"The Companionship of Friends" (Acts 18:2-5a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/26/2018 10:32 AM

My Worship Time                                                              Focus:  The Companionship of Friends

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 18:2-5a

            Message of the verses:  “2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. 4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia,”

            Paul leaves Athens and goes to Corinth.  His friends, according to verse five were in Macedonia.  For how long we do not really know, but what we do know is that Paul is pretty much along deprived of being with his friends for sometime there in Corinth.  Of course we know that God was with Paul as He is with each and every believer in the Person of the Holy Spirit, so Paul was not totally alone.

            God was gracious in hooking Paul up with a couple from Rome who had been kicked out of Rome because they were Jews.  We meet Aquila, and his wife Priscilla here, and they are both tent-makers which was what Paul did to help make a living.  When you hear of someone who has a ministry which includes being a “tent-maker” it is talking about a missionary who does not really have enough support and so he has to subsidize his earnings by working, probably working at a part-time job.  Paul did this while in Corinth in order to be able to have food on the table and a place to live so that he could continue to do what God desired him to do in preaching the gospel.

            John MacArthur writes about Priscilla:  “Because his wife Priscilla is named first four out of the six times the couple is mentioned, some have speculated that she was a Roman woman of higher social rank than Aquila.  More likely, she is mentioned first because she was the more prominent of the two in service to the church.  Paul always refers to her by her formal name, Prisca (Rom. 16:3, 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19), while Luke always uses the diminutive from Priscilla (cf. vv. 18, 26).”

            I think that because the Bible does not speak of their conversion that they were already believers when they left Rome, and so they would have that wonderful common bond with Paul as they both know Christ as their Savior.

            I wish to quote the last paragraph from John MacArthur’s commentary as it speaks of how wonderful God is and was to Paul at this discouraging time of his life. 

“The God of all comfort met the need of His discouraged servant for companionship not only by providing two new friends but also by bringing back two familiar ones.  The arrival of Silas and Timothy from Macedonia no doubt greatly encouraged him.  Although Acts does not record it, Silas and Timothy had apparently rejoined Paul at Athens as he intended (17:15).  From there he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica (1 Thess. 3:1-6).  Silas was also sent somewhere in Macedonia, since he, too, came to Corinth from that province.  He may have gone to Philippi (cf. Phil. 4:15; 2 Cor. 11:9), since Paul kept frequent communication at this time with his first European church.” 

            I wonder what Paul and his companions would have done if they had cell phones at that time.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the God of all comfort who gives me comfort whenever I am truly in need of it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I trust the Lord to bring comfort to our neighbor who is dying of cancer, that she will be blessed by the card that I bought for her yesterday.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “John the Baptist” (John 1:15).

Today’s Bible question:  “To what town did Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth move when they left the land of Moab?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/26/2018 10:57 AM

PT-2 "Intro to Acts 18:1-17" (Acts 18:1-17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/25/2018 10:01 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-2 “Intro to Acts 18:1-17”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 18:1-17

            Message of the verses:  Please refer to the Spiritual Diary dated 05-24-18 to see the verses that go along with this SD.

            We continue to look at the introduction to this section in the book of Acts in our SD for today.  We have been discussing some of God’s servants, both from the OT and the NT who have gone through some difficult times as they served the Lord.  Paul certainly was in this group as he suffered much for the cause of Christ.  Paul left Athens and took the 53 mile walk to Corinth to continue to serve the Lord there in that very ungodly city.  In Paul’s day Corinth actually replaced Athens as the leading political and commercial center in Greece as nearly all traffic between northern and Southern Greece passed through Corinth.  John MacArthur writes “Because it was a 200-mile sail around the peninsula, some ships were put on rollers and pulled across the 4-mile bridge of land.  In A. D. 67 Nero began work on a canal, but one was not completed until 1893.” 

            Corinth was a city whose population was mobile, as many sailors lived there when they were not on the sea, and so now they were there much of the time.  It is because of this mobile population that Corinth was one of the most debauched cities of antiquity, “R. C. H. Lenski writes

‘Corinth was a wicked city even as larger cities of the empire went at this period.  The very term ‘Corinthian’ came to mean a profligate Korinthiazomai, ‘to Corinthianize, meant to practice whoredom; Korinthiastes = a whoremonger; Korinthia kore (girl) = a courtesan.’

