Boldness

When Peter healed the lame beggar, he did it in the name of Jesus. When the people asked him about it, Peter gave the glory to God, stating the man was healed by faith in Jesus. Then he preached the gospel to them as an eyewitness of how Jesus fulfilled everything God foretold, and telling them to repent and believe. (Acts 3)

About 5000 people became believers that day because of it. (Acts 4:4)

The religious leaders were annoyed and asked Peter where this boldness came from. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and all the credit for healing the beggar was given to Jesus.  (Acts 4 1-12)

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

The religious leaders couldn't deny that the man had indeed been healed, but they were afraid and warned Peter and John not to speak in Jesus' name anymore. (Acts 4:14-18)

So Peter and John told their friends how they were threatened... so they all prayed together, praising the Creator, lifting their voices together to cry out to God for help. (Acts 4:23-24)

"Now Lord, look on their threats and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Word by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Jesus. When they had prayed, the place where they assembled was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the Word of God with boldness." Acts 4:29-31 

They all believed and they were all in agreement.

God answered their prayers. 

They prayed for boldness, then they spoke with boldness.

The men were uneducated and common. The boldness came from being filled with the Holy Spirit and praying by faith in the name of Jesus. 5000 people were saved because of Peter and John's faith in Jesus.

We need to pray for boldness. We need to pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to believe. We need pray in the name of Jesus. We need to have faith in the Lord. 

Dear Lord, please give me the boldness to speak to others about You. I pray that others are healed and saved through the power of the name of Jesus, that they might know Your love, mercy, and saving grace.

Thank you Lord, Amen.

Trials vs Temptations

Blessed is he who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 

We will have trials.

We will have temptations. 

We will especially be tempted during trials. 

During trials, it is very easy to give in to our temptations. 

If we remain steadfast during trials, then God promised that we (who love Him) will be rewarded. 

It is an effort on our part to not give into our temptations. 

We're tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires. 

Falling into temptations vs. Entering into temptations 

Fall - count it all joy knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance. 

Enter - Choices and Decisions 

You have free will. You have a choice to flee from or to give into temptations that lead you to sin.

Sin does not satisfy our desires. 

Sin breaks our fellowship with God. 

Confession of sin restores fellowship with God. 

The love of God covers multitude of sin. 

You have to want more to be free from sin than to have the sin. If you want to be free, confess now to God and ask Him to rescue you, forgive you, and restore relationship with him. 

How you respond to temptations will reveal integrity and maturity. 

Flee from temptations. Know the word. Dwell on the word. We all need safeguards to protect us. Abide in Christ, not in temptation. Walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. 

It's not instantaneous, it is a process that takes time. Bad habits are hard to break, but we can form good habits instead. We are adaptive creatures. Be flexible in the Spirit. 

If we love God, then we will be rewarded for our efforts to not give into temptations during trials. 

A trial is not a temptation. 

A trial is a situation or a circumstance. 

A temptation is an object of desire.

The object of desire is not necessarily sinful, but can lead the person to sin.

God tempts no one, but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. James 1:13-15

All people are tempted. 

We each have our own desires, our own weaknesses, and our own temptations. 

What tempts one person may not tempt another. 

Giving in to temptations can and will lead to sin.

What is so terrible and important to remember is that the momentary happiness is fleeting and quickly disappears. But the joy of the Lord is my strength! 

It helps to stay away from what tempts us, but we can't always avoid them. It helps to be prepared ahead of time so that we know what to do when we are faced with a known temptation. 

Temptations are not from God. 

God is holy and separate from evil.

James 1:16-18 says... 

God doesn't change. 

God the Creator gives good gifts to His children. 

God created us.

We are His children. 

We are brothers and sisters. 

We are His first fruits of all his creatures. 

God loves us! 

God wants to bless us!

God wants us to love Him!

God wants us to look to Him when we are tempted by our weaknesses.

Thank you Lord for helping me...

to learn from my mistakes, 

to grow from past experiences, 

and to turn to you always. 

Thank you Lord for all your blessings, your love, and your joy. 

God speaks

"For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. " 1 Corinthians 1:17 

The Lord sent Paul. 

Paul was called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:1)

Paul obeyed the calling on his life to tell others about Jesus. 

But Paul didn't have to speak eloquently. The power of the cross speaks for itself. 

Just like when my daughter and her troop were selling Girl Scout cookies. The girls were not eloquent in their sales pitch,  and yet their booth sold out of cookies. The cookies basically sold themselves.

