7/20/12

Hugs....


Today's message is a short one; God is LOVE!!!  To all of you who know me (or who are getting to know me) I just wanted to extend the warmest of greeting to you from the God of LOVE!!!!

I John, Chapter 4
 8 He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. 

It was 1973 and I came across this verse and others like it declaring the LOVE of God.  So, I put it to the test.  There was a man who was trying to do everything he could to have me terminated at the company where I was employed and so I returned kindness for the daily evil he sent my way.  We not only became friends, we became VERY GOOD FRIENDS!!!!  Good triumphs over evil!!! Lesson learned!!! Sometime later I became a Christian and the LOVE God gave me, I share with you.  Hugs are contagious, give some!!!

July 20 1 Chronicles 22-23


July 20
1 Chronicles 22-23

1Ch 22:1 Then David said, This is the house of Yahweh God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.
1Ch 22:2 David commanded to gather together the foreigners who were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to cut worked stones to build the house of God.
1Ch 22:3 David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the couplings; and brass in abundance without weight;
1Ch 22:4 and cedar trees without number: for the Sidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar trees in abundance to David.
1Ch 22:5 David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for Yahweh must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.
1Ch 22:6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and commanded him to build a house for Yahweh, the God of Israel.
1Ch 22:7 David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build a house to the name of Yahweh my God.
1Ch 22:8 But the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, You have shed blood abundantly, and have made great wars: you shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight.
1Ch 22:9 Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days:
1Ch 22:10 he shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.
1Ch 22:11 Now, my son, Yahweh be with you; and prosper you, and build the house of Yahweh your God, as he has spoken concerning you.
1Ch 22:12 May Yahweh give you discretion and understanding, and put you in charge of Israel; that so you may keep the law of Yahweh your God.
1Ch 22:13 Then you shall prosper, if you observe to do the statutes and the ordinances which Yahweh gave Moses concerning Israel. Be strong, and of good courage. Don't be afraid, neither be dismayed.
1Ch 22:14 Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of Yahweh one hundred thousand talents of gold, and one million talents of silver, and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and you may add to them.
1Ch 22:15 There are also workmen with you in abundance, cutters and workers of stone and timber, and all kinds of men who are skillful in every kind of work:
1Ch 22:16 of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise and be doing, and Yahweh be with you.
1Ch 22:17 David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,
1Ch 22:18 Isn't Yahweh your God with you? Hasn't he given you rest on every side? for he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand; and the land is subdued before Yahweh, and before his people.
1Ch 22:19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek after Yahweh your God; arise therefore, and build the sanctuary of Yahweh God, to bring the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of Yahweh.
1Ch 23:1 Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
1Ch 23:2 He gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.
1Ch 23:3 The Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty-eight thousand.
1Ch 23:4 Of these, twenty-four thousand were to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh; and six thousand were officers and judges;
1Ch 23:5 and four thousand were doorkeepers; and four thousand praised Yahweh with the instruments which I made, said David, for giving praise.
1Ch 23:6 David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
1Ch 23:7 Of the Gershonites: Ladan and Shimei.
1Ch 23:8 The sons of Ladan: Jehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three.
1Ch 23:9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers' houses of Ladan.
1Ch 23:10 The sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.
1Ch 23:11 Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah didn't have many sons; therefore they became a fathers' house in one reckoning.
1Ch 23:12 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
1Ch 23:13 The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses; and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons, forever, to burn incense before Yahweh, to minister to him, and to bless in his name, forever.
1Ch 23:14 But as for Moses the man of God, his sons were named among the tribe of Levi.
1Ch 23:15 The sons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer.
1Ch 23:16 The sons of Gershom: Shebuel the chief.
1Ch 23:17 The sons of Eliezer were: Rehabiah the chief; and Eliezer had no other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.
1Ch 23:18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief.
1Ch 23:19 The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth.
1Ch 23:20 The sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief, and Isshiah the second.
1Ch 23:21 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish.
1Ch 23:22 Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brothers the sons of Kish took them to wife.
1Ch 23:23 The sons of Mushi: Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
1Ch 23:24 These were the sons of Levi after their fathers' houses, even the heads of the fathers' houses of those who were counted individually, in the number of names by their polls, who did the work for the service of the house of Yahweh, from twenty years old and upward.
1Ch 23:25 For David said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever:
1Ch 23:26 and also the Levites shall no more have need to carry the tabernacle and all its vessels for its service.
1Ch 23:27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered, from twenty years old and upward.
1Ch 23:28 For their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of Yahweh, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of the house of God;
1Ch 23:29 for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all manner of measure and size;
1Ch 23:30 and to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahweh, and likewise in the evening;
1Ch 23:31 and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh;
1Ch 23:32 and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, and the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers, for the service of the house of Yahweh.

