Don't do this, but rather THAT! by Gary Rose

I don't know exactly how much a dog teaches his son, but if this teaching actually happens, it would be a very good thing indeed!  Skunk spray really, really stinks (and its hard to get rid of as well)!

This picture is cute, but it does teach a very good lesson; namely, some things should NOT BE DONE!! I know, I know that this may sound harsh to some out there, but negative rules are there for a reason (your protection).

Just think a few moments about the ten commandments; consider all the good the negative ones (highlighted in gold for emphasis) have within them. Life is both good and bad, so isn't it a good idea to do as much that is right as you can AND do as little wrong as possible?

The Ten Commandments

Deuteronomy, Chapter 5 (World English Bible)

  ¹ Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, “Hear, Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears today, that you may learn them, and observe to do them.”
  ² Yahweh our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
  ³ Yahweh didn’t make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive today.
  ⁴ Yahweh spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the middle of the fire,
  ⁵ (I stood between Yahweh and you at that time, to show you Yahweh’s word; for you were afraid because of the fire, and didn’t go up onto the mountain) saying, 

  ⁶ “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 

  ⁷ “You shall have no other gods before me. 

  ⁸ “You shall not make a carved image for yourself—any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
  ⁹ You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me;
  ¹⁰ and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 

  ¹¹ “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name. 

  ¹² “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.
  ¹³ You shall labor six days, and do all your work;
  ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God, in which you shall not do any work— neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
  ¹⁵ You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. 

  ¹⁶ “Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you; that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. 

  ¹⁷ “You shall not murder. 

  ¹⁸ “You shall not commit adultery. 

  ¹⁹ “You shall not steal. 

  ²⁰ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 

  ²¹ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” 

Now, I know that there are some of you out there that will immediately say- but we don't live under that covenant and of course you would be correct, for remember this passage from the New Testament...

Ink or The Spirit of God?

2 Corinthians, Chapter 3 (WEB)
 ¹ Are we beginning again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as do some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
  ² You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men,
  ³ being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh. (emphasis added vss 2f.)
  ⁴ Such confidence we have through Christ toward God,
  ⁵ not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God,
  ⁶ who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
  ⁷ But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face, which was passing away,
  ⁸ won’t service of the Spirit be with much more glory?
  ⁹ For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
  ¹⁰ For most certainly that which has been made glorious has not been made glorious in this respect, by reason of the glory that surpasses.
  ¹¹ For if that which passes away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory. 

 The words of Jesus...

Matthew, Chapter 22 (WEB)
  ³⁴ But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together.
  ³⁵ One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him.
  ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” 
  ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 
  ³⁸  This is the first and great commandment. 
  ³⁹  A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 
  ⁴⁰  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” 

If you think about all this for a minute, the Old Testament was about obedience to law and the New Testament is about what a Godly heart would do to serve the Almighty. 

One Last passage and a final Thought...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 13 (WEB)

  ¹ If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.
  ² If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing.
  ³ If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing. 
  ⁴ Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
  ⁵ doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;
  ⁶ doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
  ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
  ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.
  ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part;
  ¹⁰ but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.
  ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.
  ¹² For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.
  ¹³ But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love. (emphasis added vs. 13)

 

And that last thought is that last verse!!!

Only 10% by Gary Rose

I imagine that this beautiful little prayer would most likely be said for grace at the evening meal. But, why should we restrict our thanksgiving to a common meal? God gives us blessings throughout of lives, not just for meals.

Those who follow God should know this and look for opportunities to "give thanks" because God never stops giving and giving and giving.

Consider the following passage and use it as a springboard to reflect upon our own spiritual lives...

 Luke , Chapter 17 (World English Bible)

 ¹² As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance.

  ¹³ They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 

  ¹⁴  When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.

  ¹⁵ One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.

  ¹⁶ He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan.

  ¹⁷ Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 

  ¹⁸  Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?” 

  ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”   

I saw a picture on the net recently that said: "The things we take for granted, others are praying for".

Health should be near the top of anyone's prayer list, because life is way too short and we need to appreciate the quality of life that God has given us!!!

There were ten lepers who were healed, but only one returned to glorify God for healing him. To me, this simply means that most of us will not "give thanks" as we should.

Today, I plan to be part of the 10% who will give thanks; how about you????

