15. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone:

Our scripture memory verse for the week is:  Philippians 2: 5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We’re continuing on our journey of following the works of Paul in our lesson.   You will notice in our text that Paul will now for the first time in the text be referred to as Paul from Saul.  The text does not give us any reason for the name change only that he was now known as Paul and will be referred to Paul from here on out.  Here are our examples of Paul (Saul’s) Christian journeys for today. 

Acts 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: 7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation ) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. 9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost , set his eyes on him, 10 And said , O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? 11 And now, behold , the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done , believed , being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

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

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14. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone:

Our scripture memory verse for the week is:  Philippians 2: 5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We’re continuing on our journey of following the works of Paul in our lesson.  Here are our examples of Paul (Saul’s) Christian journeys for today.

Acts 12:20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king’s chamberlain their friend , desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king’s country. 21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. 22 And the people gave a shout , saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. 23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost . 24 But the word of God grew and multiplied . 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

Acts 13:1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted , the Holy Ghost said , Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 And when they had fasted and prayed , and laid their hands on them, they sent them away . 4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. 6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:

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

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13. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ:

Our scripture memory verse for the week is:

Philippians 2: 5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In our reading today, we will look at the beginning of Paul’s ministry (his name is still Saul at this point).  You will see in our reading today that it was a disciple by the name of Barnabas that sends for Paul and teams up with him to start their journey of spreading the gospel together.

Here is our text:

Acts 11: 19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only 20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed , and turned unto the Lord. 22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. 23 Who, when he came , and had seen the grace of God, was glad , and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. 24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. 25 Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: 26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass , that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. 27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. 28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability , determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: 30 Which also they did , and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

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

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12. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone:

Welcome back from the weekend.   Since our scripture was so long for last week, I decided to use the same scripture for this week also especially since we had a short week on last week with the holiday.

Our scripture memory verse for the week is:  Philippians 2: 5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

We left off last week with reading about Paul’s conversion.   For your review, we have been studying all the occurrences of Paul in the scriptures to establish a background in learning about who he was before and after salvation.

Today, we look at the beginning of Saul’s ministry as a new Christian convert and evangelist of the faith.

Here is our text:

Acts 9:22 But Saul increased the more in strength , and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. 23 And after that many days were fulfilled , the Jews took counsel to kill him: 24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. 26 And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. 29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.

Tomorrow, we will look at the passages that deal with the start of Paul’s missionary journeys.

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

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8. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Hello  Everyone:

I went to a funeral today and was unable to be at my computer.  It is now to late in the evening to post so I will continue our reading of Philippians on tomorrow.

Stay encouraged everyone and enjoy each day to the fullest.   Live life..

Bernice

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7. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone:

Our scripture memory verse for the week is:  Philippians 2: 5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Today, we are looking at Paul’s conversion.

Acts 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed , he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

5 And he said , Who art thou , Lord? And the Lord said , I am Jesus whom thou persecutest : it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said , Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? And the Lord said unto him, Arise , and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do . 7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened , he saw no man: but they led him by the hand , and brought him into Damascus.

9 And he was three days without sight , and neither did eat nor drink . 10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said , Behold , I am here, Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise , and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold , he prayeth , 12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in , and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight . 13 Then Ananias answered , Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way : for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake . 17 And Ananias went his way , and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said , Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest , hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight , and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose , and was baptized . 19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened . Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. 20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 21 But all that heard him were amazed , and said ; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? 22 But Saul increased the more in strength , and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

Tomorrow, we will read what happens when Paul encounters the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

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6. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ:

Hello Everyone:  I hope you had a great holiday weekend.  Traditionally it has been my pattern to go to stone mountain and climb and walk around the mountain for the Labor day holiday but it rained all day here in Atlanta and I was not able to do so, so I ended up just laying around doing nothing and watching Criminal Minds Marathon on TV.     I got a lot of rest though which was very much needed.

Our scripture memory verse for the week is:

Philippians 2: 5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow , of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

I know that this is a long verse to remember but we have all week.  I have always thought this passage of scripture was powerful and I almost know it in its entirety but I too am going to focus to get every word memorized by the end of the week.

What I find that helps me is to write down the scripture and tape it to your computer at work or someplace that you will constantly see all week and it will help you in memorization.

Our text for today is:  Philippians 1:1 “ Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.”

We left off last week with learning about who Paul was.  We covered the fact that the first time he appears in scripture, his name is Saul and he is identified with the stoning of the deacon Stephen.  Let’s look at the second account of him appearing in scripture.

Philippians 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

The text above identifies Saul/Paul as a persecutor of the church.

So far we have learned that Paul was a highly skilled Jew trained under the feet of Gamaiel, devout Pharisee carrying a strict zeal for the Jewish faith.  Paul felt as if Christianity was a treat to the Jewish faith, and was willing to lead the charge in wiping out the spread of Christianity to preserve the Jewish faith.

Tomorrow, we will talk about Paul’s conversion.

