Bible Study - Acts 26

Read Acts 26

I love how much I can relate to Paul right now, and how God is using Paul's story to affect my life 2000 years later. Even though Paul has been locked up for the greater part of three years, he never gives up faith in God. 
Paul holds on to the promise that he was given when this all started;

Acts 23:11 

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

As God has promised Paul, God has promised me. Because of His promises, I know that I will prosper, and that I have a hope and a future;

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Paul knows these things, and he knows that it is only through his faith in God that he has come this far. That is his testimony, and mine. I know that I have only come this far because I have faith in God. And because of this, He has already started to use me to affect those around me for good. 

Acts 26:22

But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike.

As much as it may never look like it, God is always by your side, preparing you for battle, and fighting it with you. He is always up to something good in our lives, even when we can't see it. That is where faith comes in. We have to trust Him enough to know that He has not left us, and that He will keep his sacred promises with us.

Dear Parents - Confide in Your Children

Dear Parents,

Tell your children what troubles you, confide in them. When they are in their teen years they need to know more than ever what the real world is like. They need to know that life is not about

relationship status, getting drunk and having sex. Our teens need to know that they are valuable, unique, trusted, and above all; loved.

It can be difficult to maintain a close, intimate relationship with your child. during their Jr/Sr high school years especially. Tell them something that you appreciate them doing, something unique about them that you enjoy seeing, something you wish they did differently - constructive criticism here, don't bash them for doing something incorrectly, tell them why you would have them do it differently. Tell your child what bothers you, let them know what your values are, and the battles that you are facing.

Let your children know that it is ok to mess up, but that we need to learn from each mistake. Let them know that you mess up too, you are human. Just like them.

Worship - Letting Go

Worship - 10,000 Reasons

Awesome worship song right here!

Bible Study - Acts 25

Read Acts 25

It is crazy the things that people will dispute. As Christians it is important to hold our ground, and stand up for what we believe.

If someone has a legitimate problem with something we have done. Let them say so, but do not fight back in harshness. Instead speak clam, and in a tone of love. If it is for God that trial comes to you, do not be afraid, for He is with you.

Be bold in what you do and say, but do not try to overwhelm people, or try to force love into them. For they will submit out of utter fear, rather than love. That is no good equation for success.

Bible Study - Acts 24

Read Acts 24

I want you to do some thinking on this one.

Looking at verses 24-27:
Why was Felix afraid of the words he heard from Paul?
Why was Felix partial to the Jews?
Why did Felix not want to make the decision himself?

How does this chapter apply to your life?
Do Something: Now, apply it to your life.

Bible Study - Acts 23

Read Acts 23

God is always watching over us, He will never look away from us. This is shown in chapter 23 when Paul's nephew heard what was being planned, and was able to tell Paul and the commander. Thus saving Paul's life from ambush.

In the midst of the chaos, God tells Paul that he will live to teach in Rome as he has in Jerusalem. When we give our lives to God, He will bless us beyond our imagination.

Do Something - Trust in The LORD

It can be very difficult sometimes to trust that God is with us, and that He is going to help us through our situation. Recently I lost a friend, not to death but to mere circumstance, and by no fault of my own. Even though I can't help but blame myself and feel like I have let them down. While part of me has been living in a world of uncertainty other bits have followed the example. Instead of only being uncertain of my training time-frame, I am now uncertain in my relationships as well. Uncertain how to help the ones I love and trust dearly. As difficult as this has been for me, it has been more difficult to just give it up to God. There has been a pressure on my of late that I have been unable to give into for fear that I will lose control of the situation. But as I give into it, and give it up to God, I realize that I never had control of the situation in the first place. Nothing in my power could have, or will, changed anything. God is the only one who I can trust to help me through this, and I am trusting Him to do just that.

God can handle your inability to handle what is going on.

Romans 8:28 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Psalms 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Isaiah 41

My pastor has preached much on this very subject lately, but when this all happened, I felt completely lost. So my advice to you is; Don't just listen to what others have to say, listen to them and meditate on it, spend time with God over it. Being a Christian is not about being religious and showing up to church, or reading your Bible. It's about being with God, and having a relationship with Him.

Do Something: After you read this, listen to this song and meditate on what God has promised you. Just be with Him, have a relationship with Him.

