"With your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9). To Abraham, the Word of God was spoken: "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:3). In the one hundredth Psalm, we have a call to worship: "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth" (verse …
Continue reading Fron every tribe and nation and people and language
Believe ... - What are we to believe, and who are we to believe in? Are we to believe in ourselves? or Will we fail to live up to our positive thinking about ourselves? I'm not suggesting that there's no place for positive thinking - but we do need to be clear about what is …
God's purpose was moving on. He had begun with Israel. Their deliverance from bondage in Egypt was a mighty demonstration of His saving power. This was only the beginning. God was moving on to Jesus - "the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). In Jesus Christ, crucified for us, God was reaching out, in love, …
Continue reading "His dominion shall be… to the ends of the earth" (Zechariah 9:10).
"These people are not drunk, as you suppose... God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people" (Acts 2:15,17). There are many people who are always looking for a human explanation. It never seems to occur that there may be something more than a human explanation. It may be that God is working …
Acts 13:44-14:28 When God is working powerfully through His servants, there is always the tendency to attach too much importance to the servants. We must resist this temptation. The glory belongs to God alone. We must never forget: 'We too are only men, human like you'. God has called us to 'bring Good News' to …
Continue reading The Gospel is preached. There is blessing. We say, “God has done this.”
2 Samuel 9:1-10:19; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 70:1-5 The kindness of God is shown in different ways. We read of “God’s kindness” being shown to Mephibosheth – “he always ate at the king’s house” (2 Samuel 9:3,7). Nevertheless, we are also told, at the end of the chapter, that “he was crippled in both feet” (2 Samuel …
"I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32). These words were spoken by Jesus to Simon, also known as Peter. What a great answer to prayer there was on the Day of Pentecost - "When the people heard this, they were cut to the …
Continue reading Jesus prays for us – and his prayer will be answered.
Notice the importance of prayer in the advance of the Gospel. They were looking for a prayer meeting when Lydia was saved (Acts 16:13-14). They were going to a prayer meeting when the girl was saved (Acts 16:16-18). They were having a prayer meeting when the jailer was saved (Acts 16:25-34). They had gone to …
Continue reading The Importance Of Prayer In The Advance Of The Gospel
Acts 4:1-5:11 Peter preached Christ with great boldness: 'There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved' (12). This boldness came from the Holy Spirit. Peter was 'filled with the Holy Spirit' (4:8). Don't say, 'I'm no Peter'. Peter failed …
"The Holy Spirit" (Acts 6:5) - This is in relation to social concern. "Prayer and the ministry of the Word" (Acts 6:4) - This is not the whole service of the Lord. It lies at the heart of God's work, but there must also be ways of showing people that we care.
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:2). Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 124:8). What is the help that we receive from the Lord? As I was thinking about this question, several words came into my mind: love, …
Continue reading Receiving help from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth
Acts 8:26-40 We are in a "desert", but the God of love is reaching out to us (Acts 8:26). Even when we are in a desert, we can prepare ourselves for God's blessing. We can keep on reading God's Word (Acts 8:28). God sends someone to guide us (Acts 8:30-31). What does Philip do? He …
When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus he was livid. He was furious. He was in a rage. He was "breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples" (Acts 9:1). He was pursuing the Lord's disciples - with murder on his mind! This, however, was not the full story. Saul was …
Lord my God, I take refuge in you... I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High (Psalm 7:1,17). We turn to the Lord, when we're going through difficult times. In these difficult times, we are to pray that the Lord will give to us a song of praise. We're not …
In Mark 14:66-72, we read about Peter denying his Lord three times. Was this the end of the road for Peter? No! In John 21:15-17, we read of Peter declaring his love for Jesus - three times, once for each denial! In Acts 2:41, we read of three thousand people being brought to faith in …
We're nearly at the end of the old year. Our thoughts are turning to the New Year. Is it time for thinking about something else - new life? "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who …
Continue reading New Year: a time for thinking about something else – new life
Acts 9:1-43 Saul the persecutor become Paul the Apostle (13:9). What a great turning-point this was in the life of the early Church! When we read of Paul's missionary journeys (13:1-28:31). we may be tempted to think, 'What a great man Paul must have been'. In his letters, Paul insists that we must not think …
Continue reading The grace of God was poured out on me abundantly.