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

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2. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Grace and Peace be unto you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our scripture memory verse for the week is:  Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Hello Everyone:  It’s the holiday weekend and I know that so many of you in the states are away from your computers so I want overwhelm you with more information  about Paul.  We’ll start that up again on Monday.

What I do want to do today is talk to you from my heart.  I haven’t done that in a while.  So many people that share with me on this site and through my blogs and who I just encounter in life are discouraged, depressed and frustrated about life.  Please know that you have the power through God to change whatever you don’t like about your life.  So many people are bored and lonely.   I was listening to someone last night and she made a powerful statement.  She said that loneliness is the absence of purpose.  I thought about that statement for a minute and I begin turning it over in my head and I totally understood where she was coming from. 

While I understand that you can be lonely inside your purpose too but loneliness that’s felt from the soul can be because you’re void of purpose and haven’t connected with a cause.   I know I have felt most alone when I am not using the gifts that I know the Lord has placed inside of me.

Please take this weekend and do some self-inspection.   What is it about your life that you don’t like.  Write it down.  Writing it down can be so healing.   Now, don’t have a pity party with this, please use this exercise to help you move forward.   Once you have wrote down the things you don’t like, then discover strategies to change it.  Some of these strategies you may have to turn to others for help but some of them you can do yourself. 

Find you someone that you trust that you can be accountable to and share with them your goals and your hurts, pains, fears, secrets, etc.   Please make sure this is someone you trust because people can be cruel with your pain.

If that person does not exist in your life then there are private Christian non-profit counseling centers that have free services if you need them or can direct you to places where you can get help.  Sometimes you just need to talk things through.  Use the internet and all the available technological resources.  There is so much help out there.  

All I’m saying is “Take care of you.”  Put you First.  Life is so short. 

Have a great weekend and to all those in the US, please have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend.  Because Monday is a US holiday, I want be posting again until Tuesday.

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

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1. September 2011 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone:

 Our scripture memory verse for the week is:  Philippians 2:3 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and do of his good pleasure.” (KJV)Today, we will begin our journey into the book of Philippians. 

Our text for today is:  Philippians 1:1 “ Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.”

Though the text mentions both Paul and Timothy, the author of this letter is clearly Paul.   Today we want to talk about what we know about Paul in the New Testament.Paul was born in Tarsus in Cilicia into a family where both parents were Jewish.  We will learn more about his pedigree in Chapter three when Paul gives us a snapshot of many achievements in life and his family heritage.Having both parents Jewish was a major honor in the Jewish world because during the Diaspora when the Jews were scattered abroad, they begin to intermarry with foreigners and many Jews could no longer claim that they were not mixed.   Paul could boost of his lineage being able to be traced back to the “stock of Israel” as he will call it.In Acts the 22^nd chapter, we are told that Paul was trained at the feet of Gamaliel.   “1 Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. 2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith ,) 3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.” 

Let’s take a brief look at who Gamaliel was and what was his influence on the Christian world and the disciples. 

Gamaliel the Elder (English pronunciation: /ɡəˈmeɪljəl/),^[1] or Rabban Gamaliel I (רבן גמליאל הזקן; Greek: Γαμαλιήλ ο Πρεσβύτερος), was a leading authority in the Sanhedrin in the mid 1st century CE. He was the grandson of the great Jewish teacher Hillel the Elder, and died twenty years before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70 CE). He fathered a son, whom he called Simeon, after his father,^[2] and a daughter, whose daughter (i.e., Gamaliel’s granddaughter) married a priest named Simon ben Nathanael.^[3] The name Gamaliel is the Greek form of the Hebrew name meaning reward of God.In the Christian tradition, Gamaliel is celebrated as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish Law.^[4] Acts of the Apostles speaks of Gamaliel as a man of great respect who spoke in favor of arrested Christian apostles ^[5] and the Jewish Law teacher of Paul the Apostle. ^[6]The Acts of the Apostles introduces Gamaliel as a Pharisee and celebrated scholar of the Mosaic Law.^[17] In this passage, Saint Peter and the other apostles are described as being prosecuted by the Sanhedrin for continuing to preach the Gospel, despite the Jewish authorities having previously prohibited it. The passage describes Gamaliel as presenting an argument against killing the apostles, reminding the Sanhedrin about previous revolts, which had been based on beliefs that individuals such as Theudas and Judas of Galilee were the prophesied messiah, and which had collapsed quickly after the deaths of those individuals. According to Acts, his authority with his contemporaries was so great that they accepted his advice, regardless of how unwelcome it was. Gamaliel’s concluding argument to them had been:“if it be of men, it will come to naught, but if it be of God, ye will not be able to overthrow it; lest perhaps ye be found even to fight against God”.^{[18]   Above info on Gamaliel is taken from Wikipedia.}    

The first introduction that we have to Paul is the story of the stoning of the deacon Stephen.  Paul’ s name was Saul before it was changed to Paul.  He was known as a persecutor of the church and this is the story of how he is first introduced into the scriptures.    Acts 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart , and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said , Behold , I see the heavens opened , and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying , Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down , and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep .  KJV