We have to step out in faith and let God take care of the rest. The Holy Spirit will give us the words to say. The Lord will bless our efforts when we obey His call. God will use what we say and do for His glory. 

God speaks for Himself. 

Yet, He chooses to use us (who are weak and unwise by worldly standards) to show His power,  so that when we boast, we boast in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:18-31) 

Jesus = wisdom from God. 

To Him who sits on the throne and unto the Lamb, be all blessing, honor, glory, and power forever. 

Unity in Christ

The very first issue Paul addressed in 1st Corinthians was division in the church. This brings to mind a couple well-known quotes...

"United we stand. Divided we fall."

"In essentials - unity.

In non-essentials - liberty. 

In all things  - charity."

Mark 3:25 says a house divided against itself won't be able to stand. 

Paul is appealing to all brothers and sisters in Christ to agree and to be united. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

We, as believers in Jesus, are brothers and sisters. 

Our unity is in Christ. 

Our identity is in Christ. 

In non-essentials,  liberty... Agree to disagree on the little things that are causing strife and division. There are some non-essential things that we may not agree on, but don't let those little things divide us. 

We need to stand firm together, in one spirit, and in one mind. (Philippians 1:27)

Nothing else matters if we don't have unity in Christ. Our identity is in Christ. Once we can agree on the essential truth, then everything else will fall into place. 

They will know us by our love for each other. This is where charity comes in. We are called to love and to give grace to others. (John 13:34-35, 1 Peter 4:8-10,  Matthew 10:8) 

Giving grace to someone is humbling, yet immensely rewarding with the gratifying peace of God. 

We were saved by grace! (Eph 2:8-9) Not because we deserve it. We did nothing to earn it. 

Giving grace to someone is not for them. No! Giving grace is for you...for your own sanity, your inner peace, your own personal joy. Don't let those little things take away your joy. 

The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Easily overlooked

Before I start studying 1 Corinthians, I need to go back to Acts 18:1-17 when Paul went to Corinth to preach the gospel. It's so easy to miss little details when reading this section, so digging deeper helps. 

I always thought of Paul as a preacher. But I see that Paul had a job making tents, and "reasoned" and "persuaded" in the synagogue on the sabbath. The fact that he worked at a regular job throughout the week is an interesting detail. He is just a regular person like me who works all week and goes to church on Sunday. Look at how much Paul accomplished just one day a week, and probably just one person at a time.  When I read that he reasoned and persuaded, I realized he wasn't preaching the sermon in the synagogue, he was just a congregant like me fellowshipping before and after the church service. Just by having a simple conversation with someone and getting to know them, Paul led so many to Christ. 

Another interesting detail I had missed was that Paul was probably afraid. I always figured Paul was so bold and strong because he was so influential. 

The passage does not say specifically that Paul was afraid, but we can infer that he feared others would harm him.

Acts 18:6 says the Jews "opposed him and blasphemed"... so he left the synagogue and went to a believer's house, "next door to the synagogue." The very next verse says the Lord told Paul, "Do not be afraid,  but speak, and do not keep silent, for I am with you, and noone will attack you, for I have many people in this city." Paul's boldness and strength came from the Lord. 

Not only did Paul bring many people to Christ, he led the Ruler of the synagogue to Christ... another interesting detail. In closer reading, it looks to me as if Crispus and Sosthenes are in fact the same person, whose name changed when they became a believer. Can you imagine bringing the Ruler of the synagogue to Christ? Makes sense why "the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul." (Acts 18:12).

No wonder he was afraid. But the Lord was true to His promise (Acts 18:10), and brought other believers to Paul's defense (Acts 18:14). So when the Jews lost their battle in court, they took out their vengeful frustration by beating up Sosthenes, the Ruler of the synagogue who became a believer in Jesus Christ. 

My last interesting detail that is easily missed...because the passage in Acts doesn't say what happened to Sosthenes after he was beaten. 

The fact that Sosthenes survived the brutal beating and didn't let that dissuade his new firm held belief. He 

continued in his faith alongside Paul, as he is so briefly mentioned in the first verse of 1 Corinthians, as "our brother," as a witness or maybe as someone who transcribed Paul's letter. 

It's easy to just read a passage, close the book, and move on with the rest of your day. But taking just a little bit more time to delve a little deeper in a passage will be worth the time and effort exponentially.

For tips on how to study God's Word, click here.

Dear Lord, please help me to not just read the Bible, but please help me to actually study Your Word. Help me to hear what You are speaking to me through Your Word. Help me to learn and to grow.

