James 1, 2, 3. James is one of my favorites! Surprisingly, we’ll get through it in just 2 days – I don’t know how we’ll do it! This is James, the brother of Jesus. He was an important figure in our history – you might remember him presiding over the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 (wish we had time for a history lesson!)  Let’s go bullet-point style again. What’s your highlight? There’s ALOT here – let’s share!

The sin is not feeling temptation – giving in to temptation is the sin.  Our response to temptation must be immediate and decisive. Do not allow temptation to become fascination or wonder, do not entertain it.

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” James 1:21

I relate this to Ezekiel 33:32: “Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them”. The implanted word is powerful, able to save your souls – this should be taken seriously, not allowed to become entertainment.

“For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” James 2:13

Do you remember when Moses refused to go further without the Lord’s presence, even though God offered to send an angel? (Click here for a reminder) Mercy triumphs, amen!

Please read Philippians 2:12-30, Philippians chapters 3 and 4.  All in one place!  Come on back after you read, and let’s share some highlights.  What is one thing you are learning today?

“Do all things without  complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,  holding fast the word of life” Philippians 2:14-16

2:14-16 is our job description! Can I give you a little “extra credit work” today? (Just teasing!) Take a second and look up 3:7 in the NLT, and highlight 3:12 in the Amplified.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:13

I like a little word study: 3:13 about forgetting. Forgetting here means to lose into oblivion, no longer care for, never re-visit, neglect. Imagine if you honestly took your past and lost it into oblivion, neglected, stopped even considering those things in the past – couldn’t we take a deep breath and move forward more easily? (It’s possible!)

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

4:4-7 Some people never see God work because they never ask. Pray in everything. Prayer will make us sensitive to the things of God.  When we are aware that God is at work, a peace comes over our minds.  What a gift!

Please read Philemon Philemon 1, Philippians 1 and Phillippins 2:1-11. The plea for Onesimus is interesting to me. This letter is addressed to a person, not a city (like Paul’s other letters). Philemon is a leader in the church at Colossae. The purpose of the letter was to encourage Philemon to receive Onesimus as a beloved brother.  What did you learn as you read today?

“confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6

I relate 1:6 to Psalm 138:8 and Isaiah 43:22-25. God always finishes what He begins.

“I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back” Phili 1:10-12

Onesimus was a slave. He ran away, he received the Gospel, he becomes a son, and came to be a great blessing. We can relate to this, can’t we? Sounds similar to our own stories!

“I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ” Philippans 1:12-13

Paul agains warns the believers not to be offended because of his trials. Its good advice for us as well: don’t adopt an offense. Pauls also reiterates the fact that there will be suffering (1:29-30), but mercifully, we have the victory!

Please read Colossians 1:24-29, Colossians chapters 2, 3, and 4.  So much here, I can’t get all my thoughts into a little blog post!  What are you thinking about as you read today?

Paul is always praying that people would have understanding, but also he shows them practical ways to do it.

“I rejoice in my sufferings” Colossians 1:24

Paul is rejoicing in his trials!  The Colossians need not be offended at the Word. Please take Paul’s advice in your own life today – do not take upon offense that isn’t yours.  Live at peace.

The mystery has now been revealed (1:26) and now we are complete in Him (2:10). Doesn’t it follow that we are incomplete without Him?

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:12-17 NKJV

We can put on love, because it is a choice.

I have always loved Colossians 3:23-24.  Work heartily as unto the Lord, not unto men.  The best advice!

Colossians 4:5 is worth a peek into the NIV translation! 🙂

Please read Ephesians 5:15-33, Ephesians 6, and Colossians 1:1-23. Lots of things stand out to me today – what’s your highlight?  Read, take it in, and let’s share!

Let’s do some bullets today:

Ephesians 5:18 – “be filled”, the filling is continual, not a one time deal.  I wish I had time to stay on the word “be”.  I think “being” is more important to God than “doing“.  What a gift to be able to slow down and be in His presence.

Ephesians 6 is familiar, the whole armor of God. Paul emphasizes the shield of faith: put on the shield of faith “above all” because its so important.  If the devil can shake your faith, he can shake you.

I notice that with the armor of God, everything is covered except our back.  Where is our rear guard?  I am remembering back to Isaiah 58:8, “the glory of God shall be your rear guard”. I think its not described in the full armor of God because the glory (the presence) of God is not something we can “put on”, its a gift to be received: we don’t put it on, we put Him in.

“He is the image of the invisible God” Colossians 1:15 – because we can see Jesus, we can see God.  Jesus is the very image of God!

Colossians 1:21-23 – because we are reconciled with God, we must also reconcile with others. Restoration and reconciliation is a priority to the Lord.  What is important to Him ought to be important to us!

Today, let’s read Ephesians 3, 4 and 5:1-14.  There’s so much here!  Grab your highlighter and pencil, draw some circles and stars…. read it slowly, take it in.  Let’s visit!

“Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesian 3:13-19 NKJV

Paul encourages the Ephesians not to lose heart at his tribulations.  He tells them not to take up offense against God or anyone else because there was a purpose. Paul knew the purpose, but he also knew that people might misinterpret and adopt an offense on his behalf.  Paul was imprisoned, but he didn’t want the Ephesians to be disheartened – the mission was being accomplished.

“He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,  till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;  that we should no longer be children” Ephesians 4:11-13 NKJV

“Five fold ministry” reference in 4:11-13, big words that mean we all have a place and we ought to honor each other’s gifts.  No room for jealousy in the body of Christ!

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary ^[h]edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, ^[i]clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:29-32 NKJV

Forgiveness is a decision. Anger gives the devil foothold – deal with it quickly!