They Worshiped the Dragon by Roy Davison

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/dragon.html

They Worshiped the Dragon

People have a strong urge to worship. When they do not worship God, they worship someone or something else.

The Scriptures teach that only God may be worshiped. We are also warned about false forms of worship.

We may not worship money.

“You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Mammon is the god of money. Many years ago, when a sister in Brussels tried to give a man a tract, he patted his wallet and said, “This is my god.” There are many more who worship money than are so readily willing to admit it. Mammon is a popular god in our society. We may not worship wealth.

We may not worship images or icons.

“Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man _ and birds and four- footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:22- 25).

To worship a statue is to worship evil spirits. “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. ... What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons” (1 Corinthians 10:14, 19, 20). “But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk” (Revelation 9:20).

When heathen, Catholics, or members of Orthodox or Coptic churches venerate statues or icons, according to the word of God they are in fact worshiping demons.

We may not worship people.

“As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, 'Stand up; I myself am also a man'” (Acts 10:25, 26). This proves that the Pope is not a successor of Peter. Peter did not allow people to bow down before him. Peter did not exalt himself; he did not sit on an exalted throne as a substitute for Christ to receive honor that belongs to God alone.

The throne of the Pope

The veneration of 'saints' is a form of worshiping people. Religious leaders, political leaders, sportsmen and popstars are also worshiped by some. We may not worship people.

We may not worship angels.

“Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, 'See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God'” (Revelation 22:8, 9 see also 19:10). “Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels” (Colossians 2:18).

We may not worship Satan.

“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve”'” (Matthew 4:8-10).

Satan tried to get Jesus to worship him. Satan also tempts us to worship him.

Some people worship Satan directly. Their rituals usually include immoral acts, they often mock Christ openly, and sometimes children are mutilated and murdered in satanic rituals.

Although few people worship Satan directly, millions worship Satan indirectly. “The whole world lies under the sway ofthe wicked one” (1 John 5:19). John speaks of this in Revelation. By way of explanation, the dragon represents the devil (Revelation 12:9). And beasts represent rulers of the world (Daniel 7:23).

“Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?'” (Revelation 13:1-4).

Satan gets people to worship him indirectly through leaders, rulers, governments and organizations. Of this beast, John goes on to say: “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:5- 8).

Notice that everyone on earth worships either God or Satan (via the beast). There is no middle course.

The first beast has a companion: “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed” (Revelation 13:11, 12).

This is a religious beast. He resembles Christ, but he speaks like the devil. Later he is called 'the false prophet' (Revelation 16:13; 19:20; 20:10).

“He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth _ by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was grantedpower to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Revelation 13:13- 15).

We have read that everyone on earth worships either God or the first beast that represents worldly rulership. This second, religious beast deceives people into worshiping the first beast. He makes a talking image of the first beast. Many people worship stone images. But here is a talking idol. This beast uses political power in the religious realm to deceive the people.

What does this mean? When two of Jesus' disciples were wanting political power in the kingdom of God, Jesus told them: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you” (Matthew 20:25, 26). Thus, in the church of Christ no one lords it over his fellow believers.

We may only worship God. Although we show due respect to those in authority (Romans 13:1), but we may not glorify political systems, whether they be secular or religious institutions, for it is through such organizations that Satan gets everyone to worship him except for those who are in the book of life.

Some are of the opinion that this second beast, the false prophet, represents the Roman Catholic Church. And there are indeed many similarities. Yet, the false prophet must include more than the Roman Catholic Church, because this beast gets everyone except the saved to worship the first beast.

Thus, the false prophet must somehow represent all forms of false religion on earth. Since false religions do not submit to the authority of God and are not led by the Holy Spirit, they must set up worldly forms of leadership. All people whose names are not written in the book of life are following some leadership other than Christ and are thus indirectly following Satan.

Remember that Jesus said: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you” (Matthew 20:25, 26).

Followers of Christ do not exercise authority over one another.

We must worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24); we must be members of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), we must belong to the church that Jesus built, which has nothing to fear even from the gates of Death's realm (Matthew 16:18).

If we become members of some denomination or religious institution other than the church that Jesus built, we are worshiping Satan. If we as a congregation join some centralized organization, which is found no where in the New Covenant, we are worshiping Satan. If we give any leader or organization the honor that belongs only to God, we are worshiping Satan.

Let us worship God!

We may worship no thing and no one except God. Either we worship God according to His word, or we worship Satan. There is no middle course.

