28. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello:

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.  I decided to continue the narrative of the birth of Christ and just begin in the New Year with our completion of the book of Acts.  I love this story:

Today we pick up with after the announcement that the Savior is born:  Here is our text:

Luke 2: 15 And it came to pass , as the angels were gone away from them into heaven , the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass , which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste , and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things , and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned , glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen , as it was told unto them. 21 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child , his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished , they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; 23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord , Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) 24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

As you can see in our text, Jesus came into the world as a Jew and followed all the customs of the Jews.  He was circumcised after the eight day and then dedicated him to the Lord.  Tomorrow, we will study what happens in the temple during the dedication.

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

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25. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

It was my dearest intention to post the holiday story but as many of you know I own a Day Spa in Atlanta, Georgia and this holiday season was phenomenally busy.  God really blessed our business this year.   I worked long hours both days and nights with charitable work that I was also doing along side my business.

 We will rejoin our study of the book of Acts on Monday.   Have a Very Merry Christmas Everyone.

Luke 2: 1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed . 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed , every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was , that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered . 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes , and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field , keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo , the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid . 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes , lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying , 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS………..

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15. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Today we will begin our study of the birth narrative of Jesus.  Our story today will begin with the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist who would prepare the way of the Lord.

Here is our text:

Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 8 And it came to pass , that while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his course, 9 According to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. 11 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled , and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard ; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.  

Our text opens with “there was in the days of Herod.”  We will establish context from this verse.   The author is trying to give us insight into the conditions that Jesus would be born.

Today, simply read our passage and tomorrow, I will give you important background information on Herod which will give you the context of the times into which Jesus would be born.

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

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13. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

 Today, we will finish chapter 17 of the Book of Acts.  We will then take a break until the New Year and study the birth narrative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in honor of the holidays.

We are still studying the places that Paul visited on his missionary journey and today he is in Athens.  Here is our text:

Acts 17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone–an image made by man’s design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

The Areopagus or Areios Pagos (Greek: Άρειος Πάγος) is the ‘Rock of Ares‘, north-west of the Acropolis, which in classical times functioned as the high Court of Appeal for criminal and civil cases^[1] in Athens. Ares was supposed to have been tried here by the gods for the murder of Poseidon’s son Alirrothios (a typical example of an aetiological myth). Wikepedia…

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

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8. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

Today we will continue our study on Paul’s missionary journey.

They are in Berea today.

Here are the verses:

Acts 17:10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. 13 When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14 The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15 The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

This is the text where the famous passage about the bereans who “searched the scriptures daily to see if be so” comes out of.   A lot of times you will hear the scripture in the context of someone encouraging you to study the scriptures for yourself to make sure that what you have been taught or heard is true.  

In our previous study, when Paul went to Thessalonica, he also went into the synagogue and taught but the Jews there were jealous and went into the marketplace and roused up people with suspect character and incited them against Paul and Silas and they chased him to the house of one named Jason but found them not.   Instead they put Jason in Jail for entertaining them and Paul and Silas went on to Berea.

In this city, the text teaches that they were of more noble character.  While the Bereans listened diligently to Paul, they did not protest but instead searched the scriptures daily to verify that what Paul was saying was true.

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

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6. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

Today, we start chapter 17 of the Book of Acts.  We will spend this week finishing this chapter and on next year, we will begin our study of the birth of Christ.  Each year during Christmas and Easter, I always deflect from our study in order to acknowledge and honor the season.

We have been studying Paul’s missionary journeys.  Today, we will read what happened while he was in Thessalonica.  Silas is still with him and we ended our study on last week with them being set free from prison after the jailer was converted.

Here is our text:

Acts17:1 When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, “ he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. 5 But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

As you can, there is a developing pattern to Paul’s journey.  Once he arrives into a city, if he stays there for a period of time, he attends the Sabbath services which are on Saturdays.  He tries to convince the Jews through the scriptures that Christ is the long awaited Messiah that the prophets of old have testified of.  Some Jews believe and are converted, others refuse to accept that Christ is the one that they have been waiting for and label them a heretic and usually seek to kill them.

God always shows up to spare their life but there are usually severe consequences that occur such as beatings, or imprisonment but the disciples always walk away with a wonderful attitude and keep each other encouraged.

They have often stated that they consider it an honor to suffer for the cause of Christ.

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

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3. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

We finished chapter 16 on yesterday and I don’t usually like to start another study on Friday since we don’t post on Saturday and Sunday.  So I’ll pick up where we left on with Proverbs and we’ll begin chapter 17 on Monday.

Proverbs 18:1 An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. 2 A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions. 3 When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace. 4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. 5 It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the innocent of justice. 6 A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating. 7 A fool’s mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. 8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts. 9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. 10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. 11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall. 12 Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. 13 He who answers before listening– that is his folly and his shame. 14 A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? 15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out. 16 A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. 17 The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him. 18 Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. 19 An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel. 20 From the fruit of his mouth a man’s stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. 21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. 22 He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD. 23 A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly. 24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Have a great weekend everyone.

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

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2. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

In our text today, we pick up our story concerning the response of the jailer who was assigned to guard Paul and Silas.  In our last lesson, he was about to kill himself when he found out that the prisoners had been loosed from their chains.  He thought they had escaped. 

Here is our story:

Acts 16: 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself ! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God–he and his whole family. 35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.” 37 But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.” 38 The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39 They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.

Notice in our text how Paul brought up the fact that he and Silas were Roman citizens and their rights as Romans were violated.  The people just automatically assumed that because they were preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, they must be non Romans.  Even though Paul was a Jew, he was also a Roman citizen and was to be afforded all rights that goes with that citizenship.  When the magistrates realized there were Romans, they became nervous that Paul and Silas were sentenced and punished without trail. 

I love the fact that Paul and Silas stayed in prison though clearly at midnight their bonds were loosed and they could have escaped.  Staying in the situation allowed the jailer and his family to be saved.   I am in awe at how the disciples were so in tune to God’s voice.  I long to hear HIM like that. 

Wow…  so many more levels to reach in God.  I’m excited. 

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

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1. December 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

 Our text for today has the famous story of Paul and Silas being in jail and at midnight there is an earthquake and there chains are loosed.  It is a famous story in the church world.

 Here are the details.  I have broken it up into two parts for you.  It is one of my favorites.

 Acts 16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. 19 When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” 22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.

Notice that this situation happens when Paul and Silas are again on their way to the place of prayer.   They were locked up because they cast a “fortune telling” spirit out of a young slave girl whose masters became very furious that they no longer could make money off of her.   Without a trail, they were ordered to be stripped and beaten just on the word of Roman citizens. 

There was a certain jailer who was ordered to watch them, when he awoke and saw that the chains had been broken and felt that the prisoners had escaped he attempted to kill himself because he knew that the Roman government would punish him severely for the escape of the prisoners so he decided to take his life himself.

 Tomorrow, we will study how this story ends. 

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

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