Jul. 20, 21 Acts 13


Jul. 20, 21
Acts 13

Act 13:1 Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Act 13:2 As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, "Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them."
Act 13:3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.
Act 13:4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus.
Act 13:5 When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They had also John as their attendant.
Act 13:6 When they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar Jesus,
Act 13:7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of understanding. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn aside the proconsul from the faith.
Act 13:9 But Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on him,
Act 13:10 and said, "Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11 Now, behold, the hand of the Lord is on you, and you will be blind, not seeing the sun for a season!" Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him. He went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12 Then the proconsul, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Act 13:13 Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos, and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John departed from them and returned to Jerusalem.
Act 13:14 But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.
Act 13:15 After the reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, speak."
Act 13:16 Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen.
Act 13:17 The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.
Act 13:18 For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.
Act 13:19 When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred fifty years.
Act 13:20 After these things he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
Act 13:21 Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Act 13:22 When he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he also testified, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.'
Act 13:23 From this man's seed, God has brought salvation to Israel according to his promise,
Act 13:24 before his coming, when John had first preached the baptism of repentance to Israel.
Act 13:25 As John was fulfilling his course, he said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. But behold, one comes after me the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.'
Act 13:26 Brothers, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, the word of this salvation is sent out to you.
Act 13:27 For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn't know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.
Act 13:28 Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.
Act 13:29 When they had fulfilled all things that were written about him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb.
Act 13:30 But God raised him from the dead,
Act 13:31 and he was seen for many days by those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses to the people.
Act 13:32 We bring you good news of the promise made to the fathers,
Act 13:33 that God has fulfilled the same to us, their children, in that he raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son. Today I have become your father.'
Act 13:34 "Concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he has spoken thus: 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.'
Act 13:35 Therefore he says also in another psalm, 'You will not allow your Holy One to see decay.'
Act 13:36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.
Act 13:37 But he whom God raised up saw no decay.
Act 13:38 Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins,
Act 13:39 and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Act 13:40 Beware therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken in the prophets:
Act 13:41 'Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish; for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no way believe, if one declares it to you.' "
Act 13:42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
Act 13:43 Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
Act 13:44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.
Act 13:45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted the things which were spoken by Paul, and blasphemed.
Act 13:46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, "It was necessary that God's word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47 For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, 'I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.' "
Act 13:48 As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
Act 13:49 The Lord's word was spread abroad throughout all the region.
Act 13:50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders.
Act 13:51 But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.
Act 13:52 The disciples were filled with joy with the Holy Spirit.

"THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS" Chapter One by Mark Copeland




                "THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS"

                              Chapter One

OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER

1) To understand the source and proper use of our comfort

2) To appreciate the value of prayer in working with God, and in 
   producing thanksgiving in others

3) To see what are proper grounds for "boasting"

SUMMARY

Paul is joined by Timothy as he begins this epistle with greetings to
the church in Corinth, and to all the brethren in Achaia (1-2).  A
feature common in Paul's epistles is to start with a few words of 
praise and/or thanksgiving, and in this epistle he includes both.  He 
first praises God for the comfort offered through Christ in the midst 
of tribulation, and expresses his confidence that both the sufferings 
and comfort he receives because of Christ can work to the benefit of 
the brethren at Corinth (3-7).  He then informs them of the wonderful 
deliverance God provided in Asia (perhaps referring to the "Diana 
incident" in Acts 19:23-41), telling them their prayers were 
instrumental as well, and that this will lead many people to give 
thanks (8-11).

