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Black Eyed Sceva

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:13:10 -0600

This story is comical and amazingly powerful at the same time. I think its hilarious how the evil spirit just decimated these 7 guys who were using Jesus' name as some sort of tinker toy power tool. Then we are told what happened immediately after this... the hearts of the people were revealed as well. They had all been treating His name in the same way. They all made little of him as if the could wield the power of the Holy Spirit anytime they wanted to accomplish their goals and glory. At this event it says they were seized with fear, because they were all thinking the same as these 7 sons. When they realized the power they were up against and that Jesus' name was really the only thing powerful enough to defeat it, they began to genuinely believe and cling to the truth of who Christ was. He wasn't just another trinket for them to throw in their purse and pull out to bring about some glory and recognition for themselves. He was the real deal, and the only thing that could save them from the power of evil and deliver them from their sin.
Verses: Acts 19:11-20

Baptism Of The Holy Spirit

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:11:14 -0600

Paul asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, and it seems to me that he is eluding to the question of whether they had shown signs of filling of the Spirit... speaking in tongues and prophesying... They say they have received the baptism of John which Paul then calls a baptism of repentance. My question then becomes how many have received the baptism of repentance, but not the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist himself says in Matthew 3:11 that “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” I have a desire to have this baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I want to receive it as the people here received it. They had no idea what was going to happen. They were not privy to debates about tongues and prophesy as we are today. They simply received this baptism of the Holy Spirit and things started flowing out of them that they couldn't explain other than to say that the Holy Spirit had invaded them. I want the Holy Spirit to invade me as He did here.
Verses: Matthew 3:11, Acts 19:1-6

Consequences

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:08:55 -0600

Just because God had changed Jacob's name to Israel doesn't mean he's perfect. No more than we are perfect just because we are saved. We still fall. We still make mistakes, but we should never justify them. Still it makes it hard to throw the first stone. All of this mess could have been avoided if Jacob had just obeyed God. He wasn't even supposed to be there. He was supposed to go home, but his fear of his brother kept him away. Of course fear did seem to run in his family. Both Abraham and Isaac put their wives honor in danger to save their own skin. He didn't really have a good role model. If he had been a good father, he would never allowed Dinah to leave without protection. He also would have demanded some kind of justice for his daughter's sake. His inaction led to his son's overreaction. There are always consequences for not following God. I was super close to leaving God's will, but I kept close to the leadership and fellowship of God's people. It felt like I was just barely hanging on. Now, I'm back where I belong and don't ever want to leave again. I came way to close to disaster.
Verses: Genesis 34:25-31

Naive

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:51:08 -0600

As a woman, and mother of 4 girls, I completely understand Dinah's desire to visit the daughter's of the land. Imagine growing up with 11 brothers, and living in the same town for your whole life. She had lived a very sheltered life up until now, and in her ignorance and haste she left without any protection. She probably had a false sense of security since her father had apparently done business with Shechem when he bought the land. She may have even caught a glimpse of his son. But she had no idea of what she was getting herself into. This is often true of women. We are easily deceived. I know this from personal experience. It really has nothing to do with intelligence. We are just naturally more trusting. It is not a bad quality, and certainly nothing to make us ashamed. It's what makes us different. Not better, not worse, just different.
Verses: Genesis 34:1

Sin

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:57:41 -0600

How about it; are your sins open and gone beforehand to judgement, or will they follow after. Confess, Repent, have the blood of Jesus applied, therefore judgement is past, or stand before God un-just. The choice is yours. Today is the day of salvation. God Bless!!
Verses: 1 Timothy 5:24

Deed and truth

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:39:07 -0600

In deed- love acts In truth- doing what is, in the long run, best
Verses: 1 John 3:18

2 ways to sin

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:33:58 -0600

There are two to sin. Sins of omission and sins of commission. Sins of omission are sins that are committed by not doing something you should(love God). And sins of commission are sins that are committed by doing something you shouldn’t(hate God).
Verses: 1 John 3:10

He came

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:29:56 -0600

He came the last time to destroy the works of the devil. He will come in the future to destroy the devil.
Verses: 1 John 3:8

Resist

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:21:38 -0600

The resistance of unbelievers comes from the devil. Don’t take it lightly.
Verses: 1 John 3:8

