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Thanksgiving, Paul’s Style As we in America celebrate a day of Thanksgiving, I thought it would be worthwhile to investigate how Apostle Paul would have celebrated one. Why just Paul? Well, since we have been studying Paul in the book of Acts and his prominence in the early church, what better way to give thanks than to see what Paul thanked God for. Let’s briefly reflect on the thanksgiving offered by Paul on behalf of the churches the Holy Spirit helped him start. What are you thankful for? I am thankful to God for you and your obedience to the Word of God. I am thankful for half a century of God’s grace to me on this earth since Nov. 27th is my birthday. Ephesians 1: 15-Thanksgiving and Prayer 15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wi...

The Last Good Bye Have you ever said good bye to someone you know you will never see again at least on this side of eternity? I have and I had experienced it this past January. My family and I had travelled to Nigeria and had spent about two months in the country. Upon leaving I had to say good bye to a family member whom I knew I was not going to see the next time I returned. It was a very hard parting because by March this year, he passed away. Today we see Apostle Paul saying a “hard and difficult good bye” to the church and elders in Asia after ministering there for about three years. What do you say to someone you know you will not see again? Are you and I ready to say the good bye if we were the ones to first “check out” from this earth. Paul was the one facing imminent death because he knew it was a matter of time. Like Jesus, he was “compelled by the Holy Spirit” to proceed to Jerusalem where trouble awaited him. Let’s hear Paul as recorded by Dr. Luke who at this time...

Does the Devil know you by name? In this chapter 19, Paul spends about two years in Ephesus as base for reaching the rest of the then Asia province of the Roman Empire. Many events transpired during this period and notably are: 1. Paul meeting the 12 disciples who had not received the Holy Spirit. 2. Paul’s dedicated daily teaching at the school of Tyrannus; 3. Paul’s encounter with the local magicians and the resulting revival; and, 4. The great riot in Ephesus. It is a worthy observation to see a big change in society because of Christianity and its impact to the point that businesses that catered to idol worship closed. This is why there was the riot (please read it for yourself 19: 23-41). In focusing our study, we will try to answer two questions that are posed as a result of the recorded events. First, “Does one need a baptism of the Holy Spirit after one has believed”? The other question is “Does the devil know you by first name as he knew Jesus and Paul? Let’s allow the tex...

Aquila and Priscilla with Paul in Corinth Today we get insight into how the Church in Corinth was started and established. We read the epistles of Paul in 1st and 2nd Corinthians and take for granted the sacrifice it took to start the Church in that city. We meet a husband and wife team who were instrumental in Paul’s success in establishing the church in Corinth. Sometimes we see our living situations change for no fault of our making for example this world-wide economic melt down. We wonder why we are going through what we are going through. This was the case for Aquila and Priscilla (husband and wife) who were kicked out from Rome because of a decree. Unknown to Aquila and Priscilla, God had a mission for them. You may right now be at a place where you are wondering what is going on and asking, “Why am I here in this situation”? Let’s look out for God’s assignment wherever we may be. God used the ordinary to plant and grow the early Church. He is still doing the same today. Acts 1...