Eric

24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

A well spoken verse, I will be what my God has called me to be. 

While praying before my reading I got a picture. It was of me, but I was a patch of ground. If I am consumed by the world or the frustrations of the world then I will be under water as if I were a low spot in the ground. The greatest thing is that I can fill myself with Him and get more of him

In my daily life. In turn I will no longer be a low spot, but I will be a high spot of ground that remains protected from worldly influence. 

 

Thank you Jesus for filling me up. 

Eric

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The ACTS 20:28- Michael

28Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Paul, was sending home the message that he would soon be gone and that essentially the world would start to set back in around them and the Church leaders needed to be stronger than the world to keep the flock protected.

For us it starts in our homes as the spiritual leaders, we then spread his word beyond to those who do not Know it, so let us heed Paul's advice and be strong for the flocks.

Lord Jesus, may the men of this group first be Great counselors in their homes so we may keep the Wolves at bey from the flocks in which you have given us to Shepperd, also may we be a beacon of light to one another in times of need and crisis let not one of us be seem so unimportant that we do not have time to listen to there Whoas'. AMEN

Thes. 5:8,9,16. Hope.

I am challenged to hope in daily salvation and a future final
salvation instead of just acting like I am "saved"

Jonathan

Happy Sat everybody

Jonathan

What matters most to me is to finish what God started the job the master Jesus gave me of letting everyone i meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God. Acts 20:24 Seth

What matters most to me is to finish what God started the job the master Jesus gave me of letting everyone i meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God. Acts 20:24 Seth

Jonathan checking in

Sorry guys. I need to get the email address in my phone.
Anyways I am reading and loving it but not journaling yet.

Acts 19:17 - Seth

"The realization spread that God was in and behind this."

Check in!

Are you in reading your Bible and Journaling 7 days a week? 

Freewill-Michael

Leviticus 19:5 - And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the Lord, ye shall offer it at your will.
Your will, a constant battle between your Heart, Soul and Mind of whats good in the sight of the Lord. Can we say without a doubt that we willingly offer ourselves to the Lord Daily as a peace-offering.

Devoted

My goal for this year of reading is to retain enough vital information
and know where to find it. I want to answer all difficult questions
with scripture based reasoning. I want to use scripture as my road
map. Eric

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Leviticus 16: 21,22-Michael

²¹And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
²²And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

It seems that the Scapegoat was used for the sins of the people, the sins were spoken into it and then set loose in the wilderness away from the people to continually bare their burden until it passed away it seems. Do we use some sort of Scapegoat in our lives to feel cleansed? I ask that we search that of ourselves. Would it be works and adding to Gods blessing? Christs death on the cross was for our sins so we maybe made made Holy in the sight of God. We are to confess those burdens that are too much for us to handle and seek his forgiveness for our sins.

Leviticus 16:31 - Seth

"In the presence of God you will be made clean of all your sins. It
is a Sabbath of all Sabbaths. You must fast. It is a perpetual
ordinance."

If you have any good teaching on fasting, send it my way.

Thanks,

Seth

Tent-Making - Mark

Acts 18:1-4
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tent-maker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

A tent-maker is a missionary that has a job to support their needs. They are not professional missionaries dependent on the church for financial support.

I like this concept of tent-making missions work, and I witnessed it in Tanzania. Providing engineering or IT services helps the local economy, provides financial resources for missions, and relieves the burden from the church.

Jesus, please give me the resources to be a tent-maker. We are willing to be used here or abroad.

God Protects Paul - Lucas

After Paul's previous encounters, he must have been concerned about speaking out again in Corinth when he left the synagogue on the terms he did (Acts 18:6). I think God realized this because He tells Paul in a dream to not be afraid and to keep preaching as he has His protection (v 9-10). Paul has faith and sticks around and doesn't stay quiet.

Because of his faith, and God's promise of protection, when the Jews brought him to the Gallio, the proconsul, they were shut down. Gallio even looked way when the crowds turned on the synagogue. Paul ended up staying longer and because of his faith, many more people were likely saved.

