Bible Commentary & Daily Devotional

  Acts 6:8-15          From the outset, the church positively impacted society. When Jesus said, "Feed my sheep," he did not mean just spiritually. He commands us to look after his people. The Christian way includes (i) bringing all people to God, (ii) presenting them with God's gift of eternal life, (iii) encouraging them to "save themselves from this wicked generation" by repenting from their sins and turning to God, (iv) baptizing them in Jesus' name for the wiping clean of all their sins, and (v) acting as God's ambassadors of reconciliation as each of them receives the Holy Spirit. They are then God's people, converted from lost and condemned to found and free.            But notice the vital role of the seven that ran the food program. Some may look down their noses at them as somehow inferior. But they were nothing of the sort. In fact, after his resurrection, it was Jesus who fed his men; he cooked breakfast for the disciples! It

  Acts 6:1-7          We see that a mid great spiritual victories, we should not be surprised to find opposition from outside the church and challenges from within. With the rapid growth and increased resources of the church came difficulties. Rapid growth and increased resources are good problems but notice how the leaders and people handled these challenges. They focused on getting the right leaders in place. Jim Collins' classic business book, 'Good to Great,' relays the principle we find here in Scripture - get the right people on the bus. Then decide where to drive - not the other way around. Rumblings of discontent originate from lots of sources. Sometimes it is organizational change, and sometimes it is from treating employees poorly. As a leader, do not ignore these rumblings. Whenever people interact, you can expect friction. It's part of the human condition. In this Acts church case, there were rumblings of discontent because of prejudice and discr

  Acts 5:17-42            God loves you! He wants each of us to know Him personally and to have the good life through Him (John 14:6). And He assigns us the task of helping people know the Father through Him. Jesus said that anyone who believes in Him will do the same works he has done (physical and spiritual) and even greater works (John 14:12). Exciting stuff!          The apostles knew this. They knew the power of the resurrection and the message they had to preach and teach. And so they did. Nothing could stop them. Not imprisonment. Not organized religion. And not the government.                     Of course, opposition came. It always does. When we preach a message of life and reconciliation with God, we will face all sorts of jealousy, anger, and hostility. That’s just a fact.          Notice that God used an angel to bring the apostles out of the public jail. And notice the angel told them to go to the Temple and preach a message of life. That was a crazy

  Acts 5:11-16            We’re scared today. Feeble. But unlike the Acts church, we have great fear for the wrong reasons. Instead of the awe of God gripping us, we are ashamed to be servants of Christ. We pretend and deceive ourselves – and we waste time and boatloads of money on useless man-made programs.          Peter and John and the believers who saw the risen Jesus were bold and courageous. They asked God to give them great boldness in preaching His word (4:29). And they asked God to stretch out his hand with healing power for miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Holy Jesus. And God answered that prayer. The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. People will come to the Lord if we act with courage and boldness. Jesus will still cure any sickness or evil spirit-possessed person today. He’s Almighty God. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.          Almighty God, we are gripped in awe of you today. We fear you

  Acts 5:1-10          We need to be honest with ourselves. We are sinners. We need God, here and now, and for eternity. He’s our only way out of this mess. It was always His plan to rescue mankind. And at just the right time, he did.          But do we trust Him? Is eternity our home? Or is our heart divided? Are we really trusting in ourselves and our earthly stuff? Have we let Satan fill our hearts?          Satan plays for keeps. He fights for our souls. He does not want you or me with the Almighty for eternity. The responsibility is ours alone. I can’t make your decision, and you can’t make mine. Like Ananias, we can choose to let Satan fill our hearts (v. 3). Let us be completely honest with the Holy Spirit. He’s God. Give him complete control. Let me turn, Lord Jesus, from my wicked ways. Let us stop lying and deceiving. May Satan never fill my heart. God gives us freedom but expects purity, honesty, and obedience. God needs no help. He needs no schem

  Acts 4          This is an exciting chapter. It's an exciting time in the church. Growth from 120 believers to 5,000 in a short period. Wow! Every Christian knows this chapter well. But it is something we need to remind ourselves of often. God is still in the same business. He's chasing after us, drawing us back to Him. He loves you more than you ever know, and He seeks the best for you daily. Today. He will prune away the crap in our lives and discipline us. We need discipline. In fact, the older I get, the more I'm convinced Christ-followers should not just endure discipline; we should love it. That's a pretty weird statement. But it's true. God is our Heavenly Father, the giver of all good things. It's interesting. God puts interests, disciplines, and capabilities before us at various life stages. It may make no sense why God wants you to learn a skill or a language or to gain some empathy in a specific area. Or why he connected you with

  Acts 3:1          Notice here that Peter and John were together. That’s a mark of the Jesus way, together. We don’t see lone wolf preaching sensations, televangelists, or missionaries. Jesus sent out in teams of two. At least two. This teamwork principle was drilled into his men during his ministry. So often now we are alone in our work. This modern-day practice must stop. Man was not made to live, work, or minister alone. We are part of a body – and we must act like it. That means going together, serving, leading, celebrating, mourning, and following Jesus together. We are each unique. And we have special roles and functions. But when you see a one-man band playing, no matter how he looks or sounds, know that God’s alarm bells are ringing and dysfunction is close at hand.          Notice, too, that Peter and John were attending an afternoon prayer service. When was the last time we did that with our brothers in Christ? To unlock the power of the Holy Spirit in our