The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:27, “When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.” As Luke provides the account of Apollos, his encounter with Priscilla and Aquila, and his trip to Achaia, Luke observes that Apollos “was of great help to those who by grace had believed.” What catches my eye this morning is the observation that it was by grace that the folks in Achaia believed. God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay for our sins. Why did he do that? Because we are told in John 3:16 that God loves all mankind and has provided a way for us to join him for an eternity. It is something we could not do for ourselves and so he sent his Son. This is what we call his grace, because Jesus paid the penalty himself and offers us salvation freely. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. Luke mentions this disposition of God to give (his grace) that resulted in the folks in Achaia embracing him in faith. The message of the gospel is a message of grace from start to finish. Mankind has turned his back on God in sin and rebellion in the face of his own judgment, and yet God, in his grace, has made a way for us. God, in his grace, has provided us his gospel message. God, in his grace, has provided equipped evangelists who take this message out to others providing the opportunity for it to be heard and responded to. God, in his grace, has provided each of us a free will to respond to that message and in his grace has made it possible for us to cross over from death to life. God, in his grace, will provide all those who respond to it a wonderful life in the resurrection. All of the elements of life itself, the ability to hear the gospel message, the capacity to reason, the volition he has provided us, as well as the gospel message itself all speak to God’s wonderful disposition toward us: his matchless and glorious grace! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
God Communicates To Man! - Ruminating in the Word of God
The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:9-11, “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.” As Paul was in Corinth and preaching the gospel message, the Lord spoke directly to him one night. I note the communication from the Lord, in a vision, is a verbal statement. Luke doesn’t mention if it was part of a two-way, broader conversation Paul had with the Lord or just simply this statement, but clearly this is not Paul having an “intuition” or “leading” or “feeling”. And, certainly not what passes today for "the Lord told me…", if you get my drift. This strikes me as something of an entirely different order. This is one person (the Lord) verbally speaking to another (Paul) just as any of us would have over the phone or face to face with another, in this case in a vision. I have never had the Lord speak directly to me like this. As many, I have had those moments where I feel the Lord has very distinctly laid something on my heart, and possibly even communicated to me in some fashion - but never where I could literally quote him word for word after the fact. He has never spoken to me in this way. I wonder what Paul’s reaction at the time was? I suspect that would be based on how often the Lord spoke to him. Was it just the few times we read of in Scripture, as on the road to Damascus and other times? Or was there an ongoing dialog that went on for years? Regardless, I find these comments very fascinating and wonderful as they represent a connection of the Lord with his people, a connection of heaven with planet earth. The great divide spanned between this lost and fallen world with its Creator, physical life in the here-and-now with the Eternal. A connection between life today and the resurrection to come! Awesome to think about isn’t it?! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Monday, September 21, 2026
All We Need To Persuade Others - Ruminating in the Word of God
The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:4, “Every Sabbath he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” Luke tells us when Paul got to Corinth he reasoned with the folks at the synagogue. He tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks there with the gospel message. The way that Luke writes it, he gives me a distinct impression that Paul’s way was not to just inform folks of the gospel but to persuade, to convince, to bring folks to a point where they recognized the need they had for salvation, and that Jesus Christ was the way. In his appearance before Agrippa in Acts 26:28, Agrippa accused Paul of attempting to persuade him to be a Christian. Rather than denying it, Paul tells him it was his desire to convince everyone listening to him to become what he had become: a follower of Jesus Christ. This leaves me with a feeling that the issue of salvation for many who are around me today may depend on how persuasive I might be. What a sobering thought that is! But I am reminded that it is the gospel message itself that carries the power of salvation, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”, Romans 1:16. I am also reminded, as well, that it is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction, “When he [the Counselor] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment”, John 16:8. In addition to the gospel message and the Holy Spirit, God equips each of us to be effective for him. It is his plan to use what he has revealed about himself to accomplish this, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17. God has decided it will be us, the church, that will carry on the evangelistic effort. But he has not left us alone with this responsibility. Together with the Holy Spirit, he has provided all we need to be effective and productive at it! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Friday, September 18, 2026
