Passage of the Day - December 31, 2010

Acts 17:1-9

 1Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
 2And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

 3explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."

 4And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.

 5But the Jews, becoming jealous and taking along some wicked men from the market place, formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and attacking the house of Jason, they were seeking to bring them out to the people.

 6When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, "These men who have upset the world have come here also;

 7and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus."

 8They stirred up the crowd and the city authorities who heard these things.

 9And when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.

Jason is a very minor character in the Bible, but a very important one.  The way he dealt with the situation allowed things to calm down and allow the new church in Thessalonica to flourish.  We only see Jason seeing hardship.  Our faithfulness to God may never get recognized on Earth, but rest assured it is being noticed in heaven.


Notice of copyright as shown below must appear on the title or copyright page of the work:"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Passage of the Day - December 30, 2010

Acts 16:35-40

³⁵Now when day came, the chief magistrates sent their policemen, saying, "Release those men."

 ³⁶And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, "The chief magistrates have sent to release you Therefore come out now and go in peace."

 ³⁷But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out."

 ³⁸The policemen reported these words to the chief magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,

 ³⁹and they came and appealed to them, and when they had brought them out, they kept begging them to leave the city.

 ⁴⁰They went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

Excerpt from Matthew Henry on Acts 16:35-40

Paul, though willing to suffer for the cause of Christ, and without any desire to avenge himself, did not choose to depart under the charge of having deserved wrongful punishment, and therefore required to be dismissed in an honourable manner. It was not a mere point of honour that the apostle stood upon, but justice, and not to himself so much as to his cause. And when proper apology is made, Christians should never express personal anger, nor insist too strictly upon personal amends. The Lord will make them more than conquerors in every conflict; instead of being cast down by their sufferings, they will become comforters of their brethren.

http://www.christnotes.org/commentary.php?b=44&c=16&com=mhc

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,

© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Passage of the Day - December 29, 2010

Acts 16:22-34

 ²²The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.

 ²³When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely;

 ²⁴and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

 ²⁵But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;

 ²⁶and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.

 ²⁷When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.

 ²⁸But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!"

 ²⁹And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas,

 ³⁰and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

³¹They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

 ³²And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.

 ³³And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.

 ³⁴And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household.

Paul and Silas were freed from bondage to do what exactly?  Simply escape?  No, they were freed to witness to the jailer.  It is interesting that Paul and Silas never left.  I wonder why they didn’t.  I would have thought an earthquake releasing me from prison would have been a sign from God to escape.  However, they didn’t.  Anyways, no matter the situation, we must always be aware of those around us and be willing to assist them in their moment of need.  Paul and Silas were glorifying God while in prison.  The earthquake came and released all the prisoners.  The jailer was horrified at his circumstance.  Paul and Silas reached out to him.  The jailer, knowing their faith, asked how to be saved.  Paul and Silas were able to explain it to him.  The jailer, and his household, were saved and baptized.  If our faith is evident to all, all the time, and we reach out to someone in their moment of need, how hard will it be to witness to them?

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,

© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Passage of the Day - December 28, 2010

Acts 16:16-21

16It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

 17Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation."

 18She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.

 19But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities,

 20and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews,

 21and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans."

Her masters did not say a word when Paul and Silas were preaching and interacting with the people.  However, when their faith became action that had an impact on them, they became indignant.  The same can be said for our society.  We can be Christians as long as we keep our mouths shut and out of people's way.  However, we must expect resistance to the point of persecution if we actually act out our faith in public and engage other people.

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®,
© Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Passage of the Day - December 27, 2010

Acts 16:7-15

 ⁷and after they came to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them;

 ⁸and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.

 ⁹A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."

 ¹⁰When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

 ¹¹So putting out to sea from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and on the day following to Neapolis;

 ¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a Roman colony; and we were staying in this city for some days.

 ¹³And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

 ¹⁴A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

 ¹⁵And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.

Here is a site that I found interesting on Lydia:  http://www.alabaster-jars.com/biblewomen-l.html Just scroll down to the section on Lydia.

Passage of the Day - December 26, 2010

Acts 16:6

6They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;

Asia means Asia Minor, as in most of modern day Turkey.  They were forbidden for a time as we will see later Paul goes to Ephesus.  Sometimes we have plans to do great things for the Lord, but He has other plans.  No matter how big our plans are, nothing is greater than the smaller plans God has for us!

Passage of the Day - December 25, 2010

Isaiah 9:6

6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
         And the government will rest on His shoulders;
         And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
         Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Merry Christmas!

Passage of the Day - December 24, 2010

Acts 16:4-5

 4Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe.

 5So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

Remember, they were delivering the decrees about what was expected of them in regards to the law.  They were stating that legalism was not the route to be taken.  The churches became stronger in faith as they left legalism behind.

Passage of the Day - December 23, 2010

Acts 16:1-3

 ¹Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

 ²and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium.

 ³Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

We often make federal cases of the smallest of things without thinking about the dissension that it causes.  Timothy allowed himself to be circumcised in order to avoid dissension.  To what lengths are we willing to go to avoid dissension?

