A Devotional Study of the Living Word of God

Psalm 119:67 Have you noticed that a little roughhousing between boys, makes them better friends in the end. In many cases the friendships form close bonds – Jacob and God had such an event and it just maybe the Jesus will be meeting you soon for a bout or two in the ring. (Genesis 32:22-32)

Good Morning

I was watching the “Antique Road Show” the other morning before the local news came on and someone had the some of the early payroll checks of Mickey Mantel. The person who gave the estimated worth of those checks stated that one of them was worth 30 to 50 thousand dollars and that all five could provide a return of at least 200 thousand. Five pieces of paper that some famous ball player signed off on to get his pay for professional baseball. We seem to value things, but we say that human life is not valuable. We say this maybe not with words, but we are willing to live while our babies are being put to death. Or we are willing to live, but put to death the wisdom of our elderly folks because we are not willing to believe that they may have the know how. And we've no time to listen to them as they take the time to draw from the vast resources of their longevity on earth. Jesus puts our worth off the chart, it does not matter if you are a babe in the womb of an unwed mother, a child of grace with a dirty face, a teenager hooked on drugs or alcohol, a parent who is losing grip on family life, an adult who is troubled with porn or some other devilish stronghold, or and elderly man or woman who find that just getting out of bed in the morning is nearly a days work. Jesus places the value of your life as rich as the blood He shed for us at Calvary. 1 Peter 1:18-19. You are not worth your weight in gold, or precious stone, but you are worth your weight in the blood of Christ!

Acts 20

Acts 20:1-6 I have done a lot of traveling and to read of these missionary adventures of Paul and the men and woman he encountered is reminiscent of those days that I travelled. In Spain we met a man who operated a mission for the U.S. Military, the Christian Serviceman's Center in Rota, Spain. Or, the guitar playing pastor in Sanbank, Scotland. We were always on the move, but it was very nice, almost homecoming like to revisit these dedicate believers every time we came their way.

Acts 20:7-11 I went to many bible studies in Spain and Scotland, the like mindedness of these men and their families were the same as what you would find in the states in the later years of the 70's. Sometimes bible studies would last for hours, but I do not recall anyone falling out of a window or being hurt. What I do remember is the hunger we all had for the Word of God. Today if the study goes longer than the time alloted people could get hurt, namely the teacher.

Acts 20:13-16 Finally Paul is deciding to make every effort to be in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Such it is with all of us. From time to time there is that urgency to be someplace at a certain time. For the apostle Paul it will mean real trouble and incarceration. I believe he knows that this will happen via the Holy Spirit's prompting. And sometimes when we leave a place that has provided so much encouragement and spiritual growth we sense that God has not only changed our lives in these times but that He has also trained us up for a future ministry where His Glory will be present and His blessings will be abundant.