Walking with the Way

I am glad we are reading chapters 6-8 in one sitting.  I find you gotta read all of it to get the flow and point of what Paul is saying. If one were to read only a part of what Paul is saying, one could mistakenly quote Paul, thinking he is saying one thing when he is actually saying the exact opposite.  Here is what I mean, I have heard Christians quote, and apply to themselves, "For I do not do the good that I want to do but I practice the evil that I do not want to do." (7:19) "What a wretched man I am!" (17:24) Have you ever heard someone say that?  Or how about this, "I'm just as sinful as them (referring to a nonbeliever)! I have heard that be said, but I certainly hope it is not the case for that believer! I am guessing that this person has read this portion of scripture but not in it's context.  If they had, they would see that Paul is talking like one "under the law" (7:7-24). In context of the entire chapter, we Christians know

Today we are half way through the four month reading plan! This is going fast!  Notice there are 3 chapters today and its not "light" reading!  You gotta put your thinking cap on for this reading session. But, I liked it! I have learned that there are at least two camps on just about every topic under the sun.  I kind'a thought that wouldn't be the case in the Christian world, but it's true there too.  I have just recently learned that there are two schools of thought related to the Jewish people when it comes to end times.  One camp thinks that God has a unique plan for Jews just before Jesus returns to gather his people.  The other school of thought does not believe that there are promises that need to be fulfilled to the Jewish people alone before that final day. I couldn't help think about these two schools of thought as I did today's reading.  These verses stood out to me: "So what advantage does the Jew have?...they were entrusted with the

We start a letter today that Paul wrote just before his journey to Rome that we've been reading the past couple of days.  I think it could have been the recipients of this letter that were the one's who took care of Paul's needs and visited him when he was under house arrest (Acts 28:30).  So, in essence, this letter we are about to read, is Paul's introduction of himself (and a statement of what he believes), to a group of people he didn't know yet, but would be getting to know personally in about three years. It was fun for me to read how God answered Paul's prayer!  Paul prayed, wanting to see the Romans "to be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." (Rom 1:12).  We just got finished reading in Acts that Paul found the brothers and sisters from Rome.  They had "heard the news about us (Paul and his travel companions) and had come to meet us...when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage." (Acts 28:15). Paul had prayed for

I've been a counselor at quite a few summer camps and have seen the same scene play out every time.  The first day of camp is always a little uneasy for campers. Some come to camp not knowing anyone else.  They are assigned to a cabin and meet the group with whom they will be spending the week. I've witnessed awkward introductions, nonexistent eye contact, and nonchalant attitudes as they move through the first day activities of swim tests, camp rules and established routine.  Yet, by the last day of camp, I see these same campers clinging to each other, crying their eyes out, as they say goodbye to their new best friends! In the short span of one week the program and adventurous activities draw them together into a tight friendship faster than an entire year of school could ever produce. I was thinking about how adventure and near death experiences draw people together when I read about Julius and his time with Paul. Julius was the centurion who was in charge of the prisone

I love the words that Paul heard from Jesus and is now relaying to King Agrippa.  "I am sending you to them (Jews and Gentiles) to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me." (26:18) There it is; the gospel in a nut shell!  Paul had a calling on his life to be "sent out" to Jews and Gentiles.  Yet, we have to remember, we have that same calling.  Jesus tells his disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations." (Matt. 28:19)  That doesn't just apply to the first 12.  How could it?  Jesus said all nations. Also, he says, "I am with you always, to the end of the age." (28:20) which goes a lot longer than just the lives of the first 12. Some of you might be thinking at this point, "Wait a minute, evangelism is not my gift.  I'll let the Paul's of the world do that."

I'm going to share a little trivia with you, in case you wanted to know more about Drusilla! Yes, I am sure you were all wondering about Drusilla, like I was....Is this where Disney got the inspiration for the step sister of Cinderella?  Oh, wait, no, the Disney character was Drizella....never mind... Anyway , Drusilla, the wife of Felix that we read about today in Acts 24 has been mentioned in other historical accounts beside the Bible.  You may have heard of Flavius Josephus.  He was a Jewish historian born 8 years after the resurrection of Jesus.  Born in Jerusalem, he writes a gory, first hand account of the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in 70 AD.  Yet, he also writes about a lot of other Jewish history. In fact, he wrote about Felix and his wife.  In his book, Antiquities, he writes that Drusilla was actually married before to another guy, at the young age of 15.  Yet, when Felix saw her, he was smitten by her beauty and sent a Jewish friend to her to convince her

