Acts 16:1 

“. . .  a certain disciple was there, named Timothy”

The Scriptures are filled with men and women who had a tremendous impact upon their world for the kingdom of Heaven. Timothy is one of those men. We are first introduced to him here in Acts 16. He is described as a disciple who was well-spoken of throughout the cities of Lystra and Iconium. The word disciple means, a learner and a follower. It describes a person who has chosen to surrender to Christ, follow Him, and allow the Word of God to write upon the tablet of his heart. The disciple lets God’s Word direct his private life, public life, family life and church life. Timothy was a disciple of Christ, and set an example for the believers around him on what it meant to follow Jesus. As we continue to follow Timothy’s story, we find…

Joshua 23:2

“And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them: ‘I am old, advanced in age.'”

The sun is about to set in the life and ministry of Joshua. After spending years being mentored in ministry by Moses, he ventured out as Israel’s leader. He led the nation as they furthered the kingdom of God, and became established in the land. Now that time is coming to an end, and Joshua will give his final message to the people he has so faithfully served. His message could be divided into four main points of exhortation that would lead to their continued success. 

Joshua 23:6

“Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right…

Joshua 24:14
“…Serve the Lord!”

Years ago Bob Dylan wrote a song that included the phrase, “You’ve got to serve somebody.” Many years before, the Psalmist declared, we will become whatever we choose to serve. He stated, if we serve false gods we become like them, but if we choose to serve the True and Living God, we will become like Him. Our lives will be determined by what masters us.

Romans 6:16
“Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

Sin is a reckless master. It makes promises it will never fulfill. When we choose to disobey the Word of God, getting involved in practices He forbids, it is not long before we are controlled by the very things we thought would be…

Acts 15:28-29 

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”

A great controversy arose in the early church as a result of the Gentiles coming to faith in Christ. Some of the church leaders in Jerusalem were suggesting that after coming to Christ, these new converts must be circumcised and keep the ceremonial laws. I think their motives were probably sincere. They wanted to see these new believers behaving correctly, and determined the best way for them to do so, was to make rules. We see the same thing happening in the church today. A young woman may come to Christ, and still dress the way she did before…

Joshua 22:26-27

“Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the Lord.” ’”

The tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh chose to separate from the rest of Israel and live east of the Jordan River. Although the Jordan is not a large river, and crossing it during the dry season would not be a difficult endeavor, this division would prove to be very costly.  It is clear from the event recorded in Joshua 22, the effects of this separation were felt immediately…

Joshua 21:45
“Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”

A lot of my childhood was spent on the ocean. From as far back as I can remember, my dad had a boat and we would spend the summers taking vacations to Catalina Island. It was a great way to grow up. We would spend day after day on the boat, fishing, swimming, diving and exploring. When the vacation finally came to an end and we made the 27 mile journey back to the mainland, I experienced an interesting sensation. After so much time rocking back and forth on the boat, the ground seemed especially solid.

Life can seem like a journey at sea. We seem to get hit by unexpected waves, and the ground we are standing on is moving. If we are going to…

Acts 14:1

“Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.”

We read, they spoke in a way that resulted in many believing in Christ; which in turn, results in eternal life. It is worth noting that there is a way to speak which will have an impact upon others for eternity. Their speaking included at least three things:

First, they spoke with boldness. Having experienced persecution in Cyprus and Antioch, Paul and Barnabas refused to cower, but confidently continued to share Christ with the people of Iconium. For some reason, people react to the name of Jesus. Many receive Him gladly and watch as He transforms their lives. Others become angry, even hostile, once the name of Christ is mentioned. Any who have attempted to…

Joshua 20:5
“Then if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, but did not hate him beforehand.”

Many of the cities throughout Israel were designated as “Cities of Refuge.” This meant, if a person accidentally caused the death of another, he could flee to one of these cites for protection from the revenge of the victim’s devastated family. The rules governing these cities were simple. If death was caused accidentally, the guilty could flee to the city, and remain safe within its borders, until the death of the reigning High Priest. After his death, the crime was completely forgiven and the individual was free to return to his normal life. This law was designed to curb vengeance, but also serves as a picture for us of the work of Christ.

The Bible declares, there is a…

Acts 13:2

“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

This is one of the most important events in history. It marks the beginning of the missionary campaign to the church in Antioch. The results of this event brought the Gospel throughout the Roman Empire, and changed the face of Western Civilization. History would forever be changed as a result of these two men responding to the call of God. A few things strike me about God’s call.

First, it did not seem, at the outset, to be something grand. We read that God spoke; probably through one of the men with the gift of prophecy. He was to tell Barnabas and Saul to do what the Lord told them to do. That is far from a life altering experience. No mention is made of the room shaking, or lights coming from…