Something Greater

RESTORATION "So when they had come together, they asked him, 'Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?'" Acts 1:6 RESTORE: "Apokathistemi", to reconstitute (in health, home or organization); from "apo" (off or away) and "kathistemi" (to place down (permanently) and "histemi" (to stand) The Greek word for restore meant to reconstitute, a rebuilding of something that once stood. The word carries the idea of placing something that will stand permanently. The early Christians expected Jesus to destroy the ruthless, godless rule of the Romans, bringing the nation of Israel back to its former glory as a world power. WHAT DO YOU THINK? What biblical evidence can you remember that describes the nation of Israel as a world power? The last chapter of the last book of the Old Testament foretells of a day of victory and vengeance by God against all unrighteousness: "For behold, the day is coming, burn

PROVEN ALIVE "He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." Acts 1:3 (ESV) SUFFERING: "Pascho", a sensation or impression of pain; same as "patho" or pentho" (seen in empathy, pathetic, sympathy) PROOFS: A token, or criterion, of certainty KINGDOM: "Basileia", royalty, rule, or realm; from "basis", a pace (as in walking) WHAT DO YOU THINK? In what ways does the action of walking support the idea of a kingdom or royalty? What proofs do we see immediately after the tomb was found empty? "While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen." Luke 24:4-6 (ESV) "But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stoopin

A Bible study guide written by Milt Reynolds, January 2011 Taken from The Acts of the Apostles, by Luke the Apostle FRIEND OF GOD In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. Acts 1:1-2 (ESV) THEOPHILUS: Literally, "friend of God"; "theos", God, and "philos", friend; "philos" means a dear friend, one regarded fondly NOTE: Luke addressed two letters to his friend, Theophilus: The Gospel of Luke, and The Acts of the Apostles. In Luke 1:1 Theophilus is described as "excellent" , strongest or very honorable. Luke described Governor Felix as excellent (Acts 23:26, 24:3), as well as a later governor, Porcious Festus (Acts 26:25). WHAT DO YOU THINK? What characteristic would Theophilus, as a "friend of God", share with Felix and Festus as being "exc

12 Steps to Identifying Your Functional Saviors In The Bookends of the Christian Life , Jerry Bridges offers twelve "questions" to help us identify our functional saviors. These are great questions to ask yourself to gain insight to the direction our inner attitudes and desires are pointing us. 1. I am preoccupied with ________. 2. If only ________, then I would be happy. 3. I get my sense of significance from ________. 4. I would protect and preserve ________ at any cost. 5. I fear losing ________. 6. The thing that gives me greatest pleasure is ________. 7. When I lose ________, I get angry, resentful, frustrated, anxious, or depressed. 8. For me, life depends on ________. 9. The thing I value more than anything in the world is ________. 10. When I daydream, my mind goes to________. 11. The best thing I can think of is ________. 12. The thing that makes me want to get out of bed in the morning is ________. Source: http://thinklings.org/posts/12-steps-t

Broken, Wounded, and Hopeful | Psalm 119:166 Jeremy B lives in Israel and has a unique opportunity to explore the roots of Christianity while living in the reality of modern Jewish society. I appreciated a recent devotional he wrote. Jeremy has given me permission to reprint it here. Being in Israel on the Day of Atonement this year for the very first time left a deep impression on me, and caused me to give a lot of thought to the sacrificial system - especially its less appealing aspects. Watching some of the Orthodox slaughter chickens to provide some sort of atonement reminded me that salvation has always been a messy business and that looking deeply into it can be a shock for the faint of heart. This realization came at a time of interesting findings in the final stages of writing my thesis. Indeed, the sights and sounds of sacrifices took on a new and deeper meaning in light of a discovery I made a couple of weeks ago. This all may sound rather technical, but I wi

Solving the Stepfamily Dilemma Biblical Counseling Center Don Hart writes a short article that is packed with interesting facts and practical advice for blended families . I want to put a spotlight on the most important parts, but you should read the entire article here: http://www.biblicalcounselingcenter.org Divorce Rate Take a survey of 100 married couples. 75 of the men and 60 of the women want to divorce and marry someone else . Most second marriages involve children. Out of every 100 divorces, 90 of the mothers will be the primary custodian. Survey 100 second-marriages. 67 of those marriages will also end in divorce. Don asks a good question: What can stepfamilies do to be one of the 33% of those whose second marriage succeeds? Problem 1: Time to Build the Marital Relationship It seems even more important for second-marriage relationships to spend as much time together as just husband and wife...yet it's even harder to do. The blended family tends