Lesson for 11/29

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 18:1-11. Its titled "Teaching God's Word. As we begin to read the scriptures - Paul is yet again traveling and preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Over the course of the previous lessons we can see the zeal and passion Paul has for bringing people closer to God, through Jesus Christ. Verse 4 brings out how "each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. Once Silas and Timothy arrived, Paul spent ALL of his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. Verse 6 says "but when they oppressed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, "Your blood is upon your own heads - I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles" (Non Jews) - Then Paul left. At times in our lives today, what we have to offer is not always valued. We may find ourselves putting forth the best effort we know how, and still get mocked by the people around us; whether on the job, school, or even church. But take a look at what God says to Paul in verse 9! "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, "Don't be afraid! Speak out! Don't be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack or harm you, for many people in this city belong to me." So Paul stays there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God! What encouragement this is for us! Despite the adversity we may face - let us understand that we should not be afraid. God does not give us a Spirit of fear, but of love and Faith! If what you are doing is of God, and is making a positive impact on where ever God has placed you, then you will prevail! Verse 10 again says, " For I am with you, and no one will attach or harm you..." Keeping that scripture in mind when things appear tough or don't look good - is a blessing in itself. The end of verse 10 says " for many people in this city belong to me" - One tactic of the enemy is to make you feel alone, that no one understands you and everyone is against your decisions; but God has people that belong to Him! Meaning there is someone that He has purposely aligned in your life to be that stone of encouragement! To support your decisions, to help you along the way! They are often right under our noses; willing, ready, and prayed up! So that we all can do like Paul did in verse 11! He stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God. What ever ministry, outreach, gospel, purpose or mission you have; stick with it! No matter how bad things may initially appear, take this lesson to heart and trust that God is always with you!

Thanks for reading, God bless!

Lesson for 11/22

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 17:1-4, 10-12, 22-25, 28. "Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens" - The lesson focuses still on Paul and Silas's journeys as they continue to spread the gospel. In Acts 17 they begin their preaching work in Thessalonica, where Paul is "³ explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” ⁴ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women." - They were explaining the importance, the sacrifice and how important it was for Jesus to die for our sins, and be raised; as He was the greatest sacrifice on behalf of mankind. John 3:16 reminds us, that "for God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." That was the disciples mission! To draw people closer to God, through His Son Jesus. Its our mission today too. The publication skips around with the scriptures - I always encourage to read the entire chapter for yourself. The verses I am being led to focus on today are verses 28-33. Paul is telling the men of Athens. For “‘In Him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. ³⁰ The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, ³¹ because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”³² Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” ³³ So Paul went out from 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.

These last verses speak so much volume, the disciples are telling them (and us) that God commands everyone to repent. He has appointed His Son Jesus, who sits at His right side (Like 22:69) to carry out His Will. As believers today, those who are actively seeking to carry out the purpose God has for them; to spread the good news of His Son, there will be hard times. Verse 32 brings out how some of the people mocked them and their preachings; that will happen, but to God be the glory, there will still be people that we will reach, encourage, love, and more importantly, save!

Thanks for reading! Stay blessed all!

Lesson for 11/15

Hey all, the Sunday School lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 16, 1-5, 8-15. Its titled Ready, Set, Go!" This lesson simply brings out in the first 5 verses how Paul meets a young disciple by the name of Timothy. They began to travel and teach - verse 5 says " So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day. As they continued their outreach in ministry, verse 9 says - "that night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, "come over to Macedonia and help us" - Verse 10, "So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there." 

God often reveals things and calls us to certain places to do His work. The man in Paul's vision represents a need that needs to be fulfilled. Today we can see that in our communities, churches, homes, our friends, families and co-workers are in need. We all have a job to do, and can do something to help! Some of us are even being called to travel to other areas to make an impact there! One key thing in verse 10, it says - "having concluded what God" - They didn't just jump up and move to an unknown area, this implies they had to discern, think and pray - and once God gave them the answer, they DECIDED to leave for Macedonia. - As believers today, God gives us a choice. When He makes the answer known to you, its then up to you to fulfill and embrace that mission. Don't miss the opportunity, but pray and ask for clarity on what you feel God is preparing you for. Don't let Him pass you by!
As you continue to read, you will see the events that transpired while they were there in Macedonia preaching the Good News of God and His Son Jesus.  I recommend reading the entire Acts 16:1-40. Very encouraging.
Ready, Set, Go! - Be active and realize that our missions are to fulfill God's Will.
May we also keep Paris in prayer.
God bless!

