Acts 19

N Acts,it is mentioned a lot that the disciples were going to The Scriptures to reason through questions and challenges of all kinds.In doing this,the people realized that some of the other books they were reading were detrimental enough that they burned them-Acts19:19-20 says,”A number who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.And they counted up the value of them,and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.”Magic is defined as,”the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.” Sounds a lot like many of the “self help” books of today,as well as many of the “Christian books” and Christian teachers that teach ways to get what “I WANT” through thinking right;doing right;giving right;the right Bible reading;praying right;etc. A right relationship w The Lord is all about realizing He IS GOD,& that He created me and sustains my life for the perfect plans that only He has & only He can b trusted w for my life....truly trusting Him enough to know that I need to have my “ideas & plans” shaped by HIM. A young friend of mine recently told me,”Prayer is not about gaining control, but it’s about surrendering control.”We surrender because of the realization that HE is GOD and I am not....that I may lead my life far into the weeds without HIS counsel and guidance.To put any effort into trying to “control” Him in any way is me practicing “magic”.Dear Lord,I begin to think of how much of my thinking and conversations with You have been a sort of “magic” on my part,& how many times I have been wrongly influenced by misleading Christian teachers and Christian books...and self help books that tell me the things that “I” can do or become-things that are far from Your ideas&plans for my life.Forgive me!And may Your Holy Spirit give me Your Discernment&Wisdom about these things...and draw me to know & desire Your Heart for my life...to Trust You alone with my life...and not me!Give me a hunger that these disciples had to “go to the Scriptures” for all reasoning through my life....and may my prayers be about seeking what You want...

Acts 17

N Acts17,Paul&Silas have just experienced miraculous events in their lives,including an earthquake that precisely rattled their jail doors open,and then the chains holding them fell to the ground...& they see men’s lives rattled by the miraculous TRUTHS of Christ.Paul&Silas have had yet another set of experiences in their lives confirming God is WHO HE says HE IS,&that HIS Word is to be trusted as TRUTH.These events caused such a ruckus in Philippi that the city officials ask them to leave the city.Paul&Silas go to Thessalonica & go to the synagogue,which is where people during that time would go with their questions about LIFE!With the recent events of their lives surely encouraging them both as they enter the conversations going in n the synagogue,Paul begins to “reason with them from the Scriptures....”(Acts17:2-3).If we are sincerely “REASONING” through these types of conversations,then we must establish the foundation on which to build REASON...we must seek to know THE TRUTH, and pursue it earnestly...and then protect/Distinguish truth from appearances of truth/false truth!Paul does this by going to Scripture;to God’s Word to establish the “CRITERIA”for TRUE&TRUSTWORTHY “REASON”.Paul is saying that to use any other “CRITERIA” would be establishing an UNsound foundation on which to build “REASON” that it true&trustworthy!Whether I am aware of it or not,any time I try to reason through a challenge or question,I will in some first establish the “CRITERIA” for my thinking/reasoning process.This is why it is imperative that I have a “fresh flowing” of God’s Word in my life constantly.And,that I always go to God’s Word as THE SOURCE of THE trusted basis of all reasoning!It doesn’t matter what the questions or the challenges are.I need to remember what The Lord encourages Joshua with in Joshua1:8,”This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth,but you shall meditate on it day and night,so that you may be careful to do according to everything written in it.For then you will make your way prosperous,and then you will have good success.”Dear Lord,this makes me begin to remember how many times I have NOT done this...not sought to reason through questions&challenges without first seeking to know what Your Word says to me,and what Your Spirit will lead me with.Forgive me!And lead me with Your Spirit being my conscious reminder of the significance of Your Word for my life.

Acts 16

When Paul&Timothy go to Philippi n Acts16,they go to a place of prayer on the Sabbath.For some reason it is primarily(maybe only)the women of the city that r at the place of prayer.It might b that men were there also,but for whatever reason it ends up that only the women gather around Paul&Timothy to hear what they have to say about Jesus!This must’ve changed the lives of some of the women by their believing in Jesus and the Gospel that Paul&Timothy we’re telling them about.One lady n particular is mentioned that was being “used” for what she could provide for her male “owners”.Her “value” has been n what she can do for/provide for the men,and not who she is as a person.When this happens n anyone’s life,their hearts&minds r vulnerable to the wiles of the enemy’s of God/the eternal enemies of all mankind...an oppression of the heart/mind/spirit.N Acts16:18 Paul realizes the battle for this women’s life,& he commands the evil spirit to leave this woman alone.It appears that many women’s lives may have been impacted the same as this woman’s...and hearing the Gospel of Christ freed them from spiritual bondage as well.Because,in vs 19-24,the men of Philippi r easily mustered against Paul&Timothy because of how the lives of the women have been changed by the Word of God(vs21,”customs that r not lawful for us...”).The way we treat people,talk to people,etc.,n some way communicates how we value them/what we see as value n them...and this can have a devastating effect on their lives.And it has a devastating effect on our own life also.When the women n Philippi heard the Gospel of Christ,& the Word of God preached...they began to realize that Christ valued them SO MUCH,that He suffered and died for them so they could have lives of eternal Meaning & Significance...that their lives were worth much more than they could ever imagine....their “value” was changed from what they could DO,to what Jesus DID for them!Because of the women of Philippi being changed by what Jesus DID for them...the city becomes one of the central Christian Churches of the New Testament.Dear Lord,forgive me for so many times doing the same thing in the lives around me that the men n Philippi did to these women....and open my eyes to the ways that I have allowed how I value others and myself to open the door of my heart/mind/life up to the dark side of spiritual things.Bring me to the awesome awareness that the only VALUE worthy of knowing n my life is how YOU “value”me/LOVE me by what YOU DID for me on the Cross!

