“The
former treatise have I made, O Theophilus,
of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in
which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given
commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To
whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs,
being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God:” ~ Acts 1:1-3
Father
in the name of Jesus I pray thankful that You are living and real. I pray that
You speak to me vividly and directly. Let this Word convict my soul and pierce
me to the depths of my heart. Lord, speak to me please. Holy Spirit please
illuminate my eyes and open them to see what You are relaying to me in this
very moment and season of my life please. I ask this in Jesus name! AMEN!
The Book of Acts is quite possibly one of
the most powerful books of the entire Bible.
All throughout the Book of Acts we see miracles, signs and wonders and
most importantly the Gospel being spread all throughout the world with a
purpose. We see God doing the most
powerful work He can do in our lives, direct us. We see the Holy
Spirit setting aside people to do the work of God and we see the Holy Spirit
forbidding people to preach in certain places.
We see the Holy Spirit using people in new ways, ways they have never
been used and throughout all this we can begin to understand that God wants to
do the same with us. The Holy Spirit
wants to make the Book of Acts the book that you are in too. Whoa, that sounds weird doesn’t it?
We find that the Book of Acts is written to
an individual named “Theophilus.” Not
much is known about this character however, by the title “most excellent” (Luke
1:3) we can find that he is someone of significance. Possibly, he was a Roman Official of high
degree, however we see him getting his hands on a copy of the Gospel of
Luke. Interestingly, by the time Luke
wrote the Acts of the Apostles, we see that the title “Most Excellent” is
dropped, we only see Luke referring to him as “O Theophilus.” Throughout our life with Christ, we will
begin to see our nature/wants shifting and changing, we begin to see that
things that we used to like, we don’t like. However, we also see the flipside,
we do things that we don’t want to do and wish we could stop, because we know it’s
not pleasing in the eyes of God.
Theophilus must have gone through a period of brokenness to where he
laid down the pride that was in his life.
How many of us flip out if we don’t get called by our title? “Oh, they didn’t call me Bishop or Apostle”
and now you’re ready to flip out on them and never speak to them again. This is the same thing that must have
occurred with Theophilus.
Theophilus is actually a person, however if
we dissect his name we can find ourselves either involved in it or separated
from it. The name “Theophilus” means
“lover of God.” The Greek word “theo”
means “God” and the philus or phileo means “love.” What are you today? Are you a lover of
God? If you think about your life for a
moment, could you really be considered a lover of God?
When we think about loving God sometimes we
can get crazy ideas and sometimes we don’t even know what to think? What does
that even mean? How can I love someone I can’t see? After all, even if God
loved me He doesn’t do everything I want Him to do, so why love Him back? How can I appreciate Him when He doesn’t save
my family or mold my wife into what I want her to be? How can I
love God? It sounds strange. We are humans, well some of us, (just joking) but we have this idea that
love is only seen in physical standpoints.
In other words “I have to see
you in order to love you.” What a tragedy,
this mindset right here is why we have teenage pregnancies, broken
relationships, torn apart marriages, etc. etc. We don’t know what love is!
What’s love got to do with it? We don’t know what it is, how can we, we can’t
see love, we can’t always feel it and if I don’t feel good, watch out, I’ll
snap on you! We can’t see God; we can’t see love, so how in the world can I
even think of doing such a thing?
Loving God is something that we learn in our
lifetime, not a blog. Loving God
is something that takes place in the soul of a person who has laid down their
life for God. When we think of
love and God at the same time, it’s not always, “God gave me this car, I praise
Him for it” it’s more so “I give my life to
Jesus, to do His will, because He
died in my spot.” Loving God
generally has nothing to do with materialistic goods or opportunities; loving
God is different. When it comes to loving God the truth of the
matter is, loving God is seen when you don’t have what you want. Loving God is seen when you prayed for
something for years and you don’t get it, but you still pray for others,
you still serve in your local Church; you still bear the Cross that Jesus made
and allowed. Loving God is so different from loving things. When you really love God you are compelled by
Him to submit your will to His.
