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Jacob's Blog
 Hello and welcome to my personal blog page called "faith lounge". Unlike my official ministry website, this is just a place for me to share my most current thoughts.
Burning your Old Books
By Jacob M. Rodriguez
“And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” Acts 19:18-20
Kicking an old habit or practice is usually easier said than done—especially when you’ve spent most of your life doing it. Perhaps nothing is harder to change then the mind. Once someone has their mind made up about a certain idea, it takes a lot of convincing to break them away from their beliefs. No one knew this better then the apostle Paul. While stationed in Ephesus, he encountered a society that was deeply rooted in heathen education and sorcery. These false beliefs were integrated into the culture at nearly every level.
Ephesus had a profane reputation throughout the Roman Empire and was considered to be the capital of magic and witchcraft. As you can imagine, the message of Jesus Christ generated quite a stir of controversy. It was such a clash of viewpoints that the apostle Paul spent three months in the synagogue arguing about the kingdom of God. Day after day he debated the most influential thinkers and sages—to no avail in some cases. After some stubborn leaders tried to smear Paul publicly, he held small group discussions in a nearby lecture hall.
At this point, it would seem as though Paul backpedaled himself into a corner. Perhaps the mentality in Ephesus was too stiff. However, Paul didn’t forfeit. After two years of teaching and preaching, Ephesus had a breakthrough. It all began with a huge collapse in the religious establishment. Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest, were badly injured by a demon-possessed man after a failed attempt to set him free. The evil spirit answered their demands by saying, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” This event dismissed the idea that the Name of Jesus was simply a magic formula. It also proved Paul’s arguments about the authority in the kingdom of God.
Not only were these pretentious men exposed, but also a newfound reverence for the Name of Jesus emerged in Ephesus. The emptiness of their beliefs caused them to grope for something genuine. Their failed system provoked reverence and honor for the true God. Sometimes you need to experience emptiness to appreciate the God’s abundance.
The Ephesians not only confessed the error in their ways, but responded by burning their sacred books. These books weren’t just any books; they were used for corrupt guidance, sorcery and false doctrine. By burning the books, they made a public statement—essentially saying, “We will no longer live by these teachings. This is not who we are anymore.” They burned the books and turned towards God.
These groups of Ephesians had to make a choice between an impostor, and the real thing. Burning their revered books represented a transformed heart and mind. Perhaps there are books in your life that you need burn. The books in your life may not be actual books, but ideas, ways, beliefs, attitudes or mentalities that you need to burn in order to know God more.
Notice that Paul didn’t have to threaten or bully anyone to repent. These people simply felt conviction and decided to do something about it. The Holy Ghost tugged tightly at their hearts and brought them to a place of complete surrender. Sometimes, even though we sense the Holy Ghost convicting our hearts of something, we resist, fight and pull away. Let’s learn from the Ephesians and respond quickly to God’s call.
You’ll also notice that these people came “confessing and telling their deeds”. Remember, there’s no need to pretend like everything fine when you know things are not. When you come before God, be honest and transparent. Don’t reserve your faults and present your best. Instead, be real and open yourself up to God. After all, He already knows your secrets.
Lessons to Live By:
1. Some Bridges Must be Burned – Someone once said, “don’t burn your bridges”. In other words, don’t mistreat people because someday you may need them again (i.e. employer). Thus, you’ll have a way to come back to them. However, there are some bridges in life that must be burned, because they lead back to a destructive place. Unless you burn certain things in your life, you’re simply taking a break. It might be gone for a season, but someday it will reappear. Unless you completely clear yourself from an unhealthy relationship, it will find it’s way back into your life. By burning their books, the Ephesians eliminated the avenue to return back.
2. Each Person Must Count the Cost – According scripture, these burned books had great financial value. In fact, the total amount of all the burned books soared at around 50,000 pieces of silver. In today’s terms, that would be equivalent to several million dollars. Keep in mind that they didn’t just surrender these items, but they burned them. For all intents and purposes they set millions of dollars on fire. However, when your heart turns towards God, you’ll get rid of things that the world holds dear. This was a cost that this group was willing to pay.
When the Ephesians publicly denounced their old ways and worshiped God, something powerful happened. The bible says, “So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.” Once they burned their old books, a new book opened up. Suddenly, the word of God flourished in their hearts. It spread widely and had a powerful effect on the whole city. It’s interesting that the word of God didn’t prevail until they surrendered and destroyed the other books. You’ll notice that God’s word won’t grow and prevail in your life until all your old books are burned. When your old mentality is put to rest, God’s word accelerates in your life and causes great things to happen.
Personal Action:
The Ephesians in this story had to burn their old books. Make a list and pray about some of the things in your life that may need to be burned.
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posted by Jacob Rodriguez at Thursday, September 25, 2008
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