Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together (they are the same Greek words that were translated together on the day of Pentecost - it does not mean that they were all living under one roof) and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. I don’t think there would be too many people who want to go back to the good ole early days of the church that would like this to happen to them. If the church had taken care of its own, we would not need the giant government welfare to take care of them. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart. This was true unity. We don’t even come close today. They were praising God and having favor with all the people. The ...

  Good morning. So Peter just told them that basically they were responsible for the death of Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brethren, what shall we do? Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. As we will see much later, it seems that at this point in time they believed that you could not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit without first being baptized in water. It appears that that idea did not change until chapter 10 after God baptized Cornelius and his family in the Holy Spirit before they were water baptized. Now lest someone think that this was just for the people in the first century Peter then says, for the promise (of the Father - baptism in the Holy Spirit) is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself. That means us! And w...

  Good morning. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. David wrote, “You will not abandon My soul to Hades, nor allow Your holy one to undergo decay.“ I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. (in other words this was not about David). And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. Luke in his gospel quotes Jesus as saying I’m sending forth the promise of My Father u...

Good morning. Peter explains what really happened: this is what was spoken of by the prophet Joel – and it shall be in the last days, God says, that I will pour forth of My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will grant wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This quotation is really remarkable given that Peter was not considered to be a learned man. The average man would not have been able to make the connection between the scripture and what happened; so it had to be the Holy Spirit. Jesus the Nazarene, a man at...

  Good morning. And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, what does this mean? But others were mocking and saying, they are full of sweet wine. But Peter, taking his stand with the 11, raised his voice and declared to them: men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. Notice that it only talks about the 12 apostles; it does not mention the rest of the 120. That does not mean that the rest of the 120 were not in the house when the baptism of the Holy Spirit came. It may be that they were still in the house, and only the apostles went outside where the people were. It is an indication that it could’ve been just the apostles in the room when the Holy Spirit fell. What would speak against it is that there were more than 12 languages mentioned just prior to this that were being heard. So unless the apostles were speaking in more than one language, then that would mean that there was more than 1...

  Good morning. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance. And so all, whether just the 12 apostles or the 120, were filled with the Holy Spirit. There are some Pentecostal denominations that believe that not only here, but also today, is when a person receives the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I believe they received it in John chapter 20. One thing is for certain – whenever in the book of Acts you see that someone is filled with the Holy Spirit, immediately thereafter they say something – here they spoke in tongues. Were these known or unknown tongues? It does not say. We do know that shortly they would be speaking in known tongues. Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred (The sound of a violent rushing wind), The crowd...

  Good morning. Now we have come to the day of Pentecost. When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. First of all, we do not know how long it had been since they cast lots for the replacement apostle. It could not have been too long because it was only 10 days from the day that Jesus ascended, to the day of Pentecost. My Bible says that it literally means when the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled. Jesus dying on the cross was the fulfillment of Passover - His blood saving us like the blood of the Passover lambs on the first Passover. Pentecost is also called the feast of weeks, the feast of the harvest, and the day of first fruits. All of these came about on this day. Now it does not say that it was the upper room – just that they were in one place. Most people agree that it was the upper room – I’m not sure that it makes any difference. It also does not say who “they“ were. Most people believe that it was the 120. The only ones that we know for su...

  Good morning. Peter is speaking in the presence of about 120 people: The scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry. Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out 😳 . Judas did not personally buy the field; but the money that was given to him for betraying Jesus which he threw into the temple was used to buy the field. And it became known to all who were living in Jerusalem; so that that field was known as the field of blood. It is written: let his homestead be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it; and let another man take his office. Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us – beginning with the baptism of John until the...

  Good morning. And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold two men in white clothing stood beside them. I wonder if these were the same two angels that were inside the tomb when Mary came. They also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. This is a direct declaration that Jesus will come again. He did not leave earth forever,  but will return one day – in just the same way. We have no way of knowing what the disciples were thinking. Were they thinking that He would return before they died? I seriously doubt that they believed that it would be 2000 years before He returned. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s jour...

