Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. So Paul said, you’re right! I won’t go to Jerusalem – not! What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. So his interpretation of what the Holy Spirit said through Agabus was not that he should not go to Jerusalem, but that he was going to go through a lot of bad things there. And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, the will of the Lord be done! This kind of reminds you of Jesus in the garden when He asked that the cup be removed; yet not My will but Thine be done. Neither is a reason for us to tack on “if it be Thy will“ to every prayer request. If it’s not His will, He won’t answer it. They started on their journey up to Jerusalem. The next day he went in to James, the Lord’s brother, and all the elders were present. He told them all of the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it they began ...

  Good morning. Paul and crew looked up the disciples and stayed there seven days. They kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. This is the only place I can find that it seems like God was telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem; the other places seem to be peoples’ personal feelings. But then later Jesus speaks to Paul and seems to say he was supposed to go to Jerusalem. My Bible says that the total now is 36 days since Passover. They continued on in the boat and came to Caesarea. They entered the house of Philip the evangelist. He is the one who spoke to the Ethiopian Eunuch and then vanished. The last we saw of him, he was in Caesarea; so apparently he stayed there all these years. He was one of the seven original deacons, and is now known as an evangelist. He had four daughters who were prophetesses. As we were staying there for some days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He is the same one who had foretold the coming of a famine. He took Paul...

  Good morning. Then Paul says, I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. That is not something that any church would expect to hear. You tend to think that nothing like that could happen at your church; that everything will go along great with or without a particular person. It would be especially grievous for it to occur because of people that are already members of the congregation. Sadly too many times it does happen. People try to take over when a strong leader is no longer there. Therefore be on the alert. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. He knelt down and prayed with them. They began to weep and embrace...

  Good morning. Paul continues: but I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. (we keep hearing from the pulpit testimonies of people in other countries who feel the same way – that their lives are not dear to themselves when it comes to spreading the gospel). I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. We all go about our lives assuming that we will see the people we know once again. We never think that this time will be the last time. Of course if we conducted our lives like this time would be the last time, we would not treat our friends and relatives badly like we do sometimes. I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. It would be easy to leave out something, if we thought that that would bring a disagreement with those to whom we were speaking. ...

  Good morning. Remember that Paul’s destination was Jerusalem. To get there within any reasonable amount of time, he would have to go by boat. Just like buses and trains today make stops that you don’t want to make, boats also made stops that the travelers might not want to make. Paul decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost is 50 days after Passover, and my Bible says that he had already spent 16 days of that 50. Instead of going to Ephesus himself, he called for the elders of the church there to come to him. He reminds them of how he preached the gospel there despite the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Je...

  Good morning. After the commotion in Ephesus, Paul left to go to Macedonia (remember the offering he was going to collect there). He finally came to Greece. He spent three months there (my Bible says that he stayed in Corinth, and that he probably wrote the book of Romans at that time), and after a plot was formed against him by the Jews, he decided to return through Macedonia. Possibly when he went through Macedonia, they decided to send an offering; and when he came back through, they gave him the offering to take to Jerusalem. He was accompanied by several men, including Timothy. Those men had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. Notice that Acts returns to the use of “we“, and that they are in the city of Troas, where Paul first met Luke. They had just finished the days of unleavened bread, which includes Passover. On the first day of the week, when the church was gathered together, Paul began talking to them intending to leave the next day; and he prolonged his me...

  Good morning. Paul sent Timothy and one other into Macedonia, while he stayed in Asia for a while. There arose a great disturbance concerning the Way (remember that Jesus said I am the Way, the truth, and the life – no one comes to the Father but through Me). A silversmith who made shrines of Artemis got people upset because Paul was destroying their business saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. That was the real reason he was upset; but he also added that the temple of the great goddess Artemis would be regarded as worthless. My Bible says that the Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world; so people came from far and wide to view it – they purchased silver shrines and images, and that was a lucrative business for the craftsmen. They used the part about Artemis to get the city in an uproar. Paul wanted to go talk to them, but the disciples would not let him. After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, men of Ephesus, what man is there...