If we give leaders, rulers or organizations honor that God deserves, we are worshiping Satan. If we worship money, if we bow down before images or icons, if we worship people, if we pray to 'saints', if we worship angels, if we put anything whatever in the place of God, we are worshiping the devil.

“Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve'” (Matthew 4:10).

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

LEARN, GROW, AND WORK IN THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD by Alfred Shannon Jr.

https://biblicalproof.wordpress.com/2011/02/page/4/

LEARN, GROW, AND WORK IN THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD

How old are you spiritually? Obeying the gospel, and nothing more, is like being born, but refusing nourishment. It’s not how many years you have been a Christian that determines your maturity, but how much you have studied, learned, and rightly applied the Word of truth. Learn, grow, and work in the Vineyard of the Lord.

Heb 5:12-14; 1 Cor 3:1-3; 1 Tim 4:13; 2 Tim 2:15; 2 Pet 3:18; Jn 9:4

An Attitude of Praise – Acts 16 by Ben Fronczek

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=251

An Attitude of Praise – Acts 16

Attitude of Praise  Acts 16

(Based on a sermon by: Mark Batterson)

This week I read about a fascinating research study done by Vicki Medvec, a professor at Northwestern University. She studied Olympic medalists and she discovered that Bronze medalists were happier than Silver medalists. Here’s why. She found that Silver medalists tended to focus on how close they came to winning the gold so they weren’t satisfied with silver. Bronze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all so they were just happy to be on the medal stand at all.

I think that study reveals a fascinating facet of human nature: Your focus determines your reality. How we feel isn’t necessarily determined by circumstances. If that was the case, the Silver Medalists would be happier than Bronze medalists because they had a better result. Even though how we feel isn’t necessarily determined by our circumstances, how we feel is determined by what we are more focused on.

Here’s another way of saying it: Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances.

Someone by the name of John Milton said it best: “The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven out of Hell, and a Hell out of Heaven.”

That’s so true isn’t it? All of us know people who can find something good to focus on even in the worst of circumstances. And all of us know someone who can find something bad to focus on even in the best of circumstances.

There is a universal principle I need to share with you here: We tend to see what we want to see.

Someone once said, ‘There are two basic types of people in the church: complainers and praisers. Complainers can always find something to complain about. And the praisers can always find something to praise and worship God about.’

All of us seem to make judgments about things all the time. Then we seem to look for evidence to support our judgments and many times ignore evidence to the contrary.

For example, if you decide you don’t like someone you’ll notice everything that is wrong with that person. And you’ll probably ignore anything you could potentially like about them. The flipside is true as well. If you’re head-over-heels in love with someone you tend to only notice those things you love about them.
We see what we want to see.

What does that have to do with praise and worship? A worshipper makes a decision beforehand to look for something to praise God about even in the direst of circumstances.

That’s what we are going to see in our text today.   Read  Acts 16:16-34 (Click on link to read) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2016:16-34&version=NIV1984

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas are in a prison cell in Philippi. Paul had cast a demon out of a fortune-teller. Her master doesn’t like it because she loses the ability to predict the future, which was  a source of income for him, so he has Paul and Silas arrested.

In the NLT version Acts 16:22 it says, “A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods.”  The text says: “They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape.  So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks.”

I think as we read a story like this it’s hard to put ourselves in their shoes. I’ve had bad days before, but nothing like this.

If I was Paul or Silas I would have been emotionally, physically and spiritually spent. I’d be drained to the last drop. I’d have nothing left to give.

Their backs are bleeding from their beating. They are black and blue all over. If it was me I would not have been very happy rather I’d probably be ticked off.  And to top it off they land in the maximum security cell in stocks!

It just doesn’t get much worse than that. And that’s why this next verse is so amazing to me. Acts 16:25 says, “Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening.”

Today I want to show you that there is something we can do to help us get out a a spiritual or emotional slum:

#1. Zoom Out   Let me share something I’ve learned from personal experience. When I get into a spiritual or emotional slump, it’s usually because I’ve ‘zoomed in’ on a problem. I’m fixating on something that is wrong. I’m really focused on the wrong thing. Nine times out of ten, the solution is zooming out so I can get some perspective.

Sometimes you’ve got to zoom out and look at the big picture.

