Daily Devotionals

Read Acts 16:16-40; Philippians 1:12-18

PAUL

Paul is under house arrest in rented quarters; he refuses to focus on that. He is far from home, and his future is uncertain; he doesn't let that concern him. Heis bound to a Roman guard every day; no problem. Because he has made Christ the object ofhis life, contentment has replaced frustration. He's taught himself to live above his circumstances. The benefits?

Read Acts 16:16-40; Philippians 1:12

PAUL

Few people in the first century had a deeper understanding of God's grace than the Apostle Paul. Redeemed from a life of vicious brutality as a rigid legalistic Pharisee, the man turned the corner, repented, and through Christ's empowering became a gentle soul, gracious and affirming. Understanding. Forgiving. Approachable. He reached the place where he was willing not only to offer hope to the Gentiles but to live among them, though he himself would bleed pure Jewish blood.

Read Acts 16:11-15

PAUL

Whether you are travelling as a missionary or in the midst of your personal profession, God would have you travel as Paul travelled. I observe four enduring principles that will help you maximize your effectiveness for Christ, wherever you may go.

Read Acts 16:1-10; 17:1-11

PAUL

A man from Macedonia had said, “Come over and help us.” God had in mind a seller of purple, an exploited slave girl, and a rugged, brutal Roman jailer. When you travel as God would have you travel, like Paul, you’re sensitive to doors that open and at peace with doors that close.

Read Acts 15:35-41

PAUL

“Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.” Jesus managed to utter those penetrating words through bleeding, cracked lips, swollen from the noonday sun. Impaled on that cruel, Roman cross, He interceded on behalf of His enemies. What a magnificent model of forgiveness!

He paid the penalty in full for the sins of the world, the just for the unjust. As a result of His sacrificial death, reconciliation was made between man and God. He’s our model for correctly resolving disputes. Ultimately, it’s a matter of forgiveness.

Read Acts 15:30-41

PAUL

Let’s be painfully candid here. I’ve had my own share of arguments, and you’ve had yours. I’ve had some that were never reconciled. Thankfully, most ended in a renewed friendship. I’ve learned through the years a few strategies that have proven effective in facing difficult disagreements.

Read Acts14:21-28

PAUL

Read Acts 14:1-20

PAUL

In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote these amazing words:

“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men whowalked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last pieces ofbread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms is to choose his own attitude in any given set of circumstances — to choose one’s own way.”

Read Acts 14:1-20

PAUL

A sentence in the diary of James Gilmore, pioneer missionary to Mongolia, has stayed with me since the day I first read it. After years of labouring long and hard for the cause of Christ in that desperate land, he wrote, “In the shape of converts I have seen no result. I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian.”

Read Acts 14:1-20

PAUL

Paul’s ministry was saturated with the Word of God. Fifteen times in chapters 13 and 14 the phrases “God’s Word,” the “Word of truth,” the “teaching of the Lord,” the “Law and the Prophets,” and the “Good News” are mentioned (13:5, 13:7,13:12, 13:15a, 13:15b, 13:32, 13:44, 13:46, 13:48, 13:49, 14:3, 14:7, 14:15,14:21, 14:25).