Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers. —Acts 12:24 Sickness is spread by contact with others. We have seen one of the children get sick at the daycare and then before you know it spreads to other and they there are many sick children. It is because they are in close contact with each other. How does the Word of God spread and impact others? In happens in a similar way as the illustration above. We need to be in close contact with other people and share the Word of God with them that the Word might “germinate” in their lives. In 1st…

And this is what he says to all humanity: The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding. —Job 28:28 How much understanding does our world truly have? Who in fact has understanding in America or any country? Where are the wise men? It is only those who have a “fear of the Lord” and the ones who “forsake evil.” We can see the world’s “fear of the Lord” waning more and more as evil increases. But what the Lord says to all humanity still stands. Where do you and I fit in? We are to forsake evil and do what is good and we…

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon…

HATE EVIL & CLING TO WHAT IS GOOD, GODLY The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers. —Acts 9:31 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8Qby8TKLME This is how the early church grew stronger and then by the Holy Spirit’s encouragement the early church also grew in numbers. They had a proper fear of the Lord. “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech” (Proverbs 8:13). “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD…

Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains. As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the…

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was…

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. —Job 1:20-22 I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain. —Job 7:11 I am disgusted with my life. Let me complain freely. My bitter soul must complain. —Job 10:1 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him……

“I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. —Job 1:20-22 Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job…

But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. —Acts 5:29 “So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!” The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted…

How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too. —Acts 5:9 Do we understand the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man? Have we understood the purity of God and the utter disgustingness of sin before Him? In the context of the verse above, Ananias and Sapphira thought they could agree to lie before the Lord God Almighty without ramifications, but they both “fell down and died” because of their conspiring to lie together against Him (Acts 5:5, 10). Think…