A Devotional Study of the Living Word of God

Psalm 119:63 Those who are companions can be rich or poor, bent or broken, nationals or alien; it matter not, what matters in them is the fear of the LORD (Spirituality) and OBEDIENCE (Holiness) to the Precepts of God! These are companions!

Good Morning

So, today February 14^th. Is Valentine's Day - “Happy Valentine's Day”. Many couples will be getting married today, many who are married will try and make the day special for each other. While this is a perfect day for both the married and the getting married it is also a day for reaching out to those men and women who are broken in some way. We would be remiss, like the world around us, if we try to hide the evils that prevail on days such as today. Broken dreams, shattered goals and troubled homes, much of this began on a day such as Valentine's Day. Well I do not mean to shatter your day or to wreck any of your plans by looking at the other side of the coin. Valentine's Day is a day for lovers. Did you know that Jesus is the lover of your soul? He is. You, as part of the church, are His bride... His Chosen one. Our LORD loves us with infinite love, the Bible calls this love; “everlasting love” or “perfect love”, even the unsearchable riches of Christ are a result of His love. (John 3:16; 1 John 4:18 and Ephesians 3:8-12). So, are you without a valentine today? Take a look at Jesus, His heart is available, He has set His affection on you, He has even purchased your heart from the slavery found in our every day. Not with silver or gold, but with His own blood. Romans 5:8-9 puts it this way; “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

Acts 18

Acts 18:1-2 During the apostles second missionary journey he makes his first visit to Corinth. The city located about 48 miles southwest of Athens is on a small strip of land that connects Greece with Peloponnesus. On the map this looks like a most pleasant place to visit some day. The city is a seaport, thus it was a open door to all the Jews who departed Rome because of Claudius who commanded that all Jews should leave Rome.

Acts 18:3 The opportunity to work with other believers can be an awesome experience and a taste of heaven on earth. Like minded people tend to do good work together. The ministries in churches today, should work this well together. But in these days I see a lot of trouble and confusion. We seem to be becoming more like the world when we come together at various leadership functions. An indication that our eyes and ears are not focus on what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Acts 18:4-17 Paul's “turning point” I think to this point the apostle always made it a point to reason with the Jews before approaching the gentiles. He is somewhat upset with the Jews opposing and blaspheming him. Shacking his garments and saying that that “your blood be upon your own heads” is a strong declaration of rejection, so strong that he places these Jews in the same category as disobedient children, adulterers and perverted individuals Leviticus 20::9-13