Life would be a lot easier if I always lived by, "The Lord's will be done." (Acts 21:14b)  Wouldn't you agree?! Seriously!  Aren't we all like the Christians who were pleading with Paul not to go to Jerusalem?  Speaking for myself, I will admit, I can become filled with fear anticipating bad things that could happen.  I plead and beg God to keep me from uncomfortable situations that are either real or imagined. It's easy to become stressed out or filled with anxiety. It's at those points that I need people in my life, and the Holy Spirit to say to me, "What are you doing..?" (21:13) Often times it's the Holy Spirit that gives me the reminder, "Were is your faith?" God has a plan for me!  Fretting about the what ifs that could happen won't change his plans for me. Paul knew God had a plan for him.  Paul is so impressive to me because God gave him insight to what the plan was and he moved forward anyway (Acts 20:22).  What a

It’s always interesting to me to read about “some disciples” who didn’t know Jesus (19:1). How were they disciples then? Perhaps Luke, as he was reflecting back, called them disciples because that is what they became. Or maybe he was thinking "disciples of John" but just wrote disciples.  I don't know but, regardless, Paul “found” these men by noticing something they were demonstrating.  These 12 men understood that they were sinners and needed forgiveness. They were repent-full enough to be baptized into “John’s baptism”. This reminds me of the verse found in Corinthians 7:10, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”  If these men just stayed in their knowledge of needing to repent, but never knew who could restore them...that would be a sad state indeed! (Like Judas's sorrow in Matt. 27:3) But God wasn’t finished with these men yet...He sent Paul to finish the story! I think that is so cool!

Vacations throw me off. Sorry for the late post. 🤪 I think it’s interesting how Luke comments on the women who are hearing the gospel. We heard about Lydia in chapter 16, who sounds like a successful business woman since she had the means to host Paul’s group at her house. Then in today’s reading he writes that “in Thessalonica, some of them were persuaded enjoyed Paul and Silas, including a large number of God – fearing Greeks, as well as a number of leading women.” (17:4). Also, in Berea, “many of them believed, including a number of prominent Greek women as well as men.” (17:12) Leading women/prominent women......I liken all of us in the US to women like that. Women in the United States have had all the advantages of the leading women of that time. On the most part, we are well educated, and we are financially secure in relation to the rest of the world.   We have the ability to gain a platform, to let our voice be heard, if that was our desire.  That makes us prominent women,

When I read today, how the church in Jerusalem discussed the issue of circumcision, I was impressed with their conclusion!  They concluded, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that there are requirements for a believer to follow.  Each requirement had to do with pagan worship, and not being a part of it.  If you are apart of it, then you are engaging in pagan worship which, obviously would demonstrate that one is not worshipping Jesus alone.  You can not serve two masters! (Matt. 6:24) These were the requirements that they set forward (notice, it reads, "requirements"- vs. 28): Abstain from food offered to idols (but if you don't know it's that type of food, don't worry about it- you weren't engaged in idol worship- see 1 Cor. 8) Abstain from blood and from anything that has been strangled.  (These too were acts of pagan worship.  Seems pretty straight-forward- don't practice idol worship!) Abstain from sexual immorality. (This is a form of idol wor

"Some Jews came from Antioch and Iconic, and when they won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead." (14:19) I've read this before, but it really hit hard this time!  Paul was stoned, nearly to death!!  When I was a  teenager, I saw a movie based in Biblical times.  I remember well, the scene of a lady getting stoned.  It made such an impression on me, I can picture the scene, vividly, of Paul being stoned!  Stone after stone, rapidly hitting their target, causing abrasions, blows that cause blunt trauma, blows that cause concussions, blows that cause loss of consciousness.  It's a scene that takes many men filled with a deadly goal. Picture the anger in those men to do something like that!! They were filled with rage toward the words Paul spoke, "We are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea and everything in them.&qu

Reading how the Jews were so conditioned to be "set apart" from all those around them (11:2), I have often wondered how that applies to me today.  Have you ever thought about that?  Are we supposed to still be obviously set apart from everyone else in our culture? I have often thought that God set an example for us (or a foreshadowing of what he expects from us), by showing us what he expected from the Israelites. He set them apart by having them: -Worship only one God -Not eat certain food that was unclean (10:14) -Not associate socially with others that weren't Jewish (10:28) -And be circumcised Don't you think that they were an example for us believers today?  We are to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world as well. -We still worship one God -We eat the Bread of Life (God's Word) rather than filling our mind with "unclean" stuff. -We are not to be of the world (1 John 2:15-17) -We have circumcised hearts (Rom 2:29) Peter confi