Bible Study - Acts 22

Read Acts 22

We need to understand and accept that not everyone is going to understand and accept our testimony. Paul was denied many times by many people, especially the Jewish people.

Here we see Paul's strength, and faith, in God. Paul does not fight the crowds, but speaks to them peacefully in their own tongue. He uses the rights God gave him at birth, and stands upon them.

Again, God could have placed us anywhere at any time, but He placed us precisely where we are so that we can be used to full potential.

Bible Study - Acts 21

Read Acts 21

We need to understand that God has placed us on this earth at a certain time and place that is specific to our calling. We are all going to die from this life, it's just a matter of what we accomplish for God while we are here. This life is worth nothing to us if we don't risk it for the glory of God. Paul knew this.

It is important to take counsel in our companions whom God has given us. While the Spirit was warning Paul through his friends, Paul was not afraid of what would happen to him. Even though it was evident that this would mean death, Paul was more than willing to give his life for the glory of God. Am I saying Paul's friends weren't hearing from God? No. I am saying that ultimately Paul knew what had to be done no matter the earthly consequences.

Video - And The Bride Wore White

Here is a great inspirational video for a great book by Dannah Gresh!

Learn more about her ministries at secretkeepergirl.com

Bible Study - Acts 20

Read Acts 20

I don't know about you, but when I read first person in the Bible it gives me a different sense of connection. I love that Luke had a heart to write down all of Peters words, but I also love that he puts in his own words and stories. It is a valuable thing to be able to hear a testimony first hand (I know that in the Bible we have translations, and it is written, so it is not perfect, but I get a sense that it's coming right from Luke). It gives the feeling that the stories are more real, because you are hearing them from someone who was there. (All the stories in the Bible are very real, I simply want to put emphasis on the way it comes across) This feeling arouses the question "Well can't God do that with me?" The answer is yes! God is willing to work through your life, you simply have to be willing to do what He tells you to. When you accept that God is willing you will begin to seek Him, and ask for Him to help you through things, and you will want to be welcomed into His home!

Matthew 7:7-8

"Ask and it will be given to you; 

seek and you will find; 

knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; 

he who seeks finds; 

and to him who knocks the door will be opened."

Who Are You?

Too often lately I have found myself questioning who I have become. I look ate my life and see only the bad things - the failures, the decisions poorly made, the opportunities lost - when I should be looking at the good things - the promises, the triumphs, the good choices, the lessons learned. The past few days I have stood in front of the mirror to look myself in the eyes and tell myself who I am, what my life is about, that everything will be ok because I am a child of God. I just need to trust Him; His timing is perfect. But the conscious decisions I make will also affect my outcome.

I want to share with you some of the things that I can remember saying through the Spirit one night. These were things that were reassurances of who I am and will be and are based off the question "Who Are You?"

Nothing is about you, it's all about God. You are a piece to His puzzle, a very important, unique and individual piece that is beyond compare. You are: Child of God, Heir to the throne of Grace, Athlete, Daughter, Friend, Counselor, Teacher, Follower, Leader, Servant, Passionate, Intelligent, Beautiful beyond compare, Gracious, Gifted, Humble, Honorable, Respectful, Loved by the most high God, Confident - Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Not your friends, not your enemies, and most importantly, not yourself.

Confidence and respect were the hardest for me to write down because I fail to see them as I look at even the good parts of my life. Many say I am respectful, but I know all to well that that is not true in all cases across my life. And some would venture far enough to say that I am confident in who I am, but I see a little girl cowering in the corner. But God is doing so much more in my life than I can see on the outside.

I want to encourage you next time you look in the mirror to look yourself in the eyes and declare God's blessings upon your life!

We won't accomplish anything in life if we say "God do with me as You will," then don't listen to anything He says! When we tell God that we are willing, we must truly be willing to do whatever He calls us to do. We need to trust Him with every choice that we make.

Bible Study - Acts 19

Read Acts 19

Here we see the power in publicly accepting Christ. When someone gives up their life's work to follow God, that shows some strong conviction. We saw this in Saul(now Paul), we see it here in the sorcerers, and I have seen it in my own life. It is acts like these that show the strength, power and love of God. We also see in this chapter the importance of knowing scripture and God Himself.

Music - Healing Begins