And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

Acts 2:12-13 ESV

People in the neighborhood heard two things:

1. A loud noise…
2. People fluently speaking languages they couldn’t possibly know…

Welcome to church!

The Holy Spirit had just fallen on the disciples who gathered to pray. They were waiting on God — and he showed up miraculously!

Let’s look at the responses from the crowd where we see two types of people emerge: curious and critical.

Curious About the Things of God

Whenever God moves there will be people who are curious. They will wonder, “What does this mean?”

The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit coupled with the unity and joy of believers will attract them.

You can trust the Holy Spirit is wooing these people and drawing them toward Jesus.

Our mission is to seek God, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and share the gospel with the curious.

Critical of the Things of God

Then we have the critical.

In Acts 2, they accused the believers of being drunk! They thought there is no way these people are doing anything worth our time.

They judged the believers harshly. They were the critics without curiosity, cold to the things of God.

Today, we call this Reddit… 🙂

Seek God

Disciples of Jesus won’t let the critics silence us.

We will keep testifying to what we know is true:

1. Jesus was who he said he was,
2. he died and rose again,
3. and the Holy Spirit will seal eternal life in us through believing in him.

Don’t worry about the critics, worry about seeking God. Focus on faithfulness. And then be ready to invite the curious into our faith family!

What if the disciples would have focused all of their attention on the critics that morning? What if they would have spent hours debating them and trying to prove their legitimacy, instead of sharing the gospel?

They would have missed the 3,000+ souls who were curious about God and ready to accept the gospel!

Don’t miss the people with soft hearts and open minds God has placed in your life to see the work he’s doing in and through you.

Are you more focused on the critics than seeking the curious?

P.S. Even the harshest critics can become the most passionate evangelists. Just think about Paul.

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

Romans 7:4 ESV

Is it hard for you to feel you’re good enough for God to love you?

Growing up, I was scared that I’d commit one too many sins. It was as if my eternal life danced on a cliff edge.

Scenes from past sin played on repeat in my mind. And so, I would try harder. I would wake up earlier to do my devotions, write longer prayer lists, swear off “sinful” behaviors, and more.

However, we find the key understanding young Jordan was missing in today’s verse.

The authentic Christian life is the fruit of grace, not our force of character.
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It’s a Marriage

In the verses prior, Paul used a marriage analogy to help the young church in Rome understand something similar. They were stuck on fulfilling the Old Testament laws as the path to salvation.

Paul explained that God’s people used to be married to the Law, but that husband is now dead! Instead, God’s people are married to Jesus Christ!

When he writes that we “belong to another” in today’s verse, that person is Jesus. And it’s his life that flows into us.

To avoid this seeming too “heady” let’s keep it in the marriage context.

Our eternal place in God's family is secure because of our relationship with Jesus as his bride.
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There’s nothing left to earn. Our old husband (the law) is dead. Our new husband (Jesus) is alive, all powerful, and ready to work his life in us.

Barren Trees

Trying to produce the fruit of the Christian life under our own strength is a dead end. It’s a fool’s errand. Because we are trying to find life in something that’s rotting in the grave.

We only produce fruit by Jesus’ life.

As he told his disciples in John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Understanding this decades ago would have removed some anxiety! But it also would have led me away from sin and toward my Savior.

God’s kindness, his grace, leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

Enjoy his kindness today and look to Jesus for hope, not your ability to keep laws.

When I think on my ways,
I turn my feet to your testimonies;
I hasten and do not delay
to keep your commandments.

Psalm 119:59–60 ESV

When God said, “Let there be light,” the universe sprang into existence.

When God speaks, glorious things happen.
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So what is God speaking in your life, family, or church right now? And are you obeying as quickly as the universe did?!

Finish this statement:

“God is calling me to _______.”

What was your answer?

Whatever it is, are you going to obey him fast?

In today’s verses, the psalmist described a key life pattern we should each adopt:

1. Observe your life
2. Turn to God’s word
3. Obey as fast as you can

Imagine your life if you started living in this simple way today. (Some of you already do!)

What if, instead of a scramble for our personal comfort, our lives looked like a mad dash for obedience?
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Can you imagine the impact your life could have for the kingdom?

The best part is, when we understand who is speaking to us, it is a joyful thing to obey.

He is the God who spoke the universe into existence…

Who commanded the sun to shine…

Who set the earth spinning…

When God speaks, his incredible will comes to pass. So what is his will for you today?

Will you to his word as your source of truth and obey as fast as you can?

If you knew this, how would you spend your last night on earth? You thought you had a lifetime before you, but you only get today.

…who would you gather around yourself?

…what would you spend your time doing?

…what would you be thinking about?

