Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #74

Sharing the Word

Acts 13

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 46-47) "Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: 'We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.' ' "

My Thoughts

So far, I've done quite a few Bible readings from Acts. There is a lot of stuff in there and most of it seems similar. Well, it's all about acts; actions. Acts is about sharing, witnessing and generally just doing. We need to take action faithfully, otherwise we aren't truly living up to what God asks of us.

Paul and Barnabas shared the word of God. They shared the word to those in the synagogue, and also to the Gentiles. They, of course, faced opposition from the Jews, who incited others against them. Sharing the word isn't always easy. Sure, it is easy to do so in groups of people who believe, but not always so much when it is people who do not.

Some people may be angry because they think or feel that you are trying to force your faith on them. Others may just not really care. Again though, we need to share our faith. We do not need to go preaching to others, nor do we need to talk about any of this out of the blue. The biggest thing is that we do not hide our faith in Jesus.

When people ask questions or you feel like bringing up something specific from the Bible that would be relevant to the topic at hand, then do so faithfully! That is sharing the word, sharing your faith. When you do even this, you are acting in faith and planting the seed. What you say may incite those you're speaking to to learn more, whether they look it up themselves or talk more to you or someone else about it.

By the way, when you do face opposition to your faith in Jesus, do not worry about that. Do not worry because that means that you are fighting against Satan and he is trying to fight back. Do not be afraid because Satan cannot prevail against you if you stay faithful to God. In fact, keep on doing what you are doing! If God wants you to stop or to change something, He will let you know. Keep on acting in faith to God.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #71

Testimony

Acts 26

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 28-29) "Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?' Paul replied, 'Short time or long--I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.' "

My Thoughts

Paul gave his testimony of how he came to know Christ. This was not the first time he had done so. King Agrippa's response to Paul was interesting. He knew that this was Paul's testimony and that Paul hoped he, and the others listening, would come to know Christ. Your testimony is important as well, even if it is not in any way similar to Paul's testimony.

People often have an easier time believing that something is true when there is testimony from others to go along with it. This is especially true when the claims are hard enough to believe as it is. It can be hard to believe some of the things that God has done because these things usually are not common place. So for people to hear them is great, but if they don't have testimony that someone else, living, has witnessed the same things, they may find it hard to believe.

The testimony that you give of the things that God has done for you and how He has changed your life make it all the more believable to those who hear who don't already believe. Give your testimony faithfully and honestly and don't be discouraged if someone gives you the same response Festus gave to Paul, "You are out of your mind!" You tell them what Paul said, "What I am saying is true and reasonable."

You never know, maybe your testimony is the first anyone has heard of Christ before, in which case, once they hear more, they will be more inclined to at least learn more. If yours is yet another time someone has heard about Christ, maybe yours will be enough for them to make the choice to follow God.

When you give testimony, be sure that it is honest and true. If people don't see that there has actually been any change, or they find out that a part of it was false, then that will most likely ruin all hope for them to commit there lives to Christ. If there is no change in your life from before you became a Christian to after, no one will believe that Christ has actually changed your life.

Be honest and faithful when you give your testimony of how Christ has changed your life. Stand firm when people don't believe you or when people argue with you. You may just be the one to bring someone to a relationship with Christ, whether you know about it or not.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #56

Forgiveness

Acts 7

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 59-60) "While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep."

My Thoughts

Forgiveness is a powerful thing. If we don't forgive and we instead hold onto the hurt, we will eventually snap and our attitude toward others will change drastically. Those hurts are a burden on us and if we hold onto it, the burden becomes greater and greater until it is so much that we can't ignore it anymore.

When someone hurts you, it is going to hurt you for a while. Some hurts will last longer than others, and some may only last a day or less. It will last longer if you don't forgive. Forgiveness does not mean to forget about what happened. Nor does it mean to ignore it. Forgiveness means letting go and moving on and choosing to start the healing process.

If you hold a grudge against someone, you are not only going to cause them grief, but you will cause yourself a lot of grief and it may even spread to those around them and you. It will affect your relationships and continue in a downward spiral. Often times, forgiveness is hard, especially for certain things that were done or for certain people, like for a close friend or family member who hurt you.