Peter preached Jesus as the way of salvation, the way of joy and the way of victory. To those who are needing to hear the Word of the Lord, the true messenger of the Gospel of Christ still says this: "Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21). To …
"About three thousand were added to their number that day" (Acts 2:41). The day of Pentecost, the day when the Spirit came in power - what a day it was! Everything had turned around! At the time of Christ's crucifixion, Peter had denied his Lord three times (Luke 22:54-62). Now, Peter was preaching and three …
Acts 2:37-38 At the heart of the Gospel, there is the love of God. This is the story told by Peter on the Day of Pentecost – the story of God’s love for us. In love, God offers to us the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 38). These blessings …
Acts 3:1-4:4 Contrast the Peter we see at the time of Christ's death and the Peter we see here. There was failure, frustration and fear. Now, there is peace, power and purpose. (a) Failure - Peter denied his Lord. (b) Frustration - Things could have been so different, if only I had confessed my Lord. …
Jesus loves us so much more than we love Him. In love, He comes to us to draw out from us a greater love for Him. I find great encouragement in the story of the restoration of Peter in John 21. Peter had denied the Lord three times. For each denial, Jesus came to Peter …
"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light, we see light" (Psalm 36:7-9). In these verses, we read …
Continue reading Lord, open our hearts to your love, your life and your light.
What a day it was! It was the beginning of something new. It was the start of something really special. It was the day of the Spirit. It was the day of his power. It was a day of salvation. Peter preached. This was more than Peter. This was the power of God. "I will …
We read about the great days. We wonder, "Is there anything else?" Is there something more? Do we have a future? Don't think of these great days as "long, long ago, when life was very different." Have we outgrown the need to listen to Peter,s earnest appeal: "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation" (Acts 2:40)? …
Expect the unexpected. Life is unpredictable. None of us really knows what lies ahead of us. This could be very frightening. We could get ourselves all worked up about what might possibly happen to us. On the other hand, the words, "expect the unexpected" could be, for us, an invitation, from God, to enter into …
Acts 2:37-38 At the heart of the Gospel, there is the love of God. This is the story told by Peter on the Day of Pentecost – the story of God’s love for us. In love, God offers to us the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (v. 38). These blessings …
Continue reading The Day Of Pentecost – What A Day That Was!
Acts 25:1-27 Paul stood before Festus as an accused man. Festus listened. Recognizing his own shortcomings and respecting the accused wishes, he gave Paul a fair hearing (20-21,25). Festus made no decision - 'I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him' (26). Jesus was 'dead'. Now, He is 'alive' (19). This is …
How did the world begin? How will the world end? Who was there when the world began? Who will be there when the world ends? How and Who - these are quite different questions. The How question wonders about the beginning and the end. What happened? What will happen? The Who question takes us beyond …
Continue reading At every stage of our life’s journey, the Lord is there – with us and for us.
Acts 1-3 The Lord Jesus called His disciples to be His witnesses, in the power of the Holy Spirit. They prayed that the power of God would come upon them (chapter 1). The Lord sent the Holy Spirit to them. They were were epowered by the Holy Spirit. Their ministry was blessed by God. It …
Continue reading Witnessing for Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Peter preached Christ with great boldness: ‘There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved’(Acts 4:12). This boldness came from the Holy Spirit. Peter was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’(Acts 4:8). Don’t say, ‘I‘m no Peter’. Peter failed his Lord …
Acts 5:12-6:7 There was great blessing: 'More than ever believers were added to the Lord' (14). There was persecution (17-18). This did not hinder the advance of the Gospel (42). Satan was not going to give up easily. He came right back at the apostles (1). Satan was defeated. Through the Spirit of God and …
Acts 4-6 God is at work, and so is Satan. The devil does all that he can to try to hinder the work of God. The victory, however, belongs to the Lord. His work is advancing: "Their proclamation of the Good News of Christ Jesus was never interrupted... the number of disciples was increasing" (5:42-6:1).