Please read Acts 28, Ephesians 1 and Ephesians 2 today.  Continuing Paul’s missionary journey – and finishing Acts today! What’s your hight?  Here are a few of mine:

“when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”  But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god”  Acts 28:3-6 NKJV

It’s funny the immediate and extreme reactions: first, Paul must be a murderer because of the snake bite. When the bite didn’t kill him, he must be a god because he survived.  We make those same instant and often uninformed judgements today, don’t we?

A few highlights, bullet style today – it’s so important that we don’t skim these familiar parts and miss these big truths.  Paul’s ministry always points us back to Jesus.

“He chose us” Ephesians 1:4-6 Praise God, what a blessing and comfort to be chosen

“In Him we have redemption” Ephesians 1:7 That’s everything, isn’t it? In CHRIST, we have redemption.

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14 –  In CHRIST we trusted, and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance, precious.

Don’t miss 1:17-20 – now we are made alive where our sins had once made us dead, through the sacrifice of CHRIST.

“now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” Ephesians 2:13 – we are brought near by the blood of CHRIST.  We must never forget what a high price was paid so that we can live reconciled unto God.

“For He Himself is our peace” Ephesians 2:14 – regardless of our feelings or circumstances, CHRIST is our peace.

Today, please read Acts 27. Yep – just the one! 🙂 What’s your highlight today? Now Paul is traveling to Rome. Remember, he wrote his letter to Rome in advance of his trip there (that’s why we read Romans already). What’s your highlight today?

“Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over” Acts 27:9 NKJV

“But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them” Acts 27:21 NKJV

Again, we see the practice of fasting. Out of the fast, the Lord spoke an encouraging word. There will be disaster (consequence of their disobedience, not a reaction on the Lord’s part), but there is also a promise: there will be no loss of life (27:21-22).

“And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, ‘Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.’ And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.” Acts 27:33-34 NKJV

Another reference to fasting.  When I see the word “since”, it makes me think of an action/consequence: since one thing happened, now another thing can happen.  Since they had heard their word from the Lord, now the fast could end.  Stay faithful and hang on until you receive your word from the Lord!

Please read Acts 24, 25 and 26 today.  Read it with feeling, see if you can grab some of the emotion going on here today. Come on back and share your highlight – here’s mine:

 ^“But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.”  Acts 24:14-16

Paul always kept the main thing the main thing.   All of these “troubles” come because Paul knows that Jesus was raised from the dead and he preached this truth “first of all” (like he wrote in 1 Cor 15:8).  The most important thing was that Christ be preached, and Paul let everything else become a secondary or minor issue.

“‘ I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ ” Acts 26:17-18

That’s the goal:  to turn people “from darkness to light”. In love, let your light so shine. What else could take precedence in our lives in minds, our schedules over accomplishing  this ONE thing?

“And Paul said, ‘I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains’ .” Acts 26:29

No jealousy, no bitterness over his situation.  Paul desires that ALL come to Christ and experience the blessings he was living. And ALL of this came from Paul as he was in chains.  That’s beyond remarkable.

I’ve tried to keep these blogs short and not put too much personal feeling into it, but honestly, y’all, today I’m about in tears reading this account. Did you get this: PAUL WAS IN PRISON, bound in chains. The man in charge, Felix, procrastinates and leaves Paul in jail for ANOTHER TWO YEARS (years, y’all) over charges that no one had been able to articulate to him (Acts 24:22-27).  When Paul finally gets the chance to appeal to the new man in charge and to Caesar, did you see how he started his appeal?  He said, “I think myself happy”.  He thinks himself happy?  He’s been in jail for 2 years, clerical errors and procrastinations keeping him there – if anyone had a reason to pick up an offense and be angry, wasn’t it Paul?  Wouldn’t we all have said “Yes sir! You tell ’em!” if Paul had absolutely unloaded when he finally got the chance to speak? When he finally is released, Agrippa says that it seems unreasonable to hold him without specifying the charges (Acts 25:27).  Is anyone else thinking: “Are you kidding me? After TWO YEARS, that’s all you have to say to me?” Would any of us have criticized him if he said, “peace out, Jerusalem – y’all deserve what you get.”  No – he counted himself happy because wherever he was he found a way to communicate the gospel to people in need of the truth.

What are you offended about today? Just drop it – keep the main thing the main thing and be singular in fulfilling your God-given purpose  –  and then, like Paul, you really will “think yourself happy” 🙂

Please read Acts 21:37-40, Acts 22 and Acts 23 today.  All in one place and all back-to-back, that’s nice!  Remember days where we were flipping like crazy to get through the reading?  Can you believe we have less than 30 days to go?  Let’s finish strong (begin AND complete like we talked about the other day!).  What’s your highlight?

What a big day!  Paul addresses the mob in Hebrew, because at first they were not willing to listen as he told the story of his conversion.  Hearing their own language made all the difference. It’s so important to know your audience and be able to relate.

‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.” Acts 22:14 NKJV

Couldn’t we all adopt 22:14 over own our lives? Yes and amen!  You are chosen!  God desires to speak with you! You can hear God’s voice!

Unfortunately, the mob turned again, and a plot was developed to kill Paul.  The very Jews who heard him speak in their own language made a vow (Acts 23:12-15) to attack and destroy him.  BUT the Lord appeared to Paul:

“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.'” Acts 23:11 NKJV

I love that Jesus appears to Paul, to give comfort and strength, to remind him that God has a purpose for his life that would be fulfilled BEFORE these angry men made their vow.  There is no such thing as an emergency meeting in heaven – God knows, God sees, and God has already made provision to protect and provide.

In the midst of any storm in our life, Jesus brings purpose and peace always.