We often quote: “For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts
of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11) We love that, we shout about it, “good God
Almighty, God’s gotta plan for me.” However, if you ask any Christian that’s
“been around the block” they will tell you that fulfilling the plan of God
isn’t always easy. Sometimes accepting
the plan of God is the hardest thing that you
can do. We are thrown on the altar
of mercy at times, not knowing whether it’s going to turn out good. We just saw
the Doctors report, it’s not good, we just heard about chemotherapy and we had
our first treatment. It’s in distressing times that we often look at our
circumstances and situations and say “Lord, what about Your plan?” We think and question God because we don’t understand
His plan. God said in His Word that “His ways are higher than ours” (Isaiah 55:8) yet we don’t always want
to hear that scripture. When things get tough we don’t appreciate much
scripture, if the truth be told, sometimes the Word doesn’t bring as much
comfort as we want. We can look at it and think God if “this” is your plan, I don’t
want it. I want out of this marriage,
I don’t want it. I want out of being single, I don’t want it. I want out of
this old car, I don’t want it. I want out of this divorce, I don’t want it. We
look at life and think about the plans of God and say “I don’t want this.”
So what do we do about it? How can we
overcome the problems of life? The answer is
to love God. It sounds so hard and
so easy to say, but it’s just complex.
We read in the Bible we are supposed to “submit ourselves to God.” (James 4:7) Submit doesn’t sound like a
good word. If God knew it was going to
be easy all the time that scripture wouldn’t even be in the Bible. God has a plan, that can bring so much comfort, but
when things get rough and a bit out of control we can think “am I in the will
of God?” We question His plan in pain. What are you facing right now? Is your commitment and dedication to God growing
or diminishing? Love God, that’s the answer. We often quote a scripture in
our problems that can bring comfort, but we so often bypass a statement that
brings out the conditions of the promise.
We say “all things work together for good to them that love God to them
that are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Fast forwarding
through that verse can hinder us so much, we have to love God! What is
loving God? What are some ways that I
can prove my love for God? How can I
grow my love for God? How can I see if I truly do love God?
1)
Studying the Word of God – In order to grow in our relationship
with Jesus Christ, we have to know Jesus Christ. Ask anyone in a relationship,
if there is no communication there is no peace.
No communication in the life of a Christian happens when we neglect the
Word of God. Sure, it’s boring at first,
it can even be boring to you now and you’re 50 years old. The thing about the
Word of God is; when it’s boring at first, it’s just because we don’t
understand it. When we begin to take
time, buy a study Bible, go to Bible study and do the things that help us
understand and learn it, we begin to realize “I’ve missed out!” We begin to realize “this is what life is all
about! I love this!” When we begin to search the Word of God we don’t
think it’s boring, we know it’s amazing.
When we begin to apply the Word of God we can see its complete life
changing and transforming power. The
more you know about God, the more you grow, the more you grow, the more you
want to know, but the question is, have you started and where did you
start? Many of us start off strong, we
make New Year’s resolutions to do something, and “I’m going to read through the
entire Bible in one year.” We boast about it, but once we get to Leviticus and
Numbers we stop. Where have you stopped in your knowledge of the Word of
God? We live in a day and age where we
can learn so much about God and most importantly, understand that He is a great
teacher and has been teaching us since day one.
What are you up to right now? What have you been doing in your spare
time? Do you have a Bible? More
importantly, do you study and read it? Check out the links at the bottom of the
page, they might help. In order to grow in your love for God, you must study
the Word of God; the Holy Bible.
2)
Prayer – Prayer, what can we say about prayer. Well, at first it’s weird, you are talking,
but it doesn’t seem like it makes a difference.
You’re just sitting there talking to “nobody.” It can seem strange at
first. Praying is something that is vitally important to Christians, yet we so
often lack a proper prayer life. We
are so busy, we have children, and we
have a husband that’s grouchy if we don’t do everything for him and all that.
