I have had a cold. I have had a fever. I have had a fever for two weeks. But I have never been so plagued with disease that if a man passed by I would crawl under his shadow to be cured. But, if I had pancreatic cancer, I'm not certain that I wouldn't try. Martha works at my favorite Starbucks, the one off La Vista. I’m not sure when we started talking about our future aspirations to write a novel, but it was definitely a shared interest. In fact, it was more than an interest for Martha, it was going to be her life. She had already finished her 3rd draft on a historic novel. She was busy getting an agent. And then, I didn’t see Martha for nearly a year. The next time I saw her, I almost didn’t recognize her. She was recovering from pancreatic cancer. We all know that uncomfortable feeling as you talk to someone who is racked by disease. Like you just got caught by a massive wave, and you don’t know which way is up.
if Peter were alive today, I don’t care how weird it would be, I would fly him to Dallas and bring him to Starbucks. And when he healed Martha, I would take the disease map below, and walk with him to every point on the map. I could imagine it would be like when you walk through a field and brush your hands 
And I would want to tell everybody, except for my religious leaders. Not sure if they could handle it.
12 – 16.
In verse 12, Peter, John and all the apostles stood at the front door of the local religious center – Solomon’s Portico. Today it might be the steps of First Baptist, Jewish Temple, Mosque. Nevertheless, this was in direct disobedience of the Sadducees. Yet, the apostles seemed to think they were going to go where the pain was, no matter if it was in direct disobedience of the city.
Go get ‘em guys.
These steps were filled with the type of people that it should be filled with – those who needed the power of God to renew their body. When they learned that the apostles could give it to them, they would crawl under their very shadow. What a strange, yet beautiful picture. The work of the Spirit through these men were so renown, that people would try to get in their very shadow. Much like the woman in Luke 8:44, who wants to touch even the hem of Jesus’ robe. This was to be expected. In the ancient world, the shadow was thought to be a part of someone’s being and held its own magical power. Yet, we all know that God’s power is not in shadows or hems. People do not need to crawl or chase after God. God came to this planet through Jesus, and still comes to us today. But still, God is not devoid of passion. He will still heal and renew us even if we have limited understanding of His divine power.
17-31
Archbiship of Junani Luwum o f Uganda:
Without bleeding, the church fails to bless.
Of course, when the Divine raises up simple men and women to be a blessing to a community, it causes all sorts of trouble. We can consider this The Empire Strikes Back Part 2 (yes. Another Star Wars reference. My goal is one a year.) the Sadducees step it up a notch. They have them arrested. How does God respond. It’s almost funny. He sends an angel to release them. The angel in verse 20 says to “go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life”. If God had said that to me, I would be like, “seriously”. The first two times that I caused a scene and got a call from the local priest wasn't enough? Yet, the apostles go right back to where all the trouble started. Not only that, they entered the temple was “daybreak”. This would be the time of morning sacrifice – in other words high traffic. It’s like God keeps setting them up for failure. But it turns out very different.
Alright. We know the drill. The Sadducees have them arrested AGAIN and brought before the Sanhedrein. What is Peter’s response for the second time: “We must obey God and not man”. No statistic about the demise of the American culture. No nifty Christian bumper sticker here. Heck, where is his reference that starts off, “in seminary, I learned…blah, blah, blah” (Lord, I repent). Peter simply states the truth once again. “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
33-42
When the Spirit speaks, there are two responses. For those who are cold and resistant, it makes them angry as we see in verse 33). It’s not an “you are annoying me” anger. It is a brutal, destructive form of anger. The second response is resonance. For those who at least fear God, it resonates in your heart as we see with Gamaleil in verse 38. He leaves room for the possibility of God. It does not indicate his position as a Christ-follower, but it reverence for God comes out. BE PREPARED FOR THIS. I have to prepare myself. There is no need to force an angry person to listen to you, but there is EVERY need to continue sharing your heart with a person that leaves room for the possibility of God.
Now, having followed the apostles through another of their wild adventures, the verse that I want to land on is verse 41.
“then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.”
Wow. Don’t know if I’m there yet. But I suspect that whatever resilience and joy the apostles had was not from within anyway. It came from the main character of all the book of Acts. The Spirit. When reading all of these, we have to include the Spirit in our formula. To see the book of Acts only as the action of men and women leaves these stories distant and without relationship to my life. But the book of Acts is trying to say otherwise. It is telling us:
When the Spirit is a part of you, this is what happens:
you are a blessing.
You are simple.
You are bold.
You are fully convinced that Jesus brings the dead to life.
You will be misunderstood.
You will have a profound joy.
Peace friends,
Kevin
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