Acts 15

N Acts 15;1-21 there are some “Religious” folks resorting to “churchy rules & regulations” to come up w “formulas” for having acceptance in the “Church”.They present their case to Peter&Barnabas who decide to see what their trusted brother&sisters in Christ think.Peter&Barnabas know the importance of seeking counsel(Proverbs11:14,”Where there is no guidance, a people falls,but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”).Some of the motivation behind the people from Judea was a prejudice against the new Gentile believers.You can kind of get the idea that there was an arrogance n the hearts of the folks from Judea as well as a prejudice.Arrogance & prejudice are always linked some way!In the middle of the discussion,Peter brings the conversation “back to Jesus”...,back to THE DETAIL that truly makes THE DIFFERENCE between someone being a true disciple of Christ or not(Acts15:7b,”Brothers,you know that in the early days God made a choice among you,that by mouth the Gentiles should hear the Word of the Gospel and believe.”).Peter states that hearing and then BELIEVING the Word of the Gospel is what brings a person into the family of God,and not ceremonial rules & regulations.When the brothers & sisters n Jerusalem considered the challenges brought by the men from Judea,the believers n Jerusalem went “back to The Word of God” to see what the scripture told about lives that truly follow the Lord.Their response gives a description of what lives will look like if they have truly/sincerely become believers.It is not a matter of looking for and following churchy rules & regulations,but a matter of lives being changed by seeking to have a thriving relationship w God by seeking to know what God says,and then assimilating God’s Word into their lives through The Gospel of Jesus Christ!Jesus says the same thing in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in my word,you are truly my disciples,and you will know the truth,and the truth will set you free.”We are given the opportunity to have a loving&thriving relationship w The One True God through “abiding” in His Word!The people from Judea we’re abiding in things other than the word of the Lord,& got into the weeds and away from being true disciples of Christ.We must ask ourselves,”what am I abiding in”?If I am not abiding in God’s Word,then I am turning away from the Love of God...His Great Love that desires a personal relationship w me!And I am not a true disciple of Christ,but a disciple of something or someone else!Dear Lord,help me to survey my life to reveal where I am abiding in things other than Your Word....give me a hunger for Your Word and a heart that is tender for Your Word...a life that is changed by Your Word.

Acts 12

N Acts12,the grandson of Herod the Great that desperately tried to kill baby Jesus by slaying all the baby boys n Bethlehem(Matthew2:16),& nephew of the Herod that beheaded John the Baptist...has had more than ample reasons to at the very least seek to know more about Jesus...more about THE TRUTH!But this Herod has the same life perspective that his elder relatives had!That being one of overwhelming self importance and selfishness/greed/arrogance which makes his mind & heart so hard that instead of acknowledging the miraculousness of things he has heard about and even witnessed himself,he rejects ETERNAL TRUTHS to the point of even killing the guards that told him about the angel of the Lord coming for Peter...freeing him from being chained to 2 guards,passing through 2 more sets of guards,& then opening the jail gates for Peter to go free!Instead of allowing all that Herod has heard and seen about Jesus,and those that TRUST Jesus,throughout his life cause him to seek to know more about this Jesus...Herod turns away from TRUTH and allows his mind&heart to become so very hardened that he is absolutely “lost” by his own selfish&egotistical“designs”&ideas.Herod has become so “lost” n his selfish&egotistical “designs”&ideas,that he becomes his own god of sorts.We all do this whenever we do not seek TRUTH,but instead settle for the way our personal “designs”&ideas define a personal version of truth.N this Herod’s life it led his demise n Acts12:21-23 as his selfishness&egotism kept him from acknowledging The Lord as God(“On The appointed day Herod,sat on his throne & delivered a public address to the people.They shouted,’This is the voice of a god,not of a man.’Immediately,because Herod did not give praise to God,an angel of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten by worms.”).Whenever we turn away from TRUTH,for any reason,we run the same risk that all 3 Herod’s succumbed to n their lives.That of having our mind&heart so hardened that we become “lost” in our own personal “designs”&ideas...just as they did.Dear Lord,I know that I have a lot of my own personal “designs”&ideas about You and about life that have me “lost” n ways that I need Your HELP with!I pray for Your Spirit & Your Word to lead me&guide me and empower me away from my personal “designs”&ideas,& into the life of the FREEDOM&JOY that only Your TRUTHS enable.