Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. It had been Paul’s goal for a good while to get to Rome. The phrase “rest of the Gentiles“, just like the one from before when he said “obedience of faith among all the Gentiles“ seems to confirm that this church was mostly Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Even though this was Rome, the philosophy etc. of the Greeks was greatly admired. People who were not sophisticated were a lot of times called barbarians. And then a verse we should all live by: for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Remember what Jesus said to the Gentile woman whose daughter was cruelly demon possessed – I was sent to the ...

  Good morning. Well it only took two days to get through Paul’s first sentence. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all (don’t you mean y’all?), because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. How would you like that to be said about you - that your faith was being proclaimed throughout the whole world? Even when he was about to zap somebody, Paul started his letters saying something nice about the people. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. Other than perhaps family or for really good friends, how many people do we unceasingly pray about? This, and Paul had never met these people. He was praying though, that he might succeed in coming to them. We just saw at the end of the book of Acts that his prayer was granted, but not in the way that ...

  Good morning. We continue with Paul’s introduction. He was very famous for extremely long sentences. Speaking of Jesus – who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That plus all we did yesterday is one sentence. Until Jesus was raised from the dead, He was just an extraordinary man with miraculous powers. There have been numerous people throughout the ages who have performed miracles such as He did; but none of them were raised permanently from the dead. All three members of the Godhead are mentioned at work in this sentence. Paul says that his designation as an apostle came stra...

  Good morning. Today we begin the book of Romans. He has not been to Rome yet. My Bible says that there is a verse near the end which talks about the collections that he was going to take to Jerusalem, which is the occasion near the end of Acts which got him into trouble. Paul basically introduces himself at the beginning and gives his qualifications for writing. He says that he was a bond servant of Christ Jesus. My Bible says that this is different from being a hired hand. He completely belonged to his owner, Jesus. Called as an apostle. There are too many people who are designated by others or even by themselves as apostles. The true ones, like Paul, are designated by God as apostles. Set apart for the gospel of God, which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures. God did not make up everything as He went along. He had everything completely planned out and revealed it through hints to His prophets in the Old Testament. Concerning His Son who was born o...

  Good morning. The Jews replied, we have neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren come here and reported or spoken anything bad about you. That was good. They did not have any preconceived notions about him. Thank goodness they did not have cell phones back then. They could judge for themselves based on what he said. But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere. They came back another day, and Paul explained to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the law of Moses and from the prophets, from morning until evening. Just like all the places that Paul went, some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe. Paul finished his presentation by saying, the Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, you will keep on hearing, but wi...

  Good morning. The father of the leading man of the island was sick. Paul prayed for him, and he was healed. After this, the rest of the people on the island brought their sick to be healed. It doesn’t say whether or not Paul shared the gospel with them; but it certainly gave him a golden opportunity to do so. At the end of three months we set sail. What is ironic is that if they had stayed for the winter where Paul told them to, they would probably have gotten to Rome at about the same time, and they would have avoided all of the stress and strain they endured on the ship. Finally Paul makes it to Rome. He was allowed to stay by himself, with a soldier who was guarding him. I guess this was kind of like house arrest. During all of this, Paul did not say, woe is me. He knew he was on a mission. He called together the leading men of the Jews. He explained to them what had happened in Jerusalem and in Caesarea. When the Romans had examined me, they were willing to release me because...

  Good morning. Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island. Now God could’ve had them make it safely to Rome; but they may have gotten there before He wanted them to. Also there were some people on the island that needed to hear about God. After 14 days in the storm, the sailors realized they were approaching some land. Some of the sailors tried to escape in the ship’s boat; but Paul told the centurion that unless they remained in the ship, you yourselves cannot be saved. I’m not sure why that is true. They finally run aground, and the ship is being broken up by the waves. The soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners so that they could not escape; but the centurion, wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention. One way or another all 276 persons made it to shore. The natives of the island received them with kindness and started a fire for them. As Paul was...

  Good morning. So the ship was caught in a nor’easter, and they could not make it go the way they wanted. They gave way to the wind and sailed under the shelter of a small island. My Bible shows a map of where they were. Remember they were only a short distance from the city where they wanted to go. The island was south west of where they wanted to go – because they were hit from the north east with the storm. Of course there was no way to know exactly what path they went after that because they were in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The map just shows a squiggly line until they get to the island where they were grounded.  The storm went on for many days and the and men lost all hope of being saved. So what did Paul say – I told you so. I told you not to go. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, do no...

