Acts 18 bible reading and devotionals.

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MaxLucado.com: God Sees Value

Alicia only weighs 22 pounds and is much shorter than children her age.  She suffers from progeria—a genetic aging disease that strikes one child in 8-million.  She’s bald.  Her hearing is bad.  Her stamina is that of an old person.  And she’s only ten.

Mostly, she’s patient with the constant curiosity.  But at times it gets to be too much for her mother and she lashes out.  Who could blame her?  Such is the nature of parental love—a love regardless of imperfections.  Not because the parent is blind.  Just the opposite.  They see vividly.  She sees Alicia’s inability as clearly as anyone.  But she also sees Alicia’s value.

So does God!   God sees us with the eyes of a Father.  He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes.  But He also sees our value.  Each human being is a treasure.  A source of joy!

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Mark 6:34?

From In the Eye of the Storm

Acts 18
New International Version (NIV)
In Corinth

18 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.

9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”

14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” 16 So he drove them off. 17 Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.

Priscilla, Aquila and Apollos

18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.

23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor[a] and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.

27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.


Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Psalm 37:3-11

3 Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
    your vindication like the noonday sun.
7 Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.

Timing Is Everything

October 4, 2012 — by Cindy Hess Kasper

All things work together for good to those . . . who are the called according to His purpose. —Romans 8:28

It was quite a few months before I realized that what I thought was a coincidental meeting had been good timing on my future husband’s part.

From the balcony of the church, he had seen me, deduced which exit I might be using, raced down two flights of stairs, and arrived seconds before I did. As he casually held the door and struck up a conversation, I was oblivious to the fact that his “impromptu” dinner invitation had been premeditated. It was perfect timing.

Perfect timing is rare—at least where humans are concerned. But God has specific purposes and plans for us, and His timing is always perfect.

We see that timing in the life of these Bible characters: Abraham’s servant prayed for a wife for Isaac. God answered his prayer by bringing the young woman to him (Gen. 24). Joseph was sold as a slave, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. But eventually God used him to preserve many people’s lives during a famine (45:5-8; 50:20). And we marvel at Esther’s courage as Mordecai reminded her, “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Est. 4:14).

Are you disappointed in the pace of God’s plans? “Trust in the Lord” (Ps. 37:3). God will open doors when the timing is perfect.

Have faith in God, the sun will shine
Though dark the clouds may be today;
His heart has planned your path and mine,
Have faith in God, have faith alway. —Agnew
God’s timing is perfect—every time!


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
October 4, 2012

The Vision and The Reality

. . . to those who are . . . called to be saints . . . —1 Corinthians 1:2

Thank God for being able to see all that you have not yet been. You have had the vision, but you are not yet to the reality of it by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the bumps and bruises that must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to be battered into the shape of the vision to be used by God? The beatings will always come in the most common, everyday ways and through common, everyday people.

There are times when we do know what God’s purpose is; whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends on us, not on God. If we prefer to relax on the mountaintop and live in the memory of the vision, then we will be of no real use in the ordinary things of which human life is made. We have to learn to live in reliance upon what we saw in the vision, not simply live in ecstatic delight and conscious reflection upon God. This means living the realities of our lives in the light of the vision until the truth of the vision is actually realized in us. Every bit of our training is in that direction. Learn to thank God for making His demands known.

Our little “I am” always sulks and pouts when God says do. Let your little “I am” be shriveled up in God’s wrath and indignation–”I AM WHO I AM . . . has sent me to you” (Exodus 3:14). He must dominate. Isn’t it piercing to realize that God not only knows where we live, but also knows the gutters into which we crawl! He will hunt us down as fast as a flash of lightning. No human being knows human beings as God does.



A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

Get There-itis - #6714

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Well, somehow I ended up speaking for the FAA Pilot Safety program. Now, you really wouldn't want to fly in a plane that I taught anyone to fly; I don't know nothing about it. But I think they invited me because of a book I wrote called "Peaceful Living In a Stressful World." Stress is a real issue to pilots, so they kind of sneaked me in for one of the programs.

The director for flight safety for the entire New York area took me to lunch one day to brief me on what to expect. In the process, he told me that over 80% of the crashes that involve private pilots are because of pilot error. Then he told me about a disease that has killed many pilots. He called it "get there-itis." "I've got to get there!" So, they don't adequately evaluate the weather, or the plane, or their own condition. They make a short-sighted choice that often leads to disastrous consequences. Of course you don't have to be a pilot to be in danger of that disease.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Get There-itis."

Now, there's a biblical case of "get there-itis" in Genesis 15:4. God made this awesome promise to Abraham, "There will be a son coming from your own body who will be your heir." Well, a lot of years passed; Abraham had a lot of birthdays, so did Sarah. The baby didn't come. Remember? They panicked. On to chapter 16. "Now, Sarai, Abram's wife had born him no children, but she had an Egyptian maidservant in Hagar. So she said to Abram, 'The Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my maidservant...'" And if I might just insert here, "Duh! That wasn't very smart." "'...perhaps I can build a family through her.' Abram agreed with what Sarai said."

And as they say, "The rest is history." Here was a decision that did bring about a son, but it was the wrong son. It was Ishmael. Thirteen years later Isaac would come; the one that God had promised. But this decision to try to make it happen brought terrible conflict in Abraham's family and, honestly, even to our world 4,000 years later as the descendants of Ishmael, the Arabs, and the descendants of Isaac, the Jews, continue to fight it out.

Now, look, Abraham and Sarah had a worthy goal, the one God had promised, but God was taking longer than Abraham expected. So Abraham sinned the sin of "get there-itis." He made a disastrous choice because he had to get there. Well, maybe you could look back on some choices like that in your past. I know I can. You couldn't wait, you took off, and you caused a crash. Or maybe you're about to sin a sin of "get there-itis." Maybe it's a good goal. Maybe it's something you want to accomplish for ministry. Maybe you want to get married, or something to help your child, or to help other people. But God hasn't made it come to pass naturally. You're starting to push, to scheme, to arrange, to make it happen.

I like Warren Wiersbe's definition of faith. He said, "Faith is the absence of scheming." Are you about to make something happen where you should be waiting for it to happen? The time isn't right yet even though it seems late to you. You're about to pull a Hagar; a tragic hurry-up of God's plans.

Maybe God wanted me to say to you today, "Don't take off yet. Don't panic and die of terminal 'get there-itis.'" Would you leave this in God's hands? Would you let it be His time? You'll have a great flight if you do. If you force it, you'll probably crash.