Passage of the Day - December 22, 2010

Acts 15:36-41

 36After some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are."

 37Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.

 38But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work.

 39And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

 40But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.

 41And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

One of the great questions of life is “Does forgiveness include restoration of all trust and responsibilities, or does wisdom dictate that trust must be built up again?”  Paul did not trust John Mark, but Barnabas did.  This problem split them up.  The passage does not say who was right and who was wrong (although it does seem to point to Paul being in the right).  An unforgiving heart or an unwise head can cause much destruction.

Passage of the Day - December 21, 2010

Acts 15:13-35

 ¹³After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me.

 ¹⁴"Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

 ¹⁵"With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written,
    ¹⁶'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return,
         AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN,
         AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS,
         AND I WILL RESTORE IT,
    ¹⁷SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD,
         AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,'
    ¹⁸SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO.

 ¹⁹"Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles,

 ²⁰but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

 ²¹"For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

 ²²Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren,

 ²³and they sent this letter by them, "The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.

 ²⁴"Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls,

 ²⁵it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

 ²⁶men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 ²⁷"Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

 ²⁸"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:

 ²⁹that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."

 ³⁰So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.

 ³¹When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

 ³²Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message.

 ³³After they had spent time there, they were sent away from the brethren in peace to those who had sent them out.

 ³⁴[But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.]

 ³⁵But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also, the word of the Lord.

One of the difficulties we have is deciding which laws apply to us as Christians, and which ones don’t.  We know that we are not under the law, but under grace.  However, as a community of believers, what should we expect out of each other.  There is no real debate about adhering to the Ten Commandments.  As for the rest of the law, it appears that the only things we are expected to adhere to are not eating things sacrificed to idols (Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians narrows it down to knowingly eating), not drinking blood, and no fornication (sexual sin).  That is how serious God takes sexual sin.  Perhaps we should stop playing games with what the Bible has to say about sex.

Passage of the Day – December 20, 2010

Acts 15:1-12

 ¹Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

 ²And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue.

 ³Therefore, being sent on their way by the church, they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and were bringing great joy to all the brethren.

 ⁴When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.

 ⁵But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses."

 ⁶The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.

 ⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe.

 ⁸"And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us;

 ⁹and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.

 ¹⁰"Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?

 ¹¹"But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."

 ¹²All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Tricky business here.  The key word is in verse 5 – “necessary”.  Necessary for what?  To be saved?  Does one need to be circumcised in order to be saved?  Is it necessary for Christians to observe the Mosaic Law in order to be saved?  No.  However, as a testament to our faith in God through Christ, we ought to adhere to the law because we have faith that God established the Law for mankind’s benefit.  If a choice is not an extension of our faith, then it is actually sin.

Passage of the Day – December 19, 2010

Acts 14:23-28

²³When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

 ²⁴They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia.

 ²⁵When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

 ²⁶From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.

 ²⁷When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

 ²⁸And they spent a long time with the disciples.

It is important to treat visitors to your church well and to learn from returning missionaries about what God is doing in other areas of the world.

Passage of the Day - December 18, 2010

Acts 14:20-22

20But while the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe.

 21After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

 22strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God."

When you face difficult times do not automatically assume it is a sign that you are doing something wrong; it might be a sign that you are doing something very very right!

Passage of the Day - December 17, 2010

Acts 14:8-19

⁸At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother's womb, who had never walked.

 ⁹This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well,

 ¹⁰said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And he leaped up and began to walk.

 ¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voice, saying in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have become like men and have come down to us."

 ¹²And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

 ¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

 ¹⁴But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out

 ¹⁵and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM.

 ¹⁶"In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways;

 ¹⁷and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness."

 ¹⁸Even saying these things, with difficulty they restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

 ¹⁹But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead.

Here we see an example of a strong emotional response to the power of God.  However, at no point did the truth penetrate the hearts of the Lycaonians.  The Jews, obviously irritated at Barnabas’ and Paul’s suggestion that the God of the Jews was also the God of the Lycaonians and was good to them, was able to turn the tide to the point of stoning Paul to death (almost).  Playing to peoples emotions can get you great praise, but only the Truth penetrating hearts will get God praise and isn’t that what it is all about?

Passage of the Day - December 16, 2010

Acts 14:1-7

¹In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and of Greeks.

 ²But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren.

 ³Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands.

 ⁴But the people of the city were divided; and some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.

 ⁵And when an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and the Jews with their rulers, to mistreat and to stone them,

 ⁶they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region;

 ⁷and there they continued to preach the gospel.

God has interjected Himself into history directly.  God has sent His prophets to guide His people.  God has sent His only Son into the world.  God, through the apostles, spoke to the Jews and others.  Each time there were those who believed and those who rejected the message.  No matter how close we are to God and how much the Holy Spirit is active through us, the message WILL be rejected by many, if not most, people.  It is a fact of life and should not be viewed as a sign that we aren’t Christian enough.  Do not lose heart.

