“Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”” (1 Kings 17:8-9 NLT). After Elijah warned King Ahab about the coming drought in Israel, he fled to the wilderness. Eventually, the Lord sent Elijah out of
“How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!” (Psalms 133:1 NLT). Psalm 133 was written by David and is one of the fifteen psalms with the inscription, “Songs of Ascent.” Psalms 120-134 were to be sung while ascending up to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to worship. In this way, worshipers
“Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus” (Acts 9:27 NLT). After Saul became a follower of Jesus
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:6 NLT). While heading to the city of Damascus to persecute Christians, Saul encountered the living Lord Jesus on the way. When Saul understood that it was Jesus speaking to him, he asked one of the most
“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart” (Proverbs 17:3 NLT). Faith must be tested. It must pass through life’s furnace, so that impurities may rise to the top and be removed. This testing not only purifies, it verifies, proving faith genuine. Only the Lord can do this. As
“A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.” (Acts 8:1 NLT). After Stephen was stoned to death in Jerusalem for preaching the risen Christ, a “great wave of persecution” broke out against the
“However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands” (Acts 7:48 NLT). Stephen reminded the Jewish rulers that even though God allowed Solomon to build Him a Temple, He had no need for a man-made dwelling. Sinful man always prefers his man-made religion with his man-made gods and man-made temples. Didn’t the
“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted” (Psalms 127:1 NLT). This psalm of Solomon is apt for today’s One Year Bible reading as the Old Testament reading is about the building of the Temple. Yet although God had given Solomon such amazing wisdom, he failed to apply it to
“It is good for workers to have an appetite; an empty stomach drives them on” (Proverbs 16:26 NLT). A wise observation by King Solomon: Hunger motivates work. In other words, hunger can act as an incentive for one to labor for himself. Self-employment is hard, but often the most rewarding, for both the stomach and
“The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus” (Acts 5:41 NLT). Peter and some of the apostles were imprisoned by the high priest for continuing to preach in the name of Jesus. That night, an angel set them free from the prison