Bible Commentary & Daily Devotional

  Acts 18:18-28  - Build a Culture of Encouragement Sam’s Bantam Team in Calgary - Provincial Champions When Jesus encourages us, emboldens us, and implores us to speak, it means he has work for us to do. It means we can expect him to go before us and remove barriers as he did for Paul through governor Gallio. But never take these victories as a chance to sit back, relax, and go on spiritual vacation. No! It means Jesus is encouraging us to harvest the ripe fields and to get working. Make hay while the weather is good. God knows the hearts of men. He knows that he’s dealing with fragile, broken, sinful vessels. And yet God’s purposes always prevail. A great hockey coach knows how to win by combining his team’s strengths into forward and defensive units that mesh perfectly to get the job done. That’s the beauty of teamwork. And God, much more than the insightful coach, knows just how to combine our strengths and help us overcome our weaknesses. We see God’s creative preparat

  Acts 18:9-17  - Go with Confidence in God this Year. God encourages and strengthens us at just the right time. We need Jesus’ encouragement for the year that lies before us. God himself watches over your life and keeps you from all harm (Psalm 121). God’s love is unfailing (Psalm 119:64).   At this time of the year (New Year’s Eve), we have no idea what the year ahead will bring. We may think we do, but we don’t. Think about Christmas 2019 - who would have imagined the last three years? Crazy stuff.   Yet this year, I am optimistic. God willing, the Church will see revival in the year ahead. I’m confident God will give us opportunities to share His Grace, make amazing friends, work hard, and have successful ventures. We can learn from Paul’s example in Corinth. Paul went into challenging settings and did the hard work. He led by example. Paul preached that Jesus was the Messiah and made it clear that the responsibility to accept or reject Jesus is on those who hear the

  Acts 18:1-17 Corinth was fertile ground. Not all soil is, but I trust where you are right now is fertile ground. Sometimes, like Paul did here, you have to shake the dust from your clothes and move on (18:6). But God will bring you an opportunity, fertile ground. You’ll go places this year where you will be tested, but God will be with you. In Corinth, there were many people eager to hear from God. Likewise, God has you right now, with your resources and those you will encounter over the coming year, in a place of incredible blessing and opportunity. Like this Scripture passage, your situation may start with adversity, conflict, and struggle. But God is with you!           Not much is said here about the roles Aquila, Priscilla, Titius Justus, and Crispus played. But I do not doubt that each of them is a hero of the faith. The message God gave to Paul here, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many peo

  Acts 17:16-34  - Christmas - A Time for Revival It seems like an uphill battle for the modern Church (Canadian or American) to make a positive impact. However, I feel like the Church is about to make a tremendous revival. To do so, we must ensure that we don’t serve two masters. Divided loyalty (James 1) has always been a significant challenge. If we serve two masters, the Church will be impotent, useless, and ineffective for the Cause of Christ. At the end of the day, we may find ourselves quite adequate for the kingdom of darkness - pray that is not the case. We simply can’t serve both God and money. Sorry, we can’t. I just read about John Wesley’s claim against Oxford University in his famous 1741 sermon penned but not preached, “Hypocrycy in Oxford.” Strong stuff. As in Wesley’s time today, many of our modern doctrines and practice fail to follow Scriptural Christianity. Too direct? I don’t mean to overstate it. But I think Wesley was right then, and he’d be equally

  Acts 17:1-15  - Preach like Paul Pub in London, England, with Samuel We should follow God’s New Testament example. That example means preaching everywhere. Jesus preached on the beaches, the riverbanks, the hills, and the streets. He is our authority to be bold and creative. Likewise, the Acts Churchmen preached in synagogues, fields, houses, public places, debating clubs, and academic settings. We see the fruit of that method in the Acts Church and in the times of the great revivalists who turned the world upside down and grew the Church in their time (Whitefield and Wesley, for example, 1700s England and America). I hope God uses us and many more to do the same today. Oh, Lord God, let us not be fearful; may we be bold in preaching the Gospel. As we preach, we will see opposition - just as Paul and Silas did here in this passage and as Whitefield and Wesley did in their time. Yet, oddly, with the opposition comes excellent opportunity and incredible results. As you preac

  Acts 16:6-40  - Trusting God Through Adversity and Success Every trip begins somewhere. How on earth do we decide where and when to go? And who to take with us? Acts 16 gives us insight into how much God loves us and his providential power to lead us.          We are a road-tripping family. That’s often the case with Western Canadians. We get used to the highways, as straight, long, and snow-covered as they may be. And having five kids, we couldn’t afford to fly. So we piled the kids in the minivan, and off we’d go - West to Vancouver Island, East to Saskatchewan, or south to the gold ol’ USA. We’ve always made it a family habit to pray in the vehicle before we embark. We recognize the need for God’s guidance and protection.           This Scripture passage reminds us that God cares about our path; He goes to great lengths to get us on it! God’s GPS is much better than Garmin’s. God will call or prompt or nudge or draw us to go where we are needed. Right to the bullse

  Acts 16:6-12 Uncle Solomon and Abraham with their nephew, Jack. God cares for orphans and widows. He cares for people that are hard to reach. He cares for the poor. And, like Lydia of Thyatira, he especially rewards those who seek him and worship him. God loves all people. And God takes pleasure in all he has made (Psalm 104), and he has an excellent plan to bring His Good News to people - just as He does in this passage. I’m writing this during the Christmas season of 2022. I’m mindful of the great lengths God goes to rescue us. He is the Shepherd that searches for and saves the lost sheep. I need to care for what God cares for. I recognize and thank God for everything He made. This is a season of grand celebration. I hope it is for you and your family, too. Everything depends on God. We see in this Acts 16 story of Paul's trip to Macedonia. We hear about a foreigner, Lydia, who was a long way from home (she's at Philippi, and she's from Thyatira - my gues