Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Chronological New Testament Study Day 52
Acts 13; Acts 14
1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought
up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were
worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 So
after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them
off. 4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit,
went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When
they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish
synagogues. John was with them as their helper. 6 They
traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a
Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7who was an
attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man,
sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But
Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to
turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also
called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 "You
are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full
of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right
ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you.
You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light
of the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped
about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the
proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching
about the Lord.13 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to
Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14 From
Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the
synagogue and sat down. 15 After the reading from the Law and
the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers,
if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak." 16 Standing
up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles
who worship God, listen to me! 17 The God of the people of
Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in
Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, 18 he
endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert, 19 he
overthrew seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to his people as their
inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. "After
this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then
the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of
Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22 After removing Saul, he
made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of
Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' 23 "From
this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he
promised. 24 Before the coming of Jesus, John preached
repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. 25 As John
was completing his work, he said: 'Who do you think I am? I am not that one.
No, but he is coming after me, whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.'26 "Brothers,
children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this
message of salvation has been sent. 27 The people of Jerusalem
and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled
the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. 28 Though
they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him
executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written
about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.30 But
God raised him from the dead, 31 and for many days he was seen
by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his
witnesses to our people. 32 "We tell you the good news:
What God promised our fathers 33 he has fulfilled for us,
their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:
" 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. ' 34The
fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these
words: " 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.' 35 So
it is stated elsewhere: " 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' 36 "For
when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he
was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. 37 But the
one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38 "Therefore,
my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is
proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is
justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40 Take
care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 "
'Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your
days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.' " 42 As
Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak
further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the
congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism
followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in
the grace of God. 44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city
gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw
the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what
Paul was saying. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them
boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it
and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the
Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
" 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation
to the ends of the earth.' " 48 When the Gentiles heard
this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were
appointed for eternal life believed. 49 The word of the Lord
spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the
God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They
stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their
region. 51 So they shook the dust from their feet in protest
against them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were
filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish
synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and
Gentiles believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe
stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So
Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord,
who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs
and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided
with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot
afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat
them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to
the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where
they continued to preach the good news. 8 In Lystra there sat
a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He
listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he
had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on
your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. 11 When
the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language,
"The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12 Barnabas
they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The
priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and
wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices
to them. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of
this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 "Men,
why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing
you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living
God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16 In
the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has
not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain
from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and
fills your hearts with joy."18 Even with these words, they had
difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. 19 Then
some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned
Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But
after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the
city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. 21 They
preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then
they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening
the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must
go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. 23 Paul
and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and
fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 After
going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, 25 and when
they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From
Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace
of God for the work they had now completed. 27 On arriving
there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done
through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And
they stayed there a long time with the disciples.
Romans 14
Romans 14 (New International Version, ©2010)
Romans 14
The Weak and the Strong
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.'"[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Romans 14
The Weak and the Strong
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.'"[b]
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Chronological New Testament Study Day 51
Acts 11; Acts 12
·
New International VersionToggle Dropdown
1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that
the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when
Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and
said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with
them." 4 Peter began and explained everything to them
precisely as it had happened: 5 "I was in the city of
Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large
sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where
I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the
earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 Then I
heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 8 "I
replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my
mouth.' 9 "The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do
not call anything impure that God has made clean.' 10 This
happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 11 "Right
then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where
I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation
about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the
man's house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in
his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He
will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be
saved.' 15 "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on
them as he had come on us at the beginning.16 Then I remembered
what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.' 17 So if God gave them the same gift as
he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I
could oppose God?" 18 When they heard this, they had no
further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even
the Gentiles repentance unto life."19 Now those who had been
scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as
Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. 20 Some
of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to
speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. 21 The
Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to
the Lord. 22 News of this reached the ears of the church at
Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he
arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged
them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. 24 He
was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people
were brought to the Lord. 25 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to
look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to
Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught
great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. 27 During
this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.28 One
of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe
famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the
reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his
ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This
they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who
belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had
James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When
he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This
happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After
arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four
squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial
after the Passover. 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the
church was earnestly praying to God for him. 6 The night
before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two
soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly
an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on
the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains
fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him,
"Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your
cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter
followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was
doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They
passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the
city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had
walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then
Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord
sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the
Jewish people were anticipating." 12 When this had dawned
on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where
many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at
the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When
she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening
it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're
out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so,
they said, "It must be his angel." 16 But Peter kept
on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter
motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had
brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this,"
he said, and then he left for another place. 18 In the
morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become
of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him
and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be
executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while. 20 He
had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together
and sought an audience with him. Having secured the support of Blastus, a
trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they
depended on the king's country for their food supply. 21 On the
appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a
public address to the people. 22 They shouted, "This is
the voice of a god, not of a man."23 Immediately, because
Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he
was eaten by worms and died. 24 But the word of God continued
to increase and spread. 25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished
their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called
Mark.
Romans 13
Romans 13 (New International Version, ©2010)
Romans 13
Submission to Governing Authorities
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet,"[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
The Day Is Near
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Romans 13
Submission to Governing Authorities
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Love Fulfills the Law
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet,"[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
The Day Is Near
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Depression Bible Verses
Depression Bible
Verses - Discover the
Bible says about depression and how to fight it. Find Scripture that will
encourage us to find peace and joy in the midst of depressing circumstances and
feelings. Overcome depression with the help of God and His Holy Spirit!
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