“But they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.” (Acts 6:10 NIV84)

Stephen was a strong believer and a powerful witness to the Gospel message of the kingdom of God. He boldly defended his faith in his community. Often, he did so under quite a bit of opposition. We ourselves might find it challenging to think about standing up to people in our community and defend our faith. Most of us begin to choke up thinking about having to speak at church, let alone to family members, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Our verse for today tells us that Stephen was so convincing that his opposition could not stand up against his arguments. How was Stephen able to do it? Our verse for today gives us two keys.

First, he spoke with wisdom. He spoke with the authority of the word of God — the same wisdom of God that has existed for all eternity, the same wisdom that created the universe and holds it all together today. He spoke with a wisdom rooted in God’s eternal, unchangeable truths. Second, he spoke with the power of the Holy Spirit. Stephen did not have to rely on his own persuasive power; he could rely on the power of the Holy Spirit — a power that can cause the dead to rise, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He relied on the power that makes the word of God living and active and can cause a grown man to be born again.

Friends in Christ, the good news is that we are promised by God that He will have our back like He had Stephen’s. As long as we are committed to the truth (wisdom) of God’s word, He will provide us the authority and power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen our defense and work to convince those we speak to. Isn’t it good to know that God always has our back!?!

Peace!

Tom

This wandering study was recorded on someone else’s phone because mine was full.

Peace!

Tom

Genesis Lesson 25b (Sunday Night)

I pray that these studies are a blessing to you.

Peace!

Tom

Proverbs Lesson 19 (Tuesday Night)

Genesis Lesson 23 (Sunday Night)

I pray that this study is a blessing to you!

Peace!

Tom

Proverbs Lesson 13 (Tuesday Night)

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7, NIV84)

There are times when the choices of how you are going to face something are few.  Sometimes the choices boil down to two.  Despair or hope.  I know it must seem strange to offer up two opposing ideas like this as the only two choices, but look at the situation that Micah and the people of Israel are in.  They are living in a period of political and spiritual unrest.  Nations around them are constantly threatening their existence.  Life is tough.  There are at least three prophets who are declaring destruction upon the people of Israel because they were spiritually bankrupt.  After considering all that, one is left to ask, “Why aren’t we only considering one choice…Despair?”  How in the world could Micah or the people of that day find a reason to have hope?  Everything they were seeing and hearing was just the opposite.

Does that sound familiar?  When was the last time you saw or heard of good things happening in our society?  We are living in a time of increased natural disasters.  We are faced with record numbers of human atrocities.  We too seem to be living in a spiritually bankrupt society.  We see nations and people all over the world rising up in revolt.  We seem to be living in similar times as Micah.  What was his secret?  How could he have hope in such circumstances?  There is a hint in the verse above.  He hopes and waits in his God and Savior.  He knows that in the end, his prayers are being heard.

Friends in Christ, if Micah’s contemporaries would have listened to the prophets more closely, they would have heard the Lord telling them that He would be with them through this terrible time and in the end, would save them and bring them back to their land.  The Lord told them ahead of time that He would make good come from their bad situation.  He promises the same to you and me today.  Yes!  We live in troubling times, but the Lord is with us.  Yes, the trials we live through are painful, but He promises they they are temporary and His blessing follow.  Most importantly, even if we die in this world, we will immediately rise in Heaven with Him.

So, let’s not get overwhelmed by the circumstances of this world.  Let’s watch and wait for our God and Savior to act.

Peace!

Tom

We finish the book of Galatians with this study.   It is my hope and prayer that you have been blessed by this study of Galatians.

Peace!

Tom

Galatians Lesson 11 (Sunday Night)

This evening we worked our way through chapter 4.  Paul continues to stress the deadliness of adding any legal requirements to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I pray that this study is a blessing to you.

Peace!

Tom

Galatians lesson 8 (Sunday Night)

“Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people And will have compassion on His afflicted…And all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.” (Isaiah 49:13&26, NASB95)

Notice the scope of the verses above.  The heavens, the earth, the mountains and all flesh are recognizing the merciful acts of God.  God may be dealing with the nation of Israel directly, but He plans to impact much more.  Let’s all notice that creation is a connected unit.  When God created everything and saw it was good, it was.  It was all moving in harmony because it was governed and directed by a God of grace.  Sin had a negative effect on all of creation, not just man.  God’s redemptive and gracious acts upon fallen humanity are recognized and honored by all creation.  The earth, just like you and I, yearn for peace and harmony.  When peace and harmony are found there is an immediate response of joyful praise.

It is not enough that the nation of Israel know God’s acts of mercy.  The Lord states in verse 26, “And all flesh will know…”.  All flesh will know what?  That God is powerful and mighty?  That He is the judge of all?  NO!  “They will know that I am your Savior and Redeemer…”  This is what God has done for us in Jesus.  Joseph was told by the angel, “And you shall call His name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”  The Lord made a way for us to be redeemed and restored into a right relationship with Him.  Jesus bore our sins on the cross so that we might have a right relationship with God.  It is not enough that we alone know the joy of this message.  God performed this work for all humanity and wants all humanity (all flesh) to know.

So, how does the rest of humanity get to know about this wonderful act of mercy that causes even the mountains to rejoice?  We need to share the message.  We need to let others around us know that the Lord has done this work for them too.  We need to invite them to opportunities where they can hear the word of God and be touch by His love and mercy.  Philip once said to a friend, “Come see, I think I have found the Christ.”  And with that invitation, yet another (Nathanael) joins the ranks of believers.

Who will invite today?

Peace!

Tom

A lot has gotten done!

Video

I am looking forward to seeing and talking with all of you very soon!

Peace!

Tom

“You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. “It shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the Lord, so that he will not die. ” (Exodus 28:33–35, NASB95)

The intricate detail of the High Priest’s garments goes on for an entire chapter.  God gives Moses many instructions about the tunic, robe, breastplate, turban, etc.  In all the times I read through Exodus I never caught the verses above.  God had the craftsmen make golden bells that would hang from the bottom of the High Priest robe.  What was the purpose of the bells?  Here is what the Lord says to Moses: “…Its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the Lord, so that he will not die.”

Wow!!!  Day in and day out Aaron had bells ringing every step he took in the temple.  There was no sneaking around for Aaron.  His life was always under the microscope.  Everyone, including God, literally knew his every step.  From God’s perspective, it was important for Aaron to be aware of the fact that he was walking/working in God’s house, not Aaron’s house.  He needed to take his life actions seriously.

What message is here for us?  Well, if Aaron had to be this attentive when he was in the holy place, just imagine the preparation for being in the Holy of Holies.  You and I embody the Holy of Holies in our hearts and souls.  We need to know that we are always in God’s presence.  We need to live honest lives before God.  We need to daily live through repentance and forgiveness.

Let’s imagine today that we have bells hanging from our clothing that announces to God our every action, and live bold lives of faith to His glory!

Peace!

Tom