Piggybacking on yesterday's thought,  was thinking how different the people in Cornelius's house were in their conversion, verses Simon the Sorcerer's conversion.  These people heard the message and had a heart change immediately , whereas Simon's conversion took a bit longer. One thing is clear in both stories, a change in direction needs to occur as far as the heart is concerned.  I commented on this idea on another read through and thought would post it again: If someone in Cornelius’s house got up to go to the bathroom just after Peter started talking, they may have heard, “God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.” (10:35) As he is walking to the outhouse, he may think, “Sweet!  God accepts me because I  do  what is right!” But that guy better hurry up and get back to the house so he can hear, “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who  believes  in him (Jesus) receives forgiveness of sin

I always enjoy reading these chapters!  Steven's review of Jewish history, Philip's boldness in sharing Christ even though he and others had to flee Jerusalem to escape persecution, and Simon the Sorcerer's conversion, are all inspiring stories! I have had different thoughts on these chapters that I went back and read thinking,...."Huh! Those are still interesting thoughts!"  If you feel like reading one of them, I thought I would include the link. Thoughts about Steven's situation:  https://www.walkingwiththeway.com/2019/02/acts-7-8-day-48-2-wrongs-dont-make-right.html Thoughts on Moses: https://www.walkingwiththeway.com/2018/08/acts-7-8-moses-day-48.html Thoughts on Simon's situation: https://www.walkingwiththeway.com/2018/03/day-88-acts-7-8.html Yet, this time, I once again pondered what I had wondered in the past.  These were thoughts I had, but no one commented.  So I thought I would pose the question again. I would sure love to hear other&

Well I got inspired by the disciples today!! First they get beaten by the religious leaders yet leave "rejoicing that they were counted worthy to be treated shamefully on behalf of the Name.", then they "continued teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah." (5:41-42)  Then to top it off, they "devoted (themselves) to prayer and to the ministry of the word." (6:4) It's inspiring to read, but I have to ask myself....where am I on that inspiring scale?   These were fully devoted followers of Christ!  Am I like that?  Would I endure a beating and rejoice after it?  Would I continue to proclaim the good news if I had been beaten or would I slink away?  Do I devote myself to teaching or proclaiming the good news? These are great questions to ask myelf to, check where my heart stands in my devotion to Christ.  I like these guys!  I may not be at their level of devotion, but they sure set good examples to emulate!  Lord help me to

"Heaven must receive him until the time of the restoration all things, which God spoke about through his holy prophets from the beginning." (Acts 3:21) I found this verse to be confusing and needed some clarification.  I think the words "restoration of all things" is what is confusing. To me, that makes it sound like Jesus isn't coming back until everything is perfect. Other verses speak against that!  In fact they speak to the fact that it's going to get worse before he comes back.  So...what does this mean? I found that some translators find the words "restoration of all things" can also mean "until the filling or fulfilling of the times of all things". In reading different commentaries, Gill's Exposition helped clarify the verse for me. I thought I would include his words in case you may want further clarification as well! 'Whom heaven must receive,....Hold and retain in his human nature, and which does not at all hinder

I am very thankful for the work Luke put into his two "narratives" (1:1).  In fact, it was his life's work!  Because he wrote about his travels with Paul, we know that this book covers a span of 30 years!  With the very precision of records, i.e. names and travel itineraries, Luke obviously took meticulous notes during the years before he put it together as the narrative for his friend (and possibly sponsor), the honorable Theophilus (Luke 1:3 & Acts 1:1). I never thought this thought before, but I wonder how Luke felt as he was interviewing all the people that had first hand experiences with Jesus?  Was he thinking, "Shoot, I missed God incarnate by just a couple years!" or, "Maaann, they were  so luuucky to have been with Jesus!!"  (At least, those would be my thoughts!)  I can imagine Luke hanging on every word, scrambling to take notes, as he listened to Mary share her experiences with Jesus as a baby and then a boy.  (Luke must have been a

With three chapters today, we conclude the reading of the four gospels.  Wow, that went fast! I am reflecting back on the things Jesus said while he was here.  "Jesus said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." (Luke 24:44) and, "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father....If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." (John 5:45-46) Peter even refers to how Jesus finished what was foretold about him. "But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that Messiah would suffer." (Acts 3:18)  "Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days." (vs.24) I have been studying one of the Old Testament prophets, Daniel, (that Jesus and Peter referred to) and I'm reading the words that predict Jesus! So,

