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ACTS 14:7-10 KJV 7 And there they preached the gospel. 8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: 9 The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, 10 Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. Whatever message Paul preached at Lystra, it produced enough faith in a man who was born a cripple, and had never walked his whole life, to receive instant healing. Notice that it was the crippled man who Scripture says had faith to be healed. Surely it was not because he was born with faith, or else he would have received his healing sooner. No, faith only came into him when he heard what Paul preached. Think of that! The Gospel preached by Paul caused this hearer to believe he could be healed right then, and he was! Scripture does not say the man was healed because of Paul, or Paul’s faith. It clearly says this crippled m...

ACTS 10:46a NKJ 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. PSALM 34:3 NKJ 3 Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. In the New Testament, the word translated “magnify” is the Greek word “megaluno.” It means to make great or enlarge. We certainly cannot make God any greater, but we can perceive Him as greater in our lives. In other words, what we think of God can be enlarged. How can we do this? What you focus your attention on will seem bigger, because you are choosing to let it occupy your time and thinking. Very small objects can block very large ones. A small coin in front of your eye can block the sun from view. Yet the sun is infinitely larger than the coin. It’s the placement in your life that determines how big things seem to you. An airplane in the sky can look very small, though in reality it is huge. That is only because you are far away from it. When Scripture talks of magnifying God, we assume it meant they were praising God...

2 CORINTHIANS 3:2B NLT 2 Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Every day by your actions you are “writing” your story. One purpose of life on earth is to give us each an opportunity to “write” our own story, which we will be able to share and enjoy throughout eternity. We are here to learn, and what we experience and learn will be shared with many. Humans love stories. Facts and figures can sometimes be boring, but when anyone tells what happened to them, it usually draws our attention. Everyone knows and loves the story of David and Goliath. We all love a good story. But what does every good story require? It must involve some problem or difficulty that is ultimately overcome so there is a happy ending. These are the stories we love to hear. The good news is that, because of God’s love, your story will at least have a happy ending. But you can make your story more interesting by the choices you make now. As yo...

1 THESSALONIANS 5:21 KJV 21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Sometimes things that should be obvious to us are not. Like, if what you are doing is not working out, it would be wise to consider a change. Too many people are not receiving the blessings God’s Word promises, things the Bible says God desires us to have. But instead of considering changing things in their life, too often people fall into the temptation of blaming God and thinking He is holding out on them. But that is never true! There is never any fault or problem with God. PSALM 84:11 KJV 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. If you are acting on the Word and planting good seeds, don’t let the devil discourage you and cause you to give up too soon. But if the course of your life is going the wrong direction, and it is not getting better over time, then it would be wise to consider your ways – and make c...

PSALM 35:27 NKJ 27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” Do you enjoy seeing your children – or anyone you love – suffer lack? Jesus taught us that God our Heavenly Father’s love for us is much better than any earthly parent’s love (Matthew 7:11). What kind of perverted being would God be if He delighted in seeing His people suffer? (The only kind of suffering that pleases God is when we are willing to be inconvenienced so that others will be helped.) Ultimately, poverty is the result of an operation by the devil attempting to dis-please God. But it will not continue to succeed. To achieve his plan, the devil has tried to confuse Christians into thinking that being poor pleased God, and that being poor was a sign of spirituality. This is a lie! (But being rich is not a dependable sign of spirituality, either!) The Bible does warn against trusti...

PHILIPPIANS 4:18 NIV 18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. In the New Testament two verses speak of a fragrant offering to God. The first (Ephesians 5:2) refers to the sacrifice of Jesus. The second (Philippians 4:18) refers to giving offerings to Paul while he was in jail. The wording used in these two verses reminds us of the Old Testament offerings, especially the burnt offerings. Obviously, Father God was pleased with Jesus’ sacrifice. Because of the wording used in Philippians 4:18, we should understand that God is also very pleased with our giving, which shows our love for Him and the Gospel. From the Old Testament we see that God was pleased with the worship He received through burnt offerings. They were called a “sweet savour” or a “pleasing aroma.” But they had no human purpose or benefit. They were not used to ...

ECCLESIASTES 3:11a NKJ 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Everyone is beautiful to God. And the world will eventually see what God sees in people. God saw you as so valuable that He judged it was worthwhile to die for you. The death of the Son of God was a huge price to pay for you. You are valuable! You may not be what the current world system calls beautiful. But you are beautiful to God – the only Judge who really matters. God created you, and as it has been said, “God doesn’t make junk.” EPHESIANS 2:10 NLT 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. God has a wonderful eternal purpose for you, and He has not made a mistake in your life. Your body may be presently imperfect – or even disfigured. But you must realize that the body you are now living in is not you. You live in that body just like you live in a house. The real you – who is truly valuable and beautiful to God – is...

ISAIAH 53:4-5 NKJ 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. This passage in Isaiah foretells the great substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, paying the price to redeem all mankind from the curse resulting from Adam’s rebellion. As you can clearly see, it includes healing along with payment for our sins. In Matthew 8 we have the inspired commentary of the Holy Spirit Himself, affirming that the passage in Isaiah 53:4-5 includes physical healing. MATTHEW 8:16-17 NKJ 16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our si...

PSALM 127:2 NKJ 2 … He gives His beloved sleep. PROVERBS 3:24 NKJ 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. PSALM 3:5 NKJ 5 I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. PSALM 4:8 NKJ 8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. We can trust in God and sleep even when we face the storms of life, just as Jesus and Peter did in the following verses. MARK 4:38 NKJ 38 But He was … asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” ACTS 12:6 NKJ 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers … Jesus Approves Rest MARK 6:31 NKJ 31 And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. MATTHEW 11:28-29 NKJ 28 “Come to Me, all you who labo...

Nothing more, nothing less. A common mistake is thinking Hebrews 11:1 is a definition of faith. It sounds like a definition, but it is not. HEBREWS 11:1 KJV 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. This does not define faith but tells us something that faith in God’s Word does. Faith gives substance to our hopes. Faith provides evidence of things we can’t perceive with our physical senses. To help understand this, think of someone who has never seen a dog and has no idea what a dog is. You can tell them, “A dog is man’s best friend.” “A dog is a wonderful companion.” “A dog can help protect your property.” These all may be true statements, but they really don’t define a dog. Nor would they enable that person to identify a dog when they first saw one. Those statements are more like descriptions of functions that dogs provide. It is the same with Hebrews 11:1, which does not give us a definition so we can identify faith, but tells us someth...