Fallen And Restored

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:46:59 -0600

A few thoughts on Hosea 3:4,5
Verses: Hosea 3:4-5

Phil & Brenda Nicholas - For Christ (The Story of Stephen)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:10:20 -0600

The Story of Stephen: From the album John Redmon & Friends: Faith, Love and Unity Vol. 1 www.ReachingRecords.com (Inspirational) feat. The Jubilate Sacred Singers
Verses: Acts 7:1

No one Wonders Why

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:54:27 -0600

I own a NLT Bible, but I guess I haven't came across this verse in it. I'm not sure this makes it any easier to deal with the death of a person we're close to, but this truly sheds a light upon God's plan and the destination of His followers after death. All things are for the good. We don't see them, we can't explain them and sometimes they make us sad and angry. But in not knowing, understanding or explaining, it is also hidden, the reason. We don't know what God is saving them from sometimes, but SAVING them He is! Brings much needed comfort as we get close to the one year anniversary of my Grandma's death. It couldn't have been at a worse time for US, but we rest in peace that it was the exact, right time for Him. And with that, we smile and remember a long life lived WITH Grandma and an eternity that awaits us, with her, in Heaven.
Verses: Isaiah 57:1

New Teaching, Old Institutions

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:17:54 -0600

When Christ is saying this parable it appears that He is talking about His own teaching and the current religious establishment. In the same manner as He stated that one does not tear a piece off of a new garment and uses it to patch the old, He was speaking that His teaching is not a new teaching to merely be a patch to the established teaching and religious society. Christ came to establish a completely new covenant in His blood (bring a completely new garment) (Luke 22:20) not to use His new covenant as a fix or patch to the old. As seen through Christ's general rebukes to the hypocritical pharisees His teaching did not match the old teaching, and if He had attempted to use His teaching as a patch He would have both ruined His teaching and not matched the old teaching. It is the same with the wineskins. If He had poured His blood into the old religious establishment and covenant He would have broken the establishment and ruined His teaching all at the same time. Instead He had to create a completely new covenant that was capable of holding the sacrifice of His blood; He had to create a covenant consistent with His sacrifice and its consequences. He also accurately describes those who are only lukewarmly involved in religion and have tasted the old covenant and presence of God. Those who have tasted the old wine generally become lukewarm and don't ever wish to have some of the new wine for they say that the old wine, their lukewarm religion, is good enough. Why try something new when the old and familiar is good enough. Even if the new wine might be better it has just as high of a chance of being worse as well. Of course those who have tasted of the new wine know it to be better, yet it is still extremely difficult to convince others of that truth.
Verses: Luke 5:36-39

Remember where you came from

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:58:23 -0600

Yesterday my dad was telling stories about when he was growing up and all the hard times he went through. My grandparents were drunks and heavy smokers and they spent most of their money on that. My dad didn't have a bed. He slept wherever he could, and most of the time there were people he didn't even know sleeping in his house with him, drunk from the bars. He would have to put cardboard soals in his shoes because his parents wouldn't buy new shoes for him. There's so many more stories like that but the thing is I don't know most of it. My dad's parents are dead now; they died when I was really young. Praise God my parents raised me different than when my dad grew up. I've been always provided for and taken care of. When my dad was telling these stories the other day, it hit me that I had forgotten about these stories that I've heard before. When Paul says that you were once a people without an identity but now you are royal priests of God, he is reminding them of where they came from and what it was like before Christ found them. It's easy to forget and complain about how ruff you think you have it, but praise God for His faithfulness and mercy.
Verses: 1 Peter 2:10

We prosper when we trust Him

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:34:58 -0600

How often have I looked to my abilities or contributions and advice of others and misplaced my trust in those things and not on the One where my trust should be? God gives us abilities and we should be there to help each other, but when our trust is stayed on these and not the giver of these that is when trouble comes. Verses 7&8 shows us what will happen when we trust Him and Psalm 1:2&3 shows us how to prove our trust in Him by delighting in His law and meditating day and night. Verse 9 reminds us of our problem, which is our heart. It will deceive us as we allow our trust to be placed anywhere other than God even "good" things.
Verses: Psalm 1:2-3, Jeremiah 17:7-9

Story Time with Jesus (Part 1)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:47:34 -0600

We know we are called as Christians to love God and love our neighbor. Jesus tells a story that clears up not only who our neighbor is, but how we are to love them.
Verses: Luke 10:25-37