This may sound morbid, and even farfetched. But this is exactly the situation Jesus was in in today’s devotional verse:

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

John 13:3–5 ESV

In John 13, we find Jesus on the night before his crucifixion. He knew exactly how he would die, and was well-acquainted with the horrors of Roman execution.

Even knowing this, Jesus spends his last night loving and serving his friends, and washing their feet.

Oh wait… It wasn’t just his friends there, was it?

Judas Iscariot was in the bunch. He was about to do the unthinkable and betray his Master for a handful of coins.

Jesus knew this too. Yet, he spent his final night focused on loving others well, for, “he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).

Considering the way Jesus spent his life, even to his final night on earth, how will you spend your?

Our lives aren't simply about our goals, resolutions, or personal growth...
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Our lives are meant to be like Jesus’. To continue his mission in the world.

As Jesus said: ” A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

So, how will people recognize you as a disciple of Jesus?

Saul was after him again. And his men were bearing down on him.

If this wasn’t enough, David’s family decided it was a good idea to find him and stay, as well.

So David sits in harm’s way… And now so does his family!

Then comes the icing on the proverbial cake…

Let’s read today’s devotional Bible verse to see what happened next:

And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

1 Samuel 22:2 ESV

David becomes the leader of a rag-tag group of 400 filled with:

• The distressed,
• The hopelessly in debt,
• And the bitter in soul.

Not exactly the dream team when a powerful king is after you…

So what does he do?

David Runs From the Cave of Adullam, Then Says This…

First, he doesn’t wallow in self-pity. And he doesn’t lash out at the people who’ve flocked to him.

He goes to the king of a place called Mizpeh of Moab. And asks the king: “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me” (1 Samuel 22:3).

What incredible faith in that statement.

We know David is a man with a heart of worship. But now we see that in his desperate time of need, he’s also a man of great trust in God.

He doesn’t crumple up into a ball of self-pity. Or fall headlong into a pit of despair.

David leaves the cave of Adullam with his 400 problem-plagued soldiers… With his family in imminent danger… With a bloodthirsty king at his heels…

…and in effect, says, “I know God is going to deliver me, I’m just waiting a bit learn how…”

And do you know what else?

David had just written Psalm 34, where verse 8 reads:

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

When David needed refuge most, he turned to God.

The question today is, where do you turn?

Devotion by Jordan Loftis. Jordan is the editor of Short Daily Devotions and the author of The Men With Bare Feet: Discovering Intimacy With God Through Moses, Joshua, and Jesus.

They wanted to know why Jesus and the disciples weren’t fasting like the Pharisees and the disciples of John the Baptist. Everyone had an expectation that Jesus would maintain their vision for holiness and piety.

Then he broke their expectations by living to standards of his own and his Father’s: 

He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

Luke 5:36–39 ESV

God was doing a new thing (new wine). And this new thing required new behaviors (new wineskins).
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Disrupting the status quo meant life as people knew it changed. People projected their version of how God’s Messiah should behave onto Jesus and his ministry.

They didn’t like how he did things.

Healing people on the Sabbath ruffled their feathers. And don’t even get them started on the prostitutes and tax collectors He hung around!

Jesus explained if he tried to work God’s plan in their ways, it would damage and tear apart the entire rescue mission. The garments would tear, the skins would burst, and no one would be saved.

Despite this truth, people still loved the old ways of doing things—and because they clung to those old ways, they reaped the old results.

We cannot afford to be those people, clinging to the past, clinging to our comfort, saying things like, “Well, we’ve always done it this way…”

Or, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…”

New results require new behaviors. Period.
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If Jesus lived the life people expected, it would have devastated the whole world. Thankfully, he pursued his purpose undeterred. Because of this: 

• His family didn’t understand him (Mark 3:35).
• His hometown rejected him (Mark 6:3). 
• Thousands of followers left him because he said hard things (John 6:66).
• His culture’s leaders plotted to kill him and his friends (John 12:9–11).
• He was put to death on the cross (John 19:18).

Jesus was a disrupter who faithfully did and said only what the Father told him to (John 12:49).

He maintained a single purpose. His actions were relentlessly consistent. And he pushed hard; after all, he only had three years to save the world. 

By accomplishing his mission—to seek and save the lost, bear witness to the truth, and be sacrificed as our substitute—Jesus saved the world.

He fought the very forces of death and Hell on the open battlefield—and won.

Is the Holy Spirit leading you to make a change this year?

That day there were two others crucified with him. One man at his right, the other at his left. They were criminals.

So there was one innocent man and two guilty men hanging there in front of the crowds. Some following Jesus to mourn, others gathered to see the spectacle of Roman execution.

