You Can Do Magic. . . Or Can You?

Hello! Thanks for stopping by.

I reflected on the passage from Acts 19 and thought this would be an appropriate video to get us started off today.



Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
In Psalm 29, what one word appears in 10 of the 11 verses? (Hint: not “the”!)
"Lord"

And here's the question of the day:
Fri, Mar 6: Which leader of one of the 12 tribes of Israel owned the staff which “budded, blossomed and produced almonds?” (Num 17)

And here's the reflection of the day:
In today's passage of Acts, we see another misuse of power. The life-changing power of the gospel--the power that Paul had--is not magic. It is not magic or sorcery. God's power is not a commodity for Paul to dispense in order to manipulate human life. Instead, it is a mark of his spiritual authority, given to Paul, by God. Paul's uses this power on his missionary journeys in order to show that power comes not from ourselves but is given by God.

As Christians, who are prone to talking about our faith, we must be careful when we speak of God's power, particularly related to healing and wholeness. God's power is determined by our dependence on Jesus, not on ourselves. God gives his power to us in order to serve God's purposes, not our own.

Paul did all he could to teach that the power to heal came from God, not from him. Without proper teaching, the passing around of handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him can sound a lot like superstition. And it certainly seems that the seven sons of Sceva were possibly misusing God's power in their attempts at healing.

And some people seem to have learned their lesson, as scrolls of sorcery were destroyed and confessions of "evil deeds" were made public. Paul must have been doing something right because people were beginning to confess their sin and "the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power."

Can you say the same about your church or yourself? Are we doing a good job about teaching the source of power or do people in our congregations think of, say, baptism or communion, as lucky charms?

Have a great day!
Allison