30. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

We continue with the stories of Paul on his Missionary Journey.  Today he answers the “famous Macedonia” call.  If you hang out in church a lot, you may have heard that term.  Pastors usually mean it in a context of help.  This is its’ origin.

Here is our story:

Acts 16:6 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. 13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. 15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

What I love about this story is the call to Macedonia from God.  God strategically got into the mind of Paul so that he would change his plans and head to Macedonia when they get there and go to the common place of prayer, there is a woman there who is already a worshipper but evidently she did not know the gospel of Jesus Christ.  She heard Paul’s message and instantly responded and her and her household were baptized.

The importance of one.  This woman worshipped God but did not have the fullness of the God but had a love for God and God sent Paul to her.   I am convinced that as we worship God, no matter what we do and don’t understand, God will provide for us to encounter the truth.  Hold on…  Understanding and knowledge will come with a worshipping heart.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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29. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

Welcome back from the weekend.  I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving holiday.   I really missed my mom this year.  This is the fourth year since she passed and you would think each year would get easier but somehow this year, I felt as if she had just died, the emotions were really overwhelming.  I am so grateful for the wonderful memories I have of her.   It was weird how we gathered around cooking trying to make the traditional family dishes taste like hers and wonder what we were missing and regretting that we had not watched her more carefully.    To all of you who still have parents, talk to them, ask them things about your family history, pay attention to their stories,  be patient with them.  I watched so many people love on their parents this holiday week and my heart ached to just lay my head in her lap.

We have been studying Paul’s missionary journeys.  In today’s lesson,  we learn how Paul gets introduced to Timothy.   We know that Timothy becomes a student of Paul’s and  Paul writes 1^st and 2^nd Timothy to him later on in life.  Timothy’s mother is a Jew but his father is a Greek.     

Here is the story:

Acts 16:1 He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

I thought I would just cover a little today since we all recovering from the holidays.  We’ll continue our journey on tomorrow.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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26. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

I actually thought I had posted this on Monday that I would not be posting this week because of the Thanksgiving HOliday in America but I was checking my messages today and saw that I had not posted at all this week.   SORRY!!!!!!!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday everyone and have a great weekend.  We’ll resume our study on Monday.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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18. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

In today’s lesson,  we study about a dispute between two of the disciples.   The story picks up after the Letter has been sent to the Gentiles concerning whether circumcision is needed for salvation.   

Here is the story:

Acts 15:36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

In our text today, we actually discover one of the first internal conflicts with one of the apostles.  Paul is concerned that Mark is not ready to be committed to the journey since he had deserted them earlier and Barnabas wants to give him another chance.   They could not resolve their differences so they separated and that is how Paul ends up with Silas.. Remember the famous “Paul and Silas being in the prison and at midnight.”  We’ll get to that story shortly.

This concludes Chapter 15.  We’re making great progress.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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17. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

In today’s lesson, we learn what was in the actual letter that the apostles will send to the Gentiles concerning the issue as to whether or not Gentiles need to be circumcised to be saved. 

Here is the story:

Acts 15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23 With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul– 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. 30 The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

 Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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15. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

Welcome back from the weekend.  In our study today, there is a dispute that has arisen among the church on whether circumcision for the Gentiles is needed for salvation.  The debate got so heated that they sent back to Jerusalem to get the apostle’s advice.  This would be considered the first ecumenical council.

Here is the story:

Acts 15:1 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad.

4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. 5

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.” 6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13

When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: 16 ” ‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, 17 that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’ 18 that have been known for ages.

19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

Our story today is probably one of the most important meetings of the church during the lifetime of the Apostles.   The Jews were raising issues as to the Gentiles being circumcised.  They believed that Christians should obey the Laws of Moses.  There were divided as to what was needed for salvation.   Some argued circumcision, others argued that it was a Jewish command and custom and not to be passed on to the Gentiles for God had already filled them with the Holy Ghost without circumcision. 

