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RE Verse reading–Psalm 34 (day seven)  “O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”  (vs 3)  Praise to God is not a choice that should be left to individual choice or mood.  Having overcome his own saddness (see 1 Samuel 22) David begins to enlist others to the life-giving privilege of praise.  Psalm 34 is a song.  A song of evangelism.  A song of enlistment.  A song sung to his men.  Are we compelled in similar fashion?  If others do not praise God, do we encourage them to join us?  Secular culture treats faith as a matter of privacy.  In many ways, some subtle, some not, it argues that believers should be silent and non-intrusive toward people who do not praise God.  David disagress.  So does Jesus.  “true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; for such people the Father SEEKS to be His worshippers.” (John 4:23)  God seeks people to worship.  He extends an invitation.  Do we?

RE Verse reading–Psalm 34 (day six)  “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips”  (vs 1)  It is changing my life!  Something that I learned late, and glad to know  even now.  To survive is not the highest goal.  To succeed is secondary.  To serve and praise God is my first and best responsibility.  “I will bless the Lord at all times“, says young David in the midst of a circumstance that would have destroyed most of us.  (See superscription for the historical context.)  “His praise will be always on my lips.”  All times!  Not just when things are good.  Always!  Not just when I feel safe or happy.  Praise is not something we give God as payment for services rendered.  It is not something we owe Him in prosperity.  At an early age (before he was 30) David came to a life-changing discovery.  “Rejoice always. . .in everything give thanks”  (1 Thessalonians 5:16, 18)  All times!  Always!

Re Verse reading Acts 28:17-31(day five). Acts 18:15 “At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.”  Donald Whitney’s book 15 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, poses the revealing question: “Do you delight in the Bride of Christ?”  It’s a great question.  Our relationship to The Church (The Bride of Christ) says more about our spiritual health than the health of the church.  The scripture says Paul was encouraged by the presence of fellow Christians and gave thanks for them.  “The closer you are to The Lord, the closer you will be to other believers” – Peter Jeffrey.  Let’s pause this weekend and give thanks for the Body of Believers where God has placed us!  Let’s pray for the ministries and members! Let’s look for opportunities to be an encouragement to our church!  Whitney’s challenge is for us to find “irresistible joy in the presence and ministry of Christ’s people, both in congregational form and as individuals”.

Re Verse reading Acts 28:17-31(day four)  Today is Thanksgiving Day!  We are reminded to give thanks for the blessings of life.  In today’s reading, we have the greatest reason to give thanks.  We find it in verse 28, “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles;”  There is no greater blessing…God in His infinite grace and goodness, has extended to us…the Gentiles…His salvation.  As you spend time today thanking God for the blessings in your life, take time to thank Him that He included us in His infinite plan.  Just as Paul was faithful to share the Gospel with both Jews and Gentiles alike in every city he visited, find someone today to tell about Jesus.  Just like for Paul…some of those who hear will accept the gift of grace, some will reject it.  We are called to be faithful to share…and leave the results to the Holy Spirit.

RE Verse reading–Acts 28:17-31 (day three)  God used poverty and weakness for his own entrance into the world, but God doesn’t always work through such lowly means.  When the times are right for world-shifting movements, he often employs significant influencers of thought to herald his work.  Such an influencer was Paul.  Here was an intellectual colossus, holding forth at the world center for commerce, trade, and ideas.  Yes, he was a prisoner, but that doesn’t always mean a person is socially marginalized.  Some of history’s most profound shapers come to mind: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King, Jr.—no strangers to incarceration.  Paul changed the world in chains, God helping him.  Will you pray that God would usher more providentially placed highly influential disciples into the public square in our own society?

RE Verse reading–Acts 28:17-31 (day two) “It is spoken against everywhere” (17:22). Whether we realize it or not, we have entered a cultural climate that no longer favors historic Christianity as its dominate worldview. The basic truths upon which our faith rests are not just opposed by our culture. They are foreign to our culture. God exists. Sin deserves death. Jesus is a substitute sacrifice. Restoration is coming. These ideas are “spoken against everywhere” and require the kind of response that Paul gave…“expounding” and “witnessing” and “persuading” from dawn til dusk if need be (17:23). It’s not enough for pastors to be proficient in proclaiming these truths. Every believer must “always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). Can’t do it? Then find a pastor or teacher or trusted friend and “arrange a day” (17:23) to discuss these truths. Our culture won’t sit around waiting. Will you?

 

RE Verse reading–Acts 28:17-31 (day one)  “Boldly and without hindrance (akoluo) he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ”  (vs 31)  The Bible says a strange thing about the “confident Christian life”.  Philippians 1:28 says, “in no way alarmed by your opponents –which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you.”  What?  Believers who are filled with the Spirit experience an infinite supply of hope and joy.  Without taking any credit, we are not alarmed by our opponents.  Greater is He who is in us. . .  When non-believers see this LIFE, they are often angry or convicted that they are strangers to such hope.  LIFE, in this way, is a critique of world system and its failure to produce true righteousness.  This week our study is Acts 28.   The final word in the final chapter of this great book is akoluo, “unhindered, unrestrained, unconquered.”  Paul knew this LIFE.  It was (is) a gift from God and a sign of destruction for those who do not believe.

RE Verse reading–Acts 16:25-34, Acts 17:1-34  (day seven)  “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening”  (16:25)  Worship today at FBC (I will see you in a few hours) will be this same story, told three different ways.  In preparation for the Lord’s Supper (eucharist translates two greek words which mean “good gift”), we will think about the last night of Christ’s life.  Before going out to face his own unjust arrest and brutal death, He paused with his disciples to sing a hymn. Amazing!  It is the same attitude that Paul and Silas had.  Not prison nor ill treatment was enough to silence their song or make their hearts ungrateful.  It will be the same on Thursday (Thanksgiving).  Our pilgrims founders did not focus on their losses or suffering.  They marked the goodness of God and gathered for the purpose of giving Him thanks.  May the Lord teach us all this lesson of life!

RE Verse reading–Acts 16:25-34, Acts 17:1-34 (day six)  “At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized”  (16:33)  Salvation plants love in the human heart.  “We love because He first loved us.”  “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”  Acts 16 tells this truth in a tender story.  As the jailer listened to the good news of God’s love,  he suddenly became aware of Paul and Silas’ needs.  They were wounded.  The risk of infection was high.  At great personal risk, He took them out of prison to his home so that he could care for them, he could LOVE them.  And they returned the favor.  Having washed their wounds (skin) he became the recepient of baptism, a symbol of washing for wounds (soul)  How eloquent the gospel is when we love!  Friends, do we wash wounds?  Do we heal or do we criticize?

RE Verse reading–Acts 16:25-34, Acts 17:1-34 (day four) I was drawn to the words in Acts 17, “According to Paul’s custom” (verse 2).  In the midst of all the tension, excitement, and opportunities, Paul was still focused enough to keep regular rhythms and priorities.   Luke writes that Paul’s friends and ministry partners knew where He would be on the Sabbath.  He would carve out time to be in the synagogue preaching/teaching/reasoning.  That ministry mattered to Paul and he must have sensed a real burden to remain faithful to that activity.  How about us?  What are the “non-negotiables” of our time and faith?  Meeting regularly with other believers?  Spending time in the Scripture each day?  Sharing our faith?  Having a home that places faith as the top priority?  Praying with and for our children and grandchildren?  Do the predictable patterns of our lives point to the power and promise of the Gospel?  Do our regular activities signal a growing relationship with The Living God?  According to (insert your name here)’s custom …