We have so much to do, but we so often really don’t ever get anything
done. Have you looked at your goal
sheet? God has given each of us 24 hours a day and He knew that you would have time to pray and read the Word of God
otherwise He would have made 26 hours. God has a purpose behind prayer, but so
often we come to God in prayer in a fake fashion. We come to God and tell Him our problems,
desires and wants. We often complain and
call it praying, but we forget about the power of prayer. Prayer stopped the weather in the Bible when
Elijah prayed that it wouldn’t rain for over three years. Prayer opened prison doors in the Book of
Acts. Prayer can do so much, but we do so little of it. Why is that? It’s
the devil, for one, but more importantly,
how can we get back into the habit of prayer? Well, first off, let’s be
realistic, we don’t do it enough, we just don’t, without admitting this to God
we won’t make it. We have to come to God and be truthful, “Lord, I don’t like
praying, Lord my knee’s hurt, Lord, my eyes get so dull and I get tired.” If we
don’t go to God with these things, we will never have victory. Prayer is all about Christ having reign in
your life, you becoming like Christ and Christ being seen in your life. Prayer
however is also designed for you to be able to be truthful with God. We pray, but we don’t really pray, we sort of
“beat around the bush” with God. We talk about everything but what really
matters the most. We tend to hide areas
of our heart with God and by doing that we shut off the power of the Holy
Spirit and we live in defeat instead of victory. God has a purpose behind prayer, but have you
prayed? In order to grow in your love for God, you must pray.
3)
Fellowship – One thing that we often miss in the Christian
community is real genuine fellowship. We tend to talk, but we don’t really
fellowship. We talk about what’s
going on in the world, who’s cute, what so and so wore and who sang the songs
in Church, but we don’t get down to really speaking about important
matters. We tend to “beat around the
bush” with people as well. We talk about
certain things, but we never really open up. After all, we’ve been so hurt; who in the world can I trust? When people ask us “how are you doing today”
we usually say “I’m great, terrific, blessed and highly favored,” but in all
reality we are hurt, we just got abused by our boyfriend and we don’t know what
to do, we are confused and isolated from the world. We tend to have hidden hurts inside of us and
we never really open up and talk to one another about it. Fellowship has a purpose, that purpose is
Christ and Him becoming real to other
believers. Fellowship can break yokes in the lives of Christians, but how can we
do it if we don’t have a prayer life and Word life? Those two elements cultivate godly
communication and fellowship. Without a knowledge of God, we are bound to
only talk about shoes, what so and so did and whoever else got on our nerves
today at work. We talk about what we know, well some of us (not joking). Just think about it, what
if God stepped into your conversation, what would it be like? Who could you
encourage? Who could you impact for Christ? If God became something you talked
about around the lunch hour? What if God became the center of your conversation
and the jealousy and gossip left? Think
about that, what if God came into your life in such a way that all of the hurt,
anger and depression left and what stayed was Him. That sounds terrific,
but the truth of the matter is, it comes through these three things. There is so much more to finding how to love
God and how to grow in your love for God, but these three are essential. Fellowship, where are you going to Church?
Have you joined a Ministry? Have you actively pursued Christ through the study
of the Gospels? Have you sought after God’s will for your marriage or boyfriend
trouble in prayer? Have you ever thought about just telling God the truth about
why you feel the way you feel and do what you do? In order to grow in your love
for God, you must fellowship.
Well, this sounds crazy, but you are in a
way “Theophilus.” Well, it sounds crazy,
but you are still in the Book of Acts.
The Book of Acts doesn’t have
a complete ending. Why? Because Jesus Christ isn’t finished with
the Church, He still has a work to do through you. Luke told Theophilus that there were things
that Jesus began (didn’t finish)
doing and God is still doing that
work through the Church of Jesus Christ. Are you saved? Have you believed in
Jesus Christ yet? If not, what are you
waiting on, do you know how needed you are to me, to your family, to
your household, to your Church family?
God has a plan for your life, sure, it might not be what you want it to
be, but you can rest assured that it is amazing, because God and you are in it and
you work together. Have you done something significant for
someone lately? I mean a person that you don’t like, someone you really don’t
appreciate or care for? Why not buy a card and put some money
in it and just bless them? Why not
just ask them if they need prayer and pray for them on the spot or privately? Why not just go talk to someone, look
for the one who is standing alone all the time, speak to them; stand up in someone’s
life. There are people that need
you, because God is in your heart.
God changes everything, He makes everything beautiful, you are who He is
changing and making beautiful, but your beauty isn’t for yourself, it’s for someone else. In order to grow in your love for God, you
must love
others. What are you waiting on?