            John MacArthur continues his description of Corinth “Towering some 1,500 feet above Corinth was the Acropolis, on top of which was the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  Each evening the temples one thousand priestesses, who were ritual prostitutes, would descend into the city to apply their trade.  In sharp contrast to the sedate (by comparison) intellectual and cultural center of Athens, Corinth was undeniably a pip-roaring town where ‘none but the tough could survive.’”

            Into this city Paul arrived and actually spent a considerable amount of time there, but as he entered the city I am sure that he had similar feelings about it as when he was in Athens.  Although the situation was different in each city, sin ran rampant in both cities.  We will now finish with a final quote from MacArthur’s introductory commentary in order to understand the outline that we will be following in the coming days.

            “But the ‘God of all comfort’ (2 Cor. 1:3), who ‘comforts the depressed’ (2 Cor. 7:6), did not leave Paul in his downtrodden condition.  He encouraged His struggling servant through four means:  the companionship of friends, the blessing of converts, the fellowship of God, and the frustration of his enemies.  These are the very blessings any depressed servant of the Lord can cling to for encouragement.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that the Lord, through His Word, and through His servant Paul, gives a wonderful recipe for overcoming times of when I am depressed.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord as He deals with some trials in my life, that all will be done to bring glory to the Lord.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said, ‘He that comes after me is preferred before me; for He was before me’?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/25/2018 10:29 AM

PT-2 "Intro to Acts 18:1-17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/25/2018 10:01 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-2 “Intro to Acts 18:1-17”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 18:1-17

            Message of the verses:  Please refer to the Spiritual Diary dated 05-24-18 to see the verses that go along with this SD.

            We continue to look at the introduction to this section in the book of Acts in our SD for today.  We have been discussing some of God’s servants, both from the OT and the NT who have gone through some difficult times as they served the Lord.  Paul certainly was in this group as he suffered much for the cause of Christ.  Paul left Athens and took the 53 mile walk to Corinth to continue to serve the Lord there in that very ungodly city.  In Paul’s day Corinth actually replaced Athens as the leading political and commercial center in Greece as nearly all traffic between northern and Southern Greece passed through Corinth.  John MacArthur writes “Because it was a 200-mile sail around the peninsula, some ships were put on rollers and pulled across the 4-mile bridge of land.  In A. D. 67 Nero began work on a canal, but one was not completed until 1893.” 

            Corinth was a city whose population was mobile, as many sailors lived there when they were not on the sea, and so not they were there much of the time.  It is because of this mobile population that Corinth was one of the most debauched cities of antiquity, “R. C. H. Lenski writes

‘Corinth was a wicked city even as larger cities of the empire went at this period.  The very term ‘Corinthian’ came to mean a profligate Korinthiazomai, ‘to Corinthianize, meant to practice whoredom; Korinthiastes = a whoremonger; Korinthia kore (girl) = a courtesan.’

            John MacArthur continues his description of Corinth “Towering some 1,500 feet above Corinth was the Acropolis, on top of which was the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.  Each evening the temple’s one thousand priestesses, who were ritual prostitutes, would descend into the city to ply their trade.  In sharp contrast to the sedate (by comparison) intellectual and cultural center of Athens, Corinth was undeniably a pip-roaring town where ‘none but the tough could survive.’”

            Into this city Paul arrived and actually spent a considerable amount of time there, but as he entered the city I am sure that he had similar feelings about it as when he was in Athens.  Although the situation was different in each city, sin ran rampant in both cities.  We will now finish with a final quote from MacArthur’s introductory commentary in order to understand the outline that we will be following in the coming days.

