Dave Dishman

I love the original Rocky movie. A down-and-out fighter turned muscle for a neighborhood loan shark gets a shot at the title. Rocky goes all-in. Up before dawn to train, guzzling raw eggs (I tried this once, almost threw up), pounding sides of beef in a meat locker. Rocky trained relentlessly. In the ring he proved his mettle. In leadership parlance we call this dynamic determination.

Paul the Apostle was a lot like Rocky. After taking a right hook from Jesus, Paul relentlessly pursued the mission given to him by the Lord. Following one episode of mistreatment and stoning, he and his companion Barnabus picked up and moved to the next city where we’re told they continued to preach the gospel. That’s dynamic determination.

Screams in their face, rods broken across their back, rocks bouncing off their head—all part of the job. Paul and Barnabus proclaimed the the good news until they died. Paul’s preaching career ended in Rome, beheaded by Nero. Barnabus was stoned to death by a crowd in Cyprus.

A simple formula, really. Preach Christ until you die. Their determination changed the world, and ushered in the faith we enjoy today.

Acts 14:7

Photo by The Ordinary Moments

I know a guy. Words you like to hear when you tell your friend you’re looking for an electrician. The right connections make life easier. True when job hunting, and true when getting stuff done around the house. Sometimes, however, we may know a guy who we wish we’d never met.

Several men are listed as leaders of the young and growing church in Antioch. One of the teachers referenced is Manaen, a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch. This is the only place in the Bible Manaen is mentioned, and the only info we gather about him is his long friendship with a corrupt and murderous leader.

Do you remember Herod? This unscrupulous king lopped the head off John the Baptist and mocked Jesus during his trial. He detested the early Christians. But Manaen grew up with Herod, likely as a foster brother. As a result, Manaen came to age in a privileged, wealthy and severely anti-Christian household.

Did Manaen witness John’s beheading? Did he watch the mocking and beating of Jesus on the streets of Jerusalem? Did he follow the crowd to Golgotha? Regardless, at some point he heard stories of the resurrection. Truth seeped into Manaen’s soul. He turned from the ways of his family to embrace the ways of Jesus.

No one is insulated from the grace of God. Manaen’s life demonstrates the power of the gospel to reach individuals from elite environments dead set against the ways of the Lord. God works the same way today.

Manaen rejected the dark side of power and turned to Jesus instead. Many today are trapped, allured by the same darkness. Pray for the light of the gospel to reach them, no matter how far from Jesus they appear, because everyone a new set of friends.

Acts 13:1

Photo by Bruno van der Kraan

No one likes the weaknesses we see in ourselves. Physical problems sap our energy as we soldier on despite aches and pains. Issues with our bodies arise from accidents or aging. But sometimes the results of a rash act when we’re young never fades away.

Saul, later to become Paul, inherited a lifetime malady due to his hatred of those following Jesus. Here’s how it all started: Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

On that road to Damascus Saul met Jesus, who knocked him to the ground and struck him blind. Three days later the Lord sent Ananias, a brave Christ-follower, to give Saul a message and restore his sight. We’re told that something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight.

Paul never looked back. After meeting Jesus he spent the rest of his life preaching and writing and starting churches. But his eyesight remained poor. He complained about it, spoke of a thorn in the flesh, and often dictated his teachings to a scribe.

There is no mention of Paul’s bad eyes before his conversion. I’m guessing those scales caused lasting damage. He could see, but not as before. I believe God left scratches to remind Saul of beating all those innocent people. Paul carried these scars to his death, a reminder of a life now infused with God’s unearned goodness. Paul now trusted God for the power to go on, rather than his own gifts and abilities.

Our weaknesses remind us of our need for God as well. We endure, and our deficiencies point others to the Lord and thus advance his kingdom. Eyes may dim, hips may give out, cancers may grow. But through it all we can be honest about how we feel, and still speak of the goodness of the Lord. Complain and move on. That’s how Paul dealt with his affliction. I’m thinking I can do the same.

Acts 9:1-18

Photo by Tom Morbey

I prayed the other day for God to move the traffic in front of me. Shallow, I know, but I often pray for God to change my circumstances. My wife shared a wonderful devotional about this very topic with our team of Faculty Commons staff. She pointed out how we pray for God to set things right around us, when God actually desires to set things right in our hearts.

Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of Israel, a total shock to the young man. In an instant his circumstances radically changed. So unnerved, Saul even hid when his name was announced as the new king. But God came along. We’re told that after his anointing, God gave him another heart.

God did not change anything about the obstinate people of Israel. He did not weaken the Philistines, their fearsome enemies. Nor did he change Saul’s family or friends or hairstyle. Nothing changed—except for Saul’s heart.

While I often pray for my circumstances to change, I’m realizing that God is more interested in changing my heart. As my heart transforms I gain a new perspective on circumstances. God views my life through a timeless lens. He plays patiently, crafting my soul through various circumstances.

Do I still pray for the traffic in front of me to part like the Red Sea? Unfortunately, old habits are hard to break. But I’m hopeful the Lord will remind me in those moments the value of the new heart he’s forming. Heavy traffic is only one of his tools to make me a better man.

1 Samuel 10:9

Photo by Szabolcs Antal