Yeah, things might not be what you want them to be right now, the man isn’t
there, the wife isn’t on the way yet, I know that, but God wants you to be
active where you are. Start by
checking out some of these links or reading the Word of God. God wants you to be actively pursuing Him
daily. He is worthy, Jesus died for your sins and mine, He is worthy of our
worship and adoration. We praise Him the
most when we purposefully decide to spend time with Him. Think about it naturally, how would you feel
if your spouse or significant other took off work on your day off and just sat
down with you and talked? You’d love it,
that would change the whole atmosphere of the day and the relationship as a whole;
it would go to the next level. Try that
with God and see if He won’t do the exact same thing with you. Amen!
Father in Jesus name, I thank You for being
a personal and active God. I thank You for being loving and active in my
personal life and speaking to me about You and what I should do to get to know
You. Holy Spirit I pray that You sink this word into my heart. Help me to love
others, help me to study the Bible, help me to pray and help me to fellowship. Lord, help me find a way to bless someone in
these coming days, even people who have hurt me. Help me and let me start by
You placing them on my heart now to pray for them. Lord, let them come to You, let those around
me see You in me and believe. Lord, let me be like the woman at the well and
tell others about You. Purify my heart and tongue; let my conversation be one
that is godly and one that convicts others about the truth of Jesus
Christ. God, become my life. God, become
my passion. God, become my everything and my all-consuming desire. Lord, I ask
this knowing You are able and for that I say thank You. AMEN!
_____________________________________________________________
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as
your personal Lord and Savior?
If not, here’s what you are missing.
You are missing satisfaction in life. You are missing the blessings of
God in and through your life. You are missing the blessing of being able to
know God intimately and know Him for the pardoning of your sins. You are missing the blessing of being able to
serve God and impact your community and the world around you. You are missing the beauty of God revealing
Himself to you and helping you in your daily life. You are missing out on such
great things. God wants the best for you
and His best starts with you admitting you have sinned against Him and that you
need a Savior for your sins, that Savior is Jesus Christ. Like me, will you rebel against God’s plan
and will for your life? Will you submit to Gods will so He can save you and
redirect your life? God can get you off
any drugs, any habit or addiction, nothing can stop God and God will stop at
nothing to stop it from stopping you from reaching your full potential for
Christ. God loves you so much, why wait
and why reject His message. If you want
to be saved for-real, just pray this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I have sinned, I am a sinner, I have sinned and will sin, but I
have sinned only against You. Lord, I am in need of Your forgiveness. I believe
You died for my sins and You rose from the dead. I believe You are God and that
You have the capability to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from my
unrighteousness. Lord, please save me and draw me to You by Your grace. Fill me
with Your Spirit. Baptize me in Your power and help me to live a lifestyle that
is pleasing in Your sight. Give me victory over temptation, Lord, strengthen me
to be all who You want me to be please in Jesus Name! AMEN!”
"God loved the world this way:
He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will
have eternal life." ~ John 3:16 (God’s Word Translation)
"That
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a
person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation. For
the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be [disappointed.” For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord
of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the
name of the Lord will be saved.” ~ Romans 10:9-13 (NASB)
These links may help you in your walk with Jesus Christ. I urge you to take a look at some and
remember to draw closer to God through studying His Word and praying daily for
yourself and most importantly, others.
God Bless!
[List of Bible Promises!
http://www.intouch.org/resources/gods-promises?page480=2 ]
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
~ Romans 10:17 (King James Version)
http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/PrayerAndCounseling/index.aspx [Prayer
Request; Have someone online pray for you!]
"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces
wonderful results." ~ James 5:16 (New Living Translation)
http://www.OurPrayer.org [Prayer Request; People from all over the world can
pray for YOU, simple, fast, free and beneficial.]
http://www.Bible.cc [Great site for searching through the Bible and
comparing each version, also charts, commentaries and dictionaries]
"Don’t get drunk on wine, which leads to wild living. Instead, be
filled with the Spirit." ~ Ephesians 5:18 (Gods Word Translation)
http://www.biblegateway.com [Great site for Bibles of various kinds and
various languages]
"A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the
bones." ~ Proverbs 14:30 (New International Version)
http://www.Christianword.org [Great site for prayers; affirmations,
scripture references etc.]
http://www.e-sword.net [Great site to download Bible software; commentaries,
dictionaries, maps, charts, various Bibles]
"A patient person [shows] great understanding, but a quick-tempered one
promotes foolishness." ~ Proverbs 14:29 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
http://www.twft.org [Pastor Chuck Smith's Through The Bible audio sermons]
http://www.c28.com [Christian Clothing, etc.]