Yesterday, we read Jesus saying, "I have conquered the world." (16:33b) Today we read, "Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed." (17:5) From our reading of the other gospels, we already know that Jesus does take that position of glory after he raises from the dead.   "When the Lord Jesus and spoken to them. He was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. " (Mark 16:19)  Other New Testament authors also speak to the position Jesus takes ~Rom. 8:34, Eph. 1:20-21, Heb. 1:3, 8:1, 12:2 and Pet 3:22, to name a few. This verse in particular stood out to me today, "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they will see my glory , which you have given me because you loved me before the world's foundation." (17:24) I just think that is the cutest thing ever!!  He wants us to see his glory.  I picture him being eager! "Ooh, just wait,

This is the view from my back yard. You are not looking at a vibrant, live tree here.  It's actually a dead redwood tree that has been overgrown with an ivy vine.  The tree it's self is dead, but the owner down the hill can't see that the tree is dead because it looks so green to her.  She's been fooled. I have looked at that vine growing up the tree for a couple of years now, and have thought,....there's an analogy in that "fake" tree.  Today's reading made me think it was a good time to use the analogy! I know, Jesus uses a lot of analogies to drive his points home, I don't really need to add another one! However, the tree in my backyard is such a good visual! "Remain in me, and I in you." (15:4)  Jesus is a living tree where the roots provide nutrients for the whole tree. (So, l et's make the dead tree in my backyard an alive tree for the sake of my analogy.)  😜 Even though many people come into my back yard and think

I take so much comfort in these words, "Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Don't let your heart be troubled or fearful." (14:27) Ahhh, Jesus gives us his peace.... 😌 .... but do I honestly feel it....all the time?  How does Jesus give us that peace?  Well, he tells us how.... "I am going away and I am coming to you." (14:28) I giggle when I read that sentence because it reminds me of my mother's famous words when she would come to babysit my kids, "Leave now, so that you can come back." Jesus may have had his 2nd coming in mind when he said, "I am coming to you", but I think he was referring to the Holy Spirit aspect of our 3 in one God.  After all, he just got finished saying, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you." (vs. 26) So, how do I have peace in this wor

Chapter 12 starts off with, "Six days before the Passover.."  Thanks, John, for giving us a time frame!  That makes it one-week before Jesus is crucified. So, I went off on a tangent from the reading....I don't know a lot about how Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread are celebrated, so I took a little time to do some googling. I found out that Passover is a 24 hour period and the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasts for 7 days. During that Feast, two different readings are done each day, a Torah reading and a Haftarah reading.  The Haftarah reading is a prophetic reading. These readings can vary from synagogue to synagogue, country to country, family to family, however, I found that the last day of prophetic reading (The Haftarah),  ends with the hope and vision of the Messianic Era.  They usually read Isaiah 10:32-12:6.   Every year they remind themselves of this hope to come! I think that is so cool! So, I had to read the passage myself, of course! Wow, does it

So, how are you liking the reading of John?  I find it quite different from the other three gospels.  It's good...but to be honest, some of the wording confuses me! Like, what does this mean?, "We must do the works of him who sent me while it is still day.  The night is coming when no one can work." (9:4) The context is that Jesus is about to heal the blind man.  Why does he say "we"? Why would darkness come if Jesus is with us and he is the light, therefor we are the light (Matt. 5:14)?  What does he mean? Well, I had to do some digging... I use some old commentaries and I found something interesting.  The verse can be read "I must do the works of him...", in several translations (King James, Darby, TYN, WEB & WBF).  Why would that be?  Why would translations vary like that?  After all, that one little word "we" changes the meaning significantly! Well, it turns out that old translators felt that they needed to match the pronouns

Whenever words are repeated, I perk up!  Boy, did Jesus repeat himself in today's reading!  He is making it quite clear that if one doesn't believe in Him....well......you die!....If you believe....you won't die.  It's very simple! 8:21-"I'm going away; you will look for me, and you will die in your sins ." 8:24- "Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins .  For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sin ." 8:51- "Truly I tell you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death ." Works aren't involved and being a "good person" with good intensions has nothing to do with it.  Jesus is clear on that point and the writers of the letters that follow the gospel accounts make it clear as well.  (Acts 16:31, Rom. 10:9-17, 1 Thess 2:13, 1 Tim 4:10, Heb 10:9-17 and 1 Peter 1:9)  So if it's so clear, why do people still get confused?  Could it be the father of lies playing his(John 8:44) ro