            “But the ‘God of all comfort’ (2 Cor. 1:3), who ‘comforts the depressed’ (2 Cor. 7:6), did not leave Paul in his downtrodden condition.  He encouraged His struggling servant through four means:  the companionship of friends, the blessing of converts, the fellowship of God, and the frustration of his enemies.  These are the very blessings any depressed servant of the Lord can cling to for encouragement.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that the Lord, through His Word, and through His servant Paul, gives a wonderful recipe for overcoming times of when I am depressed.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord as He deals with some trials in my life, that all will be done to bring glory to the Lord.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said, ‘He that comes after me is preferred before me; for He was before me’?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/25/2018 10:29 AM

PT-1 "Intro to Acts 18:1-17)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/24/2018 9:31 AM

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus:  PT-1 Intro to Acts 18:1-17

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 18:1-17

            Message of the verses:  “1 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. 4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. 9  And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city." 11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, "This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law." 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; 15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters." 16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat. 17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.”

            John MacArthur entitles this section from the book of Acts “Encouraging the Servant of God,” and at first I was wondering about that title, but then after reading this section again I figured out that he was talking about God giving encouragement to Paul, as this was a time in Paul’s life where there had been much persecution in his life, and so  Paul surely needed a time when he could just live in a place and teach the Word of God to those that the Lord had given to him to preach to.  I am sure from reading the Scriptures that are about Paul that he went through times of discouragement.  Charles Spurgeon talks about the fact that it is a little appreciated truth about those in ministry, which is Pastors and missionaries who become discouraged:

 “good men are promised tribulation in this world, and ministers may expect a larger share than others, that they may learn sympathy with the Lord’s suffering people, and so may be fitting shepherds of an ailing flock.  (“The Minister’s Fainting Fits,” in Lectures to m Students: First Series [reprint; Grand Rapids:  Baker, 1980], 168).”

Let us take a moment to read about the problems that Moses wrote about when it comes to despair in Numbers 11:11-15:

11 So Moses said to the LORD, "Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? 12 “Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ’Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? 13 “Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ’Give us meat that we may eat!’ 14 “I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. 15 “So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness."”

            Moses was not the only servant of God to express these kinds of things to the Lord as we next look at what Joshua said after Israel’s defeat at AI.  “7 Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! (Jos. 7:7).”  Then there is another one that we can look at and that is one that is familiar to me.  Elijah had a great victory over the prophets of Baal, as he murdered many of them because of what they were doing to Israel, but afterwards he became distressed and ran away from the woman Jezebel. You can read about that incident in 1 Kings 18:20 and following.  It got so bad for Elijah after he ran off into the wilderness that we read in 1 Kings 19:4 “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."”  There are other examples in the Old Testament like Hezekiah who after facing the prospect of death pleaded with the Lord to allow him to live, which the Lord did for him as he added another 15 years to his life.  I suppose the classic OT story comes from the book of Job as he went through some very difficult situations.

            I will end this first part of this introduction to these verses in Acts by quoting a rather long paragraph from MacArthur’s introductory comments on this section in Acts 18.

“Nor did the apostle Paul escape the throes of discouragement.  The opening of Acts 18 finds him at a low point in his grueling ministry.  His second missionary journey had been arduous.  After traveling through Asia Minor ‘strengthening the churches’ (Acts 15:41), he crossed the Aegean Sea to the Greek mainland.  His healing of a demon possessed girl in Philippi sparked a riot, and he and Silas had been beaten and thrown into prison.  After being released following a devastating earthquake, he was forced to leave the city (16:39-40).  From there he went to Thessalonica, where his ministry enjoyed great success (17:4).  Persecution forced him to flee to Berea (17:10), where many also responded to his preaching and teaching (17:12).  When persecution followed him there from Thessalonica, Paul was again forced to escape danger (17:4).  He arrived alone in the great city of Athens, where his brilliant speech in defense of Christianity had largely been ignored (17:19-32).  He then ‘left Athens and went to Corinth,’ a fifty-three mile walk.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It was good to better understand that discouragement can be used by the Lord in a good way, to be able to help others if I am willing to do so.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to see me through some discouragements of my own, and use them to bring glory to the Lord.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Hypocrisy” (Luke 12:2).

Today’s Bible question:  “What was the human name given to Christ?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/24/2018 10:08 AM

"Recognizing What God Has Said" (Acts 17:30-31)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/23/2018 9:43 AM

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  Recognizing What God has Said

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 17:30-31

            Message of the verses:  “30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."”

