“The most powerful weapon for silencing the mouth of the world is not brilliant theological apologetics, but the practice of a holy life that resembles Jesus Christ.” “Now it happened, as Jesus went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they were watching Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, ‘Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?’ And they could not answer Him regarding these things” (Luke 14:1–6). (1) As I meditated on today’s passage, Luke 14:1–6, the phrase that first caught my attention was: “they were watching Him clos...
“Let another man take his office” [Acts 1:12-26] What is the concept of "office" about? "Office" refers to function, not position. The purpose of office is service, sacrifice, and being a servant. To perform the office well, one must become a servant to others (2 Cor. 4:4). Without service and sacrifice, one is not fulfilling their office. It would be hypocritical. Since we have all received an office, we must be faithful to it. When we speak of a person holding an office, we can think of 1 Timothy 3:1-13, which outlines the qualifications for church officials. They must be lovers of what is good, blameless, not only within the church but also in society and morality. They must be self-controlled in all things, which means they must govern their hearts well, being careful with their words, actions, and thoughts. They must be hospitable, n...