Passage of the Day - December 15, 2010

Acts 13:44-52

44The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.
 45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things spoken by Paul, and were blaspheming.

 46Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.

 47"For so the Lord has commanded us,
         'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES,
         THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'"

 48When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

 49And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.

 50But the Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men of the city, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.

 51But they shook off the dust of their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

 52And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

How many blessings do we reject in order to have our life the way we want it?  How many blessings do we reject because something doesn't match up to our interpretation of scripture?

Passage of the Day - December 14, 2010

Acts 13:13-43

¹³Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia; but John left them and returned to Jerusalem.

 ¹⁴But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

 ¹⁵After the reading of the Law and the Prophets the synagogue officials sent to them, saying, "Brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say it."

 ¹⁶Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

 ¹⁷"The God of this people Israel chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He led them out from it.

 ¹⁸"For a period of about forty years He put up with them in the wilderness.

 ¹⁹"When He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance--all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.

 ²⁰"After these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

 ²¹"Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.

 ²²"After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.'

 ²³"From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus,

 ²⁴after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

 ²⁵"And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not He. But behold, one is coming after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'

 ²⁶"Brethren, sons of Abraham's family, and those among you who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.

 ²⁷"For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

 ²⁸"And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed.

 ²⁹"When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

 ³⁰"But God raised Him from the dead;

 ³¹and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people.

 ³²"And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers,

 ³³that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, 'YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.'

 ³⁴"As for the fact that He raised Him up from the dead, no longer to return to decay, He has spoken in this way: 'I WILL GIVE YOU THE HOLY and SURE blessings OF DAVID.'

 ³⁵"Therefore He also says in another Psalm, 'YOU WILL NOT ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY.'

 ³⁶"For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid among his fathers and underwent decay;

 ³⁷but He whom God raised did not undergo decay.

 ³⁸"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,

 ³⁹and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses.

 ⁴⁰"Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you:
    ⁴¹'BEHOLD, YOU SCOFFERS, AND MARVEL, AND PERISH;
         FOR I AM ACCOMPLISHING A WORK IN YOUR DAYS,
         A WORK WHICH YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE, THOUGH SOMEONE SHOULD DESCRIBE IT TO YOU.'"

 ⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

 ⁴³Now when the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and of the God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the grace of God.

Paul and Barnabas were asked to speak, and they were ready.  We are called to be ready to give testimony of Christ at any moment.  If anyone asks, we must be ready to tell them about salvation through Christ.  It’s time to brush up and be ready!

Passage of the Day - December 13, 2010

Acts 13:1-12

 1Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
 2While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

 3Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

 4So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

 5When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had John as their helper.

 6When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus,

 7who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.

 8But Elymas the magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

 9But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him,

 10and said, "You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?

 11"Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time." And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand.

 12Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord.

What is more amazing these days, what happened to the man in verse 11 or what Paul stated in verse 10?  How do we know when saying something along the lines of verse 10 is appropriate?  I'm not sure I know the answer.

Passage of the Day - December 11, 2010

Acts 12:20-25

20Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king's chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king's country.

 21On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them.

 22The people kept crying out, "The voice of a god and not of a man!"

 23And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

 24But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.

 25And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.

All glory goes to God.  ALL glory goes to God.  We, as humans, love it when our egos get stroked, but ALL glory goes to God.

December 10, 2010

Acts 12:12-19

¹²And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

 ¹³When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer.

 ¹⁴When she recognized Peter's voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate.

 ¹⁵They said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, "It is his angel."

 ¹⁶But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed.

 ¹⁷But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison And he said, "Report these things to James and the brethren." Then he left and went to another place.

 ¹⁸Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.

 ¹⁹When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

Verse 15, along with Matthew 18:10 and Hebrews 1:14, points to the concept of guardian angels.  It is a concept I have typically dismissed, but perhaps it is something I should be thankful for.

Passage of the Day - December 9, 2010

Acts 12:1-11

¹Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them.

 ²And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.

 ³When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

 ⁴When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.

 ⁵So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God.

 ⁶On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison.

 ⁷And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter's side and woke him up, saying, "Get up quickly " And his chains fell off his hands.

 ⁸And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals." And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me."

 ⁹And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

 ¹⁰When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

 ¹¹When Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."

Although not the purpose of this passage, this is a great illustration of salvation and eternal destinations.  All people were in spiritual prison awaiting their eventual death sentences to be carried out.  Jesus died on the cross and rose again in order to release all people from their shackles and open their cell doors.  Those that follow Jesus out the door and out of prison escape eternal damnation and those that stay don’t escape.

Passage of the Day - December 8, 2010

Acts 11:25-30

²⁵And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul;

 ²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

 ²⁷Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.

 ²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

 ²⁹And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea.

 ³⁰And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

The grace that was shown to those in Antioch was returned to those in Judea.  We are all one Church as the Body of Christ.  We help one another.  We are not designed to be islands.  Neither is it God’s design for any church.  Let us all find a way to help out another church or ministry outside of our current church in need.