  Good morning. Now to Luke’s version of the great commission: but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Notice that it says when the Holy Spirit has come upon not within you. Some Pentecostals do not believe that anyone has the Holy Spirit within them until they receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I believe that when Jesus breathed on them and said “receive the Holy Spirit”, that is when the disciples received the Holy Spirit within them. However, they were not empowered by the Holy Spirit until the day of Pentecost. In the great commission in Matthew, Jesus told them to make disciples of all the nations. Here He gives the pattern – first in Jerusalem where you are right now; then you branch out to the areas close to you in Judea and Samaria; and finally you go into all the world. For us that would be like your city; county; state;...

  Good morning. Today we start the book of Acts. As you know, Luke also wrote this book. The first account I composed, “Theo”, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. At the end of Luke, he wrote that Jesus led the disciples as far as Bethany, lifted up His hands and blessed them; and while He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. Back to Acts: to these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of 40 days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God. Remember that the day of Pentecost is 50 days after Passover; so they only had to wait a few days after He left.  Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, which, He said, you heard of from Me; for John baptized with wa...

  Good morning. Now Jesus tells Peter: truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go. Of course that happens to elderly people today; that is not what He was talking about. Many believe that Jesus was saying that Peter would be imprisoned and led to crucifixion. Tradition says that Peter was crucified upside down; that he said he was not worthy to be crucified right side up like his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken thus, He said to him; follow Me! Of course Peter said, thanks for the info Jesus – not! He did exactly like we would do if someone told us we would have a horrible future. Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. So Peter seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord, what abo...

  Good morning. After Peter said, you know that I love You, Jesus said tend My lambs. He then said to Peter a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? This time He did not say “more than these”. He did again use the word for love of God. Peter answered exactly the same way, yes, Lord; You know that I (brotherly) love You. He said to him, shepherd My sheep. He said the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? This time He used the word for brotherly love. Some people make this out to be a stylistic change of the word for love for variety; but it seems strange that out of the six times that the word love was used, this is the only time that either Jesus or Peter varied their particular use of it. I believe that Jesus did it intentionally. Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, do you (brotherly) love Me? Some people say that because Peter denied Jesus three times, that Jesus asked Peter three times do you love Me? But it does not say that Peter was gr...

Good morning. Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast. None of the disciples ventured to question Him, who are You? Knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and the fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after He was raised from the dead. By the way, there was nothing that indicated how long it was between the time that Jesus appeared to them and showed them His hands and side and this instance at the sea of Galilee. Have you ever thought about where was Jesus between the time He rose from the dead, then appeared to Mary, later to the disciples, and then until the Sea? Where would you be during all this time? Remember the scene at the cross; and then you have been dead three days; the moment you arise, where would you go? I don’t know where Jesus was, but if it had been I who had been raised from the dead, I would’ve immediately gone and let my mother and family know that I was alive. Now we come...

  Good morning. So Peter swam to the shore. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from the land, but about 100 yards away, dragging the net full of fish. So when they got out on the land, they saw a charcoal fire already laid and fish placed on it, and bread. Have you ever thought about this scene? When it says charcoal fire, it does not mean Kingsford charcoal. It is just wood that has burned down to coals. OK, so it is easy to believe that Jesus gathered some wood for a fire; but where did He get the fire? There are numerous instances in the Old Testament where an angel produced fire; so it is not improbable that Jesus did the same thing. What about the fish? You can envision Jesus walking to the edge of the water and saying, here fishy fishy fishy; and they swam to the shore. But the real question is, where did the bread come from? Yes, Jesus did multiply bread twice; but He had something to work with – where did He get the bread to work with thi...

  Good morning. After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias (or Galilee), and He manifested Himself in this way. Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee (James and John) and two others of the disciples were together. It does not say where they were. They may or may not have been in the upper room. Peter said, I am going fishing. They said, we will also come with you. We know that Peter, James, and John were fishermen for a living. We do not know about the others. It is normal when something climatic happens for one to revert to past activities, which are reassuring. They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. This is reminiscent of a previous encounter of Peter and Jesus; one which John does not mention. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Children, you do not have any fish, do you? They answered Him, no. Just like Mary, they di...

