Day 188 Bible Readings – Acts 26: 13-15 (ESV)

2 Kings 14: 23-29, 2 Kings 15, Acts 25: 23-27, Acts 26: 1-23, Psalm 106: 32-39

Acts 26: 13-15 (ESV)

“At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”

In verses 13 through 15 in Acts 26, Paul recounts to King Agrippa how Jesus Christ revealed himself to him when he was on the road to Damascus. I love how Christ appeared to Paul as a bright light that was so bright it made him and his whole party fall to ground. Then Christ spoke to Paul in his own Hebrew language and asked him why Paul was persecuting him. Paul was so passionate in his ways and thinking that Christ could only appear to him in a supernatural way for him to be believe in Christ. Some folks are lucky because they don’t need a supernatural experience to believe. I find myself like Paul in that I need a supernatural and physical thing to happen to me before I believe it. In the past when I used to watch people fall after an evangelist or minister touched them, I thought it was staged or fake. It wasn’t until I was born again and had an impartation by an evangelist in May that I had a “supernatural experience” like Paul, where I felt things happening in my body that I couldn’t explain or deny. That experienced changed me to the point where I began to question everything I had been taught about religion and Jesus Christ. I'm still processing it, but I know it happened and that moment made Christ feel real to me, changing me forever. In whatever way for you Christ became alive and real in your life, you know what without a doubt you were changed and transformed like Paul.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these Bible verses and you’d like to feel the presence of the still living and eternal Jesus Christ in your life, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I admit that I’ve sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I‘ve received forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the word of God preached and witness the wonders, signs, and miracles in your life of the very much alive and real Jesus Christ.

Day 187 Bible Readings – 2 Kings 13: 18-19 (ESV)

2 Kings 12-13, 2 Kings 14: 1-22, Acts 25: 1-22, Psalm 106: 16-31

2 Kings 13: 18-19 (ESV)

“And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.””

In verses 18 and 19 from 2 Kings 13, the prophet Elisha said to King Jehoash to strike the ground with the arrows. But Jehoash struck the ground only three (3) times, which reflected his lack of faith and commitment in Elisha’s authority. Elisha became angry and rebuked King Jehoash and said that because the king only partially obeyed him, then the king would only have limited victory or Syria. Had the King fully obeyed Elisha’s words, the King would have battled Syria until he had total victory. This Bible story tells us if we only have half-hearted faith and do not completely obey the guidance of Father-God and the Holy Spirit, then we will only have limited success. If we have limited faith we will restrict God’s work in our lives. We need to have complete faith and zeal in the guidance we receive even if it seems the things that Holy Spirit is asking us to do seem insignificant and do not make sense in the natural world.

I’ve had this experience myself where Holy Spirit guided me to do something that didn’t make too much sense for what I was praying for, but I did it anyway and it turned out to be the best advice and led to the thing that I wanted. We need to have faith that whatever we are being guided to do is crucial to Father-God’ plan. Father-God wants us to have complete victory in our lives but if we only half-heartedly obey his guidance, we will only have partial victories in our lives.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these Bible verses and you’d like to have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior so you can have victory in your life, please pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I admit that I’ve sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I‘ve received forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved in Jesus’ name, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the word of God preached and witness the wonders, signs, and miracles of the Lord in your life.

Day 186 Bible Readings – Psalm 106: 4-5 (ESV)

2 Kings 10, 2 Kings 11, Acts 24, Psalm 106: 1-15

Psalm 106: 4-5 (ESV)

“Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them, that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.”

Verses 4 and 5 from Psalm 106 are great verses to meditate on when we are trying to seek favor from Father-God. When you have salvation from Christ and a personal relationship with Father-God, you can confidently ask him for this attention and intervention in your life. You can remember all the times Father-God has bestowed blessings and prosperity on his people in the Bible and know that you are also entitled to the same blessings and prosperity since you are also a child of God. You can tell Father-God about your deepest desires and needs, and trust in his ability to respond. You are an heir to Father-God’s promises to his people, and you can celebrate the miracles you see in your faith community and for yourself. You can read about the miracles Father-God has performed for his people in the Bible or search on social media platforms for the signs, wonders, and miracles that are happening for people who are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Father-God that we worship is same today as he was in the Bible and will deliver the same blessings and prosperity for all his people.

If you enjoyed reading my thoughts on these Bible verses and you’ve never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, pray this prayer out loud:

Heavenly Father, I admit that I’ve sinned. I repent. I believe in my heart you raised Jesus from the dead. I confess with my mouth Jesus is my Lord and Savior. Right now, I‘ve received forgiveness by the blood of Jesus. I am saved in Jesus’ name, Amen. 

If you prayed that prayer, welcome to the family of God! Do yourself a favor and find and join a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can hear the word of God preached and witness the wonders, signs, and miracles of the Lord.

Invite Jesus Into Your Life

The Holy Spirit has asked me to start including the prayer of repentance and faith at end of each of my blog posts, so if someone reading my blog wants to invite Jesus into their life they can do it. There is nothing that I have experienced in my life that can compare to being born again, and giving my life to Jesus Christ. I have seen signs, wonders, and miracles that I cannot ignore or explain, and it would be cruel of me to not offer the chance for salvation to someone who has been touched by the words in my blog posts. Your life will be forever full of signs, wondders, and miracles when you accept Jesus Christ into your life. You will never feel lost because Jesus Christ is your savior.

If the Holy Spirit has touched your heart as you read my blog posts, you can invite Jesus into your life by saying the following prayer:

Heavenly Father-God, I have sinnned against You. I want forgiveness for all of my sins. I believe Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again. Father-God, I give you my life to do with as You wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. I ask this is Jesus' name. Amen.

If you prayed this prayer, you are now born again and saved because you made the decision to trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Find yourself a Holy Spirit filled, full Gospel, Bible-based church where you can join a community of believers and learn to deepen your relationship with the Lord.