Jeremiah 29:11-14a – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord…
Sometimes nothing seems settled. Solid ground begins to move. Rains of change come and make the ground slippery, or mushy and the path one has been travelling on, and planning on, begins to change. The future we thought we could see becomes obscured, or hidden, by changing conditions of life. A journey can seem so pleasantly comfortable, it can seem so secure, and then small, or large change-it-all events can be seen approaching. What do we do then?
Hopefully we don’t look up and angrily voice our fears and frustrations to God. Even God ordained ministries change. Where we had landed and thrived becomes a point of launching out and not of permanence. Comfortable retirement becomes an ending of one phase that brings another phase. God places us in places but that does not mean we are there to stay. Many times, it is likely to be temporary. The futures we see can change. Jesus told us to live in the day (Matthew 6:34, Luke 12:16-21). We are seek God with all that we are (Luke 12:31, 34). We are not to cling to anything or any person on earth, but rather to cling first and foremost to God. So when changes come we do not feel devastated and are left wondering, but rather we look to our Father God and say from our hearts “Okay Lord, where do we go today? Lead me Lord and I will follow. Show me where to step and there I will step. Lord God, I trust Your love and I trust You.”
Life changes. We were never promised it would not. The only constant is God. He does not change. His love and faithfulness are sure and unchanging. However the circumstances of life change, even the ministries that God has placed us in. Some things, like marriage and love of our parents and children, are meant to be permanent. Our trust in God does not waiver, but grows stronger as He continues to lead us over changing ground. We may be led where we hoped not to go. We may encounter life events that we hoped would never come. All the events of life, even the ministries we are placed in, are subject to change. Let us cling to the only true constant and that is the faithfulness and love of our God. When life on earth changes, God does not (Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17, Malachi 3:6). Let’s keep our eyes on Him and our ears open to hear Him and walk in unshakeable faith that He is, and will always be, in control. Praise our God whom we trust! Praise our God who so greatly loves us! He has a good plan for all of us. Praise God for who He is! At all times and in all circumstances, praise and trust God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob withActs 12:5-10 – So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
“The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.” Peter was sleeping. He was fully aware that Herod had a plan to kill him the next day. What we be doing in Peter’s situation? Would we be awake all night crying and praying? Certainly crying out to God would be a good thing. Peter was sleeping. He knew that his life was not in Herod’s hands, but in God’s hand and he was ready to trust and accept God’s will for his life. He was at peace. He slept. What great faith!
“Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.” Peter was not sleeping a troubled sleep, he was sleeping soundly. The bright light shone in the cell as an angel from God appeared. The angel had to wake Peter up by striking him on the side. Imagine being Peter who went to sleep in a dark cell and being awakened to a poke in the side, a bright light and the shackles on each arm falling off him and, an angel telling him to quickly get up.
“Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision.” The angel told Peter to get dressed and be quick about it. We can hardly blame Peter that all this, out of a deep sleep, seemed surreal. It is likely that we have all been woken up from a sound sleep and it took us a bit to get our bearings. Peter thought he was seeing a vision, but he had had those before and was obedient in this vision, not resistant like the vision in which he had to accept Cornelius (Acts 10).
“They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.” The angel freed Peter from the shackles, got Peter dressed, walked him out of jail past the large iron gate leading to the city (which swung open before them) and walked Peter down the street all while waking no guards and no other prisoner. Although it was nighttime and unlikely anyone would have been on the streets, Peter was not seen leaving. Then the angel disappeared. His job was done. Peter was out of immediate danger. In V5 Herod had Peter put in jail intending to kill him, but the church was praying. These was spiritual warfare happening. Quite literally evil vs. good. As we knew, and as we know, the will of good, of God, won out, it wins every time.
These verses are excellent to hold onto during our trials. All may seem to be lost but we know that it is God who is in control. Even if death seems like a real possibility we trust God. Whether we perish or are saved, God is in control. Peter was exhibiting walk-on-troubled-water faith. God delivered Him. We hold onto eternal life with Jesus and not temporary life. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus and trusting Him. Praise God that He is always faithful. We can trust Him through all our troubles. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob withActs 12:5-10 – So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.