Good morning. Now we come to “doubting Thomas“. He was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples were saying to him, we have seen the Lord! But he said to them, unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. It is easy to put him down for saying this – and we do - but in truth would we do any better? In the world, seeing is believing; but in Christianity believing is seeing. After eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, peace be with you. This is the same thing that Jesus said the first time He came into the room. He said to Thomas, reach here with your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand and put it into My side; do not be unbelieving, but believing. Thomas answered and said to Him, my Lord and my God! Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are the...

  Good morning. Jesus said to them again, peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, receive the Holy Spirit. So, did they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at that moment, or did it not happen until the day of Pentecost like some believe? My Bible even says that it was in anticipation of what would happen 50 days later. I heard a tape one time by Oral Roberts that he asked some members of the faculty of his university who taught Greek exactly what did it mean; and they said it meant to receive right now the Holy Spirit. Also the Greek word translated “breathed on“ used here is the same word that was used in the Septuagint (The translation into Greek of the Hebrew Scriptures years before Christ was born) when it says in Genesis that the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and “breathed into“ his nostrils the breath of life. The word in both instances literally means to breathe in. ...

Good morning. Jesus then tells Mary to go to My brethren and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God. So she went to the disciples and said, I have seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to her. John does not say that they did not believe her, but other Gospels do. However, Peter and John would have told them that they had seen the empty tomb and the linen wrappings. So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week (Sunday, normally a work day for the Jews; but this was Passover, so I do not know if people were working that day or not; however the disciples would not be working), and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, peace be with you. You better believe He should say peace be with you. The door was shut, and no one opened it for Him. Despite what Peter, John, and Mary have said, they probably still did not believe that He was risen. Lu...

  Good morning. We were with Mary at the tomb, where she was talking to the angels who were inside the tomb. She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Why did she not know Him; after all, she had even been at the cross when He was crucified? There were times after His resurrection that people did not recognize Jesus when they saw Him. Remember the two men on the road to Emmaus; and when the disciples went fishing after the resurrection, they saw Jesus on the shore, but did not recognize Him at first. In both those cases and the one that is about to happen with Mary, you would think that they would at least have recognized His voice. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking? Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni! (which means, teacher). Stop...

  Good morning. We left John at the entrance of the tomb, stooping and looking in. “Shy” Peter then arrives following John, and enters the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there. So the other disciple, John, who had first come to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. It does not say whether or not Peter believed. For as yet they did not understand the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. I’m not exactly sure what it means by their own homes. They were originally from Galilee and would not have had homes in Jerusalem. Perhaps it means the homes where they were staying while in Jerusalem. Apparently, they were not staying in the upper room, or it would have said so. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped (just like John) and looked into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been l...

  Good morning. So Mary ran and came to Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved  (John), and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we (there’s that  “we” that indicates someone in addition to Mary was there) do not know where they have laid Him. So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. John was supposed to be one of, if not the youngest of the disciples, and of course he ran faster than the old dude. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in. In a few verses it will also mention that Mary stooped and looked into the tomb. We have this image of a huge opening and enormous stone in front of the opening. You should not have to stoop to look into the tomb if that were so. Remember that the tomb was carved out of stone; so the larger the tomb and opening, the g...

  Good morning. Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. Remember that they could not do any work once the Sabbath began; so wherever they were going to place Him had to be close by. Matthew says that it was Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. In Isaiah it says His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death. Someone who was crucified was considered a wicked person. Many times there was no one to claim the body; so they were assigned to a pauper’s grave. Jesus was laid in Joseph’s tomb, which was hewn out of stone - probably expensive. He also brought 100 pounds of spices, which was probably also expensive. In other words, Joseph was probably a rich man; so Jesus was with a rich man in His death. Normally the day of preparation was to prepare for the Sabbath; but it could also...

