Melissa Rightmire Melissa Rightmire

Week Sixteen

We wrap up the book of Acts this week, which seems to me to be way too fast! There are so many morsels of truth and revelation of how God works in this book. Don’t ever be afraid to sit in a passage for a couple of days or weeks, even if it puts you behind in the reading! The whole reason we began this journey was to help us gain a new level of abiding in our relationship with Jesus and each other. The goal is not really finishing the New Testament in six months. The goal is abiding deeper and in a more sustainable way because our lives won’t be over in six months!

This journey of reading and abiding is taking us somewhere. Maybe it’s somewhere new for you. Or maybe it’s going deeper into the heart of Jesus than you ever have before. Maybe it’s stretching you to ask questions about the Word of God that you have never been vulnerable enough to ask. Maybe like me, you have found a new community of people who are willing to ask questions and share their thoughts not always knowing if they are right or wrong, finding the way of abiding in Jesus together. I pray one or all of these is true for you!

The book of Acts sets the stage for the rest of the New Testament you are about to encounter. Much of what remains to be read was written by Paul and so pay attention to the places that are logged in these final chapters as you will encounter them again. As you read Acts chapter 26 I would like you to pause at verses 16-18. Read the words silently once, and then read them out loud at least once — they are Jesus’ words. Ponder what Jesus says and ask yourself if you know to whom you are sent to open their eyes. If you don’t know, now is a good time to put that question before God.

As disciples, we all have a people to whom we are sent to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, 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 Jesus. That seems like a daunting calling. Maybe it’s only for Paul and people like him — the super apostles! But, I don’t think so. Jesus said more than once, and in a variety of ways, that we are to go and make disciples. I never saw an asterisk indicating a footnote of which disciples were excluded. The good news is, our responsibility is to go and be obedient to what Jesus is calling us to do. The Holy Spirit does the rest and He is faithful 100% of the time to do His part. Don’t be afraid! What I am saying is true and reasonable!

Who is Jesus calling you to? Where are you called to take the gospel? You can write a comment below, or reach me, Melissa, at mrightmire@crnaz.com . Thank you for traveling with me on this journey through the New Testament.

Below are the readings for week 16:

April 17, 2025 Acts 25–26 NIV, Ps 90 NIV

April 18, 2025 Acts 27 NIV, Ps 91:1–6 NIV

April 19, 2025 Acts 28 NIV, Ps 91:7–16 NIV

April 20, 2025 Rom 1 NIV, Ps 92 NIV

April 21, 2025 Rom 2:1–3:8 NIV, Ps 93 NIV

April 22, 2025 Rom 3:9–4:25 NIV, Ps 94 NIV

April 23, 2025 Rom 5–6 NIV, Ps 95 NIV

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Melissa Rightmire Melissa Rightmire

Week Fifteen

Week 14 was filled with one account after another of how the Spirit of the Living God was moving in power to make Himself known to all people! We ended last week with the first general council of the Church — capital C, which provided a great model for solving disputes. Yet, that did not preclude the fact that sometimes strong believers, even the renowned Paul, could have a sharp disagreement with someone with whom he worked so closely. Human nature continues among those we consider the most sanctified, but our frailties do not stop the move of God.

This week Luke joins the story he has been writing (Acts 16.10). Now it is not simply accounts that he verified, the rest of the story depicts his experiences with a focus on Paul’s leadership and life. Luke became part of the group traveling with Paul, Silas, Timothy, and others. It seems one of the first places he gets to go is Philippi. There they find a prayer meeting by the river. Most likely another divinely orchestrated appointment. They mostly met with women who would have been Jewish. Apparently there were not enough Jewish men, 10 were required to create a synagogue, so believers went outside the city gates to worship and pray. The miracle of God continues as Lydia and her household all become believers and are immediately baptized.

Once again, the gospel is met with opposition. Paul and Silas were arrested and we read about the 3rd prison break in Acts. I’m wondering if by this point, it’s simply expected that something miraculous happens when disciples of Jesus are sent to prison! This week’s readings take us to familiar cities where Paul and his entourage preach the gospel. In the weeks and months ahead we will read letters that he wrote to many of the congregations he started on his life long journey. If you have time this week, take a few extra minutes to familiarize yourself with the letters written to believers in Thessalonica, Ephesus, Philipi, and Galatia. All cities which are now infamous.

The only reason these cities are infamous is because of obedient disciples that made disciples that made disciples. This is our calling too. What is the name of your neighborhood? Your township? Your city? Have you accepted the call to take the gospel there or somewhere else? Even though the places you are now thinking of all have names known to us, could they become infamous if the gospel is preached with boldness, people are baptized, and new disciples are made?

I would love to know what your discipleship journey looks like or where you are called to take the gospel. You can write a comment below, or reach me, Melissa, at mrightmire@crnaz.com . Thank you for traveling with me on this journey through the New Testament.

Below are the readings for week 15:

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Melissa Rightmire Melissa Rightmire

Week Fourteen

This section of Acts begins after a gripping account of contrasts. The Sanhedrin who “resist the Holy Spirit” and Stephen who was “full of the Holy Spirit”. The Sanhedrin were furious and gnashed their teeth. Stephen “looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” The Sanhedrin chose violence and to deal out death. Stephen willingly gave up his spirit and went to sleep. And the persecution against the church of Jesus began (Acts 7).