“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Peter was in prison for several days as Herod Agrippa was waiting for the feasts of Passover and Unleavened Bread to end. Herod would then put Peter through a mock trial. Again, he had the power to execute Peter without a trial, but He wanted a display to galvanize some support for himself.
People can be good at clouding the issues. They want us to consider supposed facts that are a sham. Don’t be deceived by pseudo intellectuals on bogus documentaries on supposed scientific or history cable stations. Don’t even watch them. They display people with titles to muddy the minds to not see what is clear to see. This situation is clear. It is black and white. It is evil versus good. It is Herod Agrippa being used by the devil to attack the church of Messiah Jesus by arresting with the intent to kill one of Jesus’s top Apostles. Herod with the spirit of Satan on him and Peter doing the will of the Lord. Plain and simple. Also the church was doing God’s will and praying for Peter. Evil versus good. Herod had the worldly power. The church was depending on God. Who would win? Family, that is easy. God always wins. We should never doubt that! However, because we don’t understand the outcome of matters we sometimes wonder if evil has prevailed. Never does evil prevail, it only thinks it did. Let us not concentrate on a tree so intently that we never see the forest surrounding it.
Some might say that evil was the winner when James was killed. Yet, who are we to say the full effect of the martyrdom of James? Let’s consider how the Lord responded to Job in Job 38-42. God drove home to Job the point that He alone knows all and Job, and we, know so little. He knows everything from eternity past, into creation and beyond creation into eternity. He knows what happens with every living person and animal. At the end of Job’s interrogation by God, Job is humbled and realizes that no man is able to know the full reason for things. Only God knows. It is arrogant for any person to think that they can judge God in any way. Don’t we want all the facts before we can make big decisions? Family, we never have all the facts, we can only gather what is known. But God has all the facts. Let’s always have faith in God and not doubt. Whoever does not have faith but doubts, that person sins (Romans 14:23). It is foolish to have limited knowledge about something and want to argue with someone who has all the facts and all the wisdom. Yes, James was killed and yet we know that God is good all the time and that He can be nothing but good. It is who He is. Also, we know that God loves us all the time and He will always love us (Jeremiah 31:3). That being true, what do we hold onto? Is it what we can deduce from our limited knowledge or is it our knowledge of God and trust in Him who is unlimited in knowledge, goodness and love? Family, let everyone decide their understanding and faithfulness to God. “…as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) I refuse to believe beings that God created, who are vastly inferior to him (including myself) instead of believing God. No, our faith is in God and it is in Him we believe with unwavering faith. This is not ignorant faith. This is informed faith. We needn’t know all the facts of worldly happenings (and we never do). Even the best of our knowledge is not full. We know the facts of the ineffaceable goodness and love of our God. So we can depend on the partial truth of our understanding or on the perfect truth that God is good and He loves us. Our decision to trust God rather than man is the most informed decision! Let the world look at what they can deduce from the happenings of the world. We will look at the infinite and complete Truth, we look to God and embrace Him. Praise God! Let the world count us fools and God call us wise and His own. We don’t want to please people, we want to please God (Galatians 1:10).