The Keep God First Schedule

The Keep God First Schedule

As Christians we often find it difficult to truly keep God first. We get wrapped up in our day to day schedules. We find ourselves busy or overwhelmed with work, school, families and other commitments we may have. A lot of us pray, attend church every Sunday and maybe even bible study each week. We often believe or are led to believe that this is sufficient; giving God only 2-3 hours once or twice a week.  As it is not, quite frankly if anything, it should be the other way around. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (KJV) says:  ^“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing.  In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

The below schedule, in my opinion, will help focus, encourage, and motivate those with a GENIUNE zeal and passion to serve God in a better way. This schedule is just to provide an example; you should do what you are led to do.

Time	Monday	Tuesday		Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Wake-up	Prayer	Prayer		Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer	Prayer
Mid/Eve	Dev/Pry	Dev/Pry		Dev/Pry	Dev/Pry	Dev/Pry		Church
Night	1 on 1	Friend		1 on 1	1 on 1	1 on 1	Family

The time column doesn’t have numeric values because this should be personal, and a time should be selected based off of what works best between you and God.

-        -  The morning wakeup prayer, held each day, will help you as you start your morning. (Instead of me quoting one verse, READ Matthew 6:1-34) This explains how to pray a genuine prayer, and for us to not worry, but “seek God and his kingdom first, and everything will be added to us.”

-         -  The Mid-day or evening devotion/meditation should also be daily, perhaps on lunch break, for some sort of reading. I.E daily bread, daily devotion, reflection. - 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (While reading your devotional, you never know who may be watching and may want to read along with or after you.)

-        -  I recommend a time be set at night, for just you and God;  quiet time, alone time – For whatever you want to bring to Him. Pray, read, meditate, relax and let go! 1 one 1 time. Matthew 6:6 “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

-        -  Not only 1 on 1 time, but also take a day or two out of the week to study or pray with someone else. Friend, Co-worker, family worship night.

These are just minor examples of what can be done to give God the Glory He so much deserves. Remember to keep faith, and pray – in the name of Jesus!   John 3:16 – For God SO LOVED the world that He gave his only begotten Son, whosoever beleiveth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Lesson for 11/8

Hey all, the Sunday school lesson for tomorrow comes from Acts 15:1-12. Its titled "God Makes No Distinction" The lesson starts with "certain men" from Judea causing controversy in the church, saying "unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved" Verse 2 brings out how Paul and Barnabas disagreed with this notion and are sent to Jerusalem to talk to the apostles and elders concerning this. Along the way, Paul, Barnabas, and a few others stopped to visit believers in surrounding areas; they shared how Gentiles were being converted and saved. Verse 4 brings out, when they arrived in Jerusalem they were welcomed and reported everything God had done through them. To deviate from the lesson for a bit,  its good to share what God has done THROUGH you, not only what He's done FOR you. How did someone else see God's glory from the assistance you provided them or the positive news you shared? Back to verse 5, it states "Some of the believers that belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, "The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses" As a background, the reason the few were so adamant on circumcision is because in the book of Genesis, ch. 17 verse 14 - God tells Abraham that "any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” - but as we know from previous lessons and through faith, that we have been given grace, through God's Son, Jesus Christ. The final verses perfectly summarize this lesson. "God knows people's hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles (non Jews, that means us, our neighbors, co-workers, friends, - all believers) by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did us" Peter then continues by saying "He made no distinction between us and them, for He cleansed their hearts through faith." Verse 10, Peter asks the Pharisees, why are they challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a such an unbearable law, that even them nor their ancestors could keep. To God be the glory, for its by the grace of His Son Jesus, that we are saved. We are able to choose! We can repent and learn from our mistakes! May we not persecute each other with judgmental words, but rebuke in love, and continually encourage that we are saved by grace! God loves each and every one of us equally and wishes no one to perish.

Stay blessed and thanks for reading.