God Has Provided Us A Toolbox: The Scriptures - Ruminating in the Word of God
The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 18:4,11,19b,28, “Every Sabbath he [Paul] reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.”... “So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God."… “He [Paul] himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.”… “He [Apollos] vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.” In this chapter of Acts, we see that the method of evangelism employed by both Paul and Apollos was one of reasoning, and that from the Scriptures. In just this chapter alone the Scriptures are referred to four times. The Lord has provided our lives with purpose and meaning in his kingdom by employing us to further the gospel message and to build one another up. He has not left us without tools to do this with, as he has provided us his word. In this chapter I see two men and a married couple who were very effective in their work by reasoning from the Scriptures. The nature of the sacred library we call our Bible is a bit of a mystery to me, much as the dual nature of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God. Likewise, the Scriptures have their origin in a divinely crafted methodology. Peter puts it this way in 2 Peter 1:20-21, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Clearly our Bible is from God and he used the agency of man to bring it into written form. As I recognize the unique nature of Scripture as being inspired by God, I also recognize it is to be used as a tool to aid us in our evangelistic efforts and to build one another up. Just think of what it would be like if God had not provided us with this wonderful collection of inspired writings! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Thursday, September 17, 2026
God Wants All! - Ruminating in the Word of God
The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 17:29-30, “Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” As Paul speaks to those at the Areopagus, he tells them that what they worshipped as something unknown, it is God who is the creator of the world and everything in it. And, where many had worshipped God as if he were made of gold, silver or stone and that in the past God overlooked such ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent. I note Paul says God commands all people everywhere - not some people in certain places. God wants us all to turn to him, to repent - every person. He wants us all! God has a big heart, a heart that encompasses all of mankind. The Bible says that God loves the whole world and everyone in it. He wants us all. As Paul speaks to Timothy about prayer in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, he says that this “pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” It is God’s will that all men be saved! He wants us all. Peter talks about the delay in Jesus Christ’s second coming. He says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. God wants every man, woman and child to turn to him! He has a heart for all mankind! My point here isn’t to get into a quibble over theology but to recognize the wonderful heart of love our God has for all mankind. He has a big heart! He sent his Son to die a horrible death to purchase us from his own wrath for our sins! Not just for some, but for all! It is important to note, that as the Scriptures clearly point out, even though it is God’s will we all be saved, he has chosen, decided, that only those who will embrace him in faith will be saved. He has left it in our hands. He wants us all, but he will only take those who will have him. What a big, wonderful heart our God has for each and every one of us! Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you! If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
God's Love Of Mankind - Ruminating in the Word of God
In Paul’s address to the Areopagus we see that throughout the history of mankind, God has been instrumental in mankind’s affairs with the objective that “men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.”
In another place, 1 Timothy 2:3-4, we read, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
And as that familiar passage says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son… ", John 3:16.
God loves man! In spite of our sin, in spite of our rebellion and going our own way, our God loves us!
What an inscrutable heart and what a wonderful heart our God has!
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Tuesday, September 15, 2026
God Maintains Us From Moment To Moment - Ruminating in the Word of God
This is part of the presentation that Paul made at the Areopagus in Athens as he spread the gospel message.
In it he makes some comments about God that tell us how very involved he is in our lives. “…he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else… he is not far from each one of us… ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’”
As a friend has reminded me from time to time, every breath I breathe is another expression of God’s grace.
I know intellectually that God has created me and everyone else. I know that he maintains the universe and keeps it all going from moment to moment… but how often I lose sight of how dependent I am on God, and that, but for him, I wouldn’t even exist!
He brought us into existence, he maintains all creation as he provides all we need for life, he has condemned us all to death for our sin, but has made a way through Jesus Christ for us to inherit eternal life!
How wonderful is our Creator God!
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