#Acts

Devotions

The Making of a Winner

Today's Verse: And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. ~Acts 6:8 One of the great Christians in the New Testament is Stephen. Acts 6-7 places a holy spotlight on Stephen and the impact he had on many lives. Stephen’s name in the Greek is “stephanos,” which refers to a crown. It was a wreath woven together in the shape of a crown and was awarded to the winner of an Olympic race. This morning, let us be inspired by Stephen’s life

Feb 153 min read

Compelling Witnesses

Today's Verse: For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. ~Acts 4:20 When a person is subpoenaed to the witness stand, he is expected to give an account to the best of his memory of what he heard and saw. The information he gives is critical to the arguments for or against a case being tried. He is not to make up his story but to testify accurately. Our devotion this morning centers on this statement made by Peter and John: “For we cannot but speak th

Feb 83 min read

Marvelous Grace

Today's Verse: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. ~Acts 4:13 Several years ago, I had the privilege of preaching the gospel to 10,000 unsaved people over two days. My heart was overwhelmed in awe at such an opportunity. As Christians, we read through the book of Acts, and we wonder if the days of great evangelism are still po

Feb 63 min read

Holding Tight

Today's Verse: And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. ~Acts 3:11 A fun team sport that we play in groups is “tug of war.” Two sides of people hold opposite ends of a rope and pull. The side that wins is the one that pulls the hardest. Before the contest begins, team members on both sides are reminded by their team captain to hold tight, dig their heels in, and

Feb 53 min read

How to Tough It Out

Today's Verse: Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. ~Acts 14:22 It goes without saying that life can be tough. Over the course of time, we will face tough situations, tough people, tough decisions, and tough setbacks. There is an old cliché that says, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” However, I have found that many people, including Christ

Feb 33 min read

Great Minds Think Alike

Today's Verse: These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. ~Acts 1:14 We live in a time where there is great division and a lack of unity. There are divided opinions about how the government should run, how money should be spent, and how to protect our country. Among Christians, there is division about how to worship God, the priority of the church, whether God has predetermined who goes

Jan 303 min read

Coming Again

Today's Verse: Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. ~Acts 1:11 Years ago, I took a missions trip to an upper interior area of China. This area was once a part of the rule of Genghis Khan, the Mongolian conqueror. My team and I met at a house church there that was very friendly and inquisitive of us. After 3-4 days of pr

Jan 173 min read

Hope Springs Eternal

Today's Verse: And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. ~Acts 27:20 A few years ago, I watched a documentary on the Weather Channel about a cruise ship called the Oceanos and its ill-fated sinking during a storm off the eastern coast of South Africa. Amazingly, no one lost his life, and all 571 passengers were rescued. There were many tense moments before the ship sank when th

Dec 3, 20253 min read

Never Alone!

Today's Verse: And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. ~Acts 23:11 What do you do when you’ve been rejected, scorned, and written off as a loser and enemy? This morning, let us see how Paul was encouraged and helped by our Lord when he was at one of the lowest points in his life. Let us see how the Lord is always there for us. We see the scornfu

Dec 1, 20253 min read

Don't Hurt Yourself

Today's Verse: But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ~Acts 16:28 From the moment a little child is able to crawl, all of our lives revolve around being safe and careful. When a novice and unskilled person first learns how to use sharp instruments or a firearm, the one teaching him will usually tell the student, “Don’t hurt yourself.” This morning, we see Paul shouting out a command to a man who thought that the only way out of a

Nov 2, 20253 min read

Golden Handcuffs

Today's Verse: And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: ~Acts 20:22 In the area of executive compensation, profitable corporations look for ways to keep their best executives from leaving. One tactic that is used is called “golden handcuffs.” This is a compensation package that promises to pay out an exorbitant amount of money to the executive as long as he contractually agrees to stay with the company and

Nov 1, 20253 min read