  Good morning. God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. And he didn’t even ask them to send in a donation. But of course people were wanting to capitalize on his success. Some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. The evil spirit said, I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you? The man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them and chased them out of the house. This became known to all; and fear fell upon them and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many of those who believed kept coming, confessing, and disclosing their practices. They even burned their magic books. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. Paul purposed in the spirit t...

  Good morning. So how did the disciples in Ephesus answer Paul? No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. Into what then were you baptized? And they said into John’s baptism. Remember that Apollos was acquainted only with the baptism of John. It is possible that he was responsible for them becoming disciples. Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. This verse is used by some people who say that to baptize someone in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (which is never used in the book of Acts), is not proper; you must be baptized in the name of Jesus. They are known as the “Jesus only“ group. And when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them (notice that it says came on them, not within them - you cannot see when the Holy Spirit comes within someone), and they b...

  Good morning. Paul then goes to those same churches he visited before; but my Bible says he does so in reverse order from the first time. While he is doing that, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John (this will be important later). He began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila (the couple Paul stayed with) heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. He wanted to go to the region around Corinth, and so he left Ephesus, and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. He powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. While this was happening, Paul, during his journey, came to Ephesus, and ...

  Good morning. But of course with Paul it could not stay peaceful for long. The Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, saying, this man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law. My Bible says that what they were talking about is that the Jews were claiming that Paul was advocating a religion not recognized by Roman law as Judaism was. The proconsul said, if it were a matter of wrong or vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters. Being madder than a wet hen, since they could not get at Paul, they took hold of the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat; but the proconsul was not concerned about any of these things. Remember that Jesus told Paul that no man will attack you in order to harm you. Instead of being chased off, Paul ...

  Good morning. Paul leaves Athens and goes to Corinth. He finds a couple there who had come from Italy because the emperor had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul and the husband were both tent makers. Remember that Paul had trained with Gamaliel, who was a very important teacher. His father probably paid a lot of money in order for him to do that. So why would he be a tent maker? My Bible says that it was the Jewish custom to provide manual training for sons, whether rich or poor. He spoke in the synagogue on the Sabbath, but worked during the week. When Silas and Timothy came, he devoted himself to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. As usual, the Jews resisted and blasphemed. From now on I will go to the Gentiles. He stayed with a man whose house was next to the synagogue. How convenient. The leader of the synagogue believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. ...

  Good morning. Notice Paul’s approach as he talks to these philosophers. He does not scold them like some Christians would. He uses the very things that agitated himself – their idols. Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, “to an unknown God“ (they wanted to make sure they did not leave out any god and make him angry). Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. He uses this to segue into a proclamation of the gospel. He even uses a parallel to what one of their poets had written. Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. So he is condemning the idols without condemning the people. He is appealing to their logic. Having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people ...

  Good morning. Many of the people of Berea believed; but when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul there, they came also, agitating and stirring up the crowds. They weren’t content keeping their city “safe“ from what they considered to be heresy, they went to a town nearby to also “protect” it. The brethren sent Paul to the sea while Silas and Timothy remained there. We haven’t heard anything about Timothy since he joined Paul and Silas a number of verses ago. Those who were with Paul took him to Athens, where he gave them a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible. While Paul was waiting for them, he was agitated within as he observed all of the idols. He was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. Paul did not let all of the conflict he had endured in the other cities deter him from proclaiming the gospel wherever he was. While Athens w...

  Good morning. Paul was explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, saying, this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ. The Jews were looking for, and still are looking for, the arrival of the Messiah. Remember in the movie “fiddler on the roof” that the tailor said, wouldn’t this be a great day for the Messiah to come? Some were persuaded to join Paul and Silas; but the Jews became jealous and took along some wicked men and formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. Attacking the house of Jason (they probably thought that Paul and Silas were staying with him), they were seeking to bring them out to the people. When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some others before the city authorities, shouting, “these men who have upset the world have come here also”. They all act contrary to the decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus. Sounds like the fake news of today, taking a true statement,...

