Video: Holly Wagner: Experience the Wonder and Love of God!

Is your life not going very smoothly right now? Maybe you're experiencing a stressfull time? Or are you just searching for that missing "something" in your life? Even if all is well with you, this wonderfully uplifting message from Holly Wagner is worth watching. Enjoy!   ~Eve

Bible Study Snacks, Acts 9:32-43

Hi, everyone!

Happy Friday, and welcome back to another presentation of Bible Study Snacks. It was really nice having some time off to spend with family and friends. I hope that you all had a wonderful summer, too! As always, I'd like to thank you for joining me as we walk through the richness of God's spoken word and wisdom together. I pray that today finds you in good health and strong in faith!

This week, I would like to finish where we left off with the completion of our study of the Book of Acts, Chapter Nine (Verses 32-43).

I have designed these studies to be brief, yet packed full of good information for everyone regardless of your level of biblical knowledge. I might add that these quick studies make perfect small group discussion starters, as well!

As always, I whole-heartedly believe in the importance that any Bible study should begin with prayer. If you have your Bible ready, let's pray together...

Heavenly father, please guide us as we study your Word today; I pray that our hearts and our minds will be open so that we will not only receive your Gospel, but learn from it as well; you are the Light of the world, Lord, and your Spirit will illuminate our path as we journey through your teachings. In the name of Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen

If you are taking notes for yourself, or using this for a bible study with others, here are the objectives for this week's lesson...

OBJECTIVES: This week, the reader will...

1) Note two miracles by Peter, and the affect they had on many people who heard about them.

For your convenience, here is a summary of Acts 9:32-43.

Luke records two miracles performed by Peter. The first in Lydda, where Peter healed Aeneas, a man paralyzed and bedridden for eight years. This led many in Lydda and Sharon to turn to the Lord.  In nearby Joppa, a disciple named Tabitha (Dorcas) became sick and died. Having heard that Peter was in Lydda, the disciples sent for him to come without delay. Peter raised Tabitha from the dead,  leading many people in Joppa to believe on the Lord. Peter then remained in Joppa for many days, staying with Simon, a tanner.

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1) Where did Peter go and what did he find there? (Acts 9:32-33)

2) What did Peter do and what was the result? (Acts 9:34-35)

3) Who died at Joppa, and what did the disciples there do? (Acts 9:36-38)

4) When Peter arrived, what did he see and what did he do? (Acts 9:39-41)

5) What happened when this became known throughout all Joppa? (Acts 9:42)

6) What did Peter then do? (Acts 9:43)

After completing this weeks' study, go back and read through it again. Take your time and read each topic and scripture reference as many times as you feel necessary. Keep in mind that by doing this, you just might see something new that you overlooked the first time around.

As we journey through the Bible together, I will continue to pray that God’s message will come through to you loud and crystal clear. Until next time, I wish everyone a blessed week!

God bless you!

Sheri

That Special Hunger and Thirst!

Here's a funny post from the guys at the Freakonomics blog about Root Beer. 

Economist Steven Levitt writes, "I happened to be driving by an A&W restaurant the other day. I also happened to be thirsty. So I stopped in to order a frosty mug of root beer. 'We're out of root beer,' the worker told me. How can A&W run out of root beer? You might think that the first rule at A&W would be to always have root beer."

The comments section of the blog post was filled with other horror stories: an Italian restaurant that ran out of pasta, an Arby's that ran out of roast beef, a Panera that ran out of bread, and a Dunkin Donuts that ran out of donuts.

Why, it's just like a church that has run out of good news or love!

-Freakonomics.com, September 14, 2012, Steven D. Levitt

Nutritionists tell us that we are what we eat. Now I don't know how literally you want to take that, or interpret it, but literally it could mean that if you eat a fish supper, well, you are a fish supper. And if you eat a steak, well, walking down the road you're a steak. But scientifically speaking, and medically speaking, what you are is what you eat. For what we eat and what we take into our body and inwardly digest, it becomes part of us.

One of the best illustrations of that is water that we drink. Now, we drink water for many reasons, but our body is made up of water in the majority, but our blood is also comprised of water. So we need to drink water because water becomes part of us, it becomes part of our body. Again, we are what we eat!

But sadly many people have seen this within the natural realm; and they have failed to see it within the spiritual realm. They have failed to see that in our world, whether they're saved or unsaved, that if they feed continually upon violence, upon excitement, upon erotica, upon all that the world has to offer, materialism and money -- eventually those things that they feed on will personify them, they will become those things. 

They will become what they eat. A great scholar on one occasion said, "As you think, you are". The things you think, you become. The things you inwardly digest, you personify them.

