November 30, 2020 | Acts 28:1–31 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue We have come to the end of the book of Acts but not to the end of Paul’s story. We have been given a realistic view of life in the early church. We have heard the gospel message as preached by the apostles. And we […]
November 29, 2020 | Acts 27:1–44 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue During a violent storm at sea, the 18th-century evangelist John Wesley experienced a crisis of faith. While everyone around him seemed terrified, a band of believers known as Moravians were untroubled. While others screamed, they sang hymns. Wesley, who was already a preacher and considered […]
November 28, 2020 | Acts 26:1–32 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Faith and reason are often viewed as opposites. In the beloved Christmas film, Miracle on 34th Street, the lawyer Fred Gailey tells Susan, “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.” While there indeed is more to faith than common sense, […]
November 27, 2020 | Acts 25:1–27 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Did you know you are a citizen of not one but two kingdoms? Martin Luther observed that we are in kingdoms of Earth and of heaven. In the heavenly kingdom, God rules perfectly. In the earthly, God has delegated authority to rulers who often exercise […]
November 26, 2020 | Acts 24:1–27 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Although Thanksgiving Day was first proclaimed as a national holiday in the United States by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, its roots go back to the first harvest celebration observed by the pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1621. They had begun in Nottinghamshire, England, and moved […]
November 25, 2020 | Acts 23:1–35 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue When Jesus sent out His disciples to proclaim the kingdom of Heaven, He advised them to be “shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves” (Matt. 10:16). Jesus was using a figure of speech. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent was more “crafty” than any […]
BOUND IN JERUSALEMNovember 23, 2020 | Acts 21:1–40 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Paul was aware of what the future held for him, but still, he kept on going. The same was true of Jesus who told His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem to be killed and rise again on the third day, Simon […]
November 22, 2020 | Acts 20:13–36 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Pastors are called many things. Some people address them as reverend, preacher, or even just brother. The term pastor comes from the Latin word for shepherd. Paul used this term to describe the work of the church leaders in Ephesus (Acts 20:28). Hoping to reach […]
November 21, 2020 | Acts 19:21–20:12 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Doing the right thing, especially when it is a God-centered thing, is often met by opposition. While on his deathbed, evangelist John Wesley wrote a letter of encouragement to William Wilberforce, a British politician who led the movement to abolish the slave trade. “Unless God […]
November 20, 2020 | Acts 18:23–19:20 DEVOTIONS This Month’s Issue Most people know the name of Jesus, but they may not understand fully who He is. They have important gaps in their understanding. After a year in Corinth, Paul set out again, dropping off Priscilla and Aquilla at Ephesus. There they met Apollos, who taught […]