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Acts 15

9/28/2013

Acts 15:6-11 They all were discussing the Gentiles being circumcised. “So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. God knows people’s hearts, and He confirmed that He accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts through faith. So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the underserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

This is important for us to see; first Peter shares that ‘God knows people’s hearts and as we accept Jesus as Lord and we open up to transformation, our heart goes through changes that God knows about. We desire knowledge and learning how we need to live. We can’t fool God by going through the motions, He knows everything and as we change and are willing to surrender our will for His, He knows our motive behind what we do. In Matthew chapter 11 verses 29-30 says, “Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Jesus is not making it impossible to follow Him, He has made it easy and by God’s grace it is possible for everyone.

The yoke Peter is telling the apostles are all things that don’t matter to their eternal life and as we grow in the Lord we should realize that when we think of God’s love and live like Christ we open the doors for more people to know Christ. As we look at Acts chapter 15 verse 11 really see the simplicity of what God desires. “We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” So we need to drop our yoke and the yoke the church puts on us and discover the love that the Father has for us all. Jesus can’t change what He did so we need to follow what He says in Mark chapter 12 verses 29-31, “O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love you neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”

As we see these verses the word (all) should stand out because it is our entire being that God desires. Jesus did nothing without the Father telling Him, so as we believe in Christ who was sent for us, we must open our hearts to do nothing without listening to Him. We do this by praying and opening the Word of God and letting the Holy Spirit fill us so when choices come we choose life. Amen

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Acts 6

9/21/2013

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I was reading one of my favorite areas in the Bible today and I wanted to share the things that amaze me about them. It is Acts chapters 6 and 7 the story of Stephen and how he boldly and faithfully gives glory to God. In chapter 6 it starts out with the apostles choosing 7 men to help out with some details so the apostles could spend their time preaching and teaching the word of God. In verse 5 it say, “Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith.)” We see here of all the ones chosen they let you know about Stephen and say a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit. This is important because our faith is shown by our actions not just our words and Stephen gets a chance to display both boldly.

In verse 8 it says, “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.” Stephen knew where his strength came from and he wasn’t afraid to share why he did what he did. The key to Stephen was he was full of God’s grace and power; the Holy Spirit is what led him to do all that he did. It didn’t matter who came against him he knew the way to wisdom and tapped into the source of his strength. I hope we see this as believers and pray for the same strength that lives in us to lead our lives not just be a part of our lives. In verse 10 it says, “None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.” This is because he didn’t speak he let God speak.

When we ask for wisdom (which only comes from God) He gives us wisdom. Are we willing to ask and grow, or seek, so we become fully devoted followers of Christ, or do we just want to go through the motions and worry and fear about the things of this world? I love this part in verse 15, “At this point everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s.” He truly died to himself and was getting ready to let the Spirit speak even as they accused him of things he didn’t do. In our worldly flesh we tend to want to defend ourselves or lash out but Stephen let it go and shared what God put on his heart without worrying about their educational background.

Look at what it says in chapter 7 verse 51, “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!” He spoke truth and wasn’t ashamed of his love for the Lord. As they were taking him out to stone him we get this picture of Stephen; a relaxed man that cares only for what God thinks. Verses 55 and 56 say, “But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And he told them, look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” He wasn’t thinking of his problems and they were about to be great, he focused on the truth and it set him free.

As I read this story I pray for faith like Stephen’s as I continue to mature in my walk in this world waiting to go to my true home with the Father. In verses 59-60 we see a true heart of a man full of the Holy Spirit and willing to listen to it. “As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ He fell to his knees, shouting, ‘Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!’ And with that he died.” Let’s pray, Father thank you for sharing with us all that we need to know. Help us continue to seek wisdom and power that you offer so we can live our lives boldly for you every day of our lives. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen

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Acts 5

9/18/2013

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Acts 5:28-29 “Didn’t we tell you never again to teach in this man’s name? He demanded. Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about Him, and you want to make us responsible for His death. But Peter and the apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

I love this because Peter makes it clear that when we are followers of Christ we follow what we see that Christ did and we don’t conform to the world just because we are told by the world. What is amazing about this is that if we studied God’s word to learn it well enough to live it out our actions wouldn’t be done in a way of disrespect. The world probably won’t like it still but we will be acting like Christ and the glory would go to the Father.

If we follow God’s word we will be doing good and our answer back to the world could be the same as Peters in Acts chapter 4 verses 8-9 which say, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man?” We are not trying to show rebellion but we should be showing love and faith to our Lord. Look at what happens to the people when they got done praying and asking God for courage. In Acts chapter 4 verses 29-31 it says, “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your words. Stretch out your hand with healing power, may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”

We as believers have the Holy Spirit in us and we have the power to boldly teach and live as Jesus did so our words and actions work together to shine a light that draws people to seek the Lord. When we pray and mature in our walk we surrender our will and we start doing God’s will. The Spirit will lead us if we let Him, we will still run into snags and people that will ridicule us but we know how to handle it because the love in us from God is fueling how we act.