That’s what the following college student did in writing this letter to her mom and dad, She wrote:

Dear Mom and Dad,
I have so much to tell you. Because of the fire in my dorm set by the student riots here, I experienced temporary lung damage and had to go to the hospital. While I was there, I fell in love with an orderly, and we have moved in together. I dropped out of school when I found out I was pregnant, but he got fired because of his drinking problem, so we’re going to move to Alaska, where we might get married after the birth of our baby.
Your loving daughter

PS: None of this really happened, but
I did flunk my chemistry class and I wanted you to keep it in perspective.

Sometimes you need to zoom out and look at the big picture. You fail a chemistry exam and it feels like the end of the world. But it’s not. A piece of machinery breaks down on your farm and it seems like such a big deal, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not. Somebody wrecks your car, or you loose a tooth, or you can’t get the job you want… and it seems like the end of the world, but in all reality, it’s not.  We just need to stand back and zoom out!

So what can help us ‘zoom out?’  Let me give you a two words answer: worship and praise.

In doing so we take our eyes off of our external circumstances and focusing on God. We stop focusing on what’s wrong with us or with our circumstances. We start focus on what’s right with God and we start seeing the bigger picture.

Paul and Silas could have zoomed in and complained about their circumstances. ‘God, we cast out a demon and this is what we get? We’re on a missionary journey and we get beaten and thrown in jail? Instead of “watching our back” our backs are bleeding from a beating!‘   They could have complained till the cows came home. But they made a choice to worship God in spite of their external circumstances.

Here’s what worship and praising God does. It restores our spiritual equilibrium. It helps you regain your perspective. It enables you to find something right to praise God about even when everything seems to be going wrong.  This kind of Worship and praise is zooming out and refocusing on the big picture.

Rather than out problem, we can focus on the fact that two thousand years ago, Jesus was beat for us and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. It’s refocusing on the fact that God loves me when I least expect it and least deserve it. It’s refocusing on the fact that God is going to get me where God wants me to go. It’s refocusing on the fact that I have eternity with God to look forward to in a place where there is no trouble, mourning, sorrow or pain.

Worship like this helps us refocus on the fundamentals of our faith. And here is what happens:   God restores the joy of our salvation. We regain our spiritual equilibrium.  Paul and Silas were in a bad place and their bodies probably hurt real bad, but despite that, they almost seem happy. They were happy because they were focused on the Lord and worshipped Him even in this dungeon.

Is it that easy? Absolutely not! Nothing is more difficult than praising God when everything seems to be going wrong. It seems like we like to focus on our troubles, or even brag about them. But one of the purest forms of worship is praising God even when you don’t feel like it because it shows God that your worship isn’t based on your circumstances, rather our Worship and praise is based on His character and your trust in Him.

Another problem is, many of us are so out of tune with God. We hardly even think about Him all week long. So when trouble hits, He is the last one we think about turning to.    Putting on an attitude of worship and praise will manipulate our circumstances and redirects our thought process into something positive. Look at what it did for Paul and Silas.

Victor Frankl was a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp. He wrote that every thing was taken away from the prisoners. They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings. They even took away their names and gave them numbers. Frankl was number 119,104.

He said, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

I’m absolutely convinced that the most important choice you make every day is choosing your attitude. Your internal attitudes are more important than your external circumstances. The outcome of your life and state of being will be strongly determined by your outlook on life.

If you have a critical or complaining spirit you’ll complain till the day you die. Your life will get worse and worse because you’ll accumulate more and more negative experiences. But if you have a praiseful and worshipful spirit,  life will get better and better. Why? Because you accumulate positive memories.

At the end of the day, one way or the other, your focus will determine your reality! Paul and Silas were in prison. Their bodies were chained. But you can’t chain the human spirit.  That’s what Victor Frankl discovered in the concentration camp. That’s what Paul and Silas modeled two thousand years ago. Their bodies were chained and in stocks, but their spirits soared.

I would have loved to hear to hear their prayers and songs that night.  I can’t help but believe that they sang with a conviction which caused their fellow prisoners to listen as they praised God with their voices! And that choice to worship set off a chain reaction which led to conversions.

Albert Einstein said, “You can’t solve a problem on the level it was created.” I think problems created on a human plane there were solved on the supernatural plane. That’s what happens when we praise and worship God. It changes the spiritual atmosphere. It charges the spiritual atmosphere.

