Getting Focused on the Teaching

Acts 10:29b-33

"May I ask why you sent for me?" Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.' So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

Thoughts for Today:

Peter opens with a really good question: "May I ask why you sent for me?" Sometimes people forget why they come to church. Is it out of habit? Is it to see friends or make your wife happy? It helps every once in a while to stop for a minute and ask yourself that question "Why am I sitting here today? What do I hope to gain? What were the life events that led to me being here?" In our passage today, Peter asks Cornelius, "May I ask why you sent for me?" Cornelius stopped for a minute, and thought about why he was there -- he recounted to everyone present the events that led to Peter's arrival. As a result he made this statement: "Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

How different would the Sunday morning sermon be for you if you began with this thought in mind –

 "I am in church today in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded my Pastor to tell me."

Too often we listen passively -- we even have difficulty remembering on Monday what was preached about on Sunday -- so what chance do we have to apply any of the teaching. We have a tendency to look at God's Word spoken through our pastor as simply "feel good" advice for the moment -- rather than God speaking directly to us.

Questions to Ponder:

Can you remember what was preached about this past Sunday morning? Did you take notes? Did you review your notes? Maybe it's time we paid closer attention to what God has commanded our pastor to tell us. Think about the sermon now -- what one thing sticks out in your mind? Could this be your personal message, your personal instructions from God for today, for this week? Make every effort to apply one thing you heard from our pastor this past Sunday?

Pocket Testament League Daily Devotional; #130

Prayer (Daily Bread Devotional)

Lord, I need your help
that I will control my
thoughts and words
today. I want to be a
blessing to others, to
lift them up that they
may see Your goodness,
Amen

Our Daily Bread “Fragile Loads”;

Reading my thoughts ,

How easily I could pass judgments on another,
without knowing all the facts.

How often I could become impatient with another,
when I have no idea of their burdens.

How tempted I am to lose patience with another,
before remembering how patient God has been
with me. 

How wrong I am to be losing patience with another.

Let me say “Thank You Jesus” and give thanks for
reminding me of how much God forgives all of us.

Ephesians 4:31,32 (KJV)

31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you,
with all malice:

32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you.

We can bring sorrow to the Holy Spirit by the way we live. Paul warns us against unwholesome language, bitterness, improper use of anger, harsh words, slander, and bad attitudes toward others. Instead of acting that way, we should be forgiving, just as God has forgiven us. Are you bringing sorrow or pleasing God with your attitudes and actions? Act in love toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, just as God acted in love by sending his Son to die for your sins. 

(Life Application Study Bible.)

Rule for Christian Living

by John Wesley
"Do All the Good You Can,
By All the Means You Can,
In All the Ways You Can,
In All the Places You Can,
At All the Times You Can,
To All the People You Can,
As Long as Ever You Can!"

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

I remember saying this prayer every morning in school.
Today, does everyone know the Lords Prayer ?
Matthew 6:9-13
Of course some newer bible versions of The Lord Prayer
use debts and debtors instead of trespasses.
Matt. 6:14 KJV
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father
will also forgive you.

Christians should be Christians

A church building is sometimes called God's house.

In reality, God's household is not a building
but a group of people, a family of believers.

He lives in us and shows Himself to a watching
world through us.

People can see that God is love and that Christ
is Lord as we live in harmony with each other
and in accordance with what God says in His Word.

We are citizens of God's Kingdom and members
of His household.

The Christian church should have no barriers of
nationality, race, educational level, social standing,
wealth, gender, religion, or power.

Christ breaks down all barriers and accepts all people
who come to Him.

Nothing should keep us from telling others about Christ
or accepting into our fellowship any and all believers.

(Exerted from; Life Application Study Bible.)

PTL Daily Devotional;

“Taking Time to Pray While

Pushing Through Distractions”

My thoughts for Today’s Devotional:

I usually get up early in the morning to spend time with

God because it is a quiet time.  Most important is that I

am putting my Lord first. Many times a distraction will

try to get in the way of my time with God. Have you also

found the following excerpt from today’s devotional to

be so very true ?

Day 125: excerpt;

“The most important elements of study and prayer
time are found in good old fashioned self-discipline
and the earnest desire to seek the Lord. To be
successful, we simply have to concentrate and
remain committed. One thing I've found as my most
meaningful time with God has been when I have
fought through all the distractions and continued
(or returned) to focus my heart and my mind --
completing my study and prayer time -- that is when
God speaks to me most clearly, or rather when I am
listening most intently”.

Questions to Ponder:

How can we start to listen more intently to the Lord?
Is it an issue of focusing our heart and mind?
Will you be more determined to fellowship with Him ?