            Just a note that I will try and look at the last verses from Acts 17 after I comment on verses 30-31. 

            We have been looking at the fact that God does exists, and also looking at the understanding of who He is, and yet this will not lead anyone to a saving knowledge which was what Paul was trying to do with these Greek philosophers as they listen to him talk.  James said the following in his book “James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”  James is saying that if people just believe that God does exist then if that is all you believe then you are no better off than the demons who believe the same thing. 

            Once the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world this brought about a change in God’s dealing with humanity.  Before Christ came people were saved by looking forward to the coming of God’s Messiah.  Paul writes “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance,” “that is, He didn’t always intervene with special judgment (thought sin always caused consequences) against the nations who did not know Him.  But ‘God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent.’  Natural revelation is insufficient to save, and merely serves to draw men to God.”  (MacArthur)  We have read in Acts 4:12 “"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."”  This was God’s plan all along, that is to send His Son into the world to pay the price for sin, and this of course is Paul’s main point to these men.

            Paul goes on to say that there is coming a day in which God will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed.  We know that Paul is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus said the following in John 5:22-27,

“22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 24  "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. 25  "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; 27  and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”

            In John 5:25 we see that Jesus has the power to raise His children from the dead, and Paul speaks of something similar, that is that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead and that resurrection of Christ from the dead gives us proof that God was satisfied with what Christ did on the cross.

            People who heard of someone being raised from the dead react in ways that mostly shows that they do not believe that this happened, and yet there is more proof that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead, that is written proof in history past than written proof that Julius Caesar lived, and not many people have any problem believing that Julius Caesar lived.

            “32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." 33 So Paul went out of their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them (Acts 17:32-34).”  This, to me, is a sad commentary, and yet we read that there were some who did believe.  I have to believe that Paul was somewhat disappointed that more people did not believe, and yet if only a few did believe then his unplanned trip to Athens was worth it.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have told many people about how they can be saved from their sins and have eternal life through Jesus Christ, and many people have not believed me.  I am very disappointed when this happens, and yet I have to keep on telling others when God brings them into my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Peter 3:15).”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “It had not rained for three years” (1 Kings 18:1-2).

Today’s Bible question:  “What is the leaven of the Pharisees?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/23/2018 10:15 AM

"God is the Revealer" (Acts 17:27-29)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/22/2018 10:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  God is the Revealer

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 17:27-29

            Message of the verses:  “27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ’For we also are His children.’ 29 "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”

            We have been looking at several sub-points under the main point of “Recognizing who God Is,” and have seen that God’s providential activity as creator, ruler, giver, and controller should move men to see Him.  God has revealed Himself in His creation as written about in Psalm 19, and this should cause men to look to the stars in the sky and realize that they were all created by God, and He did this to bring glory to Himself, but He also did it so that men when they look up at the stars in the sky that they would think of God.  Another way men should recognize God is through their conscience, as the human conscience is very powerful if you follow it in the right way.  Paul writes in Romans 2:14-15 “14  For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,.”  Now going back for a moment to look at the physical world again it leaves all men without excuse according to Romans 1:18 and following.  In the beginnings of the book of Romans, Paul was building a case showing that all men are born sinners and it takes him a while to write “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” which is Romans 3:23.  Paul proves his case against those who do not believe they are sinners, which is the first step for a person to come to know Christ as their Savior.  One has to know that they are a sinner that they are lost without hope in order to come to Christ for salvation.  Paul actually expressed this to those Greeks that he was talking to when he said of God that “He is not far from each one of us.”  MacArthur adds “Even those who never heard the gospel are still accountable to God for failing to live up to natural revelation.  Had they done so, God would have brought them the special revelation they needed to be saved.”  This goes along with the story that I have told in earlier SD’s when a woman who lived in a small village in Cambodia was under attack from the Communists as they were about to kill the entire village, having them dig their own graves before they were about to shoot all of them.  She had heard of Jesus, though not knowing His name, and so she cried out to the God who died on the cross just before she an all of here village people were to be killed.  What happened was a miracle in that all who were to do them harm left without shooting those around the hole that the dug.  A few years latter some missionaries came to that village and the first thing that this woman asked them was “What took you so long to get here.”  She only had a little knowledge, and yet she used that little knowledge to cry out to God and then God gave her more knowledge and many people in that village were saved and not killed.