  Good morning. When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion. Notice that “we“ returns. Luke has not been mentioned during the entire two years that Paul was at Caesarea. I guess it is safe to assume that he was in the area during this time. We will leave out the names of a bunch of places where they passed. They had sailed for a good many days and began to have trouble with the wind. This was a warning of what was about to happen. When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast (Day of Atonement) was already over, Paul began to admonish them to not continue, because he perceived that not only would there be a loss of the cargo but also of their lives. The centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by what was being said by Paul. They did not want to get stuck for the winter in the port where they were located. They actually were only g...

  Good morning. Paul continues his message to King Agrippa. I declared, even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. That’s the same thing that John the Baptist told the Pharisees when they came to be baptized. He tells how the Jews wanted to put him to death, but he obtained help from God. I state nothing but what the prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. So Paul has given King Agrippa the gospel in a nutshell, tailoring it to both Jews and Gentiles. My Bible says that King Agrippa was allied with the Sadducees. Remember that his relative, the first King Herod, was extremely upset when the Magi said they were seeking the One born king of the Jews. While Paul was talking to King Agrippa, he was also talking to Festus, who was a Gentile. Festu...

  Good morning. Well they had a big to do: The king and a bunch of dignitaries came together to hear Paul. Festus said, I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death; and since he himself appealed to the emperor, I decided to send him. I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him. He was caught between a rock and a hard place. He knew that the Jews had no case against Paul; but he didn’t want to let him go free and get the Jews angry at him. Since Paul had resorted to an appeal to Caesar, Festus had to indicate the charge. He was afraid that Caesar would want to know why Festus was wasting his time with such a flimsy reason. Paul starts out by flattering King Agrippa. I consider myself fortunate that I’m about to make my defense before you today; especia...

  Good morning. While everything was being prepared for Paul to go to Rome, King Agrippa and Bernice came to pay their respects to Festus. My Bible says that he was the last of the Herods. Festus tells them about Paul’s case. When the accusers stood up, they began bringing charges against him not of such crimes as I was expecting, they simply had some points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a dead man, Jesus, whom Paul asserted to be alive. We need to realize that the world does not understand what we believe. They think that we are talking about something completely different. They may not think it’s the same as this, but it is very different from what we truly believe. When I asked Paul whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there stand trial on these matters, he appealed to be held in custody for the emperor’s decision. I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar. Then Agrippa said, I also would like to hear the man myself. Hi...

  Good morning. The Jews brought many and serious charges against Paul, which they could not prove. Paul said, I have committed no offense either against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar. But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me on these charges? Why would he want to go to Jerusalem? He was standing trial right there, and they were unable to prove anything against him. Paul knew that if they had planned to kill him previously, they would probably do the same again as he went to Jerusalem. I am standing before Caesar’s tribunal, where I ought to be tried. My Bible says that as a Roman citizen, he could refuse to go to a local provincial court; instead he looked to a higher Roman court. I have done no wrong to the Jews as you very well know. If, then, I am a wrong doer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of these things is true of whic...

  Good morning. Felix was given plenty of opportunity to turn his life over to Christ, but he refused. Why was Paul stuck there for two years? Why didn’t God set him free? God was preparing everything for Paul’s eventual trip to Rome. If he had been set free or had gone earlier, then what was supposed to happen would not have happened. My Bible says that Festus only lived two years longer before he died. Basically he was there only so that he could send Paul to Rome because Felix was not going to. So Festus arrives in Caesarea for his new job. After a few days by the seashore, he goes up to the big city – Jerusalem, not having a clue of the controversy that was about to strike him. The chief priests and the leading men of the Jews brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him, requesting a concession against  Paul, that he might have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time setting an ambush to kill Paul on the way). It would’ve been easy to give in to their demands...

  Good morning. Paul continues describing what happened in Jerusalem and said, let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before the council, other than for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among them, for the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today. But Felix, having a more exact knowledge about the Way put them off, saying, when the commander comes down, I will decide your case. He knew there was no real crime, and that it was simply jealousy that brought all this on; but he couldn’t just let Paul go or the Jews would’ve been tremendously upset. Paul was more or less under house arrest. Paul must have struck a chord in the soul of Felix, talking about the resurrection, because Felix and his wife came to listen to him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. There was more than one man named Herod, and she was the daughter of one of them. As Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became...

  Good morning. The Jews were upset that “Paul got away“; so 40 formed a plot to kill Paul, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had done so. They wanted the council to pretend like they wanted to investigate him further, but they were going to attack and kill him while he was on the way. Paul’s nephew learned of the ambush, and came to the barracks to inform him. He asked that his nephew be able to tell the commander about the plot, and he was able to do so. The commander sent Paul with 200 soldiers and 70 horsemen to Caesarea, where the governor, Felix, was staying. They waited for the Jews to come down from Jerusalem for a hearing. The high priest, some elders, and a lawyer (went into a bar - well it sounded like the beginning of a joke) came to bring charges against Paul. The lawyer claimed that Paul stirred up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and was the ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He even tried to desecrate the temple; and th...

