A Devotional Study of the Living Word of God

Psalm 119:49 Have you ever thought of God's Word to you as a Covenant? This Psalmist did! Here he calls on the LORD to remember that he is God's servant and all of his hope in resting on the promises of God. There are over seven thousand promises in the Word of God, and not one will ever fail.

Good Morning

Before I volunteered for submarine service I was on a variety of surface ships. On my first ship, I was just a deck hand. I did a lot of chipping and painting, cleaning and standing watch. One night on our way to Cuba I was standing watch, looking for ships that we called “contacts”. The evening was peaceful and the seas were calm and there were no contacts. Sea water has a lot of phosphorous in it and when it is disturbed it gives off a glow like hundreds of fire flies. I was watching the water sparkle as the ship moved through the water, no light, just phosphorous. Something caught my eye, at a close distance was two phosphorous lines in the water heading directly at the ship. This scared me dramatically since all I could think of was the training I had received about torpedoes and how to detect them in the water. I screamed into the head phones, “Torpedoes in the water, starboard side, bearing zero nine zero very close.” So many people came to where I was, we all looked over the side of the ship to see two dolphins playing with the waves made by our ship cutting through the water. Everyone had a great laugh. I was told to keep up the good work and that someday I would get the hang of it! I have always wondered if dolphin might taste a bit like tuna. You never know, they might make a good midrats sandwich.

Acts 15

Acts 15:1-2 Here is a very important topic that will come up again, but I want to pick up on scriptural authority. There are religions that will attempt to establish authority of biblical principle by dictating from a papal seat, or from an extra-biblical source such as writings that are considered inspired but not biblical. The most dangerous type of false teaching is when it begins to develop from within the doctrines of the established church of Jesus Christ.

Acts 15:3-5 Paul and Barnabas decided that a good report of conversion must be delivered to the Council at Jerusalem and along with them they brought some of the some of the other gentile believers, those that could attest to the grace of God at work in their lives. Their message was received, but opposition arose from some of the believing Pharisees. We should not be critical here, many of us who go to church today would like to see some of the old rituals of our past church life at work. We sort of think that by doing some religious act, we are helping God like us, forgetting that Jesus Christ does not need any help saving us. His work is complete and He does not like us, He LOVES us and that is why His work is completely by GRACE.

Acts 15:6-13 After much debate regarding the gospel, it is the apostle Peter who recalls his trip to Caesarea and meeting the Roman soldier Cornelius. He also reminds the council that he had a similar experience with the council when he returned from Caesarea. He defended God's grace then and he is about to do the same again here. Grace is what silences works, if salvation is not by grace then no one is saved, to the Jew first and also to the gentile. Tomorrow we will listen to what the apostle James says about the wonderful grace of God.

Now if you do not have your bible with you, the following is a link you can go to and find the verses of scripture I have referenced herein. Bible Gateway at: www.biblegateway.com/