            As we continue in our verses we can say that the Greeks certainly could not plead ignorance as Paul speaks of some of their poets who acknowledged the revelation of God in nature, even though they wrongly saw it as a revelation of their false gods.  MacArthur adds “The Cretan poet Epimenides noted that ‘in Him we live and move and exist,’ while Artus from Paul’s home region of Cilicia, added, ‘For we also are His offspring.’  Those quotes illustrate the universal revelation of God as creator, ruler, and sustainer.  While Paul could easily have documented those truths from the Old Testament, he chose instead illustrations familiar to his pagan audience, who were unfamiliar with Scriptures.” 

            Paul used these poets to show his audience that man is “the offspring of God,” and so it would be foolish of them “to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”  Since God created man he surely must be more than a mere man-made idol. 

            MacArthur concludes “The best starting point for evangelizing pagans with no knowledge of the Scripture is to explain the power and Person behind the creation.  Satan’s intention of evolution cuts off that path of reason that leads to God.”  To that I totally agree with, as evolution has caused much trouble for those in the world, those smart enough to realize that evolution is impossible.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.”

Today’s Bible question:  “What weather conditions caused a famine in Samaria during the time of Ahab?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/22/2018 11:09 AM

           

"God is the Controller" (Acts 17:26)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/21/2018 10:29 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  God is the Controller

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 17:26

            Message of the verses:  “26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

            The first thing that I want to do is to pay tribute to my mother who was born on this date back in 1922, and she died in July of 2012 a bit over ninety years old.  I have to say that I miss her and look forward to one day seeing here when the Rapture of the Church comes.

            I also want to say that this will be a rather short SD, and I suppose those who read these will be happy about that.  I follow the outline that is in John MacArthur’s commentaries and this happens to be a short one.

            I want to also say that people in today’s world who don’t know the Lord, and even some who do know the Lord will have a difficult time with what Paul is saying in this verse, especially those who believe in evolution.  Paul states that “from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.”  That one man of course was Adam and if it were not for sin, the sin he committed things on this earth would be perfect, but that is not the case as we can see.  Adam and Eve had children and when their children got older they married each other and had other children and so on.  The same was true after the flood when there were only eight people on the Ark and so Noah’s sons and daughter-in-laws had children who married either their sisters and brothers or their cousins.  How could this happen and not have problems with their children like would happen today if a brother had children with his sister.  The answer is what we could call de-evolution.  What is de-evolution?  Well evolution teaches that things are going up and getting better, while de-evolution teaches the opposite, things are getting worse off.  The problem is in the gene pool.  It was during the time when Moses was leading the people out of Egypt and then giving the law to them that God instructed Moses to not have people marry in their immediate family up to a distant cousin.  “6 ’None of you shall approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness; I am the LORD (Lev. 18:6).”  As you look at the following verses you will see more about this subject.  If it was not for sin then the gene-pool would not be a problem, but because of de-evolution, things continue to get worse off.

            John MacArthur writes the following on verse 26:  “God is not only the sovereign ruler of the universe but also the controller of the affairs and destinies of men and nations, Paul declares that He made ‘from one’ (Adam) ‘every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.’  That statement was a blow to the national pride of the Greeks, who scornfully referred to non-Greeks as ‘barbarians.’  All men are equal, because all were created by God.  He ‘determined their appointed times;’ the rise and fall of nations and empires are in His hands (cf. Dan. 2:36 ff.; Luke 21:24).  God also set ‘the boundaries of their habitation,’ placing certain nations in specific geographical locations (Deut. 32:8) and determining the extent of their conquests (cf. Isa. 10:12-15).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  By learning and better understanding the attributes of God, one has no problems in understanding verses like this from the Word of God.  “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do” is what the children sing.  Too bad when they get older they forget the truth of this song.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to trust the Lord as He, through His Spirit, and His Word led me each day.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Cornelius” (Acts. 10:1).