The first words the criminals heard from Jesus were a prayer for the very people now putting them each to death.

He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The two men had very different responses to him.

In today’s Bible verse, we read the story:

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:39–43 ESV

One man mocked him. The other asked for grace from a king. And this good King promised grace to the man who asked for it.

But how could he believe Jesus? It would be hard to believe a man hanging limp on a cross about such a major claim.

So, what was this promise of grace founded in and proved by? How do we know Jesus’ words came true? That he made a real promise?

An empty tomb. A resurrected man. And the defeating of death itself happened just three days later.

God proved his goodness in sending Jesus to die for the very people that murdered him! For each of us who stand guilty as those criminals hanging on their crosses.

But God also shows us his power in resurrecting Jesus.

His power over death itself.

His power to redeem the most evil act in human history, the torture and murder of Jesus, and use it for the greatest good this earth has ever seen…

The redemption of mankind.

We serve a God who is both good and powerful. And this is why we place our hope in him.
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Hope is a person. Hope is in God alone. And this God is the resurrected King, Jesus Christ!

Do you believe Jesus’ promise of grace?

Imagine standing at the center of an Olympic stadium packed with a roaring crowd 60,000 people strong.

The eyes of the watching world are on your team, and it’s game time.

This is the imagery we find in today’s devotional verse. It paints the picture of epic Olympian competition as a metaphor for the disciple’s race.

We read:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Hebrews 12:1 ESV 

First are the roaring crowds. God’s people who have lived faithfully before us fill the stadium, watching the Church and her deeds.

The world is watching Jesus' disciples—what is your life showing them of Christ?
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Drop the Spiritual Weight

The writer of Hebrews says tells us to compete in the race of life by laying “aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely…”

Crazy enough, the ancient Greeks competed naked in some Olympic events—most notably wrestling and gymnastics.

(This would have been well-known to the readers of this letter. So the metaphor would have connected with them.)

The idea was this would ensure a completely level playing field. No athlete would have the advantage of grabbing ahold of someone’s clothing. And neither would they have the hindrance of clothing tripping them up.

The author is saying that we, just like those naked Greek athletes, need to shed the spiritual clothing that inhibits us.

This happens in two parts: things that are non-sin and things that are sin.

Non-Sinful Weight

First, there are weights in our lives that may not be explicit sin, but still hinder us.

For me, this has been caring *way* too much about what people think of me. Sure, you could argue that this becomes sin as a form of idolatry… But it’s not something we would generally lump in with the obvious stuff like lying, stealing, and the like.

You see, it’s a needless weight that trips me up and inhibits me because it can lead me to sin.

I hate to admit it. But there are many moments in my life where I’ve kept silent when I knew the Holy Spirit was prompting me to speak. I did this because I was worried what people would think.

That was evil of me. It was sin. It was disobedience to God himself.

And my concern about people’s opinions proved to be my snare.

So, the author of Hebrews is telling people like me: “Take off that extra baggage! Throw it aside so you can compete without hindrance. The competition is hard enough without adding an extra obstacle…”

Sinful Weight

Next, the author confronts sin directly.

They are to lay aside the “sin which clings so closely…”

Have you seen the spandex undershirts athletes wear beneath their pads or uniforms?

That’s the image of the sin, here. It’s the stuff that sticks to you like a second skin.

It’s the stuff that perfectly molds and contours to your body you almost can’t imagine yourself without it… The stuff you’ve decided, “I’ll never get over this…” The sin that’s almost become part of you.

And if you’re reading this, it’s time to rip it off!

The Holy Spirit is calling you *out* of the spiritual weight of sin...
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You are called to the freedom of naked discipleship.

It’s time to drop the spiritual weight so you can run the disciple’s race with endurance. Unhindered with the things that trip you up and cause you to stumble.

Time for Action

Learn to throw off your sin with these resources:

• Article: Time-Tested Tactics for Fighting Temptation
• Article: Thirteen Practical Steps to Kill Sin
• Free book:

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  Hebrews 12:1–2 – The Disciple’s Race: Naked Discipleship (Part 4)
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  Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers

Ultimately, the readers of Hebrews were being tempted to go back to Judaism and put their faith in Moses.

They were beginning to revert to their old way of life. But in today’s passage we’ll see what the author of the letter did.

He showed them that not only is faith the bedrock of our relationship with God—but that even the greatest examples of biblical faith, Moses included, hoped in the future provision of God in Jesus Christ.

So, if they were slipping back toward Judaism, they were slipping away from the one in whom their spiritual fathers and mothers put their faith.

Hebrews 11 is often called the Hall of Faith because it includes an incredible list of God’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things. And all were empowered by faith.