The church was crying out to God to save Peter. Would God save him from death at the hands of Herod? Or would Peter die as James did? Family, whether Peter died or lived had nothing to do with the eternal truth of God’s innate goodness, love and His ability to bring about His will. That is what we know. However, God is kind and has decided in His beyond-us-wisdom to make our prayers matter. He has, by His own will, often worked through the prayers of the saints. The prayers of saints who are perpetually having their hearts, minds and wills changed to become more like Him and His will. We shall see how worldly power matters not, the outcome of the matter belongs to God. We should never stop having the motto, in spite of those who know nothing, “In God we trust.” Praise God! Family, read the Book, in the end, we who love and serve God will receive the eternal rewards of God. We receive them through Jesus. May our faith never waiver and it never does by the power of Him who is able keep our souls that are committed to Him (2 Timothy 1:12, Philippians 1:6). God is good all the time and He loves us. We know nothing more than that to the glory and praise of God! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob withActs 12:1-4 – It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.” This is not the same King Herod who in Matthew 2:16-18 ordered the death of the infants in an effort to try to kill Jesus. He was known as Herod the Great. This Herod is Herod Agrippa, who is the grandson of Herod the Great. He was appointed to this position by having been friends with emperors Claudius and the evil emperor Caligula. Herod Agrippa’s grandfather had not only ordered the death of infants, he had killed his own family in an effort to keep his throne safe. The evil of men fighting for a worldly power knows no depth to which one will descend. We must look and shudder and keep our eyes on Jesus. Evil abounds in these evil times.
“He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also.” Herod Agrippa was a man who, like his grandfather, would do much evil. Nowadays we would consider such a person to be criminally insane and labeled a monster. To Rome, he was a useful tool to keep the Jews in line. Herod Agrippa focused his eyes on the Christians for a selfish reason. He could placate the Jews, which was important for him to help keep his job. Rome did not want to hear of uprisings that had to be squelched. They only wanted the monetary tribute from Israel, not problems. Herod Agrippa figured if he got rid of Christian leaders that would please the Jews (The leaders). So when it pleased the Jewish leaders that he had James killed by the sword (likely beheaded) he intended to kill more Christian leaders. How easy it was for him to kill. Life was not precious to him. When a nation no longer values life there is no end to the evil to which they will descend. Of course that begins with leaders who do not know God and don’t want to know God.
“This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each.” He arrested Peter amidst holy days. He put him in jail with four quaternions of soldiers to guard him. Peter had his right arm handcuffed to one soldier and his left arm to another. Then two guards stood watch. There were four groups of men so that they could take shifts. Herod Agrippa wanted to make sure that Peter did not escape either on his own or that his friends did not come and try to jail break him. Usually one quaternion was enough, Herod ordered four of them to keep watch Peter.
“Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.” This “trial” was not be a real trial. Herod was king and people were killed because he said to kill them, no trial needed. However, remembering that he wanted to please the Jews, he intended to make a big display of killing Peter. This display, he figured, would scare the followers of Jesus and perhaps be the end of that “movement” and that would greatly please the Jewish leaders. Also, Herod had no reason to wait until after Passover. There was no law that bound him to do so. Again, it was Jewish law to wait. So instead of immediately killing Peter, Herod waited for the opportunity. Peter, to him, was a prize to display and he well-guarded this prize.
But God. A wonderful phrase. We will see that it is God who can step in and bring about His will, especially in response to the prayers of His children. We shall see how God supernaturally saved then, and He still saves now. Praise our God! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob withPsalm 119:147 – I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.
In the morning when I rise, I look to You my precious Lord. I seek You more than I seek sight. More than vision when my eyes open I need You to be with me. Surely you are more certain. Most important in the morning is that my spirit confirm to me that You are with me. I say “Good Morning Lord” and listen. What will You say to me today? Will You give me blessed words from Your lips, or will you merely let me know that You are with me? More than words it is Your presence I need. If You are with me I am safe and all is well. As the dreams are cleared from my head I need only Your assuring presence. “Good Morning Lord,” thank you Lord. Sometimes specific gratitudes are mentioned, but the list of things for which I am grateful to You are endless. Good Morning Lord I utter to You. You are first. Always first. Good morning Lord. I am in peace. You are with me. What more do I need?