Stephen was being stoned, which, if you didn't know, means execution by throwing stones. Stoning was the death penalty at that time, a long time ago. While Stephen was being stoned, he asked God not to hold this sin against those who were stoning him. He became a martyr. Stephen was killed for his faith in God, and he forgave those who killed him. I can't say for sure that I would do the same if I was him, though I'd like to think that I would.

Not many people in our world have the kind of forgiveness that Stephen had. Some people have a hard time forgiving someone who stole a pen. Whenever someone hurts you, remember to forgive them. If you don't forgive them, you are going to cause yourself so much grief and heartache, not to mention the other person as well. Don't hold onto that burden. Forgive and give it to God.

Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #46

Mercy and Deliverance

Acts 22

I pray blessings on you as you read.

(v. 4) "I persecuted the followers of this way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison," (v. 6-7) " About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?' " (v. 20) "And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.' "

My Thoughts

Paul was once an enemy of Christ. He persecuted people who followed Christ, threw them into prison and even had some killed. He gave approval of the killing as well. How could this man, who once persecuted and killed followers of Christ, come to know Christ Jesus himself? Jesus spoke to him in a personal way, through a bright light from heaven, which blinded him. Paul's companions saw the light as well, but couldn't understand the voice that spoke to Paul.

After this encounter with Christ, Paul turned right around and started to live for Jesus instead of against Him. What was your encounter with Christ? Have you had one? It may not be the same as what happened to Paul, but I can tell you, the encounter you have with Christ will not be something easily forgotten.

Jesus changed Paul's heart and Paul accepted Him into his heart. After that, God led him into Damascus to a brother. Later, God told Paul that he needed to leave because the people were not going to accept his testimony. God protected him and delivered him from the hands of people. Even in this chapter, as Paul is telling of these things, he was on trial. God delivered him from the hands of the commander as well.

God has mercy on all. As you can see in Paul's case, it does not matter what you have done, God will have mercy on you. You need only accept His Son, Jesus. If that is something that you want, all you have to do is tell God that you have sinned, ask for forgiveness and accept it, and ask Jesus to come into your heart. By saying this, you have made a choice to change our life and follow Jesus wholeheartedly. If you prayed from the heart, know that your prayer has been answered. What you do from there is change your ways to follow after Jesus.

God had a plan for Paul, and you can be sure that He has a plan for you as well. If you prayed that prayer just a second ago, you have been delivered from the hands of Satan. You have received mercy and are now made new in Jesus Christ! What is in the past no longer means anything, and I welcome you to the family of Christ!

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.

Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.

Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!

Daily Bible Reading with DragoNate #9

God is for Everyone

Acts 10

(v. 15) "...'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' " (v. 34, 35) " ...'I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right..."

My Thoughts



Peter had a vision of a blanket that came down and had animals roaming on it. God said to him, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat." Peter said " Surely not Lord! I have never eaten impure or unclean." God told him not to call anything impure that God has made clean. What did Peter's vision mean? Think about it for a minute, then continue reading.

So, what do you think? The meaning of Peter's vision was that God has made us all clean. A gentile is a person who is not a Jew. For the Jews at this time, it was against the law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. The vision that Peter had was God showing him that He has made clean the Gentiles; that God does not favor the Jews over the Gentiles, but that He loves them just the same. God is for each of us, Jew or not, Christian or not. It doesn't matter who you are, what you believe, what you do or have done in the past. No amount of sin or guilt or hurt can keep God away. Only you can do that by not allowing God into your life.

Remember that Christ died on the cross for every one of us. He paid the ransom for each and every person that ever has or ever will live. That's how much He loves us. There are so many people in this world that don't realize that God loves them, or they think He can't. They are the ones putting boundaries up to keep God out of their life. God won't overstep anyone's freewill of choice, so He won't overstep someone's choice not to let Him in.

It's up to the Christ followers to show those who don't follow Christ what it means to follow Him. You don't need to go and preach to people, all you need to do is show the love of God in all you do. When you talk to people, do so with love. Everyone is different; some people are good at encouraging others, some people are just easy to talk to, others are inspiring, honest, and so on. There's a huge list of traits, and some people have more than one. Use those traits that God has given you when you talk to other people. That's one way you can show His love to them. Think of some other ways, and then act on them!

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Prayer Time

Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do. Thanks for reading, Godbless!