A true friend is a gift from God. Like Wesley said to Buttercup, “…You think this happens everyday.” There are relationships that transcend joint interests and mutual circumstances. Solomon observed, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) He framed the… Continue reading Unlikely Friends
Tag: Paul
Thorn in the Flesh
"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me,… Continue reading Thorn in the Flesh
Corruption Defined
“I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.” (1 Timothy 5:21) Paul wrote this to Timothy immediately after writing about how and when to discipline wayward Elders. Clearly, favoritism should not be exercised in the… Continue reading Corruption Defined
Necessity of Joy
Are you unhappy, worried, oppressed, weighed down, or anxious? This is understandable and normal if you are not a Believer in Yeshua and a serious follower. Moreover, even Believers can fall under the oppression of the enemy from time to time. In Pilgrims Progress Christian and Hopeful became captive to the giant of Doubting Castle… Continue reading Necessity of Joy
Superstition
“Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the… Continue reading Superstition
Historical Fiction Wondered
I was reading, “Why Revival Tarries”, by Leonard Ravenhill. As he recommended unction, spiritual fervor, passion, rather than mere emotionalism, I recalled Paul and Silas singing hymns in prison. I imagined their conversation. Paul asks, “Silas, are you OK from the flogging?” Yes, I can’t stop thinking how Yeshua was treated like this, but much… Continue reading Historical Fiction Wondered
Judicial Systems
Acts chapters 24 through 26 have an interesting portrait of judicial systems that existed in the First Century Roman empire. The gist of the litigation is that Jewish leadership brought charges against Paul as they had successfully done against Yeshua, (Jesus' Hebrew name). The charges against Paul were that he should be executed, because, "We… Continue reading Judicial Systems
Our Imperishable Body
"But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven,… Continue reading Our Imperishable Body
Bound By the spirit
"And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I… Continue reading Bound By the spirit
Women in the Church
"Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor." I Timothy 2 :11-14 "As in… Continue reading Women in the Church
Stand Firm Against the Wicked
"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear… Continue reading Stand Firm Against the Wicked
The Hellenistic Christian Jews of Acts
After Jesus's death and resurrection, the first company of believers included Mary, Jesus' Mother, and other kinsman, along with the apostles. Since the whole company was Jewish they remained loyal for a time to the Jewish law and continued to worship in the synagogue and temple. Despite this they began facing some persecution over their… Continue reading The Hellenistic Christian Jews of Acts
Set Apart
"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the… Continue reading Set Apart
Word Power
Saul was zealous for God and considered persecuting followers of Yeshua God's work. Yeshua met him on his journey and said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" (Acts 9: 4). Paul might have answered, "As a service to God, I'm persecuting the followers of Yeshua, whom I consider to be in opposition to the… Continue reading Word Power
Press On
“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to… Continue reading Press On
Love From a Pure Heart
Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good… Continue reading Love From a Pure Heart
Paul the Apostle
This week our preacher summarized a very interesting characteristic about Paul, his view of himself and true humility. His epistles are so bold, insightful and emphatic, along with his life full of travels, struggles, and adventure, that it is hard to see much humility. Three separate scriptures lay out the scope of his humble attitude.… Continue reading Paul the Apostle
The Gift of Discerning of Spirits
"For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish… Continue reading The Gift of Discerning of Spirits
