25 Oct (Acts 17-18)

Acts 17

(v.2) Paul knew the Old Testament Scriptures very well, and after being shown the light by Christ Himself, saw that the entire Old Testament was speaking of Jesus! This is important for all of us Christians to understand. Too many new Christians stay in the New Testament, and don't understand or even try to understand what the Old Testament is saying. We can't understand clearly why Jesus died for us if we don't know the Old Testament. We have to know the Jewish traditions and roots to understand our Jewish King Jesus! Luke 24:44
(v.6) Jesus said that His life and message would make everything different. Matt 10:34 Who Jesus is and what He did for us, forces all of us to make an important decision...will we accept what He did or will we choose to be our own god?

(v.11) Let me say this again...I am sharing what I've been taught by good Bible teachers, my own studies, and by the Holy Spirit. However, everyone must test what they are being taught by the Scriptures, and see that it goes with the flow of it, or against it.

(v.23) We must learn from Paul here...he noticed that the people were spiritual, but they didn't know who God really was. He complimented them on their spirituality, but directed them to the only true God. That is what we should do with friends and family that are following cults or false teachings. Let them know that they are right to seek, and help them find Jesus!

Acts 18

(v.3) It is right and just for a pastor to live off the tithes and offerings of the church. God did the same framework with the Levites who were the priests of the Jews. However, Paul wanted to teach all of us, that we should not live off other's work. We should work for our pay, and not be a financial burden to others. Too bad our government forgot that years ago, and tries to take the place of God and His Church!

(v.9) If we have Christ in us, then we can be bold and take comfort knowing He is with us. Remember Romans 8:31

(v.26) We can learn a lot from these godly ladies...don't rebuke another believer in front of others if you can help it. Take them aside and speak to them in love. Even in this case, where Apollos was speaking correctly, but not the whole story, they didn't inform him of this in front of the people he was teaching to. Again, we need to teach our kids (and ourselves) to respect others and think of them before we blurt out things.