Posts from November 2022 (Page 2)

                  Although it may not seem like it on the surface, a careful examination of ACTS 12, reveals to us a very interesting crossroads for the early Christians.  Up until this point, the church has just exploded in size and popularity with the only casualty being Stephen.  However, now it seems like the tables have turned on the disciples.  Herod had begun to exercise some of his power and might in being violent towards the early Christians and had…

                  As we continue the idea of having an “AHA Moment”, these moments also serve a purpose of conviction.  I wonder how proud Saul was of himself.  Afterall, he had done everything he could to stop a movement that he felt was detrimental to his culture, religion and way of life.  He had been driven by his studies in the Scriptures and his training to make sure he did all that was in his power to further their view…

                  We all have those “Aha Moments” in our lives.  You know…that moment when you uncover a small tidbit of information that leads you to be enlightened to a concept that you had been previously unaware.  Once that moment happens, your brain begins to move at light speed making connections, firing synapses, allowing you to understand things on a different level.  I believe it to be possible that we can have hundreds of the moments as we look back…

                  As a child, I Corinthians 15.33 was drilled into my brain by my parents and Sunday School teachers.  Being adults, they were fully aware of the power and influence they had in the life of a teen.  They had known and experienced the reality of this passage on countless occasions.  As I grew up and went into ministry, this passage served as a foundation principle of my youth ministry.  Not only did I believe that this verse was…

              The book of Acts really serves as a sequel to the Gospel of Luke.  His purpose in writing the Gospel is to provide an accurate description of all that Jesus did and taught, while also doing so in an orderly fashion.  In the book of Acts, he continues with the same type of preface concerning the church; it’s establishment and growth, as well as a clear description of the opening of the Gospel to the Gentiles.  As we…

              Can you blame Thomas?  I mean just consider for a moment what the disciples are saying, “We have seen the Lord.” Three days before, Jesus was dead and now they are saying that they have seen Him.  He must have thought, “Come on fellas, this is one horrible joke…don’t do this to me.”  He also must have seemed very adamant about his next statement to his friends, “Unless I see in His hands the mark of the nails…

                                                                                                                    Talk about being between a rock and a hard place; Pilate was stuck right in the middle of T-R-O-U-B-L-E. On one side, he has an uprising of the Jews in the making, just waiting on Him to decide concerning Jesus.  On the other side, he has his wife. Matthew 27.19 tells us that she is highly encouraging him to do nothing with Jesus because He is innocent.  Now I…

              As Jesus prepares to leave the upper room with His disciples, He leaves them with some very challenging, yet comforting news.  “I have said these things to you that in Me you shall have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart: I have overcome the word” (John 16.33).  Jesus was correct; every one of these Disciples will face a great deal of tribulation in their lives as they live for the sake of the…

              Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who was best known for creating a chart  that defined a hierarchy of human needs.  At his foundational level were those physiological needs that must be met for survival, such as food, water and shelter.  However, as you progressed on his charts, you found other basic needs that human beings must have to survive, like comfort, safety and stability.  These levels progress until we reach the final level he calls, “Self Actualization”.   It…

                  The Word of God is so rich in the lessons, it can teach us even when we are not expecting it.  In the reading for today, Jesus heals a man that has been blind since birth.  This man had never been able to experience the gift of sight that we so often take for granted.  The miracle gets the attention of the Jews as they notice the man who had formerly been a blind beggar, now walking around…

              No one likes to be accused of doing something that they didn’t do.  In the case of Jesus, He is no different.  From the moment He began His ministry till the moment He ascended back into heaven, all He had done was good.   He had never defrauded anyone, never taking advantage of anyone, He had not even committed one sin.  Yet, the people that should have recognized who He was, are the very people that are accusing Him…

            In John 5 we find a man that had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.  In hopes of receiving some type of relief or healing, this man had been lying at the pool that was in Bethesda by the Sheep Gate for a long time.   The reason he was there is because in this pool some believed that an angel would come and stir up the waters offering some type of healing.  This healing however would only…