36 In Joppa there was a believer named Tabitha. Her name in the Greek language was Dorcas. She was always doing good and helping poor people. 37 About that time she became sick and died. Her body was washed and placed in a room upstairs. 38 Lydda was near Joppa. The believers heard that Peter was in Lydda. So they sent two men to him. They begged him, “Please come at once!” 39 Peter went with them. When he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying. They showed him the robes and other clothes Dorcas had made while she was still alive. 40 Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. He turned toward the dead woman. He said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows. He brought her to them. They saw that she was alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa. Many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time. He stayed with Simon, a man who worked with leather.

In Chapter 7, Luke told us how Stephen was killed for speaking the truth about Jesus, and, in chapter 8, how a time of persecution began that was so bad that all but a few disciples are scattered from Jerusalem. Undoubtedly bad things.

He goes on

to describe a series of consequences of those bad things: Philip explains the scriptures to an Ethiopian, his mind and heart opened, has a profound impact in Ethiopia, then Philip preaches life saving words in Samaria. Ananias is in the right place in Damascus to open Paul’s eyes and heart setting in motion his mission to bring the Gospel to gentiles (like me). God transforms the bad things and produces mighty blessings.

Now a story about a lady called Tabitha. She had touched many with her kindness and generosity. When she dies, she is surrounded by the widows and believers she has blessed, all grieving. Her death really doesn’t seem like a good thing.

Because of the persecution, Peter is nearby. The believers send for him and Peter does almost exactly what he had seen Jesus do when he raised Jairus’ daughter back to life.

Luke doesn’t tell us what the believers in Joppa expected when they sent for Peter, but he does describe the consequence of their honest expression of their need and Peter’s faithfulness: the news spread and many believed. One woman raised to life and many rescued for eternal life.

So what apparently bad things in my life, or the lives of those around me, does God want to turn into blessing? Like Peter, where can my availability and readiness to take hold of God’s good things be part of him transforming bad to good, death to life.

Written by David Cornell

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

Saul was a passionate man. He threw himself into everything he did. When he viagra canada left Jerusalem to go to Damascus to arrest followers of the Way he was very earnest and passionate.

Ananias stayed in Damascus, even though he was aware of Saul’s coming

and his stated mission. When Ananias heard the Lord’s voice saying go and pray for Saul to recover his sight he questioned the wisdom of this. The Lord answered Ananias giving background to the calling on Saul’s life.

Clearly Ananias was a man of courage and obedience.

What would I have done? Would I have stayed around knowing that persecution was about to come my way? Would I have obeyed, had courage to do what the Lord said? I want this kind of courage.

Father help me to have the kind of courage that obeys you in every circumstance.

Written by Ps. Richard Botta

26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. “Go south to the desert road,” he said. “It’s the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So Philip started out. On his way he met an Ethiopian official. The man had an important position. He was in charge of all the wealth of Candace. She was the queen of Ethiopia. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28 On his way home he was sitting in his chariot. He was reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Holy Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot. Stay near it.” 30 So Philip ran up to the chariot. He heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you’re reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I?” he said. “I need someone to explain it to me.” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Here is the part of Scripture the official was reading. It says, “He was led like a sheep to be killed. Just as lambs are silent while their wool is being cut off, he did not open his mouth. 33 When he was treated badly, he was refused a fair trial. Who can say anything about his children? His life was cut off from the earth.” (Isaiah 53:7,8) 34 The official said to Philip, “Tell me, please. Who is the prophet talking about? Himself, or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that same part of Scripture. He told him the good news about Jesus. 36/37 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look! Here is water! Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” 38 He gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the official went down into the water. Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official did not see him again. He went on his way full of joy. 40 Philip was seen next at Azotus. From there he traveled all around. He preached the good news in all the towns. Finally he arrived in Caesarea.

In this passage we get to see the ‘behind the scenes’ of how God works. There are two men involved: Philip, a follower of Jesus who has been passionately proclaiming the good news in Samaria; and an Ethiopian man, who holds a high position in the que

en’s court. The Ethiopian man is obviously seeking after God, reading the scripture and trying to understand what it means. Philip, on the other hand, has given his life to serving God, and is sharing the good news of the gospel with those who will receive it. God sees both these men, in different locations, and brings them together for His purpose. God uses Philip to reveal Jesus to the Ethiopian man, and fulfill the desire of the man’s heart to understand. God also blesses Philip, as Philip is aware Australia that God has used flex him to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the Ethiopian man. Philip partnered with God, being obedient to God’s call even when he didn’t have the whole picture… all he had was a direction to travel on a certain road… with no idea of what was coming next!