However, I think the author of Hebrews meant for his original readers something even more amazing than these faith examples. And it means the same for us today.

I think he wanted us to understand that we are encountering our family tree.

Hebrews 11 isn't simply the hall of faith—it's our family tree.
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So, in today’s devotion, I want to simply give some highlights of the faith family whose legacy we are part of.

I encourage you to dig deeper into their stories. Meditate on their faith. And ask the Holy Spirit how he is drawing you into a life of deep, abiding, and radical faith like theirs…

…and when he speaks to you, respond to his leading.

Our Faith-Family Tree

The chapter begins with a picture of what faith looks like:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Hebrews 11:1–3 ESV

You see, this is more than a textbook definition of faith.

It goes beyond theory and into practice.

Faith isn’t blind, pie-in-the-sky belief in invisible fairytales. The substance, weight, and quality of faith is found in its object…

…and the object of our faith is none other than the Almighty Creator God.

So the strength of these men and women’s faith wasn’t first measured by their great deeds, but by the great subject of their faith.

I love how commentator Warren Wiersbe puts it: True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. [1]

Let’s look at two examples from Hebrews 11 to finish.

Abraham’s Faith Example

By faith, Abraham obeyed God, offering up his only son, Isaac (Genesis 22). Abraham’s loyalty and obedience to God’s word was total.

Why?

Because he believed that God’s promise would be kept no matter what. Even if Isaac died, Abraham believed God would raise him back to life.

(Look at how that prefigures Jesus!)

Moses’s Faith Example

By faith, Moses refused to lose his identity as part of the people of God. He left Pharaoh’s household and chose mistreatment alongside of God’s people rather than the “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25).

Why?

Because Moses decided the “reproach” of Christ was greater than the treasures of this world.

• What is the measure and quality of your faith?
• Does it look like Abraham’s and Moses’s in action?
• What steps of faith is God calling you to walk in today?

Footnotes:

[1] Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996. Print.

In part one we looked at what the original readers of Hebrews faith were like.

They had once been disciples bearing lots of fruit. But along the way, they’d grown tired.

Where there was once the fire of compassion, there were cooling embers of self-interest...
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We’ll pick up where we left off with verse 35:

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.

Hebrews 10:35 ESV

Remember, the word “therefore” should perk up your ears because the writer is linking two things together. You need to look at both to understand the meaning.

The author of the letter was reminding them not only of their former fruitfulness, but also of God’s faithfulness.

In verse 34, he said they endured hardships for the gospel because they had “a better possession and an abiding one.”

They looked forward to the reward of eternal life in Jesus.

Their worldviews were entirely rooted in faith—and this is what drove and motivated them.

(Later in the series we’ll see how this was exactly the mindset of Jesus himself.)

So, this brings them to a critical juncture. They need to lift their eyes from their surroundings and focus on the promises of God.

And what will this produce…? Endurance.

He continues:

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

Hebrews 10:36 ESV

This is a pivotal call to action, and where the genuine difficulty of discipleship shows itself.

Just like us today, they were saved and secured by Jesus’ sacrifice alone. However, neither them nor we live in cultures conducive to faithful discipleship.

The language here is a sports analogy. Just like a marathon runner at mile 23 needs endurance to finish well, so do disciples need endurance.

• Endurance to be faithful in serving one another.
• Endurance to be faithful to Jesus under persecution.
• Endurance to hold onto the promise of resurrection and eternal life.
• Endurance to resist sin.

For,

‘Yet a little while,
and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.’

Hebrews 10:37–38 ESV

We need this endurance because, as he reminds them, Jesus is coming back. Do we live in light of this today?

Finally, he closes the passage in chapter 10 we’re studying together, saying:

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Hebrews 10:39 ESV

Jesus is returning for his bride in the Father’s perfect time (Matthew 24:36). And those of us who are righteous in Christ aren’t people who “shrink back!”

This is a challenging passage for those of us who have lacked endurance as disciples. But it doesn’t finish on a discouraging note!

Instead, the author identifies himself with them as his brothers and sisters in faith. Notice how he declares “we” aren’t people who shrink back… “but of those who have faith and preserves their souls.”

They are cut of the disciples’ cloth because they have been saved through faith in Jesus.

This faith leads us to ultimately hope in nothing other than the promise of God that is eternal life.

And this hope fosters endurance to resist sin, compromise, and fear in the face of hardship.

Today, turn the spotlight on yourself and your church body:

Are you living with endurance? Or do you give into despair, cynicism, or fear?

Most importantly, do you remember who you are as a disciple? You are not one who shrinks back!

If you lack endurance, start by examining those areas in your life and asking: “Where am I/are we not holding to the ultimate promise of God, here?”