Fearing Transformation

There he stands in your doorway, the man who had been threatening you and your friends now wants to join your group. Would you trust him and take him in? This is the situation the disciples of Jesus faced when Saul of Tarsus appeared at their doorstep. His reputation of making murderous threats against the […]

The Threat of Jesus

There are times faith in Jesus will require difficult choices that may affect your livelihood. In Acts 19:23-41, there is a “man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen (verse 24, NASB).” It’s a pretty good racket. People come to worship at the temple […]

Comfort From Affliction

When we are in the middle of struggles in life, it is hard to see any purpose in it. From my own experience a few years ago, when I felt trapped in a very traumatic situation with no evident end in sight, it all felt pointless. Day after day, as the trauma continued, it was […]

The Fruit of a Clean Heart

In Psalm 51, David is expressing a repentant heart after he had “gone in with Bathsheba.” He seeks “a clean heart” and “a steadfast spirit (10, NASB).” David knows what his predecessor Saul experienced after he repeatedly sinned against God. “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the […]

Standing Guard with Prayer

Word of a new believer in Christ is a joyful moment, particularly if you’ve been praying for their salvation for a long time. It is also a time to shift the focus of your prayer to their maturing faith. Paul gave us a good guide for such a prayer in Collosians 1:3-12 after he heard […]

Seeing Good in Trials

It is hard to see the good when bad things happen. I have often turned to God in the middle of something tragic and asked Him, “Why?” I know God is always at work, but often I don’t understand the purpose of trials. Paul reminds us in Phillipians 1:12-14 that our struggles and trials can […]

Misjudged

They were jailed under false charges by men who cared more about money than anything else. Not just jailed, but beaten and locked in an inner prison with their feet fastened in stocks. There Paul and Silas sat, punished for something they did not do. When I am treated wrongly, falsely accused or harshly treated, […]

#WednesdayWalk —Sober Truth

I felt fortunate to finally hear this man speak. So many talked about Paul and his devotion to a dead man named Jesus. I stood with the others in the auditorium as Paul was brought in. He looked nothing like the radical I envisioned. The room fell silent as Festus explained to King Agrippa that […]

Sunday Praise

“But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;” Acts 16:25 (NASB)

Imprisoned to Save

It sounds so unfair that Paul and Silas are imprisoned because of this act — because of money. Yet we soon learn that God has other purposes for this event…