Seeking the Gospel Truth

Today we start a new study through the Gospel of  John, chapter by chapter. Written by John, “the Apostle that Jesus  loved”, he portrays Jesus as not just the Son of God, but the Light and  Savior of the World. He introduces Jesus as “The Word” — in Greek,  “Logos”. I found a nice explanation in the Bible study plan, “21 Days in  the The Gospel of John”, with Levi Lusko,...

First, what does a butterfly have to do with Jezebel? I discovered that there’s a common Jezebel butterfly ( pictured in my blog ). How it got its name, I don’t know. I searched, but couldn’t find  anything. I figured I needed to reveal the truth about Jezebel, since  her name came up in the news and social media recently. Apparently, a Baptist minister called Vice President Kamala Harri...

What is a revival? What is a Christian revival?  More importantly, can it happen in America today? Do we need a revival?  How about an awakening? Two posts ago ,  I quoted Jesus who said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” Jesus  came to save the WHOLE WORLD. Unfortunately, a lot of people who hear  about Jesus and His message of salvation , either don’t hear it correc...

There’s no denying this fact: the world right now is a mess! It’s gotten  to the point that you don’t even know who you can trust! The Apostle  Paul called it in both 2 Timothy chapter 3 and in the Book of Ephesians  chapter 6. In the latter epistle, he gives us very specific and  important advice if we as Christians are to survive to be able to do  God’s work in this worl...

True Christians — that is, born-again believers who trust that salvation is by the Grace of God, Through Jesus — are members of an exclusive club. Yet, everyone  is invited, but only a few are chosen. Huh? Chosen? Elite? Hand-picked? There are many, Catholics and Protestants included, who THINK they belong to the club, but really are not. They have been deceived by the devil via false teacher...

If you’ve been with me through the study on the  Book of Acts, you may have noticed that more than half of it is about  Paul. Since Luke wrote it, he focused more on Paul because he joined  Paul in some of his missionary journeys. You’ll notice that as the  narrative changes from “they” and “them” to “us” and “we”. You can’t get  more of an eyewitness report than that! Pau...

I asked myself this question along with, what  would it be like to live in the first century and be part of the  fledgling Christian church? It’s knowing the church at its purest — not  yet corrupted by greedy, prideful and vain men. I looked for a novel,  but couldn’t find one. So, I wrote one. Inspired by Acts 28 :11-15. Paul, after the seafaring adventure and shipwreck on Ma...

We last left our hero Paul and company safe  after a shipwreck and they discover they’re on the island of Malta.  Paul’s mission to convert both Gentiles and Jews into Christians doesn’t  stop. He is not deterred. He keeps going no matter what. Can we say  that about ourselves? This is also the chapter that inspired me to write my novel .  I will go into more detail in the...

When I was doing historical research for my novel on the Ancient Roman Empire and the first century Christian church, I  learned a lot about sea travel in the Mediterranean in that era. The  Romans considered the Mediterranean, their lake. They conquered and  ruled over the lands all around it. They dominated the sea-trade routes.  They also respected the seasons and weather pa...

We last left the Apostle Paul in Caesarea having appeared before the  Roman governor, Felix. He spent 2 years there. Hopefully, Felix and  others converted. We’ll never know. Now, there’s a new governor, Festus,  whose headquarters is Caesarea. So, Paul has to appear in front of him.  Here in Acts 25 and 26, Paul is questioned by Festus and the Jewish  King Herod Agrippa....

As we near the end of the Book of Acts, it’s all  about the Apostle Paul and his trial. Paul gets a bit discouraged, but  just at the right time, Jesus comes into the picture with the right  amount of encouragement. The interesting thing is how Jesus uses Paul to tell his story again  and talk to both Jews and the Romans about the truth. Do they get it? Do  they accept the...

The next two chapters of Acts, 21 and 22, need to be combined. The  Apostle Paul committed his life to Jesus Christ and he was taking his  duty to obey Him very seriously. So much so, that he was willing to be  imprisoned yet again, even executed. Now that’s commitment! Can you say that about your faith? Let’s read through both, then think about Paul’s decision and his testimony. Le...