I'm thankful that I live in a country were I don't have to be concerned about my personal security when it comes to worshiping and believing. I'm also thankful God follows through on His promises!

You Can't Escape God, Acts 17:24-29 - Ted

"The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him! One of your poets said it well: 'We're the God-created.' Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

Question... Why would God create a world for us to "grope around in the dark" to eventually find Him? Maybe it's his adventurous spirit or jealous nature that desires our pursuit for relationship with something bigger than ourselves. One thing is for sure. Finding the path is far more fulfilling than following a road map. Yes clues, and gentle redirection show His love and grace, but there is definitely something profound about the pursuit to be close to Him.

Addressing the Aeropagus - Lucas

Acts 17: 22-34

Polytheism was obviously disgusting to Paul, because he told everyone on the street. When he got the opportunity to speak to the people on Mars Hill, he addresses two common beliefs, the Epicureans (seeking tranquility as the highest good) and Stoicism (being free from passion and passively accepting everything in life as inevitable, impersonal fate). Some where probably thinking he was introducing them to a new god!

What i thought was interesting was the fact that Paul realized they knew nothing of the Hebrew scriptures, so he approached them in a way that they potentially could wrap their minds around. Unfortunately, they could not believe beyond the resurrection, because once Paul referred to Jesus being raised from the dead, they gave up. The sad part is these guys were supposed to be the most intelligent.

Lord, I'd rather be dumb and full of faith in You than be the smartest in the bunch, yet unsaved. I ask that You continue to reveal Your wisdom to me every day I open or hear Your Word. Amen.

Acts 17:30 - Seth

"God overlooks it as long as you don't know any better but that time is past.  The unknown in now known and he is calling for a radical life change."

Cleanliness- Michael

We are all unclean to made clean, Leviticus 13 and 14 tell us of how the Chief Priests were to determine the clean from the unclean and how God set the Laws to determine these things, he also gave us the Laws to clean the unclean.
Christ, gave his life for us to be washed in his blood and be made clean in the presence of our Lord God, Jesus blood washed our sins to make us whole in return all we need to do is submit our lives to him in faith that he truly lived and died for our sins.
In ACTS Paul and Silas witness to the resurrection of Christ in Thessalonica and Berea where they are sought out by the Jews for essentially spreading blasphemies. It is in Athens that Paul finds an Altar to the "Unknown God" and declares that they ignorantly worship.

The ACTS Vs. 27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, though he be not far from every one of us.

In the present times our false idols are more than just Silver, Gold and Stones, yet these are not excluded, in Vs. 30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at (overlooked); but now commandeth all men every where to repent.

By Faith all Men need to repent and ask forgiveness for the sins. I feel as Men often times what our Heart and Head tell us are two different things and Satan uses this to his favor because in our Heads he tells us we are Unclean in the sight of God and not worthy, where the Hearts of Men are Evil always, Christs Blood washes us clean, so in our Hearts we need to by faith believe all are Sins are forgiven and this cannot be taken from us. Pastor Bert hit this on Sunday, Satan will always ask the same (3) things God's; Love,Word, and Fairness, I heard that and was like yes I have found myself asking those questions internally and have to remember,

II Corinthians 5:17- Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become a new.

Today I have a burden for my Brothers, we have in our group, Men with HEAVY burdens about choices they need to make and I am angry and saddened at the same time, I want us to pray for one another to make the connection between our Hearts and our Heads and rebuke the thoughts and lies we are not worthy of his love. Let us lift our burdens to the Lord as he asks us to do.

He is with Me - Mark

Acts 17:24-28
Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him!

Even when I feel like I am alone, He is with me.

DR, G2MB - Lucas

"they listened to Paul and Barnabas telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles though them."
~ Lord, may You do the same through us so that many might know You.