Today’s Bible question:  “Which two books tells of David as a king?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/21/2018 10:57 AM

"God is a Giver" (Acts 17:25)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/20/2018 7:24 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                         Focus:  God is a Giver

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                           Reference:  Acts 17:25

            Message of the verses:  25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;”

            We have just looked at God, whom Paul is describing in our main point, (Recognizing Who God Is), as the Creator, and also the Ruler, and so it would be absurd to imagine that He should need to be “served by human hands, as though He needed anything.”  Let us look to see what Eliphas had to say about this in Job 22:2-3 “2  "Can a vigorous man be of use to God, Or a wise man be useful to himself? 3 “Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, Or profit if you make your ways perfect?”  Next we look at Psalm 50:9-12 “9 “I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. 10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11 “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.”

            Now we know that it is far from God to need anything from man, and so we will go on and see that God “gives to all life and breath and all things,” which we can see in Psalm 104:14-15 “14  He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth, 15 And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart.”

            Paul writes the following in Romans 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”  Next we look at what Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17 “17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”  James comments the following in James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

            It is not only to God’s children, those who belong to Him through the shed blood of Christ that He gives to, for Jesus says in Matthew 5:45b “for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

            I want to quote from a Spiritual Diary that I wrote on James 1:17 on Aug. 28, 2003, “If I understand what Dr. Wiersbe says about this verse it could start out something like this:  Every gift that God gives us is perfect, and the way that He gives it to us is perfect, and He keeps on giving us gifts all of the time, even when we do not realize that He is giving them to us, and God is not like the moving of the planets and stars, for He never changes because He cannot change for worse because He is holy, and He cannot change for better because He is perfect.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jordan” (2 Kings 6:46).

Today’s Bible question:  “Name the centurion of the band called the Italian band.”

Answer in our next SD.

5/20/2018 7:44 PM

 

 

"Ruler" (Acts 17-24b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/19/2018 9:49 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                          Focus:  “Ruler”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 17:24b

            Message of the verses:  “since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.”

            We have been looking through the rather short sermon that Luke records in Act 17 where Paul was talking to the Greek philosophers.  I have to believe that Paul said more than Luke has recorded, but Luke was being led by the Holy Spirit to write.  I have mentioned that we are looking at some sub-points under the main point of “Recognizing who God is,” and this is the second sup-point under this main point which tells that God is indeed the Ruler.

            The problem that man has had ever since Adam sinned is that they do not recognize that because God made the heavens and the earth that He is ruler over them, including mankind.  When Adam sinned he through the world into a lot of trouble because of his sin, for before that sin he knew God, and spoke to him in the garden, yet because of Satan’s temptation and Adam and Eve both following it that fellowship with God like it was before sin was gone, but the fact still remains, even though at times it does not look like it, God is still in control, as He did not just make heaven and earth, mankind and everything we see and just let it take its own course.  I think that Romans 8:28 come into play here “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  The reason I quote this verse is to show the greatness of God for He can take “all things” and cause them to work together for good for those who love Him, those who are called according to His purpose.”  To me that is awesome, and believe me I do not use that word very often, only when talking about my Lord do I use it.

            Psalm 24:1-2 says “The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. 2 For He has founded it upon the seas And established it upon the rivers.”   Psalm 103:19 “The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, And His sovereignty rules over all.”  When we studied the book of Daniel we say that Nebuchadnezzar was forced to admit:

34 "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ’What have You done?’”

            We know that the last part of this verse speaking of God not living in a temple, which is exactly what those Greek philosophers thought.  Now one may think of the Jewish temple and wonder about that.  Let us look at some verses to answer that question:  “1 Kings 8:27 “"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!”  (This was spoken by Solomon who built the first temple.)  2 Chronicles 2:6; 6:18 “"But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?”  “18 “But will God indeed dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built.”  We will end this portion of this SD by looking at Psalm 139:1-12

“O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. 5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.  7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9  If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10  Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.”

            John MacArthur comments “The folly of idolatry is most clearly seen in its denial of God’s infinity.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful that God is ruler over all, even though at times I do not understand some of the things that are going on I still believe that God controls all things.

