What Paul Did

Acts 13-14

• 13:3 Paul and Barnabas sent by the church at Antioch
• 13:5 They proclaimed the Word of God
• 13:10 Paul rebuked a magician
• 13:16 Paul preached
• 14:1 They spoke
• 14:7 They continued to preach the Gospel
• 14:10 Paul (well, God!) healed a crippled man
• 14:21 More preaching

Acts 17

• 17:2 Paul preached
• 17:10 Went into the synagogue
• 17:17 Reasoned in the synagogue and marketplace
• 18:3 Paul worked as a tentmaker
• 18:4 Paul preached regularly

Basically, Paul preached, preached, preached! But then there is this -

Acts 19:11-12
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

So it seems.....that healing and preaching just go hand in hand. Next, I will look for more sharing and sending of money in the NT.

What Jesus - and Peter - did, continued

Mark 2

• 2:1 Preached
• 2:5 Forgave paralytic man
  
• 2:11 Healed paralytic man
• 2:13 Taught
• 2:14 Called Levi
• 2:15 Ate with tax collectors and sinners
• 2:17 Taught
• 2:19 Taught
• 2:25 Taught

Mark 3

• 3:5 Healed man with withered hand on the Sabbath
• 3:10 Mentions that he had been healing many
• 3:14 Appointed apostles
• 3:23 Taught
• 3:33 Taught

So. He taught and healed pretty evenly. Now Acts 2 -

• 2:4 Filled with the spirit
• 2:14 Peter preached
• 2:44 Believers had all things in common
• 2:45 "And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need" - wow! I never really noticed this one!

• 3:6 -7 "But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong."
• 3:12 Peter preached

• 4:8 Peter proclaimed gospel in court
• 4:19 Peter and John preach
• 4:24 Believers pray

A section here that I want to quote in full - Acts 4:32-37.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

The section I highlighted is astonishing - all needs met by the body! And the next section in Ch. 5 is about Ananias and Sapphira, the ones who held some back for themselves and lied about it - yikes! Then a section that really speaks to what I have been thinking about - Acts 5:12-16-

Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

So - preaching, financial assistance, healing - all part of the NT church.

Next time I want to look at missionary trips - I am thinking that they did the same things as they spread the gospel.

What Jesus Did

Last week, I was thinking about missionaries and I wondered

So - do missionaries preach first and help second, or is it the other way around?

And - what did Jesus do?

So - I made a list of everything Jesus did in Mark 1.

• 1:9 Was baptized
• 1:12 Went into the wilderness
• 1:14 Proclaimed the Gospel
• 1:16 Called disciples
• 1:21 Taught in the synagogue
• 1:25 Rebuked unclean spirit
• 1:31 Healed Peter's MIL
• 1:34 Healed many and cast out demons
• 1:35 Prayed in desolate place
• 1:39 Preached and cast out demons

He proclaimed, then taught, then healed, then taught and healed some more.

I want to go through more of Mark, and then take a look at Peter and Paul in Acts.

Thinking about missionaries

In Things Fall Apart there are two missionaries - Mr. Brown and Reverend Smith. Brown and Smith - cute how Achebe gives them such stereotypical *white* names! Anyway, Mr. Brown is kind and understanding while Rev. Smith is harsh and contemptuous, but neither seem to be able - willing? - to make the Gospel clear.

Of course, these are fictional missionaries.

I have read a few biographies of missionaries - Isobel Kuhn, Patricia St. John, Amy Carmichael, Francis and Edith Schaeffer - and it seems that the Schaeffers had an easier time getting to the point, as it were, because they did not have to deal with the extreme poverty of the third world nations.

So - do missionaries preach first and help second, or is it the other way around?

And - what did Jesus do?

Some Missionary organizations

Samaritan's Purse -

Our work takes us throughout the world to extend the love of Jesus Christ to hurting people. For over 35 years, Samaritan's Purse has done our utmost to follow Christ's command by going to the aid of the world's poor, sick, and suffering. We are an effective means of reaching hurting people in countries around the world with food, medicine, and other assistance in the Name of Jesus Christ. This, in turn, earns us a hearing for the Gospel, the Good News of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Covenant Mercies -

Covenant Mercies is eager to harness the abundant resources that God has provided to serve our brothers and sisters abroad, and to come alongside churches in areas plagued by famine, natural disasters, and various “third world conditions” as they seek to embody the love and mercy of Christ in their communities.

Africa Inland Mission -

Africa Inland Mission (AIM) is an evangelical Christian mission agency dedicated to the establishment of maturing churches among the peoples of Africa....We are engaged in a wide range of ministries including evangelism and church planting among Africa's unreached and least reached peoples, leadership development, youth ministry, medical ministry, community development and community health, aviation, and support service ministries.

Not so much an issue of aid vs. development here - a missionary focus is very different!

ETA: The focus - the Great Commission -

Matthew 28:18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Back to Africa

This article continues the ideas I found in the last one about Africa.

We can fight malaria by distributing free mosquito nets, which may cost $10-$60 each by the time you get them down often impassable dirt roads. Or, as Shikwati suggests, we can train locals how to operate a business spraying homes with an insecticide that will keep them mosquito-free for six months at about $2 a family.

We can spend billions importing medication, or you can invest in local farms that grow the Artemisinin, a Chinese herb with potent anti-malarial properties, and the factories that process it.

We can continue the endless cycle of need and dependency, or you can create jobs, develop indigenous capacity, and build a sustainable future.

Aid not only crowds out local entrepreneurship, it makes governments lazy and deprives countries of the incentive to build effective institutions. Public revenue derived from taxes makes governments directly responsible to their citizens. Free money builds white elephants and bloated bureaucracies, it being far easier to create new government jobs than implement policies to fight unemployment, especially when someone else is footing the bill.

The perverse result is that many of Africa's best and brightest become bureaucrats or NGO workers when they should be scientists or entrepreneurs. Which is why some are wondering: why not just take the aid money and invest in local business?

(I found the link to this article over at Pajamas Media.)

So, this has me thinking about missionary efforts in Africa and what kind of approach they are taking...I need to look up some missionary organizations!

ETA: Another article - an older one, I think.

God and mammon and government and me

So I was lying in bed this morning, thinking about this article I read recently about financial aid to Africa and how it is really not helping (followed a link from Instapundit).

And I was thinking about how the more money that is poured into corrupt countries just gives the bureaucracies more to steal from those it is meant to serve

And then I started thinking about how there is no way to change the hearts of those corrupt leaders without the power of the Holy Spirit bringing them to Christ.

Which led me to thinking about how the *liberal* response to human sufferering or need is to gather lots of money to solve the problem. Even when their solutions don't work, they invariably decide that they just need to spend even more money! Not just in Africa, but in the Public Schools and programs like Medicaid. And then I thought about how President Bush has been sending plenty of money to Africa and how it was just another example of how he is not as conservative as he said that he was.

And then this popped into my mind, King James and all!

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24

And then I started wondering whether rejection of God (as I tend to think that many liberals are Atheists, or at least have a *small* concept of God and His power) leads to idolization of money and its power. I think that it does. BUT then I realized that I certainly do not hate money; as a matter of fact, I often wish that I had more! But does that mean that I love money and hate God? Or is there an inverse relationship between my love and dependence on each?

And now another verse has popped into my head - but not in the KJV!

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7:5

Again, I am reminded that I should spend less time dwelling on the sins (real or supposed) of nameless *liberals* and spend more time examining my own heart. Sigh.