I don’t think Paul could have planned this miraculous jailbreak. To make a long story short, there is an earthquake. The prisoners are set free, but they don’t leave! The jailer who is about to kill himself gets saved and his entire family is baptized in the middle of the night.

You can’t script that kind of thing.. But when you worship God like this in the worst of Circumstances you never know what is going to happen. Worship and this kind of praise sets the stage for God’s intervention. This kind of praise and Worship causes spiritual earthquakes that can change the topography of your life and others. It may not change your circumstances. But it will change your life.

Napoleon Hill said, “Every negative event contains within it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.”  Praise and Worship is a way we stay positive in negative circumstances. And it’s not a placebo! A Band-Aid, it’s reality!  No matter how bad things get, as a follower of Christ, I stil have eternity in heaven to look forward to! My pain may be real, but so is heaven.

The good news is that this reality is temporary. That reality will last forever!  The key is focusing on the right reality!

What I hope you learn from this Lesson: 

1. That people like Paul and Silas who sing in prison are men who cannot be imprisoned.

It was impossible to imprison Paul and Silas’ heart. Their bodies may be in jail – but they weren’t.

Later Paul would write saying, “To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

2. We can learn that men who worship and sing at midnight like this are men who see beyond their circumstances. They realize that they are citizens of a land that has no night, no pain, no trouble. The Lord is their light and they’ll always be free even in chains.

3. We can also learn that men who sing and worship when they go through difficult trials can make a huge impact on others.  No one seems to like people who whine complain all the time. Rather they are drawn to people with a happy positive attitude, like a moth to light on a dark night.

"My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?" by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=622

"My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?"

by	Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Imagine trying to live in a world where every person decided for himself or herself how long an inch should be. One person’s inch might be as long as a pencil, while another’s might be as short as a penny. Further imagine trying to buy lumber or carpet, or trying to calculate any kind of geometry. In truth, trying to measure things without a standard is impossible.

The same is true of religion and spiritual matters. If everyone made his or her own “measurements” about what is right and wrong, then mass confusion would rule the day—which is exactly why God gave us the Bible. It is the standard by which all of our actions are to be measured. Because the Bible claims to be the only true standard, most people insist upon evidence proving that it is from God. If a person has an open Bible and an honest heart, such evidence is available.

BACK TO THE FUTURE

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a horrible tragedy shocked the United States when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Amidst the tragedy, a rumor circulated that Nostradamus, a supposed fortuneteller, had predicted the turn of events. Web sites with information on Nostradamus received thousands, even millions of hits. After all was said and done, the rumored prediction had been fabricated and misunderstood; Nostradamus had no more predicted the future than you or I. But it was obvious from the public’s response that anyone who can accurately predict the future is more than just a little special. The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “Who is he who speaks, and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it?” (Lamentations 3:37). The prophet’s point was clear: nobody accurately foretells the future unless God informs him of it. Therefore, when the Bible accurately predicts the future, we can know that it is from God.

“MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”

If you were a Jew standing in the crowd watching Jesus hang on the cross, you would have seen and heard many astonishing things. For one, you would have seen the only totally innocent man ever to live being tortured, mocked, and spit upon. In addition, you would have sat in complete darkness for three straight hours. But some of the most amazing things that happened on that day were the things Jesus said while He was on the cross.

As Jesus was nearing His death, He cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?,” which being translated means “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). Many of those around Jesus did not understand what He had said. But any Jew familiar with the Old Testament should have immediately recognized Jesus’ lament as a direct quote from the first line of Psalm 22. King David wrote that psalm about 1,000 years before the death of Jesus. Yet verses 16 through 18 describe in minute detail what was happening at the crucifixion: “They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”

Could you imagine having the twenty-second Psalm in your hand (or mind), and watching the soldiers at Jesus’ feet actually casting lots for His clothing (Matthew 27:35)—exactly as the psalmist predicted? With one of Christ’s last breaths on the cross, He tried to get people to understand that He was the Messiah.

As we today look back upon the situation—almost 2000 years after the fact—we see that Jesus proved the Bible had accurately foretold the future, thereby verifying its inspiration. As Isaiah said: “Declare unto us what shall happen: declare ye the former things, what they are, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or show us things to come” (41:22). The very thing the pagans could not do (41:22-24), God’s Word could (see Isaiah 42:8-9).