I John 4:7

 "Let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

Acts Chapter Three

Acts Chapter Three

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;

3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.

4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.

5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.

6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

11 And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.

12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?

13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

14 But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;

15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

23 And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

A Great Promise

 A Great Promise by Dr. D. James Kennedy

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Romans 8:28

This is one of the greatest texts in all Scripture: “All things work together for good to them who love God.” No other text covers as much territory; no other text offers more hope at the point of need than that; no other text conveys such comfort when a believer is broken and downtrodden.

Unfortunately, for many people, no other text seems more difficult to believe. In face of all of the problems that we know in this life, some would say it cannot possibly be true.

Paul never said that everything was good. Indeed, there are many things in this world which are anything but good—terrible diseases, drastic accidents, wars, hurricanes and earthquakes, violent people, demonic deception -- all of these are certainly anything but good.

They are ghastly and horrible things, yet God has made it plain in this text that whatever event—however grim, however ghastly, however calamitous it may be in itself—as soon as it touches your life the hand of the Almighty will reach down and take it captive and hold it ransom. And God will not let it go until it yields up its treasure to your soul.

Thoughts on Hebrews 11:32

Thoughts on Hebrews 11:32 by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

"And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:"

After briefly sketching the faith of Rahab at Jericho, the author of Hebrews, most likely the apostle Paul, realized that he cannot tell the tale of every faithful individual from the Old Testament, so he begins merely to name them in roughly chronological order. He quickly lists four judges, then lumps David, Samuel, and the prophets in another group before recounting their and others' exploits for God.

We know David primarily as a warrior and king. We realize that he was also "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (II Samuel 23:1). Less often do we, as Paul does here, rank him among the prophets, as does Peter in his Pentecost sermon in Acts 2:29-31. However, Paul's grouping of David with Samuel—who was a prophet and a judge—and the rest of a larger group of Old Testament prophets should be no surprise; for beyond his historical exploits and the lessons we can learn from his full and complex life, his most lasting contribution may well be the numerous prophecies that he wrote for our learning (Romans 15:4).

It is intriguing to note that Paul chose to place David at the head of this second group of names, out of chronological order and ahead of Samuel. Was this purposeful or just his stream of consciousness? If purposeful, it may indicate that Paul considered David the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, or at least eminent enough to head the list.

Whatever Paul's reason, the fact that David appears with Samuel and the prophets, as well as his inclusion in this Faith Chapter, argues that he conforms to the themes that Paul is expounding. He, too, lived a life of righteousness and faith in firm hope of receiving God's glorious promises in His future Kingdom.

Though David's conquests and reign established the Golden Age of Israelite history, he yearned for God's direct rule over not just Israel, but over the whole earth.

A Talking Donkey

A Talking Donkey

From: Today God Is First by Os Hillman

February 1, 2921

The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day?" - Numbers 22:30

Many believers tend to be task - oriented; they are motivated visionaries, and they will do just about anything to make their projects successful. This obvious strength can, if not properly bridled by the Holy Spirit, be a great weakness in their ability to fulfill God's will in their lives.

Sometimes we want something to succeed so much that we fail to listen to that little voice inside trying to warn us by directing us on a different path. Such was the case of Balaam.

Balaam started out as a man of God, but then took the path of a "prophet-for-hire." God was not pleased with Balaam's decision to respond to a pagan king's request that he curse Israel. As Balaam rode his donkey to keep his appointment with the foreign king, God sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the way and oppose Balaam.

Although Balaam did not see the angel, his donkey did. Three times the donkey turned from the path and three times Balaam beat the animal in anger. Finally, the donkey turned around, and to Balaam's shock and amazement, began to speak to him, admonishing his master for beating him!

Imagine a donkey talking to you! He warned Balaam of the angel of death who was standing in the road with a sword drawn, ready to kill Balaam if he continued.

There are times when pushing harder, trying to manipulate the circumstance, or pressing those around you is not the response to have to the roadblock.

God may be trying to have you reconsider your ways. God may be doing one of several things when you are faced with an obstacle:

1) He's blocking it to protect you.

2) His timing to complete this stage is not the same as yours

3.) He may need you to go through a process of character refinement.

4) He may want other players to get in place

5.( the circumstances are not yet ready for Him to fulfill His plan

6.) He may be using the process to develop patience in you.

7.) He may want you to rely upon the Holy Spirit instead of upon yourself.

Relying on the Holy Spirit to know which one applies to your situation is the key to moving in God's timing. When you are able to discern His intent in your circumstances, you will be more fully able to cooperate with His purposes and accomplish His perfect will.

42 Executive Orders in One Week

 42 Executive Orders in One Week

The number of executive orders issued by Joe Biden in the first week – who once decried the legislative move as undemocratic and used by “dictators” – is more than double the amount of the past seven presidents combined.

In just seven days, Biden issued 42 executive actions. That’s ten times as many as Donald Trump and over eight times as many as Barack Obama. It is a whopping 22 times greater than Bill Clinton, and 42 more than Presidents Reagan and Bush.

As the left liked to say of Donald Trump: "This is not normal."

Joe Biden even recognized this on the run up to the Presidential election, calling the unilateral use of executive actions the hallmark of a “dictator.” Speaking at an October 15th, 2020 town hall with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, then-candidate Biden insisted that presidents who rule by executive order are undemocratic:

"I have this strange notion. We are a democracy. Some of my Republican friends and some of my Democratic friends even say: 'Well if you can’t get the votes, by executive order you’re going to do something, things you can’t do by executive order unless you’re a dictator.'"

“We’re a democracy. We need consensus,” the president who’s relied on executive orders to pass his agenda added.

Thoughts on Today's Verse

 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." 1 John 4:7

Thoughts on Today's Verse by Phil Ware

The old song says, "Where oh where is love?" Love is with God. Love comes from God. Love is the key attribute of God. Love is from God. Love is of God. You want to be more loving? You want to find greater intensity in your love? You want to know how to love others who are hard to love? Look to God. But, where do we see God most clearly? Jesus! So look at how God has demonstrated his love through Jesus and do likewise!

My Prayer...

Holy God, I want to show that you are my Father by loving others more perfectly. Please bless me as I seek to follow Jesus' example in treating others with love. In the name of the Lord Jesus I pray. Amen.