http://www.intouch.org/itrn?utm_source=ITM&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Home_top_slider
[In Touch Ministries 24/7 Radio Broadcast Online; Free Streaming]
http://www.intouch.org/resources/gods-promises?page480=2 [List of Bible
Promises! (Easy to Print)]
"In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children
will have refuge." ~ Proverbs 14:26 (New American Standard Bible)
http://www.wmpress.org [FREE Christian Tracts] [Shipped to your doorstep for
free.] [Pass out, leave somewhere (school, bus stop, grocery store, mall,
shopping center, etc.), send in a Birthday, Holiday or Christmas Card; Simple
ways to plant seeds of faith in people, even without speaking.]
[ORDER FORM for WMPRESS.ORG] http://www.wmpress.org/booklet_order.php [BOOKLETS/STUDY GUIDES/ GOSPEL TRACTS
AVAILABLE TO ORDER FROM WMPRESS.ORG] http://www.wmpress.org/bksavail.shtml
http://www.intouch.org/about/in-touch-messenger/messenger-downloads
[Download 35 POWERFUL sermons from Charles Stanley in less than five minutes,
compressed ZIP FILE.] [3 Languages; Pray for the Ministry of donating, giving
and supplying these handheld devices to spread the Gospel to the remote areas
of the world and throughout the 'known' world.] [Pray!]
"For, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." ~ Romans 10:13 (American Standard Version)
http://www.thruthebible.org/site/c.irLMKXPGLsF/b.4104233/k.BFE1/MP3_Download_of_5Year_Series.htm
[Dr. J Vernon McGee's Through The Bible 5 Year Series; Free downloads]
[THREE Great Biblical Prayers Ephesians 3:14-21, Ephesians 1:16-20 &
Colossians 1:9-14, pray them for you and others!]
http://www.biblegateway.christianbook.com [Buy Christian Bibles, great
selection of Study Bibles, commentaries, audio sermons, books, clothing, music,
gifts, art; etc.]
http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/today-on-radio [Charles Stanley's daily
radio broadcast; also clicking 'Audio Archives' can allow you to search years
back and download more of his radio broadcasts]
"I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and
peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the
Holy Spirit." ~ Romans 15:13 (New Century Version)
http://www.intouch.org/broadcast/this-week-on-tv [Charles Stanleys 'This
Week on TV' site; clicking 'Video Archives' can allow you to search back and
find older Television shows; He also has sermon notes available on each
show/segment]
"And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." ~
Romans 5:5 (English Standard Version)
http://www.twft.com/?page=C2000 [Pastor Chuck Smiths c2000 Through The Bible
series; free downloads of book by book, verse by verse Bible study/commentary]
"May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your
knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord." ~ 2 Peter 1:2 (New Living
Translation)
http://twft.com/?page=Radio.Main [Pastor Chuck Smiths Radio Broadcast; 25
minutes of study on the Word of God. c3000 edition]
[Study Bibles I suggest looking at; at CBD.com] 'Life in The Spirit Study
Bible' 'Zondervan Study Bible' Nelson KJV Study Bible' and 'ESV Study Bible.'
Christian Books; "Disciplines of The Holy Spirit" by Tan/Gregg;
"How to Listen to God" by Charles Stanley; "Living Waters"
by Pastor Chuck Smith; "Handbook for Christian Living" by Charles
Stanley;
"That I may KNOW Him" ~ Philippians 3:10
Start your day off with a Word from God; Prayer and a Song of Praise/Worship
THE ROYAL PRAYER LINE
Every Wednesday Morning
6:15 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.[EASTERN USA TIME]
Dial-in# (712) 432-1001
Access Code: 491276491#
Just Listen and Be Blessed!!!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/royal-baptist-sunday-services [PAST SERVICES
OF ROYAL MISSIONARY BAPTIST; SUNDAY SERVICES 8 AND 11 AM; Special Events and
Bible Study as well] Enjoy!
http://royalmbc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=58&Itemid=109
[My Churches Live Streaming; Sunday's at 8 AM & 11 AM. Thursdays for Bible
Study 7 PM; Enjoy, there IS a Word from The LORD!]
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