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob withActs 11:25-30 – Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 27 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
“Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.” Barnabas went to look for Saul. It is interesting to note how scholars will consider why Barnabas went to look for Saul. We tend to project how we would do something onto others. So those who rely first on our minds figure that Barnabas considered Saul’s great scriptural scholarship and so went to get him. Yet, there were plenty of knowledgeable teachers in Jerusalem. Barnabas could have went south to Jerusalem, but instead went north to Tarsus. It seems more likely that this “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” was guided by the Holy Spirit to seek out Saul. The smart choice was to get known and degreed teachers from Jerusalem, whom he could easily locate, to come to teach these new converts. The “smart” option was not the well-educated but not Christian experienced new guy. Surely the Holy Spirit reminded Barnabas that the Lord had called Saul, soon to be Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Saul had his conversion experience about ten years previously. The first try of Paul of sharing about Jesus was not to the Gentiles, as he had clearly been called. His first two tries at ministering were to the Jews, and both times he had to flee as they were going to kill him. He had ended up in Tarsus and while it is hard to imagine that he was not talking to the people there about Jesus, for the most part, it seems that Paul had been set aside for a time. We know it is not unusual for God to prepare His servants to be used. Moses went through forty years of preparing. It would seem that the Holy Spirit reminded Barnabas of Paul and sent him to bring this ten-year bench warmer to Antioch. It was his time to be put into the game plan.
Barnabas did not have an address in which to find Saul. The word translated as “look for” in the NIV and “to seek” in the KJV has a meaning of searching out. More specifically, to desperately search, like a parent searching for a lost child. In fact, the only other time this word was used in the New Testament was in Luke 2:44 when Mary and Joseph were frantically searching for Jesus after He was not with them after the Passover feast in Jerusalem. So Barnabas was trying desperately to find where, after these many years, Saul was. When God sends you, you look till you find.
“So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.” Barnabas, the great encourager and comforter, worked with Saul, the powerful man of scripture who came to Jesus through a supernatural encounter with Jesus, and God blessed them in teaching the brothers and sisters of Antioch. Saul was off the bench and God was going to use him powerfully. How grand it must have been for those in Antioch to study and be blessed by Barnabas and Saul!
“The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” The term Christian was a description for those who followed Christ. Just as the “ian” was used of people who followed Herod and were called Herodians. This also illustrates that “Christ” (Meaning Messiah) was already a proper name for Jesus. They were called Christians, not Jesusians. Jesus was known as being known as the one called Christ. Praise God!
“During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.” Here is where those who lean on wrong tradition will hurriedly point out that yes there were prophets in the church then, but not now. They cannot accurately use any scripture to establish that the office of the prophet has passed. The gifts of God to bless the church then, are still for the church now. The prophets blessed and encouraged the people then, and the office is still the same for the church now. Good things these are gifts from God the Holy Spirit and not from the doctrine of men!
“One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)” In those days, to say that something effected the entire Roman world was taken the same as one would say something effected the whole world. For them, Rome had control of most of it.
Agabus said that a famine was coming and it would spread over the entire Roman world. Two famines did hit and the effect of them were felt throughout the Roman Empire at different times. In Jerusalem the famine struck them about 34 AD. The prophecy was given during the reign of Claudius, but famine did not come during his reign.
“The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.” The new brothers and sisters heard of the coming famine and decided to take up an offering for those in Jerusalem. They were in a position to do so.
Let’s notice that they did not decide to buy weapons, and food and store water and then go to locations they could defend against anyone who might be coming in need and asking for help. No, they said we have, let us give. They did as the Lord would do. Can anyone who truly has the love of God within, the love that brought Jesus from Heaven to earth, can they truly horde food and water and shoot someone who comes with need for their selves and their families. Is that the love of God? No, anyone who has the love of God within gives. Those who don’t have the love of God don’t give. Anyone who does not have the love of God does not know God (1 John 4:8).
Saul may have wondered what was happening to him. He knew the Lord called him to be the Apostle to the Gentiles, yet he was not being used. Saul needed to be patient and allow the work of God on him to have its full effect. He had to trust God and His plan. We also, may go through times of preparation. Let us likewise trust God and His plan for us. This is infinitely better than trusting ourselves and our plans. God is good and He loves us. Let’s trust Him, praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob withLuke 6:45 – A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Of course, everything Jesus said was powerful, and these words of Jesus are very powerful. Jesus said that whatever we say and whatever we do come from what is living and growing in our hearts. These things in our hearts can be good things that the Holy Spirit has placed there. They can be good things like love and words of encouragement that bless others. Or they can be actions or words of anger that hurt, tear down and separate.