Ask yourself, my friend: we're prepared to hunger and thirst after anything, aren't we? We can hunger and thirst after spiritual maturity, and that's good. We can hunger and thirst after real happiness, real joy, deep down in our hearts. We even hunger after the Spirit's power, and if we're not there's something wrong with that. We can hunger after witnessing skills, and ways in which to cleverly win others to Christ.

How do you know if you're hungering and thirsting after righteousness? Are you satisfied with yourself? For Christian friend, if you are, you're in trouble. The old puritan said, 'He has most need of righteousness who least wants it'. And the person in here that is not saved and doesn't even consider or want to get saved, you're in need of it more. Do you think of everyone else as worse than yourself? Or that you're right and everyone else is wrong? 

Do externals in the Christian life satisfy you? The way the person is dressed, the version of the Bible they read -- I'm not saying that's unimportant, but is that what satisfies you? Do you fill your appetite with the wrong stuff? Do materials influence the way you feel in life? Is the word of God sweet to your taste? Or do you say: 'I want Christ, but I want my sin as well. I want Christ, but I want my money. I want Christ, but I want my pride -- just keep a little bit of it Lord, just a little for myself. I want Christ, but I want to keep my lust'. 

Sadly, the tragedy is that many Christians have this hunger in their own soul and they're feeding it. They're seeking the same things as the world is, and they find that they are as empty and pathetic as the world themselves.

In Luke 16:24, the rich man was in hell -- and some of you will be in hell if you don't trust Christ -- but he was in hell, and what did he ask for? Just a drop of water, just a drop of water on my tongue. Beloved, that's the kind of thirst that you ought to have for God. May God bless His word to our hearts!  -Special thanks to David Legge

Scripture: John 6:35; Micah 6:8; Matthew 25:35; Luke 1:53; Isaiah 58:10; James 2:15-17; Amos 5:24; Mark 6:30-44

Prayer: Our Father, we are so preoccupied at times with ourselves and with this world, Lord, that we fail to be hungry and thirsty in a desperate way for Thy righteousness, and Thy power, and Thy presence in our lives. Lord, give us an insatiable satisfaction, a thirst that cannot be quenched with Christ alone, but more of Christ, and more of Christ, and more of Christ -- until that day when we see Christ, and we are as He is. Amen

May God bless you always!

Charmaine

Video: Beth Moore: A Voice in the Dark

An African motel and a poorly-timed blackout set the scene for a funny moment with a poignant lesson by Beth Moore. Enjoy!
~Eve

To Love as Christ Loves Us!

I heard a story recently about a family in Texas that was going through a very difficult time. The father was dying from cancer and the wife was expecting a baby to be delivered in two weeks.

The father had been diagnosed with colon cancer approximately a year earlier and after surgery had gone through two months of chemotherapy and was thought to be cancer free. Ten months later he began having breathing problems and was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis.

The irony of this, the doctors thought that his breathing problems, pulmonary fibrosis was most likely call by the chemotherapy they had saved his life. Within a very short period of time his condition was diagnosed as being fatal and he was given only 5 to 6 days to live.

With everything they had been through this news from the doctor was very hard to handle. He told his wife that he only had one wish and that was to be able to see his unborn child, a baby girl.

The mom-to-be talked this over with the doctors and ask them if they would induce labor so that she could give birth early and her dying husband would be able to see the newborn child. The doctors agreed.

The husband and wife were placed in the same room in beds side-by-side so that the husband could witness his wife’s delivery and be a part of his baby’s birth. As soon as the baby girl was delivered she was placed in the father’s arms. He wept as he held this new life in his hands and held her for as long as he could. What a special blessing this must have been to him.

Because he was growing weaker by the day he was able to hold the baby only two more times over the next two days. When the tiny baby was only two days old, the father slipped peacefully into a coma and died two days later.

This beautiful story of a father’s love for his child reminds us of the love that God has for his children especially a child who has left home and has wandered away from the truth.

In the book of  Luke 15: 11-32 we read about a father who loves his son. A father who was willing to let him make some poor choices in the hopes that he would one day come to his senses and return home.

As you read the story you can’t help but wonder how many days the father went to the window of his home with a broken heart and looked down the road that his son took when he left home. He went often I am sure, hoping and praying that he would see his son in the distance coming home.

He May have often thought, maybe today will be the day when I see my son again, when I can hold him in my arms and tell him how much I love him and have missed him. He never grew weary, he never gave up, and year in and year out he continued to look for the return of the prodigal son.

And then one day his faithfulness was rewarded. He looked up and there on the horizon he saw his son making his way home. He could have waited but when he saw his son in the distance his love compelled him to go and meet his son, to embrace him, to put a robe on him, sandals on his feet and a ring on his finger and walk with him as he made his journey home. (Luke 15:11-32) - David Perkins

Most would agree that there is a lot of talk about love in our day, but not a whole lot of demonstration of love. Less talk and more action would create a wave of change in our land when it comes to love. Perhaps one of our biggest problems is that our understanding of what true love is does not concur with God's Word.

