The Beatitudes are one of the best known portiotns of Scripture because they tell us how to have a blessed, happy life. We live in a very unhappy world. Someone has said, "Unhappiness is not knowing what you really want and working yourself to death to get it." Blessed living is knowing what you want and that you don't have to work for it and you can't buy it, because it is a gift of grace from a loving God. The first step on a "journey into blessed living" is understanding what statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:3?
In the previous lesson we saw God change Peter's prejudice toward Gentiles through his encounter with Cornelius. Now, the explosive growth of the church, even among Gentiles, brings fierce opposition from King Herod Agrippa I, who begins to arrest some who belonged to the church (12:1). This Herod is the brother of Herodias (wife of Herod Antipas), who was responsible for having John the Baptist beheaded (Mk 6:17-28). Herod Agrippa is also the grandson of Herod the Great, who reigned over Judea at the time of Christ's birth. In an attempt to kill the baby Jesus, Herod the Great ordered all boys, two years of age and younger, in Bethlehem and its vicinity to be killed (Mt 2:1-18). Herod Agrippa was part Jewish and had a good relationship with the Jews. However, now that the chief persecutor of the church, Saul, has converted to the other side, Herod takes Saul's place as persecutor of the church. To keep his good relationship with the Jews, what does Herod do, according to Acts 12:2?
The Beatitudes are one of the best known portiotns of Scripture because they tell us how to have a blessed, happy life. We live in a very unhappy world. Someone has said, "Unhappiness is not knowing what you really want and working yourself to death to get it." Blessed living is knowing what you want and that you don't have to work for it and you can't buy it, because it is a gift of grace from a loving God. The first step on a "journey into blessed living" is understanding what statement of Jesus in Matthew 5:3?
Throughout our Christian lives, God is constantly changing us. These changes are often not so much in lifestyles as in attitudes. Changes are a part of our spiritual growth called "sanctification." We are now going to see God make some dramatic changes in the great apostle Peter and also discover three ways God changes us.
After the healing miracle at the temple (3:1-10), Peter has to fight opposition from outside the church (4:1-22). When opposition from the outside doesn't work, the Evil One starts working through people inside the church. The church has always attracted people who come for the wrong reasons. However, all believers should have certain characteristics that are attractive to genuine seekers in whose lives God is working. From this passage, we can find three requirements for becoming magnetic Christians who attract people to Christ. First is to...
Peter on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where our Lord reinstated him three times as the leader of the disciples (Jn 21). As a result, in the book of Acts, Peter becomes a changed man. After His resurrection, Jesus continues to appear to the disciples and others for 40 days as proof He is alive (Acts 1:3). Once while eating with the disciples, He tells them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of His Father. He then tells them they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days (1:4-5). Just before His ascension, Jesus tells them they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them (1:8a).
Throughout the Bible we most often find God’s people turn to fasting as the natural, inevitable response to a grievous sacred moment in life, such as death, sin and tragedy. But other times a fast is not a spontaneous reaction and we have time to prepare to respond both physically and spiritually.
Fasting is not an end unto itself, but a means of focusing our minds and bodies for a spiritual reason. Whenever you fast, do so for a reason that is mentioned or modeled in the Bible.
Here are ten primary purposes for fasting mentioned in Scripture:¹
