We often crave independence, but in actual fact, we are all dependent people to some extent. As babies, we are wholly dependent on our mother for life; once born, we are dependent on adults to provide just about everything necessary for life (food, clothes, cleaning, moving etc.) As we grow, we  become gradually less dependent on others and like to ‘do it all by myself’; independence is highly prized. Yet despite this desire for independence, no one can actually survive without others; one of the key things about the pandemic and lockdown has been the realisation of who the key workers really are. We are even dependent on earth and nature for survival and therefore need to take care of the earth, being good stewards.

Spiritually, we are brought to life by God’s Spirit and are therefore wholly dependent on Him for our salvation (see John 3:5, Eph 2:8-10). Paul reminds the Galatians that after beginning by means of the Spirit, it is foolish to now try to finish by means of the flesh. (Gal 3:3) Yet so often, this is what we do. We need to feed our spiritual life through prayer and reading the Word, but must never think that we can reach a point of spiritual independence as we grow up.

In 1 Sam 8:1-7, we see how the elders of Israel’s wanted to appoint a king over them when they realised that Samuel’s sons were not following the Lord’s way. They looked at those around them and assumed that their way was best, whereas God wanted to be their king and helper (see Is 31). So often, Israel turned from dependence on God to seeking help from other countries; as Hosea put it, problems occurred ‘because you have depended on your own strength and on your many warriors.’ (Hosea 10:13)

Self-dependence will ultimately lead to failure. We need to re-evaluate our lives, looking at the direction our lives are taking and how we spend our time (since this will inevitably reflect our values). We live in the same world as everyone else, but are called to live differently (see 1 Pet 4:1-3). God calls us to seek out His truth and live by it, which will not lead to general popularity (John 15:20, 2 Tim 3:12). It is not easy to live against the system of the world, but ‘if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.’ (Rom 14:8)

To recalibrate our dependence on God, we need to spend time in prayer and in the word, re-aligning ourselves with God’s purposes and plans. Jesus reminds us that He is the vine and we are the branches; apart from Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Ultimately, we need to be prepared to pay the price, living for eternity. God works in us (Phil 2:12-13), energising us and give us the power to live for God. We have to live according to what we know of God, following the last instruction received. We must live for eternity, not living independently but living in dependence on God.

Hope is a key element in faith; it’s often what keeps us going through trials and testing. Paul told the Corinthians that ‘now these three remain: faith, hope and love’ (1 Cor 13:13), and he speaks frequently of the power of hope to sustain and enable us to endure.

It was because of his hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ that Paul was arrested and put on trial. (Acts 23:6, Acts 24:15, Acts 26:6, Acts 28:20) Yet he affirmed that ‘we boast in the hope of the glory of God’ (Rom 5:2), finding hope in the ultimate fulfilment of prophecy as he waited for God. (Rom 8:23-25) Hope kept him going throughout persecution, opposition, injustice and imprisonment. He kept hoping for deliverance and knew he could trust God in every situation. (2 Cor 1:9-10)

Hope is desperately needed in our world today. Without God, we are without hope. (Eph 2:12). We identify with Job in his suffering: ‘My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. (Job 7:6) One of the problems people have faced over the past year is that they feel they have no hope. Illness, insecurity, the loss of freedom, financial anxiety, loneliness, the loss of familiarity and security have all led to a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness which has been evidenced by mental health suffering, unemployment rising and desperation becoming the norm for so many people. How can we keep going when there is so much uncertainty and despair around us?

God’s word speaks hope into our lives. It reminds us that God has not forgotten us and that we do not have to live merely by sight, but can let faith become our sight. If Paul could endure hardship and persecution with hope and joy, then we too can be sustained by God in exactly the same way. Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Trust in God and wait patiently for Him.

In Acts 26:8, Paul cuts to the chase with his question, ‘Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?’ In all the trials he undergoes, his focus is always on the resurrection of Jesus, a resurrection he makes plain is consistent with Jewish beliefs.

We don’t live in a society which generally believes in miracles or the supernatural, and therefore Paul’s question is one which forces us onto the back foot. The reason many people discount the account of the resurrection of Jesus as factual is because they have a worldview which has no room for an incredible, miracle-working God. If we assume that there is no god, if we believe that nothing can happen except that which we understand, then the idea that God raises the dead will seem ridiculous to us. But if we work from the viewpoint that God made the universe and all in it and is able to do so much more than we can understand or fathom, then there is nothing incredible about the idea that God could raise the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus is at the heart of the gospel, as Paul makes plain in 1 Corinthians 15, where he goes as far as to say that if Jesus were not raised from the dead, our faith is useless. Here are some things to consider about the resurrection before dismissing it as incredible:

1. There was an empty tomb with no body in it. No one has ever been able to produce the body of Jesus.

2. The tomb had had a Roman seal on it and a huge stone in front of it. The price for interfering with Roman justice was great, and it’s unlikely the Roman guard would have broken the seal or moved the stone.

3. There was a Roman guard at the Tomb, so it was unlikely anyone else could have simply stolen the body.

4. Many people testified to seeing Jesus after his death – over 500 at least!

5. The behaviour of the disciples changed radically after the resurrection. Before, they had been fearful and hiding away; after the resurrection, they became bold witnesses to Jesus, prepared to die for their faith.

6. Jesus predicted he would rise again on many occasions.

7. The Old Testament Scriptures prophesied that the Messiah would rise again.

8. Christians today testify to the life-changing power of Jesus.

If God can raise the dead, then perhaps we really should pay closer attention to everything that Jesus said!

Obsessions take over our lives, leading us to become so preoccupied with an idea that everything else has to take a back seat. The very word indicates something that is not quite normal, that goes beyond what we regard as usual. We can be obsessed with anything: a person, an idea, a hobby, a possession. There’s usually an element of a normal liking becoming twisted, so that if we say someone is obsessed, we are pointing to something that has an element of fanaticism or abnormality to it.

Paul’s account of his life before meeting Christ is ruthlessly honest. He says that he was a fierce opponent of Christians: ‘Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.’ (Acts 26:11) Such a person is the last person you would expect to end up on trial for the Christian faith, but Paul’s story of his conversion is one which shows that to break or cure an obsession, you have to have a greater goal!

Paul’s life was changed by his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. It was a complete U-turn: from persecuting Christians to preaching the gospel and being persecuted himself. We should never underestimate the power of personal testimony or doubt that meeting with Jesus is enough to overcome any obsession or addiction. As the singer Carman once said, we should only be addicted to Jesus! Anything else will control us, but He sets us free to serve Him and become the people we were meant to be.

Paul summarises his commission from Jesus in this way: ‘I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:17-18) This could be said to be a summary of the gospel.

Before we know God, it’s as though our eyes are closed; blindness is often used to describe our natural state (see John 9; 2 Cor 4:4). God’s light shines in our hearts and opens our eyes; Paul describes this to the Colossians as ‘he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’ (Col 1:13-14) Not only are redemption and the forgiveness of sins often linked (see also Eph 1:7) but Paul stresses that even the Gentiles have a place in God’s family through faith. We are all welcomed into God’s family through faith.

John Stott comments that, ‘conversion includes a radical transfer of allegiance and satanic rule and a liberation into the sphere of God’s marvellous light and power.’ (‘Acts’) Paul outlines this further in Ephesians 2:1-9, and it is important for all of us to understand the radical nature of conversion. Paul’s own behaviour shows us what this looks like. Does ours?