  Good morning. After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and he granted permission. So he came and took away His body. Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pounds weight. Remember that myrrh was one of the gifts that the magi brought when Jesus was a baby. Also notice that he had 100 pounds of spices. Normally one does not have that much just lying around the house. Since most likely he was older, he may have been storing it up for when he himself was going to die. Or perhaps while Jesus was hanging on the cross, he went to the merchants and purchased it, because there was no time to do so after Jesus died prior to the beginning of the Sabbath. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. My Bible says that these were thin ...

  Good morning. So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him. When they were hanging on the cross, people would have to push up with their legs in order to breathe. Why did the Romans allow that? Because they wanted to prolong the suffering. If they just wanted to kill them, they would’ve done so already. With their legs broken, they would’ve eventually suffocated. But coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. My Bible says that this was the result of the spear piercing the sac that surrounds the heart and the heart itself. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he’s telling the truth, so that you also may believe. Most likely this was John since he was there at the cross with the mother of Jesus, and the fact that he was reluctant to name himself in ...

  Good morning. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to  fulfill the scripture, said, I am thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. It does not mean that it was wine that had soured, but was the cheap wine that was given to the Roman soldiers to drink. In other words it was not sweet wine. In Psalm 69 it says that for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said it is finished! And He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. Jesus was in complete control of His life, and He was in complete control of His death. He decided when He was going to die. Of all of the suffering that Jesus did at the end, John did not elaborate. He stated things simply, even though they were still vivid in his mind. Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain o...

  Good morning. Pilate wrote an inscription and put it on the cross: Jesus the Nazarene, king of the Jews. Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. As we know from the day of Pentecost, there were people from many different places whose native tongues were all different; but they all understood one of those three languages. So the chief priests were saying, do not write, the king of the Jews; but that He said I am the king of the Jews. That’s because if He were the king of the Jews, then the chief priests just demanded that He be crucified - their king. What I have written I have written. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus (John does not go into to the gory details), took His outer garments and made four parts, a part to every soldier and also the tunic; now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece. That must’ve taken a lot of work and skill to mak...

  Good morning. We now get another indication from John that the last supper was not the  Passover. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover. That would mean that the Passover meal had not been eaten yet. The Jews had to do a lot of things to prepare for the Passover; one of which was to remove all leaven from the house. It was about the sixth hour. According to Jewish time that would’ve been about noon. It could not of been too early in the morning because the cock crowed what seemed like ages ago. Pilate said, probably derisively, behold your king! Away with Him, crucify Him! Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, we have no king but Caeser. So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. It sounds like he handed Jesus over to the Jews, not the Roman soldiers. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called “the place of a skull”, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. This is where I have a problem with the...

  Good morning. When the chief priests and the officials saw Jesus, they cried out saying, crucify, crucify! Pilate said, take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no guilt in Him. We have a law, and by that law He ought to die because He made Himself out to be the Son of God. Therefore when Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. The reason Pilate was afraid was because the Romans believed in many gods; and to them it was possible that one of their gods could have a son. He definitely would not want to crucify one of them. He said to Jesus, where are You from? But Jesus gave him no answer. You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You? Pilate got an answer he was not expecting. You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin. This would fit the narrative that Jesus was the son of one of the Roman gods. ...

  Good morning. My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom where of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm. So You are a king? You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. Remember that Jesus had said: if you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, the truth will make you free. Pilate said, what is truth? Then he went out again to the Jews and said to them, I find no guilt in Him. That is not what the chief priests were hoping for. But you have a custom that I release someone for you at the Passover; do you wish then that I release for you the king of the Jews? Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him. The other Gospels spend a lot more time on Jes...

  Good morning. Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early. Remember that the rooster just crowed. And they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover. This is another indication from John that the last supper was not the Passover. I believe John was saying that the last supper was not the Passover. Therefore Pilate went out to them and said, what accusation do you bring against this man? If this man were not an evildoer, we would not have delivered Him to you. Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law. We are not permitted to put anyone to death, to fulfill the word which Jesus spoke, signifying by what kind of death He was about to die. Of course that does not mean that they did not put someone to death surreptitiously. Jesus had to be crucified in order to satisfy the Scriptures. Only the Romans could do that and get away with it. It would also show the official stamp of d...