MAKE DISCIPLES! And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into…

REPENT! Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin. —Acts 8:22-23 Sin is not to have dominion over the follower of Jesus Christ — “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 67:14). Is there something in your life or mine that we need to repent of? 3340 metanoéō (from 3326 /metá, “changed after being with” and 3539 /noiéō, “think”) – properly, “think differently after,” “after a change of mind”; to repent (literally, “think…

STIFFED-NECKED You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! —Acts 7:51 STIFF-NECKED stif’-nekt (qesheh `oreph, literally, “hard of neck”): As it is figuratively used, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the word means “stubborn,” “untractable,” “not to be led.” The derivation of the idea was entirely familiar to the Jews, with whom the ox was the most useful and common of domestic animals. It was especially used for such agricultural purposes as harrowing and plowing (Judges 14:18; 1 Corinthians 9:9). The plow was usually drawn by two oxen. As the plowman required…

BE REAL! “What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” —Acts 5:4 A lie is not telling the truth. It can appear that people are telling the truth, but that is because they have veiled the lie with just enough truth as to make it look like they are telling the truth. But God sees beyond the veil into the human heart. He knows all that is going in our inner-most being. Nothing is hidden from His sight— “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him…

ENCOURAGEMENT Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement) —Acts 4:36 How can one truly be an encouragement to someone else? How can they bring comfort to someone who is in need of comforting? It can only be done if the one seeking to encourage or comfort someone else has been encouraged or comforted themselves. This sincere comfort and encouragement can only come from God. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For…

PRAISE HIM! “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Then they prayed: “May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise! “You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you. —Nehemiah 9:5-6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6ZTMUjkx3Q “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers…

JOY! This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. —-Nehemiah 8:10 Joy is not dependent on circumstances, happiness is. True joy is determined by relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Circumstances and situations may change, but those who have a relationship with God through Jesus have a relationship that will NEVER change! Nothing or no one can change that. Nor can anything or anyone take away our joy! Jesus Others Yourself When we get the focus off of ourselves as first priority and focus on Jesus we experience joy. When we get our focus off self and…

DO HIS WORK! Meanwhile, our enemies were saying, “Before they know what’s happening, we will swoop down on them and kill them and end their work.” —Nehemiah 4:11 As followers of our Lord Jesus Christ we need to always be aware that we are in spiritual warfare. Satan and his demonic armies are destroyers. That is what they seek to do. When Nehemiah and the Jews were rebuilding the wall Satan’s dark kingdom worked through their enemies seeking to hinder them. Yes, the enemies even had a desire to kill them so the work would end. Now, fellow follower of Jesus, don’t think our enemy today is any less desirous…

KNOW…GROW…SHOW… This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the Law of the Lord and to teach those decrees and regulations to the people of Israel. —Ezra 7:10 “Then feed my lambs” —John 21:15 “Then take care of my sheep” —John 21:16 “Then feed my sheep” —John 21:17 Is this the determination of your heart and mine? How committed are you and I to the Word of God… to know it? To obey it? To teach it? Is this the desire of my heart and yours? May it be so! Ezra wanted to know what God’s Word said. Then he wanted to obey God’s Word himself. But then…

FAITH— “is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). “I have seen the Lord!” —John 20:18 “We have seen the Lord!” —John 20:25 “I won’t believe it unless I see…” —John 20:25 “You believe because you have seen me…” —John 20:29 “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” —John 20:29 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-m9sRRN9MA I have not seen Jesus with my physical eyes, but the evidence for Who He is all around us. I would have told you that it was an audible voice speaking to me when He called me to Himself. The conviction of His Holy Spirit was powerful. Jesus does…