My Steps of Faith For Today:  Trust the Lord to give me the wisdom to teach Sunday school tomorrow, and then it will be a break for me to take a couple of weeks off from teaching as other things are planned for the Sunday school hour.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Delilah” (Judges 16:6, 9).

Today’s Bible question:  “In what river did Elisha retrieve an ax head?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/19/2018 10:18 AM

PT-2 "Creator God" (Acts 17:24a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/18/2018 10:07 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                Focus:  PT-2 “Creator God”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                         Reference:  Acts 17:24a

            Message of the verses:  “"The God who made the world and all things in it,”

            I tried to explain the direction we are going in as we look at Acts 17:24-29 in our last SD, that is that there are sub-points under the main point of “Recognizing who God Is,” and we began the first sub-point in our last SD, “Creator God,” and will continue looking at this in today’s SD.

            We have been talking about evolution in our last SD, and for those who have read some of my Spiritual Diaries know, I hate evolution because it is something that is impossible to make happen.  I also hate it because Satan is behind it to cause people not to be accountable to God.  We were also talking about the fossil record in our last SD, and the fossil record is the only way to determine if evolution has happened.  Why? Because it contains the history of life on earth.  John MacArthur writes:  “Although presented in popular literature and textbooks as proof for evolution, the fossil record is actually a major source of embarrassment for evolutionists.  The innumerable transition forms between phylogenetic group’s demands by evolution are simply not found.  Although an evolutionist, David B. Kitts of the University of Oklahoma admits,

‘Despite the bright promise that paleontology provides a means of ‘seeing’ evolution; it has presented some nasty difficulties for evolutionist’s record.  Evolution requires intermediate forms between species and Theory.’

“Even Stephen Jay Could of Harvard University, perhaps the most well known contemporary defender of evolution, candidly admits,

‘The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology.  The evolutionary trees that adorn out textbooks have data only at the tips and notes of their branches; the rest is inference, however reasonable, not the evidence of fossils.’”

            Now as we look at what Paul said in our verse for today we see that he simply stated that “God made the world and all things in it.”  Like Genesis 1:1 which says “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” Paul realizes that God has always existed, and always will exist; there is no argument about this.  We can look at some verses in the Word of God to support what Paul is saying in verse 24.  Now we have already looked at Genesis 1:1 and so we will move on to Psalm 146:5-6 “5 How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea and all that is in them;” In Isaiah 40:28 he asks a rhetorical question:  “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.”  Next we look at Isaiah 45:18 “For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens (He is the God who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), "I am the LORD, and there is none else.”  Next Jeremiah 10:12 “It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.”  Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You.”  (There is a wonderful little hymn that goes along with this verse.)  Next, Zechariah 12:1 “The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.”

            Next we move to some verses in the New Testament.  Ephesians 3:9 “and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things.”  Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things have been created through Him and for Him.”  Revelation 4:11 “"Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."”  Revelation 10:6 “and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, WHO CREATED HEAVEN AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE EARTH AND THE THINGS IN IT, AND THE SEA AND THE THINGS IN IT.” 

            I will close by talking about another thing that is disturbing to me, and that is what is called the “gap theory.”  Some say that there is a gap of perhaps millions, or billions of years between Genesis 1:1, and Genesis 1:2.  During that gap period God had set the world in motion and then left and so those who believe this theory believe in evolution, and they are supposed to be believers.  I have run into some people, who taught this, and one of them is now in heaven and so I have to believe that he has now changed his mind.  It is very simple to me when it comes to God creating the world and the universe, and that it happened just as we read in the Scriptures beginning with Genesis 1:1 and then looking at other verses from both the Old and New Testaments.  As to why did God do this I can say that God did not need to create man, the earth, and the rest of the universe, for if that were true that would mean that God was in need of something, and for me I would not worship a God who needed anything.  God created what He created for His glory as Psalm 19 tells us:  “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”  I believe that we can expand on this by looking at the second Psalm:  “7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ’You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ’Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ’You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’"”  I believe that the Word of God teaches that God created it entirely for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  God needed nothing, or needs nothing, but in eternity past the triune God made a plan, and that plan would bring glory to God through the creation of all that He created, and that plan was that the Father was doing what He did for the Son as we see in Psalm 2:8.  Those who God chose in eternity past, those who the Son came and died for, and those that the Holy Spirit gave an effectual call to are part of God’s plan to give to the Son, and as for me I am in awe of that and so very thankful that Christ came to earth to save me, and then to use me to bring glory to the Lord, and even the things that I do which bring glory to the Lord were planned in eternity past (Eph. 2:10), and are accomplished through the indwelling Holy Spirit who gives me the power to accomplish what He has planned for me to do so that that too will bring glory to the Lord.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I trust the Lord that the things that I do will bring glory to His Son, my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trusting the Lord to bring spiritual insight as I read and study His Word today.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Because they had witnessed the things He did at Jerusalem at the feast” (John 4:45).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said, ‘The philistines be upon thee’?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/18/2018 11:01 AM