God sees you

I was reading in Genesis about Hagar. I was wondering why Hagar is named in the Bible. How often do we read something and the person isn't named? especially a female?...especially a servant?

Hagar was an Egyptian maidservant, and yet her story is so important that she is given the honor of being named in the first book of the Bible. 

Hagar escapes and runs away from her mistress who dealt harshly with her. (Genesis 16:6)

You know how you read a story and think, oh yeah this is familiar, I already know that. But I remembered the story all wrong!

I always thought Hagar ran away because Sarai despised her and treated her so terribly...but no!

Sarai became despised in Hagar's eyes. (Genesis 16:4) ...meaning, 

Hagar could not stand the sight of Sarai anymore.  Hagar was disgusted to even look at Sarai anymore. 

Hagar is the one who changed her attitude after she got pregnant with her master's first child. 

She was given the honor of being the mother of Abram's first-born son! But instead of being humbled by this honor, she felt entitled to more respect. She was jealous of Sarai and hated her for being the master's wife. She didn't want to be a servant anymore because she's the mother of the master's heir. 

So now imagine how Sarai feels as her maid is acting more indignant towards her. So Sarai says to her husband, look at how she is treating me now like she's all high and mighty like she owns the place now! She's not doing her job like she used to and it's all your fault! It's certainly not my fault! How are you and God going to fix this? (Genesis 16:5)

Sarai is the one who came up with the whole plan in the first place, but it's his fault because he heeded the voice of his wife. (Genesis 16:2)

The man is supposed to be the head of the house so he's responsible. 

When Adam took the fruit, he sinned because he heeded the voice of his wife instead of doing what God told him to do. (Genesis 3:17)

So Abram told Sarai, She's your problem, you deal with it. 

This probably infuriated her to no end that he wouldn't defend her and stand up for her as his wife. So then in her anger, humiliation, and frustration, she takes it out on her maid to try and put her in her place. 

If Abram had dealt with the issue himself, maybe Sarai wouldn't have been so harsh with Hagar.

So really, each of the three people involved are all to blame for their own actions. 

So when Hagar runs away, probably to go back home to Egypt, God stops her and asks her a question. 

***Does God ever ask a question He doesn't already know the answer?***

"Where have you come from, and where are you going?" (Genesis 16:8)

He knows she's running away from a problem, but running back home is not going to solve it. 

God says, I need you to go back and face the problem. Not only that, I need you to change your attitude and submit to the authority that I have given. If you obey Me, then I will bless you exceedingly. (Genesis 16:10)

So Hagar says, You see me! God actually sees me! 

Hagar's heart was softened because she knew God saw her! (Genesis 16:13)

Dear Lord, please help me to hear you and obey your voice Father God. Please soften my heart and change my attitude. Thank you for helping me to learn something new from a story I thought I already knew. Thank you for teaching me to not take something for granted so quickly but to dig a little deeper. Thank you for helping me to be humble and filling me with your Spirit. Thank you Jesus my Lord and Savior! Amen. 

Living Word

 I try to read my Bible almost every day, but I don't always post in my blog what I gain from my Bible reading because it is usually too personal. That just proves to me that it is The Living Word!

I love it when I read something thinking... oh, I have already read this before, I already know this story, but then I learn a little something new that pertains to what I am going through currently!

The Bible is God's Word, His love letter to us, to each and every one of us individually, because He loves each of us. He loves us because He is Our Creator, and we are His children. He speaks to us through His Word every time we read it, if only we take the time to glean from it and hear what He has to say to us. 

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  Hebrews 4:12

So if the Bible is God's Word, 
and the Word is Jesus, 
then the Bible is Jesus?

How is this possible?

God's Word = The Bible  (2 Timothy 3:14-17, Revelation 1:2)

The Word = Jesus (John 1:1, John 1:14)

The Bible = Jesus

If A = B, and B= C, then A = C

If God's Word is The Bible, and if The Word is Jesus, then the Bible is Jesus?

• Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and the prophecy
• The Scriptures point to Jesus

Matthew 5:17

Romans 8:1-4

John 5:36-37, 39

Hebrews 1:1-4

John 3:16

Romans 6:9

Hebrews 4:12

The Living Word

Jesus is alive! We serve a living God! God's Word is alive! God speaks to us through the Bible when we read it, learn from it, and put it into practice in our daily lives. 

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank you so much for speaking to me personally when I read my Bible. Help me to stop and listen to what you are trying to tell me. Help me to hear and understand you, Lord. Thank you Lord for your guidance, your mercy, and your patience with your sheep.