When we have love that lives within us then we naturally want to be loving and kind. We want to touch those around us and bless them and make their lives a little more joyful and peaceful. We want to do love with no ulterior motive, we just want to be a blessing to them. Love cannot be quiet. Sure people who love us and bless us can stir up our love, but they cannot stir up what is not there. Love is inherently active. It seeks to bless. Love within is always desiring to bless and love others whether someone is deserving of it or not. We see that love pouring out of us is not a revealing of who others are, but is a revealing of who we are.
When we have anger or hate that lives within us then we naturally spew words and deeds of anger. Anger within will touch those around us and hurt and wound them and make their lives a little less joyful and peaceful. We want to do that with no ulterior motive, anger is not contained, it reveals itself and causes us to want hurt others. Anger cannot be quiet. Sure people can stir up our anger, but they cannot stir up what is not there. Anger is inherently active. It seeks to hurt because it hurts. Hurt within is always desiring to hurt and wound whether someone is deserving of it or not. We see that anger and hurt pouring out of us is not a revealing of who others are, but is a revealing of who we are.
For the one with anger inside, don’t look to blame others. If anger is not within our heart, whether just a little or a lot, then no one can stir a flame that is not there. Instead, realize that what is wrong is what is within us, some people are just experts at poking the embers to make it rise. But if there is no fire, if there are no embers, then they have nothing to poke and stir up. If we have trouble with anger with our spouse, our children, friends, work associates, or whoever, don’t look to blame others. Look within and recognize the anger that is within and needs to get out. Isaiah 61:1 begins to state what the Messiah Jesus would do “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” The Good News is that Jesus saves. He make the spiritually poor rich. He came to heal the brokenhearted and set free prisoners of darkness. One of those darknesses is anger. Anger that was built there resulting from hurt, frustration, or as a defense against these. Jesus came to free us from anger in our hearts and place love there instead. It is of temporary value that darkness is chased away from our hearts and then nothing else takes its place. Evil may leave, but comes back and reclaims a space that is left void (Luke 11:24-26). So the Lord desires to free us from being captive to anger, but then He wants to fill it with love, so that there is no room for anger to return. Let’s cry out to Jesus that we want anger evicted from within us. Ask Him to chase it away, to wash us clean of it and to let love fill the void it left. Then no-one will ever again be able to stir up anger from within us, because it will not be there. Instead, when they attempt to poke the spot that formerly housed anger, they will find that love is now there and they will receive love rather than anger. Finally, stir up love daily, let it grow so that there is no room for anything else to enter. Love remains and grows as it is released to others. It is meant to be given back to God who gives it, and also to give it to each other. Thank you Jesus for setting us free. Thank you Spirit of God for healing us and growing love within us. Praise God the Father who is pleased with us being saved and changed. Praise God! Yes, praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob withActs 11:22-24 – News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
“News of this reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.” The leaders, who were the Apostles and James (1 Corinthians 15:7, Galatians 2:9) the half-brother of Jesus through Joseph and Mary (Matthew 13:55, Acts 1:14, Galatians 1:19) the mother of Jesus, sent Barnabas to check out the explosion of growth that was happening in Antioch. As we have noted, Antioch was a city full of gentile non-believers who lived in the midst of much idol worship. Yet, in the midst of this, God brought believers from Cyprus and Cyrene to ignite the dynamite message of the Gospel. So Barnabas, the encourager, was sent to find out if indeed the Gentiles were truly becoming born again and if they were, to encourage them to grow in the right teachings of Jesus.