Paul's first order of business after his salutation and thanksgiving is
to offer a defense of his integrity.  He begins with a profession of
sincerity and simplicity, both in his conduct and his writing, and then
reminds them that they will have good reason to "boast" in each other 
when Christ comes (12-14).  Evidently his sincerity had come in 
question because Paul had made a change of plans concerning his visit 
to them.  Therefore he explains that his change was not due to 
fickleness, but as God and His promises in Christ are trustworthy, so 
is Paul, for God has anointed and sealed him with the Holy Spirit 
(15-22).  With God as his witness, Paul states that his change of plans
was an effort to spare them.  This is not to suggest Paul exercises
some sort of domination over them, for he considers himself as a fellow
worker for their joy (23-24)

OUTLINE

I. SALUTATION & THANKSGIVING (1-11)

   A. SALUTATION (1-2)
      1. From Paul and Timothy (1a)
      2. To the church of God at Corinth, with all the saints in Achaia
         (1b)
      3. Grace and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
         (2)

   B. THANKSGIVING (3-11)
      1. For comfort in the midst of affliction (3-7)
         a. From the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (3)
         b. So that we may comfort others in their trouble (4)
         c. Which like the sufferings of Christ, our comfort abounds
            through Christ, and both work for our salvation (5-7)
      2. For deliverance in Asia (8-11)
         a. Burdened beyond measure, Paul had despaired of life, and 
            was left with only his trust in God (8-9)
         b. But with the help of their prayers, God delivered him from
            death, resulting in much thanksgiving (10-11)

II. PAUL DEFENDS HIS INTEGRITY (12-24)

   A. HIS PROFESSION OF SINCERITY (12-14)
      1. In good conscience he has conducted himself with simplicity 
         and godly sincerity toward them, and continues to do so in his
         writing to them (12-13a)
      2. He hopes they understand that they have reason to boast in 
         each other when the Lord returns (13b-14)

   B. THE CHANGED PLAN (15-22)
      1. His original plan was visit them on his way to Macedonia, and
         to return on his way to Judea (15-16)
      2. His planning was not done lightly (17-22)
         a. It was not done according to the flesh, in an unreliable 
            manner (17)
         b. But as God is faithful, and the promises of God in Jesus 
            are reliable, so were his words to them (18-20)
         c. Indeed, Paul (along with Silvanus and Timothy) has been...
            1) Established with them in Christ and anointed by God (21)
            2) Sealed by God, and given the Spirit in their hearts as a
               deposit (22)

   C. REASON FOR THE DELAYED VISIT (23-24)
      1. To spare them, as God can confirm (23)
      2. This is not to suggest an attitude of domination over them,
         for he views himself as one working for their joy, and he 
         acknowledges that they stand on the basis of their faith (24)

REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - Salutation and thanksgiving (1-11)
   - Paul defends his integrity (12-24)

2) Who joins Paul in writing this epistle? (1)
   - Timothy

3) What two groups of people does Paul address in his salutation (1)
   - The church of God at Corinth
   - All the saints who are in all Achaia (Greece)

4) How does Paul describe the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?
   (3)
   - The Father of mercies and God of all comfort

5) What is the proper use of comfort we receive from God? (4)
   - To comfort those who are in any trouble

6) What two things abound in Christ? (5)
   - Sufferings
   - Consolation (comfort)

7) Where had Paul experienced some trouble?  How serious was it? (8-9)
   - In Asia (modern day Turkey)
   - Such that he despaired of life, and could only trust in God who 
     raises the dead

8) What had worked together with God in providing deliverance?  What
   other effect did it have? (11)
   - Their prayers for him
   - Thanksgiving to be given by many people on his behalf

9) In what could Paul "boast"? (12)
   - The clear conscience that his conduct in the world was with 
     simplicity and godly sincerity

10) What could Paul and the brethren in Corinth look forward to 
    boasting in, when Christ comes again? (14)
   - Each other

11) What appears to be the reason Paul's integrity was in question?
    (15-17)
   - A change of plans in visiting them

12) Paul professes that his word is as faithful as what two things? 
   (18-20)
   - God
   - The promises of God in Christ

13) What assurances does Paul offer that he is faithful? (21-22)
   - That God has established and anointed him, and sealed him by 
     giving him the Holy Spirit in his heart as a deposit

14) Why had Paul changed his plans about coming to Corinth? (23)
   - To spare them