Holy Spirit at Work!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:32:56 -0600

Just a few months after Christs death and ressurection the religious priest who sealed the prophecy and his fate had to be just livid when suddenly Peter and John show up at the temple to preach the gospel. You know at that exact point they had to look back and realize that might have really screwed up. Love the fact at this point the Holy Spirit floods so much power upon the apostles and Peter is much more confident because of it that he can heal the sick and preach the gospel with such strength that 5000 accept Christ as their savior! You want to understand the strength, power, and fullness of God's spirit this is an amazing example.
Verses: Acts 4:1

appreciation

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:06:46 -0600

Its so amazing how Gods will concerning the passover was carried out to perfection. "The Passover hadn’t been celebrated like this since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings had done it. But Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were there that week, plus the citizens of Jerusalem—they did it." The best part to me was that Josiah, the King, his officials, priests and Levites, the leaders of the church, and some of the leaders brothers, were the main contributers of sacrificial animals, they all made sure everybody had enough. Enough for everybody to give and enough for everybody to eat, made sure everyone was able to be a part of what God was doing. That was "The Church" not A church putting on an event, but The Church, Gods people, making it happen. I've been "on staff" at church in the past and I do remember sacrificing time and whatever else, but i guess thats all I remember, what I had to give up, not what small part I played in carrying out Gods will for that event or that service. I dont want to be that person that says, "I have to go to church" I want to GET to be a part of what God is doing in the church along with my pastors, the parise and worship team, the volunteers, the leaders, and the people that showed up for service. How amazing would it be if it was written about us, like it was written about Josiah and his people, Nobody has done anything like that in a long time, BUT THEY did it.
Verses: 2 Chronicles 35:1

Let us see you

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:19:03 -0600

"Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory." We want to see You work, not because the seeing increases our belief, but because the 'seeing' brings color to what is past, what is present, and our hope for the future. When we get a glimpse of You at work, our entire perspective aligns to Yours.... even if it lasts for just a moment. And in that moment we know this perspective--this truth--fits us best, despite the fact that we have covered ourselves in all manner of things that weigh us down without really fitting. Let us see You work again.
Verses: Psalm 90:16

Kingdom of Heaven

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:08:19 -0600

Just wanted to share my thoughts on a couple of things nothing more. These things tie together hand in hand. We're first told who not to associate with. Which one would think that is just b/c of good practice. Which in itself is a good thing. But if we look in chapter six verses nine and ten we see who will not inherit the Kingdom of God. here is the reason why we don't associate with these people of the world. If we assosciate with them we will begin to imitate what they do and inturn ourselves will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. How much is that worth to us? A drink? A so-called "good time"? Why would we trade a night of "fun" for an enternity with God? There is no reason why, but we do it everday. We compromise on a daily basis and rationalize to make ourselves feel better. When in reality we are damning ourselves just for a worldly pleausre. If things on this earth are so "great" thing about how wonderful our reward will be in heaven.
Verses: 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

We must not keep God’s blessing to ourselves. Let's share it with joy.

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:22:43 -0600

‘Be still, and know that I am God…Shout to God with loud songs of joy’(Psalm 46:10; Psalm 47:2). In our worship, there is to be both quiet trust and loud praise. We read the great words: ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble’(Psalm 46:1). God’s Word brings peace – ‘in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength’. We must not keep God’s blessing to ourselves. We must share it with joy – ‘Sing to the Lord…let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare His praise in the coastlands’(Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 42:10-12). The Lord is to be ‘exalted among the nations’. He is not only ‘our King’. He is ‘the King of all the earth’(Psalm 46:10; Psalm 47:6-7). ‘Father (Jesus/Spirit), we love You. We worship and adore You. Glorify Your Name in all the earth.’
Verses: Psalm 46:1

