Do you ever wonder about the seemingly random verses in the Bible?

As part of my Beth Moore’s lesson, I read Acts 18:1-18. Everything is flowing nicely when out of the blue, in verse 18 the writer, Luke, mentions that Paul stops for a haircut because of a vow. I thought to myself, “OK, so he got a haircut. What’s the big deal? And what was the vow.”  Beth left me hanging for a day but pulled through eventually and offered some answers.

Numbers 6: 1-8 talks about the Nazarite vow; it is a vow of separation. It was offered to both men and women. To take part in it, one must abstain from anything that comes from the grapevine and not cut their hair as a symbol of separation to God. Act 18:1 tells that Paul was entering Corinth. Corinth was known for its worship of the Goddess Aphrodite who represented love, lust and sexual perversion.

Paul’s example of separating himself to God before entering into strong temptation is one we should all take more often. If he had not taken this vow, had not abstained from the things of the vine, and had tried to enter this city by his own strength, he would not have been able to resist the temptation he surely encountered.

 How often do we consider the temptations we will encounter prior to the actual encounter? I don’t know about you, but I know I don’t often enough. 

I like the seemingly random verses…

No one can teach forgiveness like the forgiven

In today’s Beth Moore lesson two statements stood out to me the most: No one can teach forgiveness like the forgiven & Grace never draws a line with a willing soul. I know that I have received more forgiveness than I could ever begin to count. I have tried to show, tell, and/or explain a fraction of the forgiveness I have received to a few others.

 Who I am today is a result of the forgiveness and grace I have received. I am a willing soul that seeks forgiveness & grace continually. Without it, I have no purpose; without it, I have no need for existence; without it, I am a lonely, bitter person that finds fault in everyone and everything; without it, I am miserable. I have tried the life that doesn’t seek forgiveness and refuses to accept the grace so freely offered. It was a life filled without hope or joy & completely devoid of love. 

I want and need the grace offered. I gladly accept it. And I have lots to teach others about forgiveness, because I have been forgiven so often.  Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Out on this limb

Do you ever feel like you are ‘out on a limb’ with God’? Sometimes following Christ leaves me feeling all alone. When everything I have done and everything I am is invested in Jesus, it doesn’t seem fair that I should ever be alone. 

Even the disciples felt alone at times. How do you think Peter felt while sitting in prison the night before he was to be killed, shackled and naked? Or what about John as he heard his brother was the first disciple to be martyred? I don’t think anyone of us can say they follow Jesus closer than the disciples did, so if even they are not exempt from loneliness, why should we be?

Beth Moore says, “ride the wave (of loneliness) straight into the presence of God and experience the adventure of feeling you’re the only one there.” I never thought of it that way. So when I begin to ask those questions of ‘Why Lord?’ or ‘have you forgotten about me Lord?, I’m reminded of how much more I need to keep my focus. 

Am I really looking for answers and explanations or is it that I just want assurance that he is utterly and supremely God? Solidarity is not necessarily where I will find the answers; it’s the place I decide if it’s worth it to continue ‘out on this limb’. Oh, it’s worth it! I just have to let him work the details out.