Acts 19:23-20:16 Read verse 28: 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians'. Remember Exodus 20:3 - 'You shall have no other gods before Me'. Remove all pretenders from God's throne. Rededicate yourself to the Lord - 'King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be' (Redemption Hymnal, 165). People could not get …
Ascension of the Lord: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 or 93 or Daniel 7:9-14; Psalm 24:7-10; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53 Jesus is taken up into heaven. The Holy Spirit is given to us. We read, in John 7:39, that ‘the Spirit’ would not be ‘given’ until Jesus was ‘glorified.’ Now, as Jesus was about to be ‘taken …
Continue reading Jesus is taken up into heaven. The Holy Spirit is given to us.
Acts 7-8 In chapter 7, through a history of God's dealings with Israel, Stephen exposes the sin and guilt of hts accusers, They react violently, and Stephen is stoned to death. Saul watched this, and "entirely approved of the killing" (8:1). Saul went on from there, "working for the total desctruction of the church" (chapter …
"We will devote ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the Word" (Acts 6:4). Prayer and the ministry of God's Word: these are to be important priorities in the lives of God's servants, but this is not all that's done by the people of God. When we read these words in the light of the …
Continue reading Pray to God, preach His Word – and care for the people.
1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 18:9-19:13; Psalm 78:32-39 As a prophet of God, Elijah brought this message to the people: "This is what the Lord says" (1 Kings 21:19). This was Paul's ministry: "teaching them the Word of God" (Acts 18:11). Elijah's ministry was the denunciation of the evil king, Ahab. Paul's ministry was the proclamation …
A strange thing happened. It was a very wonderful thing. It was the Day of Pentecost. It was the day that the fire of God came down. What blessing there was that day! Peter was a completely different man - and so were three thousand others! God was moving in power. Great things were happening. …
Immediately before he was stoned, Stephen preached the Gospel of Christ. After he had finished speaking, we see Stephen - about to be stoned - facing death as a man, full of the Holy Spirit, a man looking to Jesus Christ - "Now when they heard these things they were enraged and they ground their …
Continue reading Learning from Stephen – a man, filled with the Holy Spirit
Jesus preached the kingdom of God. His apostles preached the kingdom of God. In moving from Jesus' preaching in the Gospels to the apostles' preaching in Acts, we're not really moving away from Jesus at all. Luke, the author of Acts, describes his Gospel as an account of "all that Jesus began to do and …
Are you confused by what's happening in today's world? You're not alone. Is there a way out of this confusion? Are we to look for easy answers? or Do such answers only show that we have failed to understand life's deepest questions? Can we answer life's deepest questions? or Do we have to look beyond …
"Help me, Lord my God; save me according to your unfailing love" (Psalm 109:26). When we're going through hard times, we come to the Lord and ask for his help. Is this only a prayer for partcularly hard times? It is that, but it is, also, more than that. Is there ever a time when we can …
2 Samuel 22:1-23:7; Acts 9:1-31; Psalm 73:15-28 2 Samuel 22 begins with a tremendous declaration of who God is and a marvellous expression of trust in Him – “The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer … my Rock … my Shield and the Horn of my Salvation … my Stronghold, my Refuge …
Acts 11-13 Peter's taking the Gospel to Cornelius opened the way for the Gospel to go the Gentiles. In chapter 11, Peter emphasizes that the Gospel is for the Gentiles. In chapter 13, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, emphasizes that the Gospel for all nations is rooted in God's revelation to the Jews. While …
Continue reading The good news of Christ is for people of every nation.