In reading this passage I am filled with a sense of excitement and expectation, God may you use me in your master plan to reach a broken and lost world. God, please help me to hear your voice and respond with complete obedience, please help me to let go of my desire to have the whole picture. Thank you Lord that you want to partner with me. Amen.

Written by Beth Waugh

4 The believers who had been scattered preached the word everywhere they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria. There he preached about the Christ. 6 The crowds listened to Philip. They saw the miraculous signs he did. They all paid close attention to what he said. 7 Evil spirits screamed and came out of many people. Many who were disabled or who couldn’t walk were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. 9 A man named Simon lived in the city. For quite a while he had practiced evil magic there. He amazed all the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great. 10 All of the people listened to him, from the least important of them to the most important. They exclaimed, “This man is known as the Great Power of God!” 11 He had amazed them for a long time with his magic. So they followed him. 12 But Philip preached the good news of God’s kingdom. He preached the name of Jesus Christ. So men and women believed and were baptized. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip everywhere. He was amazed by the great signs and miracles he saw.

This passage begins with the words “Those who were SCATTERED preached the word wherever they went.”

I truly believe God calls all His sons and daughters to be master evangelists.  Not everyone can stand and preach to the masses like Billy Graham but all of us can have the passion and conviction to share the gospel where ever God may “scatter” us.  To say to our unsaved friends and family “look what Jesus has done in my life. I want you to know Him too.”

We tend to leave the evangelism to Pastors and Minist

ers – people Australia who are flex called to minister largely to those who are already saved.  God needs his evangelists to be “scattered” – to be positioned near people that need to hear the gospel. cialis 5 mg  Where God scatters me isn't important.  What's important is what I do when I'm there.

Lord, please infuse my whole life with the power of Your Holy Spirit – so that wherever you see fit to “scatter” me I will share with those around me how great You are.

