True and Faithful #275

Acts 11:21,23

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; (NAS)

The believers from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch to tell the good news that Jesus Christ had died for their sins and had arisen. The Good News, The Gospel, is found in all the Bible, but spelled out in: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Large numbers of them believed and were born again. That is what happens when the Gospel is preached. Then they sent for Barnabus, the encourager, who upon his arrival witnessed the grace of God through the changed lives of the people. He observed their faith, and the new life of these believers and rejoiced. 

The Bible makes it clear that we are saved by God’s grace through faith, but it is through the faith you have in Jesus Christ as the Son of God that opens the door for God’s Grace to save you. What a joy it is to see people come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior and Life. 

Barnabus who was known as the Encourager or Son of Consolation immediately began to encourage them to remain true to the Lord knowing that temptation would come their way.

Temptation comes in many forms and in many ways, but the real temptation is to turn from your faith, or not trust God. Barnabus reminded them that because of the truth of the Gospel they needed to remain true and faithful to Jesus Christ.

What or who are you trusting right now? Remain faithful to Jesus.

_______________________Today's personal note from Dennis

Greetings from Starbucks in beautiful Tempe, AZ

This week as we celebrated Veteran's Day my mind went back to that day in February 1968 when I received word that my cousin James Louis Wood was killed by a sniper bullet in Vietnam. I remember the heart break of his parents and all of our family. Such a loss was hard to deal with. Jim was only 20 years old with a life ahead of him, yet he gave his life for his country. He is true hero to me. 

The other hero for me is my Dad. He joined the United States Navy in 1943. He was aboard the USS ARTIC, a refrigerator ship, that supplied food to the seventh fleet in the Pacific. He served until the end of WWII. He taught me to love and serve my God, my family, and my country. What a role model he has been. See his pictures: one in his uniform, the other a more recent photo. He is now 88 years old. God has blessed me with such a special Dad.

My thoughts and prayers are for all of you who have served your country. I am personally grateful for your selflessness. You are special. For all of you who have lost loved ones in service to our country I also say, Thank You!!. God bless you.

Sandy and I are so grateful that God has allowed us to serve Him as teachers, preachers, disciple makers and encouragers. Sunday we shared with a Sunday School class at the City of Grace Church in Mesa, AZ. We were well received and hope and pray we were an encouragement to that class. 

I will be preaching Sunday at First Baptist Church of Tempe at 9:30 in the Intersect Service. It meets in the LOFT. Join me.

It is only a couple of weeks until Thanksgiving. Have you started your: "I've been so blessed" Thanksgiving list. We have so much to thank God for today.

I pray that God will bless you today no matter what your circumstances and situation in life might be. In Him "we are more than conquerors." 

God bless you.  ~ DGW