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A Trial or An Opportunity

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Trials or Opportunities Acts 16-21 “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (16:25).                   It had not been a good day. In fact, it had been a day that would cause many to question whether their ministry was worth the pain. When Paul began his second missionary journey, he intended to travel the same route as the first and revisit the churches he had established. However, when they began their journey, something happened that changed everything. The text does not specifically tell us what led to the change of plans. Whatever the external circumstances Paul encountered, he saw them as the work of the Holy Spirit preventing him. It was not until they arrived in Troas that God made his plans clear. Instead of revisiting the churches, God desired for them to embark into the unreached regions of Macedonia an...
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Why Does God Not Answer Our Prayer

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The Hardest Question Acts 11-15 “And he (Herod) had James, the brother of John, put to death with a sword… When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod.” (Acts 12:2, 11)                   The most perplexing question we struggle with is “Why?” Why do circumstances happen? Why is one person healed of cancer while another is not? Why do bad things happen to some while others enjoy God’s blessing and tranquility? These are not just hypothetical questions but ones we deal with all the time in life. We read the scriptures where God promises to answer our prayers, and then we see that evident in our lives. But there are other times when we pray and heaven remains silent, seemingly indifferent to the plight we are facing.                 ...
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An Encourager or Condemner

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Being a Barnabas Acts 6-10 “But Barnabas took hold of him and brought him to the apostles…”                   It is easy to see the worst in people. Since the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden, sin has reigned in people's hearts, making us all sinners who manifest our sinful nature. When we embrace Christ as our savior, we are given new life, but this new life is not the end of our transformation; it is the beginning. Even though our sins are forgiven and we are now indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we still struggle with the daily reality of our sinful nature present within us. Even the godliest person still does ungodly actions and manifests ungodly attitudes. As a result, we can always find fault in others and reasons to condemn their actions.                   Saul (whose name was later change...
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Conducting a checkup on your spiritual health.

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Conducting a Spiritual Health Check Acts 1-5 “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship and to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42).                   Every year I go to the doctor for my yearly checkup. As I get older, it becomes more important because my risk for health issues increases. What is true of our physical bodies is equally true of our spiritual life. We need to continually conduct a spiritual checkup to evaluate our spiritual vitality. However, we often think that the longer we are a Christian, the less important it becomes because we have become more mature in our faith. This is a false illusion. When we look in the pages of Scripture, we discover that many who failed in their spiritual relationship with God did so toward the end of their lives. They started well but finished poorly. David had a heart for God and was referred to...
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Going Back to the Beginning

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Going Back to the Beginning John 16-21 “And Jesus said to them, ‘Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you will find a catch.’ So they cast, and they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.” (John 21:6).                   Sometimes, when we fail, the best place to start is not by picking up where we left off, but by going back to the very beginning. When Jesus was arrested and crucified, the disciples were devastated and disillusioned. They could not comprehend what had happened. In their view, the Messiah was a political figure who would come and restore the glory of Israel by freeing the land from the oppressive rule of the Romans. Therefore, when they came to arrest Jesus, Peter was ready to start the campaign by fighting. However, all their dreams and aspirations were shattered when Jesus went with the mob to face his crucifixion. If Jesus was the Messiah...
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The Test of Discipleship

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  The Test of Discipleship John 11-15 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.”                   How do we distinguish between a genuine disciple of Jesus and a false disciple? Not everyone who claims to be a disciple is genuine. Judas was accepted into the inner circle of the disciples. He was likely well-respected by the other disciples, since he was chosen to manage the team’s finances. Yet we know that, in the end, he was a mere pretender, someone who claimed to be a faithful disciple of Christ but was motivated by his own ambitions rather than genuine faith. It is easy to give lip service to Christ and still fail to be fully devoted to Christ. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns, “Many will say to Me on that Day, “Lord, Lord…’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew ...
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Finding Hope in a Hopeless World

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Finding Hope when Hope is Gone John 6-10 8:12, “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”                   If you have ever been in a cave with no light, you know what it is like to be in absolute darkness, a darkness so complete that you cannot even tell what is up or down. Your world is so dark that you cannot tell which direction to go.  It is both paralyzing and terrifying. It is one thing to be in physical darkness, but it is quite another to be in spiritual darkness, to be without any hope or any clear answer for life. Our culture is in a time of spiritual darkness. One reason our culture is so divided and polarized is that people lack clear perspective or hope. There is something deep within us that recognizes that something is wrong in our society and that we are rapidly ...
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