Acts 14-16 Here, we see the great influence of both Peter and Paul in the life and witness of the early church. In chaoters 14 and 16, we have the ministry of Paul. In chapter 15, we see Peter giving his support to Paul's ministry. He does this by emphasizing that the Gospel is for …
Continue reading Peter and Paul, working together to bring many people to Christ
1 Kings 18:16-19:21; Acts 17:22-18:8; Psalm 78:17-31 In the relationship between God and the gods, we see (a) the conflict between good and evil (1 Kings 18); (b) God's way of salvation - He leads people out of the darkness of ignorance and into the light of knowledge (Acts 17:23); (c) God's word of warning …
His word is in my heart like a fire (Jeremiah 20:9). What is it that keeps the fire burning? It's the power that comes from God. It's the power of the Holy Spirit. He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and …
Continue reading How can we become more on fire for the Lord?
Acts 20-22 As we read about Paul, travelling from place to place, we come to appreciate the geographical breadth of his ministry. In chapter 22, we see the spiritual depth of his ministry. This spiritual depth arises out of his real, life-changing experience of the salvation which had come to him through the Lord Jesus …
Acts 26-38 In addressing King Agrippa, Paul focuses attention on the resurrection: "Why does it seem incredible to you that God should raise the dead?" (chapter 26). Paul proclaimed that "Christ... as the first to rise from the dead... was to proclaim that light now shone for our people and for the pagans too" (chapter …
Continue reading In the eyes of men, Paul was a prisoner. In the plan of God, he was a witness.
1 Kings 22:1-53; Acts 19:14-41; Proverbs 15:31-16:7 Here's a spiritual principle for everyone who seeks to be faithful to God: "As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me" (1 Kings 22:14). In Ephesus, there was a riot. The crowds shouted, "Great is Artemis ("Diana" in the King James …
Continue reading I will tell him only what the Lord tells me.
Acts 23-25 "The resurrection of the dead" was a central theme in Paul's preaching: "It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial" (chapter 23); "It is about the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today" (chapter 24). His teaching concerning the resurrection …
Continue reading The resurrection of Christ opens up for us a glorious future.
2 Samuel 23:8-24:25; Acts 9:32-10:23a; Psalm 74:1-9 “His mercy is great” (2 Samuel 24:14). These words of David are powerfully demonstrated in the call to Peter to take the Gospel to Cornelius, the Gentile. God’s mercy is not only for the Jewish nation. It’s also for the Gentiles. Now, the Gentiles belong to the people …
1 Kings 8:22-9:9; Acts 14:8-28; Proverbs 15:11-20 The majesty of the Temple was not merely human. The glory belonged to the Lord. His glory would be among His people, as they honoured Him by doing His will. The servants of the Lord must always say, "we are only men ... We are bringing you Good News, …
2 Kings 18:1-19:13; Acts 27:13-44; Psalm 82:1-8 “Do not let the god you depend on deceive you” (2 Kings 19:10). The Lord alone is worthy of our trust. He alone will prove trustworthy. There is no god like the Lord - “God presides in the great assembly: He gives judgment among the gods” (Psalm 82:1). …
Continue reading The Lord alone is worthy of our trust. He will not fail us.
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness" (John 12:46). "As he (Saul of Tarsus) neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you …
Continue reading The Word and the words (14): A light from heaven
"God so loved the world (the people of the world)" (John 3:16); "Do not love the world (the ways of the world)" (1 John 2:15). "God so loved the world" - These words are a call to mission. We are to show the people of the world how much God loves them. We're to be …
"No one ever spoke the way this man does" (John 7:46). There was something different about Jesus. There was something special about him. Jesus spoke with authority - "My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me" (John 7:16). Jesus spoke with power. In John 7:37-39, Jesus speaks of "rivers …
Continue reading The Word and the words (9): Speaking with authority, speaking with power
The question is asked: "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:30). The answer is given: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). Sometimes, when questions come into our minds, we wonder if we will ever receive an answer. The more we think about it, the more we come …
Continue reading What must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.
“Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’” (Acts 15:36). We begin with making decisions – but we don’t end there. We must go on from there to making …
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Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." John 4:10
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Luke 9:23-24 23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
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