The Kind of Person God Uses

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:20:32 -0600

So, what kind of person does God use? We know from scripture that man's usefulness is not dependent upon his/her position or place in life. God used rich and poor, king and shepherd, men and women, old and young, bold and timid. But, we do know that God doesn't use everyone for great things, either. So, what are some keys to finding ourselves "God worthy"? Here in Acts 8, we find a truly amazing story of a man named Philip who is greatly used by God! Earlier Philip preached the gospel and a great many Samarians believed. God also worked great signs and wonders through Philip. Here in v. 26 - 40, we find Philip used by God to lead an Ethiopian government official to faith in Christ and subsequent water baptism. So, what can we learn from this man's life? First observation is that this man Philip is just an "ordinary" man. He is NOT an apostle. He is just a "regular" disciple or follower of Jesus! This is important because some of us believe that God did extraordinary things through the hands of the Apostles (which He certainly did), but that you had to be an original "A" to be used in great ways. No, Philip shows us that God's power is not limited to certain positions. Second, I notice that although Philip was "ordinary", he seemed to have extraordinary faith! He preached the gospel among seemingly hundreds of unbelievers in Samaria. And then here, we find him responding to two commands from God. One was the voice of an angel of the Lord (not sure how distinct this was), and the other was the voice of the Spirit. To both voices he obeyed right away! "So he arose and went"..."So Philip ran to him"! No doubt, this "immediate obedience" is a characteristic of the man or woman who can be greatly used by God! Without it, we left among the great number of mediocre Christians who have "good intentions", but whom have not immediately obeyed. Third, it seems that Philip had set himself aside to be used by God! I think of this as "Active Availability"! Not only was Philip able (he was a faith-filled man), but he was available to God! We wasn't too busy to hear or respond to God's leading in his life. No, it seems that sharing Christ was his particular calling/gifting, and he was mindful of using his gift and fulfilling his calling above all else! It seems that this was his passion in life. Did he have a job? We don't know. But, he was not only gifted, he set himself apart to use his gift and serve the Lord. No doubt there is more...but, from this one man, here are 4 characteristics that we can find in him (and all) whom God uses... 1) Ordinary people 2) ExtraOrdinary Faith 3) Immediate Obedience 4) Calling Conscious Father, help me to be like Philip in these ways. I know that i am just an ordinary man...but, i desire to be a man of extraordinary faith! I also desire to be immediately obedient to Your voice when you call. Tune me into You, and give me a heart that is willing to follow, no matter what. And, keep me mindful of my calling...that i would seek to be faithful to use the gifts that you have given me for your glory and others good! I want to be a faithful man...
Verses: Acts 8:26

Dumb Stubborn Decision

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:47:34 -0600

Josiah didn’t listen to God’s plan, stubbornly proceeding with his own notion to engage Neco is a fight. That decision was a fatal one. Sad when a life of such great accomplishment and potential comes to an end because of a dumb decision. Since Josiah reigned 31 years, and the Passover described happened in the 18th year of his reign, this happened 13 years after the passover. The text is silent on this, but perhaps his passion for the Lord had cooled. Maybe he rested on his laurels. Whatever the case, his sensitivity to the Lord’s direction just wasn’t there at this point, and he didn’t finish strong. I don't have the same track record for being the Lord's agent of change as Josiah did, so I am not in a position to criticize his stubbornness. In fact, his story helps me recognize the same attitude in me when I get my mind or heart fixed on something that may be counter to the Lord's plan. Lord, please forgive my stubborn heart. Help me to focus on your will, so I don’t make foolish or dumb decisions that cost me and others, and don't advance your Kingdom.
Verses: 2 Chronicles 35:22

Using our gifts to serve

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:39:22 -0600

I posed 2 questions in this blog post: 1.Am I using my gifts to serve myself? Or am I using my gifts to serve other people? 2.Am I letting God multiply my gifts by using them within His plans? When we’re serving within His will, he provides “strength and energy” to do more.
Verses: 1 Peter 4:10-11

To God be The Glory!

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:34:36 -0600

Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. The sentence alone is great cause to stop and think. I know it was written specifically of Herod the evil persecutor of the church, the violent killer of men, but i should not pass it off as ONLY for him. The Lord struck him...because he did not give glory to God! Father, this morning i want to thank you for the ways in which you have allowed me to see the royal weaknesses of mine! I am not at all proud of them, however, i do find something "good" in them and that is just the simple reality that whatever has come out of my life that is positive or fruitful or right....IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU! This clear understanding is a great defense against the kind of pride that robs you of the glory that is all yours! So, God be glorified in me when i am weak and fail you and be glorified in me as i honour you with a life that is sound and pure! To You God be the glory...great things You have done! Help me to be freed from the snare that i think ultimately caught Herod - He loved the praise of men and they and not You shaped him!
Verses: Acts 12:23