SCRIPTURE: Acts 12 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Jesus answered, ‘You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.’ [John 19:11] Jesus reminds Pilate that his authority is not ultimate, but dependent. Herod discovers this the hard way. Though he has power to take James’ life, and to execute his soldiers when Peter escapes,…
Author: Norm
God’s growing family
SCRIPTURE: Acts 11 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. [John 17:20-21] Through Jesus, the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile is…
tsaddiq goyim
SCRIPTURE: Acts 10 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 8:11] Our reading in Acts is a fulfillment of what Jesus said, after He had encountered the amazing faith of…
the Spirit moves
SCRIPTURE: Acts 9 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. [John 3:8] In our home we have a carbon monoxide detector, an alarm that can detect this odourless, colourless gas. It…
witnesses wherever we are
SCRIPTURE: Acts 8 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. [Matthew 10:18] Jesus predicts the persecution that will happen against His followers. On account of their faith in Jesus, the believers are scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. From our limited perspective, we see this…
the invitation
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [Matthew 11:28]. The Lord is inviting me to come back to Him. Everywhere, always, He is calling me. He is calling me back… since I daily wander from Him. If I do not sense Him calling, its NOT because He…
missing the point?
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set. If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. [John 5:45-46] In our passage, Stephen, like Jesus, is being accused of speaking against Moses, the Law and the…
less is more!
“Why do the Christ-centered spiritual movements in the East and developing world seem so much more vibrant than the church in the west? I found an inverse correlation between material possessions and spiritual vitality; the poorer the people and the less they relied on things money could buy, the more vibrant their spirituality. The more…
the root and the fruit
SCRIPTURE: Acts 6 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [John 15:5] It is so important that we distinguish between the root and the fruit. The root is the source of life, the…
daily quiet time
“Whatever you call it — Quiet Time, Devotions, Alone-with-God-Time — it is as necessary spiritually for Christian living as food is for physical life. You will face frustrations today that will overwhelm you without the sense of companionship with God in your heart. Make time spent with God the first priority of the day, every…