- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2727
Acts 15:22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.
A big part of our lives with Christ is being able to share the gospel with others; and this is not just to those around us but to all the world.
It is not possible for us to announce the gospel in person to the whole world, but we can send others out to do that bidding for and with us!
As churches we need to acknowledge the need for others to go out in our name and share the good news; that means they will need our support!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2403
Acts 15:20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood.
What sort of things do you do for people who you know are trying to find out about God?
Do you rush in and tell them of every verse you remember and tell them how them must adhere to all of God’s rules?
Or do you encourage them towards a more acceptable life to your God?
It is the attitude toward your relationship with them and with Christ that will talk more than words and rules. Jesus loved people openly.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2723
Acts 15:16 After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up;
A long time before Jesus came to live amongst the Jews, the prophets heard from God how He would come and do this all.
The prophets told of the days when the Messiah would be killed and would rise up again afterward to show once and for all that He was above everything.
Sometimes we need reminding of the things God has written down because we make our own stories and they tend to fill our minds and hearts.
Keep God’s words fresh in your hearts and live for Him.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2669
Acts 15:9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
When the people in charge of the Jews and the Jewish customs and laws said that everyone had to be circumcised just as the Jews are, someone had to stand up and tell the truth.
When the disciples did so, they came up against the people in charge because it was a change to the laws; or so it seemed.
When God gave the people the Holy Spirit, it was because of faith in the belief and not because of human laws.
Trust God and believe in His word.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2729
Acts 14:27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Don’t keep God’s good news to yourself! Christ opened up the gospel to all who were willing to listen and then He sent disciples and apostles out to everyone!
It is also important to report back to the church what is happening and what you are doing; encouraging others by showing them you are willing to go forward is always good.
Even better when we are able to tell them good news. God is good!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2671
Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
What better news for us to hear than one more person believing in Jesus Christ! Well, OK, hearing lots of people believe…
But when we are the ones working away trying to get people to believe in our unseen God we may well get despondent when people say no or even mock us.
Don’t give up on working for Christ; we may not get people surrounding us saying they believe but we can still rejoice when we hear of others taking that step forward!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2545
Acts 14:12 And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
When people see how faithful you are or how much you know about the bible, they may well lift you up on a pedestal. Don’t fall for it!
Allowing people to treat you as gods is exactly what Satan did in the beginning and what separated him from God.
Allow God to work in your life. Allow Him to do amazing things with you. Allow Him to guide you. Just don’t think it is you who is doing this when God is doing all the work behind the scenes!
Show people who God is and give Him all the glory, always.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2670
Acts 14:9 This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,
When the apostles fled from their aggressors they continued to preach the gospel where they went seeing more people wanting to come to faith and be healed.
Telling who is genuine in their faith is not always easy, but some people just beam with excitement when they hear God’s Word preached.
Wanting to be healed and having faith to be healed will show up quite easily… let someone else see your faith today!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2664
Acts 14:2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren.
Once doubt sets in to a group of people they either fall apart or they start sharing their doubt and breaking down faith where it used to be.
We have been warned against a little evil getting into a group many times in the bible, and yet we think we are stronger than the doubt.
Don’t try to fight doubt by yourself or by your own words, always use what God has given us because he knows about this doubt already.
Use God’s words wisely and always.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2702
Acts 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.
How many of you belong to a church which is overflowing with people? Most of us probably do not belong to such churches…
If you belong to a small church struggling to keep going then you may well be in the majority!
Be careful not to change the rules to suit yourself because in doing so you may well be fighting against God!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2681
Acts 13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.
This is what it is all about! How wonderful it would be to see the majority of people from your town or city all going to church every week!
God wants each one of us, no matter where we are from or what status we hold in society, to come to Him and enjoy the life He has promised for us.
In order to do that each one of us has to hear the word of God so we can know how to get the life He has promised us.
Share the gospel with those around you.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2657
Acts 13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
The first place Paul and Barnabas preached was in the synagogue for the Jews because that is what was probably expected of them.
The people obviously came out of the synagogue talking about everything which had been said and the Gentiles wanted to hear all about this truth because they were normally left out of things!
Jesus did not say the disciples had to go to all the Jews only and tell them the truth. He did not say discriminate so we have a pure race. Jesus said go out into all the world and preach the gospel.
That is why Paul and Barnabas went out to all people!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2779
Acts 13:32 And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers.
This plan was not something hatched up on the spur of the moment as Jesus was caught by the authorities; this is something which had been promised a long time ago.
God showed the people there was hope. God did as much as anyone would expect to show people they had hope in Him…
And yet when God does things for us and with us we continue to have doubts just as the people did back then… even as Jesus life unfolded before their very eyes!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2857
Acts 13:30 But God raised Him from the dead.
I don’t think there are too many more important words in our bibles than these! God raised up Jesus from the dead to defeat death and sin once and for all!
This was God’s plan. He had to watch Jesus go through so much as a human, the suffering, both physical and otherwise just because of what was coming next.
But His plan did not end at the sacrifice on the cross, His plan included raising up Jesus back to heavenly realms to show we have a future with Him too!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2725
Acts 13:29 Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb.
God had the plan. He told people about it through the prophets and kings. People believed it would happen…
But when it happened right in front of their eyes they did not want to believe it!
We see many things happen because God is still doing many things in our world, and yet we chose to not believe because it seems easier to ignore the truth.
Step up, step forward and embrace the truth and all that goes with it; this is the life God wants us to live!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2627
Acts 13:27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him.
It is easy to look back on something which has happened and say that we would have done it differently because we know how it happened.
The Jews had continued to read the scriptures, study them and pass them down through generations; and yet they still got it wrong.
We will get things wrong in our lives, but it is what we do afterward to correct things which is going to count.
Don’t be left with people telling you how you should have done it, change what you are doing now…
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2778
Acts 13:16 Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:
God wants us to tell other people what we know. He does not ask us to teach people every single details about Him or even Israel’s history, just what we know.
Paul had a good understanding about the history of the people, about the scriptures, the prophets and kings and now about Jesus and the fulfilment of all of those stories.
So that is what he recounts here, in simple terms to allow the people around him to understand Jesus.
Share what you know to allow people to understand a bit more about what they are seeking for.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2479
Acts 13:4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
You are not going to be sent out by a person to go and do God’s will; it is God who will separate you from the crowd through the Holy Spirit and send your out.
What use would we be in the world alone where the evil one has his ways? We need God with us every step of the way. We need the Holy Spirit’s guidance continually.
Trusting in God means relying on His word and depending on the Holy Spirit for daily guidance and strength.
Don’t try go it alone when God has already given you a companion!
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2682
Acts 13:3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
The early Christians were doing what they could to follow Christ and His ways. They had listened to and learned from Jesus their teacher and Messiah.
Now they were acting out the teachings in the ways of Christ. Simply telling someone to go out and do things because it seems like a good idea may not be what Christ wants.
In order to put aside our selfish ambitions we have to stop and listen to God; often that will entail us doing a bit more praying and listening but also putting aside our earthly pleasures to focus on God’s will instead of our own.
- Details
- Written by: DJ Dave
- Category: Devotionals
- Hits: 2728
Acts 12:22 And the people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”
Herod met a very strange end to his life; not one we would have expected and certainly not one he saw coming!
God had given him every chance to turn away from the self-glorifying position he had elevated himself into and to give glory to God, but he never took that up.
Instead he continued to do things as he saw fit, rule as he wanted and even judge others as he saw fit; he took other peoples’ lives because he wanted to!
God is watching over us and He continues to warn us to do what is righteous; we need to listen!