The other day someone commented on the blog, wondering what Jews now a days would think of Old Testament scriptures that, to us Christians, clearly reference Jesus.  It's funny, but I think God answered that question, himself, in today's reading! "You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me." (John 5:39) and Jesus really nailed them when he said, "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, because he wrote about me. But if you don't believe what he wrote, how will you believe my words?" (John 5:46-47) Jews back then and now fail to see how scripture in the Old Testament point to Jesus, even when it is clear!  Nothing has changed!  Jesus goes so far as to say that they don't really even believe the words of Moses!! 😱 I can't help but think of the following verse when I think how I have been grafted in as a true Jew who believes the words of Moses, the prophets and that

"Believe me woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor  in Jerusalem....But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.  Yes, the Father wants such people to worship him." (4:21 & 23) These verses stood out to me because, like I mentioned the other day, I am studying Daniel, which brings one to think about "end times".  One thing I get from these words of Jesus is, there won't be a third physical temple as far as he is concerned!...."Wait, what?!",  you may be exclaiming.  Let me explain. First of all, the 2nd physical temple was destroyed in 70 AD, so right there Jesus was right in saying, "an hour is coming"...that hour came 40 years after he spoke those words. There has been no temple worship since.  (Jewish worship took place in the temple which was located in Jerusalem).  But, now that Jesus has arrived, that's OK!  

Yesterday I listed some Old Testament verses that prophesied about the coming Messiah.  One of them was from the last prophet Malachi, who wrote these words nearly 450 years before Jesus, "Look, I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse." (4:6) So, having just read that, it stood out to me that John starts his gospel account talking about John the Baptist.  He starts exactly where Malachi left off...talking about the Elijah that was to come before the Messiah.  Now, even though John said he was not Elijah (1:21), he was! I can see why he, himself, might have missed that fact.  After all, he was the boy raised by Zach and Liz, and he grew up in the dessert (Luke 1:11-17).  He was told by God to tell people to repent.  God didn't say, "Hey John, you will be talking to the people in the spirit of Eli

It stood out to me today when Jesus said, "How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken!...Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the scriptures." (24: 25 & 27) Oh man, I wish I had been part of that conversation!!!  Their hearts burned as He was explaining the scriptures!  Mine would have too!  I would have loved to have gotten all the dots connected for me! I found a commentary that listed many of the prophesies predicting the coming Messiah. The Jewish people definitely had cause to be waiting for one! Genesis 3:15 & 49:10, Numbers 21:89, Deuteronomy 18:15, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 53:1-12, Psalm 16:1-11, 22 110:1-7, Daniel 9:25-27 and Malachi 4:5. I am doing a Bible study on Daniel right now.  I so wish I could ask Jesus, himself, about Dan. 9:25-27.  Talking about confusing!  I'm jealous of these two people walking on the road back to their home town, Emm

There are big themes in our daily reading, but lately my mind has been drawn to the little paragraphs that I often skim past in order to focus on the big theme.  Yet those little paragraphs hold some gems! For example, chapter 21 is all about signs these people can look for that point to the destruction of Jerusalem and Jesus coming "in a cloud with power and great glory" (21:27).  Those are huge things to try to comprehend, absorb and imagine! So, it's easy to miss the quick observation and comment Jesus made about the widow dropping her money into the temple treasury (21:1-4).  Boy, did those four verses get me to ponder! What exactly does this scripture mean for me?  Would I put in all I had? First, I was thinking about the lady.  I don't know why, but "poor, old"  made me think hunched over, wobbling up to a collection box and feebly raising her arm to drop her coins into a box (something like the witch in Snow White).  I'm probably totally w

The short little paragraph describing the grief Jesus had when looking at Jerusalem, can get lost in our feelings of celebration as we read about his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  This time reading through the short paragraph (19:41-44), it hit me hard when I read that Jesus wept because I noticed how Jesus (in Luke's account) sandwiched that scene of him weeping over Jerusalem with two parables explaining why . The first piece of bread, so to speak, is Jesus telling the parable of the king and the ten servants,  "But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them-bring them here and kill them in front of me."(19:27). The other side of the sandwich is the parable of the vineyard, with Jesus saying, "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." (20:16) The people of Jerusalem were the enemies of the king in the first parable and the tenants in the second parable