  Good morning. When day came, the chief magistrates sent to the jail in order to release Paul and Silas. But Paul said, they have beaten us in public without trial, men who are Romans, and have thrown us into prison; and now they are sending us away secretly? No indeed! But let them come themselves and bring us out. Why didn’t Paul say this before they were beaten? My guess is that he did not think of it until he was in prison. The next time he’s about to be scourged, he brings it up very quickly. What was the effect of him saying this – the chief magistrates were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. As per Paul’s demand, the chief magistrates came and appealed to them, and kept begging them to leave the city. They went to the house of Lydia, and when they saw the brethren, they encouraged them and departed. After they depart, it no longer says “we“, so we may assume that Luke was no longer with them. The “we“ picks up again three chapters later when Paul is again in the ...

  Good morning. So what did Paul tell the jailer that he must do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household. That seems simple enough. Because the word believe can be used in more than one way, sometimes there is a mistaken idea of what it means. You can believe that something is so in your head without it affecting your actions. This “believe” comes from a change in heart, and hence, a change in actions. When you believe something in your head, that belief can change overnight; when you believe with your heart, that does not change very easily. Notice that Paul said not only would the jailer be saved but also his household. That is not necessarily a guarantee that that will happen in all instances. It did happen with Lydia in Philippi which we just read about. Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house. After he had taken care of their wounds, the jailer and his household were baptized. In the...

  Good morning. And so what happened when Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns instead of complaining? 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 where unfastened. Pretty cool, right? When 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. Remember that there were no lights like we have, and he could not see clearly that the prisoners were still in their cells; he assumed that they had escaped. He knew that the penalty for letting them escape was death. Paul said, do not harm yourself, we are all here! There was probably a lamp where the jailer was; and so the prisoners could see him, but he could not see them. He called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before them. He brought them out, and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Since he called fo...

  Good morning. So the demon has been cast out, and everything is hunky-dory; not exactly. 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. Notice that there is no mention of “we“. Luke did not get dragged along with them. When they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, these men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans. That does not sound like any kind of crimes that need to be punished. The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore the robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. Then they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. There it would be dark and dank. It would either have been very hot or very cold. ...

  Good morning. They found a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira (where one of the churches in Revelation was located), a seller of purple fabrics (this city was famous for its dyeing works, especially royal purple), a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us to come into her house and stay. It 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. Following after 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. The Greek would normally be translated “a” way of salvation; which would mean there was more than one way. Whether it was that or the fact that a servant of the devil was doing the proclaiming, Paul was extremely agitated. She continued doing this fo...

  Good morning. They passed through the region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and later they were trying to go into another place, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them. Why does it say Holy Spirit one moment, and the Spirit of Jesus in the next? I know that a lot of people would say that it was just for variety in writing; but I think that there was actually a distinction in what happened. When it says they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia, I think it meant that there was an out loud verbal communication – “Thus saith the Lord”. When it says the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them, I believe it meant that within them they felt this uneasiness about going into that region. We have all been this way at times – conflicted within and without. They come to Troas. Finally, a 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. What...

  Good morning. Barnabas and Mark went to the island of Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left; being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. So Paul had the stamp of approval by the church in Antioch. That does not necessarily mean that he was right in his argument with Barnabas. So Paul went back to all the churches that he had established previously (like he was wanting to do with Barnabas); but my Bible says that he went in the reverse order from before. At one of the places, he found a disciple there named Timothy – yes THE Timothy. He was the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. Paul writes in second Timothy: I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I’m sure that is in you as well. Paul wanted Timothy 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. My Bible says t...

  Good morning. They arrived at Antioch and delivered the letter to the congregation. The two that came with them from Jerusalem, Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brethren with a lengthy message. That does not mean that they had a lengthy, “thus saith the Lord…” Prophets can also give messages, just like the pastor. That becomes important later in the 14th chapter of first Corinthians. After spending some time there, they went back to Jerusalem. After 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. We do not know whether or not that was of the Lord, but it is normally a wise thing to do. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them and had not gone with them to the work. And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from on...