  Good morning. Now Paul could’ve kept attacking the high priest; but he perceived that one group was Sadducees and the other Pharisees. These two groups were like Republicans and Democrats – they really disagreed with each other and only came together when there was a common enemy, like Jesus. I am a Pharisee, and am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead! This created quite a commotion because the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. The Pharisees said, we find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him? They were about to slug it out when the commander stepped in and took Paul away from them. That night the Lord stood at his side and said, take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also. This seems to indicate that it was God‘s will for Paul to go to Jerusalem. It also confirms Paul’s desire to go to ...

  Good morning. As they were getting ready to scourge Paul, he said to the centurion, is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and condemned? Remember when he was in the Philippian jail that when they sent to release him, Paul realized too late that he had the same defense. It was against the Roman law for a Roman citizen to be subjected to any kind of degrading form of punishment. The next day, the commander ordered the chief priests and the council to assemble so that he could find out why they were accusing Paul. He said to them, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day. The high priest commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the law, and in violation of the law order me to be struck? But the bystanders said, do you revile God‘s high priest? I was not aware that he was high priest; for it is written, you shall not speak ev...

   Good morning. Paul begins giving his testimony; how he was trained under Gamaliel (which meant he was highly trained in the law); had men and women put into prison because they followed the Way; and was going to Damascus to continue doing so. He tells about getting knocked off his feet and his encounter with Jesus; how Ananias prayed for him to receive his sight and told him to get up and be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on His name. Paul tells about returning to Jerusalem (probably several years later); praying in the temple; and falling into a trance. Jesus told him to get out of Jerusalem because they would not accept his testimony about Him. Paul disagreed with Jesus telling about all the bad things he had done against His witnesses, thinking that that would make it OK to stay – that no one would harm him. Jesus told him to go; for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was one thing to talk about Jesus t...

  Good morning. Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander (in command of 1000 troops) of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. That was a big deal - that a non-Jew would come into the part of the temple that was for Jews only. The commander brought troops with him; and when they saw him and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. They bound Paul with two chains; and the commander began asking who he was and what he had done. Everyone being upset, they shouted out their reasons; and as is normal, there was disagreement concerning what the fuss was all about. The commander ordered him to be brought to the barracks where it would be quieter. Paul said to the commander, may I say something to you? He said, do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who stirred up a revolt? Obv...

  Good morning. So what did the elders tell Paul to do? We have four men who are under a vow (this was connected to keeping the law); take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their head; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself walk orderly, keeping the law. Because of what happens later, it makes me wonder if they were telling him what God was saying to do, or else was it man’s remedy for the problem? Too many times we do what in the natural seems the right thing to do; but it is not what God would have us to do. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them. Now if he had not done all of this with the seven men, would the following have even happened? When the seven days were almost over, the Je...

  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 spir...

  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 was no l...

   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 stat...

  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 – i.e. Crimson – roll Tide!), 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....

  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. An admonition we all need at times: be anxious for nothing. But you don’t know my circumstances… It doesn’t matter, if we are standing firm in the Lord. When we are anxious, we’re taking all the responsibility for solving the problem upon ourselves. We think that the solution is up to us. OK smarty-pants, what should we do? In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Seriously, and that’s it? Notice that it says “with thanksgiving“. We are thanking God for the solution, even when we are in the midst of the dilemma. By the way, the Greek word for thanksgiving here is the one from which the word Eucharist is derived. Sadly our normal procedure is: we try to solve the problem in our own ability, and then scream “help!” to God when everything messes up. In the Old Testament, King Asa became severely diseased in his feet. “Yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.“ It’s not that we should ...

  Good morning. And because of all that Paul just said: therefore in this way stand firm (like he talked about in the book of Ephesians) in the Lord, my beloved. If we believe all that Paul talked about the last few verses, we should fear nothing and no one. Nothing should shake us. And now the verse that was made into a song decades ago: “rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice...” We get it Paul – rejoice! We rejoice, not because everything is going the way we want it to, but in the fact that no matter what happens, God is in charge. Let your gentle spirit (King James, moderation) be known to all men (sometimes it’s hard to be gentle when we are mistreated harshly). The Lord is near. Even though Paul said that 2000 years ago, the time is nearer than it was even yesterday. We should live every day as if Jesus could reappear any instant. Father help us to stand firm no matter what happens; to rejoice whether things are good or bad; letting our gentle spirit be known to ...

  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...

