SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/6/2017 8:08 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Productivity”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 8:8
Message of the verse: “8 So there was much rejoicing in that city.”
I mentioned in our last SD that we had one more section
to cover from the chapter entitled “The Persecuted Church Reaches Out” which
comes from John MacArthur’s commentary on the book of Acts. What I failed to mention was that this SD
will be very, very short, as the verse that we are looking at this morning is
very, very short. I was sort of
surprised to find out that this first section in MacArthur’s commentary from
the eight chapter of Acts broke in the middle of a paragraph, but after reading
what happens in the next section (9-24) I understand it. We will be looking at what he calls “A Faith
that does not Save” in the next section, and in that section of Acts it has
always been somewhat of a mystery to me, so perhaps that mystery will be
solved.
We have been looking at Philip’s powerful preaching in
the last few Spiritual Diaries, preaching that also had him doing great
miracles, and what we read in the book of Acts, “signs and wonders.” We have to remember that the church at the
beginning of the book of Acts was just beginning and God would use what we call
“sign gifts” in order to get the church off the ground so to speak. When we look at Paul’s ministry near the end
of his life we read that he had left a person who was helping him in his
ministry sick and that tells me that these sign gifts were ended. I have a friend of mine who mentored me for
about four years when I first became a believer and one of the questions that I
had was about healings that some people say still goes on today, I guess the
question was more about “faith healers” than whether or not God heals people
today. At any rate he told me that God
heals you every time you are ill except the last time when He will take
believers into glory.
John MacArthur writes “The powerful miracles and
preaching of Philip resulted, as it had in Jerusalem, in the salvation of many
Samaritans. But true biblical preaching
inevitably does, it produced another vastly different response. Some accepted the gospel, believing and
reacting with ‘much rejoicing.’ They
were the true believers, the wheat.
Their joy came not just from physical deliverance from diseases, or
spiritual deliverance from demons, but from complete deliverance from sin
through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Others, however, were false believers, or tares. Such a man was Simon Magus, the subject of
the following narrative.”
We
will begin to look at Simon Magus in our next SD as we look at the introduction
to Acts 8:9-24.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I will always be
thankful for Fred, the man who took the time to mentor me for four years before
I began to attend Grace Baptist Church which lasted for 32 years. He taught me many valuable lessons, and for
that I am grateful.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord to continue to teach me from
His Word and as I learn from His Word will be able to help others to learn too.
Memory verses: Philippians 4:1, 8 “Therefore, my beloved
brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the
Lord, my beloved.” “Finally, brethren,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and
if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “First Corinthians” (15:6).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who said ‘Am I my brother’s
keeper’?”
Answer in our next SD.
12/6/2017 8:35 AM
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