But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
~ I want to be at a place in my faith where when painful, frightening things are happening to me and I see an easy way out, I would still listen to God and have faith that He may have an even better plan. Paul and Silas had to have been in excruciating pain and perhaps thought they would even be executed in the morning. Rather than cower before the devil, they lifted their voices and praised the Lord. This led to an encounter with a miracle. However, where I might have seen loosed chains and open doors as an opportunity to bolt, they listened and obeyed and stayed. The result: stopping a desperate suicide and turning it to salvation for not one man, but his entire household. Praise Him!

A video of a current encounter caught my attention because it involves IHOP and maybe (I'm not positive) the church in Redding that Burt visited. Click here when you have 5 minutes.

Acts 16:31 - Seth

"Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you'll live as you
were meant to live and everyone in your house included!"

Trust in Jesus does not end after saying the Sinner's Prayer in just begins.
Lord help me trust you in every detail of my life!

Full Time Ministry - Mark

The original church was very similar to our small groups that meet in private homes.

• When did the church become an institution with a full time staff?
• Is this a Biblical principal or something invented by men?

The Roman Catholic Church claims that it began with Peter in Matthew 16:18. Jesus said, "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Later in Acts 10:15 God tells Peter, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean" making it possible for gentiles to become saved.

I had always assumed that the idea of a formal church was a product of the Council at Nicaea in 325 AD. They wrote the Nicaean Creed which divided up the church into dioceses based upon geographic regions. Writing the Bible in Latin and administering confessions has always made the Catholic Church appear a little self serving.

I noticed yesterday that the concept of full time ministry originates thousands of years prior to the Catholic Church and actually comes from the beginning of Judaism.

Leviticus 7:28-36
God spoke to Moses: "Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When you present a Peace-Offering to God, bring some of your Peace-Offering as a special sacrifice to God, a gift to God in your own hands. Bring the fat with the breast and then wave the breast before God as a Wave-Offering. The priest will burn the fat on the Altar; Aaron and his sons get the breast. Give the right thigh from your Peace-Offerings as a Contribution-Offering to the priest. Give a portion of the right thigh to the son of Aaron who offers the blood and fat of the Peace-Offering as his portion. From the Peace-Offerings of Israel, I'm giving the breast of the Wave-Offering and the thigh of the Contribution-Offering to Aaron the priest and his sons. This is their fixed compensation from the People of Israel."

From the day they are presented to serve as priests to God, Aaron and his sons can expect to receive these allotments from the gifts of God. This is what God commanded the People of Israel to give the priests from the day of their anointing. This is the fixed rule down through the generations.

Jesus later reinforces the idea that the priests should be supported by the people in Luke 9:3-6. He told them: "Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them." So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

God clearly described a culture where a small portion of the population was called into full time service, and they were to be supported by the citizens.

Acts 15:9 - Seth

"And God, who can't be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person's thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him."

Prayer Requests

Feb 6th

Ted - Strengthen marriage from Satan's attacks.
Eric - Taking an active step of faith by packing his home / Pray for his house to sell.
Lucas - Daily Bible study / devotion
Mike - Daily Bible study / devotion
Tony - Healing from arthritis /Let God use him more / Wife's job
Michael Powell - Apryl's recovery / work stress / Clear conscious
Tim - Needs to find a new place to live / Next miracle / Restoration
Mark - Need work / Supernatural favor with potential contracts
Scott - Dad's health / Needs work / Confirmation on vision
Jonathan - Mouth / Complaining
Michael Stark - Discernment / Agreement about homeschooling
Stacy - Stabilize blood pressure

Good Reads

It was awesome how Burt's message tied to what we were talking about yesterday morning. In case you were interested, I'll list the books mentioned yesterday. You can find them on google or Amazon or once I finish them you can borrow from me.
Currently reading: Pigs in the Parlor: A Practical Guide to Deliverance
Next read: Blessing or Curse: You Can Choose
Possible read (heard it's great for those of us who are dads): A Manual for Children's Deliverance
Honorable mention: Intercessory Prayer by Sheets (I thought intercessors were always grandmas but this book has helped completely and radically change my prayer life - and it just keeps getting better)