  Good morning. After the incident with the magician, Acts now denotes it as Paul and his companions, instead of putting Barnabas first. It says that John leaves them and returns to Jerusalem. They reach a place and enter the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sit down. After 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. Wow, what an opening! Like Stephen did, Paul begins with the children of Israel in the land of Egypt and what God did for them. He continues on until he gets to King David. From the descendants of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, after John had proclaimed before His coming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. John admitted that he was not the One who was coming. To us the message of this salvation has been sent. For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utteran...

  Good morning. They found a magician, a Jewish false prophet who was with the Proconsul, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But the magician was opposing them, seeking to turn him away from the faith. But Saul, who was also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, and said (remember – whenever it says that someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, they usually say something right afterward), you who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness (whee doggies Paul, that’s quite a mouthful), will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Of course by now the magician is thinking sticks and stones… 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. So it was not just useless words that Paul was uttering – ...

  Good morning. Barnabas and Saul are back in Antioch. There were a group of prophets and teachers gathered together there. It does not say which ones were which, or if all of them were both. While 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. First notice that this was a group of leaders gathered together and not the entire church. It does not say why they were fasting. It could have been that they were seeking to hear from the Lord and He spoke, or that may have been totally unexpected. God specifically called both Barnabas and Saul to an important task. It does not say whether or not they already had heard from Him within their hearts, but usually a person has an indication of their calling before an audible word of the Lord comes to them. They didn’t just say, goodbye, have a good trip. Even after hearing from the Lord, they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them, and sent t...

  Good morning. And so when the servant girl said that Peter was at the door, everyone said, thank God our prayers have been answered - Peter is here! Wrong. They told her, you are out of your mind! Even though she kept insisting that it was so, they kept saying, it is his angel. But Peter kept on knocking. When they opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. Why were they amazed? After all they had been praying for his release. Sadly that is the way too many Christians are today. We pray for something, but we don’t really believe it’s going to happen. Then Peter told them what had happened and left. When daylight came, everyone at the prison was discombobulated (always wanted to use that word legitimately in a sentence). King Herod interrogated the guards and said tough beans old man. No, he had them executed. He was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. They were afraid because their country was fed by the king’s country. As he was giving a speech, the people began fl...

  Good morning. On the very night when King 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. Talk about rescue coming just in the nick of time! And what was Peter doing - moaning and groaning? No, he was fast asleep. We don’t know whether or not he knew he was about to be executed. However, King Herod had just put to death James the brother of John, so it was highly probable that Peter would be too. An angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shown in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, get up quickly. And his chains fell off his hands. Peter followed the angel even though he did not know that what was being done was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. The iron gate that leads into the city opened for them by itself, and the angel left him. When Peter came to himself, he said, now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel ...

  Good morning. Some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus 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. We will hear of Agabus again at the end of Acts. When God tells you something, you should act upon it. They didn’t sit around saying oh woe is us; we need to save up all of our money that we can to take care of ourselves when the famine comes. Instead, they collected money to send for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. They sent the collection with Barnabas and Saul to the elders in Jerusalem. Notice that Barnabas is mentioned first. There will come a time later when the order is reversed. Acts now talks about Herod the king. According to my Bible this is not the same Herod who participated in the crucifixion of Jesus. He is the grandson of the King Herod who put to death the babies in Bethlehem after Jesus was born. He had James the brother...

  Good morning. So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. Of course the gospel was to go to the Jews first. Even Peter’s experience did not convince them to also preach to the Gentiles. However there were some that came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks (people who lived by Greek customs and culture) also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. This was just like Peter and John coming to Samaria after they heard of the people there becoming believers through the ministry of Philip. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he encouraged them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. A large number of people were ...

  Good morning. They heard them all speaking with tongues; so Peter said, surely no one can refuse the water for those to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he? As we will see in a minute, this was a very big deal for the Jews. He ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Hopefully you have been shielded from this; but there is a big controversy among some people about the formula for baptizing someone as far as into what name you baptize them. One would think that everyone would be excited about this happening when the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. When Peter came to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, saying, you went to uncircumcised men and ate with them. Seriously? The Gentiles had just received salvation, and all they can think about is Peter eating with uncircumcised men? So Peter told them all that had happened with Cornelius....

  Good morning. And he ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. Jesus did not take this assignment upon Himself; it was predetermined by God before the beginning of time. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. Remember that it said earlier that there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. OK so next Peter led them in prayer, and then gave an invitation for all to come to the altar. No, it was totally out of his control. While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. All who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. If it had been left to Peter, this probably would not...

  Good morning. Peter’s response: I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality. As I said before, sadly people do not understand that in the modern world. They seem to think that their group is preferred over another group. Applying Paul’s comments to the church at Corinth to the church universal, there are not many rich, wise, etc. among you. That’s because they tend to think that they’re better than others. It’s hard to trust in God when you trust in yourself. Peter: but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all – you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. You know Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God...