August 31, 2020, Acts cont...

This is the last day in the Month of August. Time is moving fast. This bible study will end, the end of December.  I will return back to my normal blogging. My blog is basically good words that build up. Thus far, I really have enjoyed the bible study. I am so glad I did it. I surprise myself at times.  It has been a blessing to me. I begin the year with the resolution to read the bible in detail for the year. Lots of times I am reading other Christian authors and pulled out scriptures but this year I wanted to do a deep reading.

 I also understood during the month of March that this would be a time when it would be hard to attend church. I know lots of people who love God but they had to read and study at the kitchen table. I personally made me a nice spot on the floor everyday. I opened my huge print bible and let the words soothe me. 

Lots of people want to get back to normal but I pray that things will be better than what they were. God can use bad things to bring about good things and things can be better because you triumph over them.  

Anyone can go back and start the bible study from the beginning. We begin January 01, 2020 with the book of Joshua and it was a little rough at times. But we moved on to Ephesians and so forth. 

Hebrews

Revelations

Mark

Luke

John

Psalms

Currently Reading,

The Acts of the Apostles

The book of Proverbs

Going forward it looks like a few more books can fit into the study. As we complete this year I pray that God help us to continue to get through good times and bad times as a Nation. We are all pursing and looking forward to being one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

Acts 23

Paul Before the Sanhedrin

The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble then he brought Paul and had him stand before him. 

Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin, and said, My Brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day. At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 

Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!

You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourselves violate the law by commanding that I be struck!

• God is merciful and gracious.  It makes me remember and think about how God forgave David of Adultery. Adultery was horrible in those times. He also forgave other people of great sins. He did not let Judas escape judgement. Judas had different circumstances and God judges the heart motives. When I think of Judas what makes him bad is not so much the betrayal but its his heart. Jesus was good to those disciples. He treated them great. He blessed them. They went without nothing, they had the chance to hear God directly. Jesus was God. When Judas performs the ACTION of betrayal he is guilty but long before his actions his heart was horrible. If a person was kind to you and you mis-treat them I think its offensive. You have a bad heart. You can do a bad person wrong but when a person was nice to you and all you can do it render evil to them, than it means it is a soul filled with a devil. I think David did not intentionally seek to commit adultery. The passage says he was looking out his window and he saw a woman bathing. He still was punished for it but God forgave him he did not take away his kingdom. The son they gave birth to died but later on they gave birth to Solomon. God restored him. His heart and motives were pure. Judas seems more intentional to me. If you can betray a good person or lets rephrase it, if you can betray God you have a lost soul. Some people do things and they get punished severely and other people do things and it seems like God slaps them on the wrist. Other people disobey him and he throws them into the belly of a whale. 
• It is not lawful for a man to steal; but let's say there is injustice in a land; things like racism, discrimination, and social injustice. What if a man is driven to steal food because he is hungry. Do you think God will condemn this man? Of course the man is wrong but God could forgive him and justify him. Ever heard someone say you justified why you did what you did. It is not saying its right; its saying it is excused if he repents. If I was an high priest and some one came and told me about this man but they did not tell me everything; I would be quick to judge and it would be wrong. I do not know the living conditions this man lives under and that leaves me to judge the outside (his actions).  The bible says when a thief is caught he shall restore seven times what he stole; that is natural but spiritually God can forgive him even though he will pay the debt. He is not condemned and he is forgiven. 
• God is merciful. God sees everything.  
• What if a man who has 3,000 goats decides he wants to rule over everyone so he makes a plan to trick the poor and take their few goats. Right away to me this man is very selfish. He has a cold heart and there is no justification for stealing from the poor. He has no mercy or no compassion in his soul. He just wants to do it because no one is going to stop him. 
• Then let's say after he acquires all the goats he is going to sell them at ridiculously high prices. I am going to say that God is going to be hard on this man because he is selfish. He does not answer to God. He overlooks God and he forgets that God loves the poor. He also drives the poor to not believe God. 
• Don't misunderstand me; Both men are a thieves and both men are wrong but their hearts and motives are different. God may not deal with us all the same. Our hearts, lives, and motives are different. 

 

Those who were standing near Paul, said, "How dare you insult God's high Priests!

Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.

Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducee's and others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My Brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead. When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducee, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducee's say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)

There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously: we find nothing wrong with this man, they said,

"What if a spirit or angel has spoken to him?"

The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by then. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, 

"Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem so you must also testify in Rome." 

God encouraged him and stood with him (he sticks closer than a brother) how sweet is that. I know Paul was in distress with those men.   They do not accept the testimony about the goodness of God. They are so passionate about their beliefs it makes them violent. It is shocking that these religious men have a violent side to them. It is written in the gospels that after Jesus finished teaching some in crowd wanted to throw him off the cliff; but it says he disappeared in the crowd. In this meeting the High Priest desired to strike Paul in the mouth. Sometimes people carry sticks and bibles. There is nothing worst than the law in the hands of a violent man. 

Have a great day!