January 29 - My Enemies’ Enemy

 Read today’s texts first: Exodus23 & 24; Psalms 14; Acts 5

MAXIMize YOUR DAY

God opposes those who oppose us -
He is our enemies’ enemy!

Growing up as a skinny kid, I was street smart enough to know that it pays to make the biggest guy in school your close buddy.  I avoided a lot of fights in junior high because Bob Best (that was really his name) had my back.  Moses and the rest of Israel had the promise of a protector too.  God sent His angel, bearing His name, ahead of them into the Promised Land.  If they stayed with him, God promised he “will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you” (23:22).  While Israel often suffered from an inferiority complex before going into battle, their enemies were far more intimidated because of Israel’s growing reputation for divine intervention.  Who’s going to stand up to God and win?

David, the Psalmist agrees: Will evil doers never learn… there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous (14:4-5).  I love it when I see a theme emerge from all three passages, because Acts 5 illustrates the promise given to both Moses and David.  The Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish court, at least 70 men in total, could not seem to keep these disciples down.  After just locking them up in the slammer, they were shocked to hear some guy interrupt their meeting with the news that the men they put in jail were back at the temple again preaching.  The disciples could have had their own series of Prison Break episodes (if Fox television had been around then).  Keeping these disciples from preaching is like bopping gophers at Chuck E Cheese – they just keep popping up somewhere else!  Gamaliel said it best:  if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find your selves fighting against God (5:39).

“Lord, may we stand strong in the face of opposition, knowing that if God is for us, who can be against us.  Sometimes, because of my fear of persecution, I keep quiet when I should be bold.  I ask that You would work into my life the same conviction that gripped Your disciples: we must obey God rather than men (5:29).”