Written by Boudy Van Noppen

7 Then the high priest questioned Stephen. “Is what these people are saying true?” he asked. 2 “Brothers and fathers, listen to me!” Stephen replied. “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham. At that time Abraham was still in Mesopotamia. He had not yet begun living in Haran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said. ‘Go to the land I will show you.’ (Genesis 12:1) 4 “So Abraham left the land of Babylonia. He settled in Haran. After his father died, God sent Abraham to this land where you are now living. 5 God didn’t give him any property here. He didn’t give him even a foot of land. But God made a promise to him and to all his family after him. He said they would possess the land. The promise was made even though at that time Abraham had no child. 6 “Here is what God said to him. ‘Your family after you will be strangers in a country that is not their own. They will be slaves and will be treated badly for 400 years. 7 But I will punish the nation that makes them slaves,’ God said. ‘After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’ (Genesis 15:13,14) 8 “Then God made a covenant with Abraham. God told him that circumcision would show who the members of the covenant were. Abraham became Isaac’s father. He circumcised Isaac eight days after he was born. Later, Isaac became Jacob’s father. Jacob had 12 sons. They became the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel. 9 “Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. So they sold him as a slave. He was taken to Egypt. But God was with him. 10 He saved Joseph from all his troubles. God made Joseph wise. He helped him to become the friend of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over Egypt and his whole palace. 11 “There was not enough food for all Egypt and Canaan. This brought great suffering. Jacob and his sons couldn’t find food. 12 But Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt. So he sent his sons on their first visit. 13 On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was. Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 “After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family. The total number of people was 75. 15 Then Jacob went down to Egypt. There he and his family died. 16 Some of their bodies were brought back to Shechem. They were placed in a tomb Abraham had bought. He had purchased it from Hamor’s sons at Shechem for a certain amount of money. 17 “In Egypt the number of our people grew and grew. It was nearly time for God to make his promise to Abraham come true. 18 Another king became ruler of Egypt. He knew nothing about Joseph. 19 He was very evil and dishonest with our people. He beat them down. He forced them to throw out their newborn babies to die. 20 “At that time Moses was born. He was not an ordinary child. For three months he was taken care of by his family. 21 Then he was placed outside. But Pharaoh’s daughter took him home. She brought him up as her own son. 22 Moses was taught all the knowledge of the people of Egypt. He became a powerful speaker and a man of action. 23 “When Moses was 40 years old, he decided to visit the people of Israel. They were his own people. 24 He saw one of them being treated badly by a man of Egypt. So he went to help him. He got even by killing the man. 25 Moses thought his own people would realize that God was using him to save them. But they didn’t. 26 “The next day Moses saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to make peace between them. ‘Men, you are both of Israel,’ he said. ‘Why do you want to hurt each other?’ 27 “But the man who was treating the other one badly pushed Moses to one side. He said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ (Exodus 2:14) 29 When Moses heard this, he escaped to Midian. He lived there as a stranger. He became the father of two sons there. 30 “Forty years passed. Then an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush. This happened in the desert near Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw the bush, he was amazed. He went over for a closer look. There he heard the Lord’s voice. 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers,’ the Lord said. ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ (Exodus 3:6) Moses shook with fear. He didn’t dare to look. 33 “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground. 34 I have seen my people beaten down in Egypt. I have heard their groans. I have come down to set them free. Now come. I will send you back to Egypt.’ (Exodus 3:5,7,8,10) 35 “This is the same Moses the two men of Israel would not accept. They had said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ But God himself sent Moses to rule the people of Israel and set them free. He spoke to Moses through the angel who had appeared to him in the bush. 36 So Moses led them out of Egypt. He did wonders and miraculous signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for 40 years in the desert. 37 “This is the same Moses who spoke to the people of Israel. ‘God will send you a prophet,’ he said. ‘He will be like me. He will come from your own people.’ (Deuteronomy 18:15) 38 Moses was with the Israelites in the desert. He was with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai. Moses was with our people of long ago. He received living words to pass on to us. 39 “But our people refused to obey Moses. They would not accept him. In their hearts, they wished they were back in Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us a god who will lead us. This fellow Moses led us out of Egypt. But we don’t know what has happened to him!’ (Exodus 32:1) 41 That was the time they made a statue to be their god. It looked like a calf. They brought sacrifices to it. They were glad because of what they had made with their own hands. 42 But God turned away from them. He left them to worship the sun, moon and stars. This agrees with what is written in the book of the prophets. There it says, “‘People of Israel, did you bring me sacrifices and offerings for 40 years in the desert? 43 You lifted up the place where Molech was worshiped. You lifted up the star of your god Rephan. You made statues of them to worship. So I will send you away from your country.’ (Amos 5:25–27) God sent them to Babylon and even farther. 44 “Long ago our people had with them in the desert the holy tent where the tablets of the covenant were kept. Moses had made the holy tent as God had commanded him. It was made like the pattern he had seen. 45 Our people received the tent from God. They brought it with them when they took the land of Canaan. God drove out the nations that were in their way. At that time Joshua was Israel’s leader. “The tent remained in the land until David’s time. 46 David was blessed by God. So David asked if he could build a house for the God of Jacob. 47 Instead, it was Solomon who built it for him. 48 “But the Most High God does not live in houses made by human hands. As God says through the prophet, 49 “‘Heaven is my throne. The earth is under my control. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Where will my resting place be? 50 Didn’t my hand make all these things?’ (Isaiah 66:1,2) 51 “You people! You won’t obey! You are stubborn! You won’t listen! You are just like your people of long ago! You always oppose the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your people didn’t try to hurt? They even killed those who told about the coming of the Blameless One. And now you have handed him over to his enemies. You have murdered him. 53 The law you received was brought by angels. But you haven’t obeyed it.”

I am struck by verse 53 – the people of Israel received the law in no ordinary way. They received it through angels, delivered to them by Moses. And Moses, when he received the law, came down with his face glowing – he had to cover his face with a veil because his face was glowing so much.

And yet, the people of Israel still were able to soon enough find reason to resist the Holy Spirit, and end up killing the very people God kept sending to help them.

This passage really says to me

one thing…unless the Holy Spirit breaks through in my heart, I will end up no better off than the Israelites. I am responsible for one thing – to keep choosing openness to, surrender to, and being led by the Holy Spirit.

God, may I never be found by you to be stiff-necked. Instead, I choose to keep myself open to and led by your Holy Spirit. And Your Holy Spirit always has and always will lead me to Jesus Christ – the Righteous One.

Written by Ps. Rob Waugh