                                                                                                                                                                                        

PT-1 "Creator" (Acts 17:24-29)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/17/2018 8:55 PM

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  PT-1 “Recognizing Who God Is”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 17:24-29

            Message of the verses:  “24  "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27  that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ’For we also are His children.’ 29 "Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.”

            As we begin looking at this rather long stretch of verses in Acts 17 we will be looking at several sub-points under this main point, the first is the fact that God is the creator, and then God is Ruler, and then Giver, Controller, and finally God is Revealer.  John MacArthur writes the following as he introduces this second main point.  “Having established that God exists and can be known by men Paul introduces his hearers to Him.”

            Now I think that I should have put into the focus portion of this SD “PT-1 Creator,” as I don’t think that we will get through this first sub-point today, for one thing it is evening, and I usually do my Spiritual Diaries in the morning, but it did not work out that way this morning.

            Creator:  “The God who made the world and all things in it” (Acts 17:24a).

            I can remember listening to a sermon tape from someone that I have a great deal of respect for who was talking about how the world and the universe were created.  He got some of info from sources that I would never trust and I know he would not trust them either.  At any rate the percentage given to the world being created as the book of Genesis tells us was, if my memory has not failed me, was around 10%.  So you can see that as Paul begins to talk to these Greek leaders like the Athenians and the Epicureans that they would have a great deal of trouble understand or believing what Paul is telling them.  I find this short sermon has a lot of things in it that I can go to such as Paul, being led by the Holy Spirit telling these Greeks that God is the One who created everything.  John MacArthur actually has written in his commentary similar things that I have written here in that people in our day have just as much trouble believing this as the Greeks did.  I continue to mention that the reason that people do not believe the God created the earth, along with the universe, is that they would then have to be accountable to Him, and that is something they do not want to do.

            We are going to begin to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary as he states “The impressive scientific evidence against evolution can be briefly summarized as follows.  First, the second law of thermodynamics shows that evolution is theoretically impossible.  Second, the evidence of the fossil record shows evolution in fact did not take place. (Among the many helpful books presenting the scientific case against evolution are Michael Denton, Evolution:  A Theory in Crisis [Bethesda Md.].  Next Duane T. Gish, Evolution:  The Fossils Still Say NO!; Henry M. Morris, The Biblical Basis for Modern Science; Henry M. Morris and Gary E. Parker, What is Creation Science?

“The second law of thermodynamics, one of the most well-established principles in all of science, states that the natural tendency is for things to go from a more ordered to a less order state.  Noted atheist Isaac Asimov acknowledges that ‘as far as we know, all changes are in the direction of increasing entropy, of increasing disorder, of increasing randomness, of running down’ (cited in Henry M. Morris, ed., Scientific Creationism…Yet, incredibly, evolutionists argue that precisely the opposite has happened.  According to them, things have gone from a less ordered state to a more ordered one.  Attempts to harmonize evolution with the second law of thermodynamics have not been successful, and it remains a powerful witness against evolution.”

             We will continue to look at more from John MacArthur’s commentary in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Samaritan” (Luke 10:33).

Today’s Bible question:  “Why did the Galileans receive Jesus?”

Answer in our next SD.

5/17/2018 9:26 PM