The disciples were scattered and Saul stepped into the picture as a leader against the Way. While the pressures of persecution caused great distress and loss of life, it also fueled the expansion of the Church. An angel of the Lord seemed to be on the loose speaking and pulling un-suspecting people together. God spoke to and helped people see their religious practices in a new way. They would see visions and hear His voice. New believers were baptized and the Holy Spirit was empowering God’s children.

People were drawn to those who were full of grace and the Holy Spirit. What is different today? Persecution continues on a scale you and I probably can’t grasp. Open Doors reported that in 2024, 365 million people were subject to high levels of persecution. That means more than badmouthing people but includes violent threats, denial of services, isolation, torture, and even death. Yet, the angel of the Lord is still speaking. Muslims and other not-yet-believers are having visions of Jesus and turning to Him for salvation. People are being baptized all over the world and the Holy Spirit knows no boundaries. Against what humans might think are impossible odds, God continues to be on the move today.

As you read this week, consider what you hear in the news or see in your own life and ask God to show you what He is doing. I believe in the backdrop of contrasts, God is doing “something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.” Acts 13:41.

I would love to know how you see or hear from God. What is He doing that you could never even imagine? You can write a comment or prayer need below, or reach me, Melissa, at mrightmire@crnaz.com . Thank you for traveling with me on this journey through the New Testament.

Below are the readings for week 14:

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Melissa Rightmire Melissa Rightmire

Week Thirteen

John ends his gospel explaining that there is so much more he could have written but he just couldn’t write it all - “the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” And so many more have been written because people continued to encounter Jesus throughout history and continue to encounter Him even today! That’s because He is alive! The book of Acts makes sure we know how alive Jesus is.

The book of Acts is written by Dr. Luke. To get the full affect of this sequel to his gospel, consider going back and re-reading the end of Luke, chapter 24. As you read Acts, remember that Dr. Luke is writing an orderly account of things that he has verified have happened. However, at some point in this book, he is not only writing what he verified, but he begins to write what he experienced. I’ll let you know when we get there!

For this week, consider that Acts 1:25 is the first place the disciples are referred to as apostles. An apostle is a title for someone who is sent as a messenger with a very specific message. The message they carry was given to them directly from Jesus. If you want to know what the message is, go back and re-read Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 20:19-23. And remember that all that is experienced in His name also becomes part of the message.

Be in awe as you read the accounts of the Spirit of the Living God active in the lives of ordinary people and disciples. The story begins close to home, in Jerusalem. If the disciples thought that life on the road with Jesus was incredible, I can’t imagine what they were thinking when tongues of fire showed up at a prayer meeting and languages were not a barrier to sharing the message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

I often pray that God will do more than I can think or imagine to ask (Ephesians 3:20). It seems to me what we begin to read in Acts are the type of thing that can happen when we boldly pray for what is beyond ourselves.

As you read the book of Acts over the next couple of weeks, use this time to take the hardest thing you have in your life and ask God to do what you can’t even imagine to resolve it. Read the accounts in this book and be assured that God is alive and He is about to blow your mind!

I would love to join you in praying for the unimaginable. You can write a comment or prayer need below, or reach me, Melissa, at mrightmire@crnaz.com . Thank you for traveling with me on this journey through the New Testament.

Below are the readings for week 13:

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Melissa Rightmire Melissa Rightmire

Week Twelve

This week’s reading contains some of the most astounding words of Jesus that we should all settle into, read and read again. Contemplate them. Pray about them. Discuss them and reason them out with others. Consider that the incredible chapters of His last words (John chapters 13-17) come right after the miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead, in the midst of one of his own betraying him, and the establishment doing everything in their power to delegitimatize everything he has done. The actors are an array of people with differing perspectives, agendas, and threats.

Who are the actors in this complex scene? The wholly devoted followers that would give everything they have to serve Jesus. The crowd overcome by a magnificent yet humble entry to the holy city. High powered Greeks and Jews in positions to influence the outcome of the justice system. A Voice from heaven. The disciples. All play their own critical role.

This is what it looks like when “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Even unsuspecting crowds play a part. But, the price for that glory was astounding. It was a price only Jesus could pay. But, ultimately everyone involved paid a price. That’s why Jesus’ words in this section of scripture are so critical. Here he sets the way forward for those who would believe.

In this hour we realize that we pay a price too. It is the price of discipleship. It is the price of following Jesus in a world that delegitimatizes miracles and faith - just as it always has. The price is engaging with Jesus to make straight the paths of people that are broken and continue to be under attack.

For what are we paying a price? “. . . glory has come to me through them. . . that they may all be one as we are one.” The glory of God through us. Not me, not you, but us, together. The reward is unity in a culture that pushes isolation, individualism, fear of relationships, and fear of missing out all at the same time.

This is why we have to answer the question, 'are we ready to be disciples?’ Are we willing to be one?

Write a comment below or reach me, Melissa, at mrightmire@crnaz.com . Thank you for traveling with me on this journey through the New Testament.

Below are the readings for week 12:

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