After being flogged for teaching about Christ the apostles react like this in Acts chapter 5 verses 41-42, “The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: Jesus is the Messiah.” We need to make our claim of being a Christian worth something and visible by our actions not just our words. When we study and pray then seek wisdom God gives us wisdom and we can boldly live in a way that shows who we are in Christ. There is nothing better than standing up for what we believe and having the joy that Christ promises as we do that. Thank you God for your love. Amen

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Acts 2

9/14/2013

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Acts 2:42 “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper) and to prayer.”

This Scripture always stands out to me because we see what it takes as we desire to receive all that God has for us as we live in this world waiting to go home. Devotion to the apostles’ teaching – which was from God’s word and sharing the Good News about Jesus was what was important as they learned together. As I studied the word devotion in the context for this passage the Greek word was proskarteres, which means: To give constant attention to a thing. This is so important for us to remember as we seek wisdom from the Lord. I know in my heart the things I devote to and the effort I give or attention I give them. This is how we need to see our walk with the Lord, giving constant attention to it and never being satisfied with what we have already learned.

As good leaders go, good leaders model behavior. We see all through God’s word the modeling of the writers of the books to a life that is devoted to Christ. They went through their steps, they had their hard times and they stayed focused on what was important. Think about this the next time you are struggling or feeling down about something, and then dive into what God’s word is showing you and make the changes needed to devote to His teachings.

The next thing I like is the word fellowship. We should be a community of believers together lifting each other up, helping each other out and sharing life together because in numbers we can make a difference. Also when we fellowship with devoted people there is accountability to God’s word and our transformed life. Just fellowshipping with worldly people leads to worldly thoughts and thoughts that don’t give glory to God. Look what verse 47 says, “All the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” Wow, we plant seeds and we water and God makes it grow. This is amazing because if we fellowship with believers and help each other grow we are more confident to share and show our lives to non-believers and God opens the door for people to know Him.

It’s amazing how by living like Christ and acting in love this entire system works for the Kingdom of God. The final thing is prayer. We can never feel like our prayer is not important. As we pray and talk to God we open our heart and the communication helps us have peace and understanding. As we mature we need to remember that our journey is working together with God, to learn, grow and show what the Lord has shown us and that a life of devoting, fellowship and prayer will help us share the Good News of Jesus to the world. Amen

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John 17

9/7/2013

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John 17:1-5 “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so He can give glory back to you. For you have given Him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given Him. And this is the way to have eternal life – to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.”

I love this prayer because Jesus is praying that His disciples would understand what He has done and what they need to do. As they got ready to share the Gospel about Jesus they would need to: First know God and Jesus and secondly complete the work Jesus started by being a light as Jesus was bringing glory to the Father. Verse 4 says, “I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” The disciples had an outward mission that involved sharing all that Jesus did and showing by their living that they believed in Him. This reality would help people see that Christ was real.

Look at verse 11 which says, “Now I am departing from the world, they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are.” The unity they needed to show was in Christ. They needed to share the same message and work together to help spread the message all over. What I really like about this is that Jesus extends His prayer to everyone who would call themselves Christian.

In verse 20 Jesus says, “I am praying not only for those disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” Their message was Jesus Christ is Lord and nothing needed to be added that was created by man. So as believers we need to unite in one message not argue over man made doctrine. It is a shame that we could ever mess this up by creating a massive number of denominations that all differ in little things that don’t add to the truth of God’s word, which is here to equip us for His work.

In verse 22 Jesus continues to pray, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one – as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” As we open our hearts we must remember that all we need to do is follow what Jesus has shown us and grow in our knowledge of His word by having a relationship with Him daily. The Spirit that fills us will guide us to use the tool of God’s word so we can be successful. We must always remember that as we grow we need to shine and as we shine we will be planting the seeds and watering them so people will believe in Jesus Christ. Amen

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John 15

9/2/2013

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John 15:5-6 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.”

See the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ? If we believe that He is our Lord then we will obey what He says and we will seek Him for our strength and joy. The best part of this is that God’s word will help us in every area of our lives and the Holy Spirit will be there to guide us through every obstacle. Look at verses 9-11 which say, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

Jesus is letting His disciples know how important it is for them to do what they see Him doing and when they step out of their own power the joy will be overflowing and their witness will be fruitful. God is not interested in making people love Him, He is interested in people choosing to love Him and then being so in love that they do what they see from God and then people come because they see truth. When we obey His commandments we are imitating Jesus because that is what He did with the Father. When we do this we are showing that we love Him and don’t care what happens to us because we are living for God not ourselves.

When we have our heart in tune with Jesus and our branch is connected to the vine we feel the love of God and we focus only on sharing His love with others. This makes God pleased because it opens the hearts of people and they show a love that only can come from the one who is love. In verse 13 Jesus says, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus endured the worst beating and it was worth it because He loved the Father so much He didn’t focus on Himself. God is looking for that kind of love from us, that no matter what is going on in our lives we get our power from Jesus Christ and we listen to the Holy Spirit as we live in this world.

This will show the un-churched there is a God and that in Christ there is power. As we seek wisdom and understanding and we are faithful with what we learn even more will be given; so I say never be satisfied with what you know and always ask God to show you things that you can use to help show your love to Him and others. Our home is set for us in heaven so we need to live as though we believe that and not get caught up in the things of this world but shine because we are attached to the vine that brings life. Amen

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Acts 15

Acts 6

Acts 5

Acts 2

John 17

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