Their claim was that Gentiles should be circumcised thereby making them a part of the covenant and then obey the laws of the covenant. 

Peter’s reference to some time ago, God used him to preach to the Gentiles is the reference to the saving of Cornelius and his family which we studied in Acts 10. Peter goes on to rebuke them as to why they would put a yoke on the Gentiles that even the Jews themselves could not keep.  His point being that no matter how hard they tried, they could not obtain salvation through works.  It had to be given to them.  They would never reach perfection, no matter how many laws they had in place. So since the law of Moses cannot saved them, it was not necessary to keep it. 

James stands up and gives the final decision.  James argues that they should write a letter to the Gentile believers and give them a decree to simply stay away from four things.   Please note that James was not saying that these are the only four things that you should not do for we know that the scriptures taught all believers, to not lie, cheat, commit adultery, etc. 

Some scholars argue that these four rules were given to the Gentiles because of its connection with idolatry.  The Gentiles were know for idol worship, offering up sacrifices to God, using blood in different forms in connection to idol worship and engaging in sexual immoralities.    

Wow…  I’m enjoying this and I’ll keep going and going and going.   I’ll stop for today and tomorrow, we’ll discuss the actual letter that is sent to the Gentiles.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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12. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

 In our last study, Paul had left Lystra after being almost stoned to death by a crowd that was at first friendly and turned deadly after they were provoked by Jewish opposition leaders.  He goes on to Derbe and this is what happens there.

Here is our text:

Acts 14:21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

As I was reading today’s lesson, my eyes focused on the text which said that they “strengthened the disciples and encouraged them letting them know that they must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” 

Everything in our lives will not be easy just because we are Christians.  Being a Christian comes with many disappointments, hardships, triumphs, victories, joy, sadness, etc.  We are not exempt from the trials of life just because we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior but just as the disciples encouraged one another, I would like to encourage you today that the difference between us and the world is that we go through it with peace and strength that can only come from God and with an assurance that God will work all things together for our God and with the promise of an eternity with HIM. 

There is an afterlife.  There is an eternity with our God.   

Have a great weekend everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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10. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

Our text for today has Paul ministering in Lystra and Derbe.

Here is the text:

 Acts 14:8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

Wow, they went from wanting to sacrifice to Paul because they thought he was a god to stoning him to the point where they thought he was dead.  It is amazing how people are easily persuaded.  When the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came down they turned the crowd hostile towards Paul and Barnabas and they left the city for Derbe.

Tomorrow, we will see what they accomplish in Derbe.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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9. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

Today we begin the 14^th chapter of Acts.  For the next few days, we will be exploring Paul’s work as he began traveling to spread the gospel.  Our text today picks up with him having traveled to Iconium.  He still has Barnabas with him as his partner.

Here is our story:

Acts 14:1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the good news.

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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8. November 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

Welcome back from the weekend.  In our last lesson, we talked about how Paul had begun his missionary journey spreading the gospel to the Gentiles.   He was asked to speak in the synagogue one Sabbath and we studied what he said to the people.  In today’s lesson, we will read the response to his teachings in the synagogue.

Here is the text:

Acts 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ” ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ “ 48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. 49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

As you can , the teachings of Christ became popular even among some of the devout Jews.  As always, though jealousy pops its head up especially when the next Sabbath rolled around and the whole city came to hear the teachings of Paul and Barnabas.  It made the Jewish leaders outraged with Jealousy and they incited “women” of high standing along with the leading men of the city to begin persecution against them.

It is fascinating to see “Women of high standing” in this text. It is very rare that you hear about women with political power in the scriptures and especially among the Jews.   Our text tells us that they went to the women of influence among the Jewish circles to try and drive Paul and Barnabas out of the city.  Fascinating!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the part of this text that speaks to election.  The text says that “all those who were appointed to eternal life believed.” 

I thank God that I was “appointed to eternal life” thereby having the ability to believe.

Stay encouraged and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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