“When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.” Barnabas arrived and saw what the grace of God had done. He saw what God had done. Yes, God chooses to use human believers to spread His Word, but no human believer ever caused any other human to believe. Only the love of God, offered through unmerited favor known as grace (that comes only through Jesus) saves. People share the Truth of God, but God is the one that prepares the hearts of mankind and calls those hearts to the foot of The Cross and saves them. All this is of God. If a carpenter uses a saw or an axe to cut wood, either way the credit for the work goes to the carpenter. In the same way we, the tool, takes no credit for the work. Without the hand of God we are like a saw laying on a table waiting to be used. A saw cannot get itself off the table and without a human hand cut lumber. In the same way we can do no work unless the hand of God is using us as a tool. Family, as we know, to God be the glory (Romans 11:36, Galatians 1:3-5). Let us never appropriate any, not even one little part of God’s glory, to ourselves. That is unacceptable to God (Isaiah 42:8). All the glory belongs to God and even the slightest effort, or desire on our part to claim glory that belongs to God has its roots in the darkest of places (Isaiah 14:12-17). To God alone be all glory! Only God does the work and only He gets the credit.
When Barnabas saw God’s handiwork then joy filled his heart and he was eager to encourage the new converts to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Here is all we need to become “saved.” We must declare with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord and truly believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). Family and Friends, God has truly made it simple for us to be saved. Know that Jesus is the Son of God, who came to be God in the flesh, so that He could save every person (who would believe in Him), that He died for our sins and was risen from the dead and now calls us all to believe in Him and follow Him to Heaven. That’s it. Jesus calls all to believe in Him, to love Him, and to follow (obey) Him. That’s it. Very uncomplicated. It is men that complicate things. Just like some in the early church, with right intentions, tried to convolute the simplicity by which God has given to men to be saved. Jesus broke down what a person needed to do to two commandments and He said that everything else that a man does as homage to God is encapsulated in those two verses. Those two commandments are to first, foremost, and far above anything else, love God with all that we are. The second is to love each other as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). If we truly love our Father God then we will love and honor His son. No good man welcomes another into his home who dishonors his wife and children. Neither does God allow anyone into His house who does not love and honor His son. It is part of loving God. Jesus is the door to Heaven (John 14:6). Barnabas, though he surely taught them from scripture, did not tell them to memorize scripture to continue enter into the love of God through Jesus. He told them to remain true, to be faithful to Jesus and to do so with all their hearts. All who receive salvation from God have loved Jesus and were excited to meet and know Him. Keep that fervor for Jesus. Stay on fire. Stay excited. If we are on fire, if we are excited, then that will produce a hunger for Word of God that will grow us closer to God and grow us in the truths of His Word. But love of and for God is the root of our relationship with Him. Let’s stay honeymoon-in-love with God and never let that fade, but instead grow into a mature love that can never be broken.
“He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Notice that, as is often done, God pointed out that Barnabas was filled with the Holy Spirit. Again, it is important to understand, that all who love Jesus have the Holy Spirit. Every believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. Then why is it important to note that Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit? It is clear to all who have not allowed the mud of wrong doctrine to blur their vision, that there is the further happening of the Holy Spirit. When we come to the Lord, the Holy Spirit comes and makes His home within us and He stays with us forever. But the scriptures, and certainly in the book of Acts, it is clear that there is also the dynamic empowering of the Holy Spirit that is different than the receiving of the Holy Spirit at new life. Not different in kind, but different with cause. So it is noted that Barnabas was “full” of the Holy Spirit. Something powerful. Something Pentecost-like, that was different, and above, than what happens at spiritual awakening. Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit and full of faith and so, a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Tools used by the Lord do not set up self-idols within those who are brought to the Lord. No, unbelievers are brought to foot of cross to gaze up at Jesus. It is there the evangelist tells the non-believer to look up and behold his Savior. The evangelist says don’t look at me or anyone else, look up and see what Jesus has done. Then the non-believer is taken to the empty tomb to see that the crucified Lord is no longer there. Next the non-believer’s eyes are pointed up to the sky, that Jesus ascended into, and told Him that Jesus ascended to be with the Father and that He is coming back so that all of His people can forever be with the Father and He throughout eternity. That’s what we tools do! And we are blessed to be used. To God be the Glory! To Him and only Him! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
by Bob with