on, the renewal and restoration of his entire broken world. And when that is complete, his new creation will be fully here!

Father, you love to transform people. We love to see and hear about you doing that. Do it more and more. Keep the project going in each of us. We want to see more signposts of the new creation. Amen.

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived. . . .

— Acts 16:1

In the United States, where I live, it is common for people to have parents and grandparents from different countries or ethnic backgrounds. A neighbor or coworker might have ancestors from India, Africa, and Europe, for example.This wasn’t as common in ancient times, and that is why the writer of Acts points out that Timothy had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. In his home community Timothy was unique in that way. Because of that, Timothy may have struggled to find a community in which he truly belonged. Was he Jewish? Was he Greek? Timothy became a believer in Christ, and the community of believers spoke well of him.When Paul and his missionary companions came along, they invited Timothy to come with them. As they discipled Timothy, they likely made clear that his faith, the faith given to him by God and by which he was “in Christ,” made him part of a growing, deeply bonded, and truly beautiful community: the church. Timothy, like them, was a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), part of a growing gathering of new creations.Today, if you meet other Christians, take note that together you are part of that growing gathering. Keep your eyes open for what lies behind the faces, the eyes. You’ll be seeing new creations. With you, they are signposts of God’s renewal in this world, pointing to his new creation.

Lord, help us to see all believers in Jesus as new creations, your handiwork, signposts of glorious things to come. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

The Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

— Acts 13:2

When we see orange barrels on the roadway, that’s usually a sign of work going on.If we see a bag of flour, eggs, and measuring cups on the kitchen counter, that’s also a sign that someone is at work.A car with its hood up and some tools scattered on the ground tell us the same thing.These are all signs that someone is busy.We can see that in our text today too. The Antioch church heard a word from the Holy Spirit telling them to send two of their leaders, Saul and Barnabas, to serve as missionaries. That called for an act of radical obedience, generosity, and faith. Can you imagine your church sending its pastors on a mission to go where the Spirit was leading them?The response of the Antioch church was a sign that God was busy doing something beautiful in his broken world. God was transforming people into new creations, gathering them into new communities, and leading them into deep faithfulness. That, in turn, points to something even bigger: God’s new creation!Of course, that new creation isn’t fully formed yet (we aren’t either!). It won’t be complete until Christ returns. In the meantime all who are in Christ continue to serve as signposts that God is busy with something big!

Lord, help us so that we no longer view anyone or anything from a worldly point of view. Give us kingdom eyes to see you at work behind the scenes. Amen.

“Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”

— Acts 10:20

What happens when you hear God give you an instruction? You do what he says.But what if God tells you something, and it doesn’t seem to make sense?In Acts 10 we read about a strange dream Peter had, and then we see the larger picture God was pointing to when he sent Peter that dream. Cornelius, a Roman centurion, believed in God and gave generously to people in need. And God wanted Peter to tell Cornelius and his family about salvation in Jesus Christ. It’s a sign that Christ and his gifts were intended not only for Jews but also for Gentiles (non-Jews), including Roman commanders!God brought Cornelius’s representatives to Peter soon after Peter received his strange dream. And to make things crystal clear, God told Peter to go with them, for God had sent them. Peter learned that the men had come from a Roman centurion, a person he would not normally associate with, according to the Jewish law. But the point of God’s strange command became clear as Cornelius and many other Gentiles came to faith in Jesus and were baptized (Acts 10:23-48).What will you learn today if you obey God’s command, even if it seems confusing or challenging? Watch carefully to see what God is doing. Take your time. It often takes us a while to see where God is building his new creation.

God, thank you for bringing your salvation in Christ to all peoples! Give us hearts to obey and eyes to see you at work— even through us—in unexpected ways. Amen.

“Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”

— Acts 9:15

Would you expect wine to come from a jug of motor oil? What if you cracked open an egg and found maple syrup inside? Or how about opening your suitcase and finding a bed of tulips in bloom? Not likely, right?Similarly, you would not expect to hear about Saul saying or doing anything to promote the cause of Jesus. Saul had been persecuting Jesus’ followers. He was the chief engineer of the religious leaders’ project to snuff out the early church, and nothing was going to stop him.But then Jesus did.Jesus stopped Saul in his tracks one day with a blinding light on the road to Damascus. Jesus spoke to Saul, transformed him, and came to live in him— just as in all of the other believers. Saul became a new creation. He moved away from death toward life, away from unbelief to belief, away from “breathing out murderous threats” to proclaiming Christ.How might this kind of story come to life in you? What is developing in you, as the resurrected Christ becomes more fully formed in you?You might not be a Saul, but if you believe in Jesus as the Savior, you are a new creation, just like Saul and so many others. And Christ aims to be visible through the life-changing work he is doing in you.

“Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus”— at work within us and within the people we love. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Joseph . . . sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

— Acts 4:36-37

When you see a person who has met Jesus and who is changing to live more and more like Jesus, you know that something new is going on. It means that Jesus is alive in them and that the resurrection has really happened!We see some examples in our text for today. Just as we saw in Acts 2:41-47 (April 14), we see the early Christians united with one another, sharing with one another, and giving generously to support one another. Some even sold their land or houses and gave the money “to anyone who had need.”One example mentions Joseph, a Jewish man from Cyprus who is now a believer in Christ. His actions give a clear sign that his life has changed. He sold some property that he owned, and he gave the money to be used for building up the community of believers in Christ. Joseph’s generosity shows that the generous Lord Jesus is living in his heart. In this picture of Joseph we see a new creation, evidence of the resurrected Christ.The life and power of the resurrected Jesus keep changing us still today. The living Jesus finds his way into human lives, takes up a transforming presence within them, and they become new creations. They also become signs that the Lord’s big, new creation is coming to life.

Father, turn us broken people into signposts of Jesus’ resurrection, proof that a new creation is on the way. Shatter all the ways in which we still reflect anything unrelated to Jesus. We pray in his name. Amen.

They were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

— Acts 4:13

When the Jewish religious leaders in our text for today saw two ordinary, unschooled men, Peter and John, speaking courageously and with certainty about the Scriptures, they knew something had happened to them. Peter and John’s words seemed to sparkle, and the religious leaders “took note that these men had been with Jesus.”These religious leaders were making the right connection, but they didn’t reach the right conclusion—that the power of the resurrected Jesus was now living and active inside these two believers. The religious leaders also did not realize that the man who had been lame was now healed because the Lord’s resurrection power had come into him too.When you are in Christ, as Peter and John were, you don’t become richer, prettier, or stronger, but you begin the process of becoming a new creation. You also become a signpost, like a signal or pointer, to the ongoing work of God on his whole new creation. You are different from what you would have been without the Lord living in you. And as he becomes more fully formed in you, the people around you will more and more likely take note that you too have been with Jesus.

Father, we want to show others that we are becoming new creations in Christ. Do what is needed within us, building on what you have already done, so that it’s clear that we have been with Jesus. Amen.

He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.

— Acts 3:8

Have you ever been allowed into a place that was off-limits? Think of a young sports player, hired by the team he or she has loved since childhood, walking into the team’s pregame meeting room for the first time. Or a worker on the floor who has been promoted to sit behind the manager’s desk. Or a group of music fans who win backstage passes and get to meet their favorite band.For the man in our text today, the temple courts were off-limits. He was not allowed to join with others to worship there. The religious leaders barred him from the temple because they said that his disability—not being able to walk—made him ritually unclean. And that meant he could not gather with God’s people in the temple.But then along came Peter and John. They did not have silver or gold, but they had something far more valuable: a living connection to the resurrected Jesus. As they healed the man in Jesus’ name, his legs started working. He was able to walk and jump. And at last he could praise God in the place that had been off-limits to him: the temple courts.This man’s healing was a sign that the resurrection of Jesus, which we celebrated earlier this month, had really happened. It was also a sign of God’s continuing re-creation work to come.

O God, we want healing and new life in Jesus’ name. We want Jesus! Thank you for all the ways in which his resurrection can bring renewal in our lives and in your world. Amen.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship. . . .

— Acts 2:42

In our home we have a family picture on the wall above our fireplace. All of the smiling people in it are there because they were born into our family or they married into it.In our text today from Acts 2, we find another family picture. It’s a new kind of family, and it is just springing to life. The people here are devoted to Jesus, as taught by the apostles, and they are devoted to one another, forming a fellowship of Jesus’ followers. They are a part of this new family not because they were born or married into it but because they have been reborn in Christ. They have been born again, brought to faith in Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit.That is what Jesus was talking about when he spoke with Nicodemus (John 3). Jesus said then that a person must be born again, moved to faith in the Lord by the Holy Spirit, in order to see the kingdom of God. And in the family picture here in Acts 2 we see an early crowd of these born-again people, eating, sharing, and worshiping together.Do you see yourself in that picture? Although you weren’t there in Jerusalem at that time, you too are a part of that family if you believe in Jesus. As a believer, you have been born again by the Holy Spirit, and this family is your family. Like those believers, you are a new creation and a sign of God’s continuing work to restore his whole creation!

By your grace, O God, we too are a part of your family. Help us to cherish this family and to invest in its life, as you do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd. . . .

— Acts 2:14

Can God do anything good with me?We might ask this question when we feel as if we are beyond God’s help. We see our flaws and mistakes, and we wonder how God could even want to use us for his purposes.In our text today we see Peter preaching to the crowds that are gathered in Jerusalem for the annual harvest celebration. This is the same Peter who, about 50 days earlier, had lied three times about Jesus, saying that he didn’t know Jesus at all (Mark 14:66-72).But now Peter was restored, since the resurrected Jesus had met with him at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:15-19). And in today’s text we read that Peter and the other apostles were now filled with the Holy Spirit.Peter became a new creation, and in this new state of being “in Christ,” Peter’s life pointed to the remaking of all creation.The merely brash Peter became the wise preacher Peter. Earlier he had not understood the prophets’ message about the Messiah, but now he was clear and on point. At one time Peter’s passion simply blurted. But now in his passion he could convict and invite!God is in the business of healing people, pouring grace into them, and recommissioning them. This includes me and you. The Lord sees you, loves you, and has plans for you. Trust him.

Heavenly Father, continue your good work in us, remaking us for your glory and the blessing of the world. Help us to see what you are doing, and to serve you gladly, fully, and hopefully. Amen.