Daily Devotional

October 16, 2019

“I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.” (Acts 22:3)

At times, people try to associate themselves with a person who is famous or has a reputation for excellence in a specific...

October 15, 2019

“Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? For I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.” (Acts 21:13-14)

God’s will is perfect, even when we do not understand it. Reuel Green was fifty-six years old when he suffered a...

October 14, 2019

“And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.” (Acts 20:36-38)

Effective spiritual leaders hold a special place in the hearts of the people in their congregations. This can be seen in...

October 13, 2019

“And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.” (Acts 18:23)

“There are faces before me tonight; there are voices pleading for the Gospel!” With those words, George Hughes acknowledged the deep longing in his heart to go back to Africa. Four years earlier he had made his first missionary trip to that continent. In the intervening years,...

October 12, 2019

“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace.” (Acts 18:9)

Since the days of the Early Church, there have been those who have spoken boldly for God in a setting of mockery and derision. One such incident occurred during the 1700s in the country of Prussia.

Frederick the Great, who ruled Prussia from 1740 to 1786, was widely known as an agnostic...

October 11, 2019

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:28)

As young teenagers, my brother and sister were arguing over a matter of opinion. Since it was an opinion, neither could be wrong but they both could have been right. They went back and forth at each other for a while, and then my very frustrated brother...

October 10, 2019

“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” (Acts 16:25)

During the American Civil War, as darkness descended the night before the Battle of Stones River, a Union Army band began to play softly the song, “Home Sweet Home.” After a time, a Confederate band began to play along. Soon another regimental band joined in, and then another, till all the bands from both sides of...

October 9, 2019

“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.” (Acts 15:5-6)

A “fork in the road” is a metaphor for a deciding moment in life or history when a major choice of options is required. In researching the origin of...

October 8, 2019

“And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:21-22)

The dictionary indicates that the word preach means “to deliver a sermon or religious address to an assembled group of people, typically...

October 7, 2019

“As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” (Acts 13:2-3)

In a grassy clearing on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, stands a simple marble monument inscribed with the words, “The Field is the World.” The “Haystack Monument” does...