  Good morning. After all the talking that has been going on, James (Jesus‘ brother) finally answers. Peter has told how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. He then quotes a scripture that confirms it. Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath. As I said before, I don’t know how many years it had been since the day of Pentecost. I don’t know if this is before or after James wrote his book. If after, it may be why the book of James seems to contradict what is written by Paul; i.e. it is by faith plus works that we are justified. It is possible that he had not come to this revelation before he wrote the book -...

  Good morning. There was much debate. To us today it is puzzling why they would have to debate about the issue – surely it was obvious. Finally Peter stood up and reminded them what happened in the early days when he was sent to Cornelius. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. One sees what one wants to. They were not interested in the Gentiles, and so they did not see that they also had the favor of God. 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? These people had been Jews all of their lives, and they were not able to live up to the law’s standards; how could they expect people who had never been Jews to follow the law? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are. After a...

  Good morning. Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. I do not know what year this was, but it was a number of years since the day of Pentecost, and here they were still promoting the Jewish customs. 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. Remember that Paul had been going to the Gentiles for some time. From this confrontation, I believe it is safe to assume that he was not requiring the Gentiles to be circumcised. I am guessing that part of the reason why is the vision and revelation he had after he had been stoned. When 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. But some of the Pharisees who had believed s...

  Good morning. After Paul was stoned, he and Barnabas returned to the cities they had come through. They strengthened the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, saying, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. After what he had just gone through, Paul would know something about tribulations. When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. First notice that it had been at least some amount of time since they had brought the gospel to these cities. The believers would have matured somewhat so that those who were to be elders would have become more evident. Also notice that it was not just a matter of opinion; sometimes believers can seem mature when they really aren’t. They prayed with fasting. That is what happened when Paul and Barnabas were selected to go on the mission trip. They continued on the return trip and finally came back to Antio...

  Good morning. Remember that everyone thought that Paul and Barnabas were gods; but that didn’t last long. Jews came from the cities that had chased Paul and Barnabas out of town, and won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. I believe that it was during this time while he was unconscious that the event happened where he later said he knew a man who went to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of he did not know, and this man received a great revelation. While the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to Derbe. My Bible says that this was a border town in the southeastern part of the region of Galatia. Now unless God performed a great miracle, someone who had just been stoned would show a lot of evidence of that stoning through bruises etc., even around his eyes. I think this is the event that precipitated Paul’s statement in Galatians that it was because of...

  Good morning. Paul and Barnabas went to another city and entered the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both Jews and Greeks. But again the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. Therefore 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. Despite this, the people of the city were divided. Some were going to mistreat and stone them, but they became aware of it and fled to another city. A man who had been lame from his mother’s womb and had never walked, was listening to Paul as he spoke. When Paul saw that he had faith to be made well, he told him, stand upright on your feet. And he leaped up and began to walk. And everyone said praise God! No, they actually said the gods have become like men and have come down to us. In fact the priest of Zeus ...

  Good morning. The Jews were upset and Paul and Barnabas 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. Throughout Acts Paul seemed to always go to the Jews first. It was only after they refused to listen that he went to the Gentiles. Notice that it says that they judged themselves unworthy of eternal life. When you hear the word and refuse to accept it, you are the one that judges yourself unworthy of eternal life; it is not the one giving the message of salvation that judges. Paul quotes scripture, I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring salvation to the end of the earth. When the Jews, including the apostles, read that, they thought it meant the Gentiles would become Jews. When the Gentiles heard this, they said, shut the front door! Actually they begin rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been ...

  Good morning. Paul continues with his message (remember that the pastor says that he does not give sermons – he gives messages). He talked about God fulfilling His promise to the children of Israel by raising up Jesus from the dead. Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the law of Moses. This is not the kind of message that they had been hearing all of their lives. They had been hearing that it is through the law by which one is perfected. This however struck a chord with them. As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath. Many of the Jews followed them, and Paul and Barnabas kept urging them to continue in the grace of God. It does not say whether or not they led them in a prayer for salvation. The next Sabbath nearly the whole city asse...