Persistence against all odds. That describes the Apostle Paul and what  he’s gone through and has yet to encounter as he leaves his friends to  follow the Holy Spirit’s calling. Moreover, he knows, because God told  him, that he’ll have to go through suffering and imprisonment. Yet, he  goes anyway. That’s faith. That’s obedience. That’s trust. We can learn a  lot from Pau...

God hates idolatry! He clearly told us this in the 10 Commandments ,  that He is a jealous God and not to have any graven image of any person  or creature before Him. Paul returned to Ephesus as it was God’s Will  for Him. Remember, in yesterday’s passage , the people of Ephesus begged Paul to stay, but he told them he’d return if God wills it. And He did. Ephesus was where the grea...

In Acts 18, we follow Paul as he visits two very prominent and important  cities. The first is Corinth in Greece. It was a major trade hub and a  short boat ride from Athens. Paul will spend a year and a half there.  Then he goes to Ephesus (ruins pictured above) another important city in  Asia (today’s Turkey). We’ll touch on their importance after the  reading. And, of c...

Revival, riot and rejection. That’s the continuing pattern throughout Paul’s missionary journeys. In Acts 16,  he and Silas were flogged and imprisoned, but God brought on an  earthquake to release them. That event won over the jailer and his whole  family.  In Acts 17, which is one of my favorite chapters (and I’ll tell you why at the end), we find Paul and Silas heading to Th...

Paul’s primary goal was to find people who were  far from God and teach them the Good News of Salvation through Jesus  Christ. Nothing could stop him — not even being publicly humiliated,  flogged and thrown in prison. Here in Acts 16, in Paul’s second missionary journey, we witness how  God takes something bad and turns it around for good. They also meet  some interesting...

Here in Acts 15 we have the first official church council in Jerusalem.  Also, we have a significant discussion that sets the precedent for  future church doctrine. Paul and Barnabas called this council because  some Jews told the brand new Gentile Christian believers that they had  to be circumcised! In other words, did the Gentiles have to become Jews before they could be sav...

When we last left our missionaries, Paul and Barnabas, they were in Antioch of Pisidia (which is modern-day Turkey), facing a mob of Jews who hated them. They were run out of town and they headed to Iconium. They would go first to the Jewish synagogue because they, being Jewish themselves, could teach them the Good News that Jesus as their long-awaited Messiah. However, not everyone accepted it an...

I’ve known several missionaries. One of my best friends, spent 20 years,  with her husband, as missionaries in Taiwan. Their kids grew up there.  When they got there, they didn’t know the language well. It took them  years before they had their first convert to Christianity from Buddhism.  What would move a young couple with a baby to go halfway across the  world, to a cou...

Persecution of the newly named Christians continues. Here in Acts 12 we  have King Herod Agrippa, the nephew of Herod Antipas, who tried Jesus  briefly, and grandson of Herod the Great. The latter Herod was the one  who wanted to kill Baby Jesus after the 3 Kings came to visit, because  Jesus was said to be the new King of the Jews. This new Herod is not any  nicer than hi...

When Peter returns to Jerusalem after his encounter with Gentiles in  Caesarea, he had to explain how God included the Gentiles in the  salvation of Jesus to the Jewish brothers. Also, here, in Acts 11, is where we find  the believers, or “Followers of The Way” first called “Christians”.  Let’s dig in... Keep reading in my blog where there are links to dig deeper.... Jesus said...

So far, in the spreading of the Good News of the  Salvation of Jesus Christ, we’ve seen only Jews become believers. Yes,  even the Ethiopian Eunuch that we met in Acts 8 ,  was Jewish, for he had gone to Jerusalem to worship. And the Samaritans  were half Jewish. Nevertheless, Jesus had clearly stated that the  apostles were to go “to the ends of the earth”, which included...

Last we left Saul, the self-appointed persecutor  of the early church, he was going door-to-door in Jerusalem grabbing  and arresting followers of “The Way”, as they were called then. (That  name comes from when Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). I’ll let Luke tell the story… Acts 9.... Keep reading...

In Acts 8 we have a paradox. A paradox is two  contradictory properties coming together. Here we have gather and  scatter. The group of believers in Jerusalem was growing quickly and  they gathered together for worship like we learned in Acts 2 . However, Jesus told His disciples to GO and make more disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and...