The call to Christian love is within the context of abiding in Christ as His disciple. It is only as you are living in dependence, trust, and obedience to Jesus Christ as the living Vine, that you can be a vessel through which He might display His love. And in essence, that's what Christian love really is.  Such love does not originate in us, but in Him who regenerates us and gives us life.

You and I are called to love as Christ loves us. Can we be passive about the demands and disciplines of the Christian life, yet still practice such love? That is an impossibility! The call to love is at the same time a call to take seriously the demands of the gospel. As John put it, "Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth" (I John 3:18).

The Apostle Paul's pray on behalf of the Thessalonians is my prayer for all of you today, "May the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you" (I Thessalonians 3:12).

Scripture references: Mark 12:31; Luke 6:31; Luke 6:35; John 8:13; John 8:34; Romans 12:9; Romans 13:10; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Ephesians 4:2

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank you for the promise that you would give us the Holy Spirit to abide with us; the Spirit of truth able to bring us comfort and hope everyday of our lives. I ask that in this day I be very aware of the Holy Spirit and of Your desire to help me. You see every situation that we are facing. You see the days of frustration and even desperation – days when we are stretched very thinly. Lord, in those times I pray that you would help us! I invite the Holy Spirit into all the challenges that are facing us. Amen

May God bless you!

Kristine

Video: Lisa Bevere: The God Option

Enjoy this timely message: The God Option, from Lisa Bevere.
~Eve

Receive God's Forgiveness Today!

If you're bent on holding grudges, you may become so wrapped up in past wrongs that you can't enjoy the present. You may feel helpless, or like life is meaningless. You could jeopardize future relationships. "If you don't get past some of the wounds of the past, you tend to bring them into everything else you pursue," says psychotherapist Frank Luskin, director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good.

Psychologist Robert Enright, author of The Forgiving Life, has taught forgiveness in a variety of settings, and next year he'll do so in Liberia in the wake of a 14-year civil war. "Every human being on the planet has been injured by another's injustice, and how we respond to that can make all the difference," he says. Dwelling on negative emotions makes it more likely to displace pent-up anger, lashing out on a friend or family member. "Forgiveness helps quiet anger so it doesn't spill over onto innocent others," Enright says.

Still, no one ever said forgiveness was easy. It's a difficult process, Enright says, one that "takes serious hard work over months" or even a year. The first step is understanding what forgiveness is: a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge, and perhaps even reaching a place of understanding, empathy, and compassion. It's not reconciling. And it's not forgetting—in fact, "it's important to remember what hurt you so you can avoid it in the future," Howes says. Forgiveness also doesn't justify or excuse what the other person did. Rather, it helps achieve a sense of peace.  -U. S. News and World Report, August 29, 2012, Angela Haupt

Forgiving others is sometimes very hard, but it is essential if you want to break out of the bondage that it's brought you under. Forgiving others opens you up for the Lord to begin healing your soul (inner healing). Since unforgiveness blocks us from receiving God's forgiveness of our sins (Matthew 6:15), it puts up a wall between us and the source of our healing.

Wounds can fester into infections if left untreated. That's exactly how unforgiveness works. Whatever was done to us pierced our skin, but if we keep prying it open and looking at the wound, it won't be able to heal... instead, because it is continually exposed to the dirty air, it becomes infected.

If you have a hard time forgiving others, it's because the love of Christ isn't flowing through you. How do you solve this problem? Start working on your relationship with your heavenly Father so you can come to know of His great love for you, and then your spirit will respond and His love will begin to flow through you naturally. When that begins to happen, forgiving those who have wronged you will become much easier.

It is nearly impossible for somebody who is flowing in the love of God to hold bitterness (a form of hate) inside. If you struggle with bitterness, it's because you lack the love of Christ in your life. You need to become grounded and rooted in the love of Christ, if you want His love to flow through you. Seek out a living relationship with Him and seek to learn of His deep love for you... it will change your life!

Related Scripture verses: John 10:11, 15:13; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Romans 2:4; 1 John 3:1; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9; John 14:23; John 13:34; Luke 11:9-10; James 4:8

Prayer: "Heavenly Father, have mercy on me, a sinner. I believe in you and that your word is true. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he died on the cross so that I may now have forgiveness for my sins and eternal life. I know that without you in my heart my life is meaningless.

I believe in my heart that you, Lord God, raised Him from the dead. Please Jesus forgive me, for every sin I have ever committed or done in my heart, please Lord Jesus forgive me and come into my heart as my personal Lord and Savior today. I need you to be my Father and my friend.

I give you my life and ask you to take full control from this moment on; I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ." Amen.

Have a blessed day!

LeeAnn