Acts: The Spread of the Gospel

This study is taken from John MacArthur's "Acts: The Spread of the Gospel." My prayer and goal for this devo is that we will learn more about how the early church laid the foundation for what we possess today, and that we would allow God to use us to turn our world upside for Him!

This will be an exciting journey, so encourage others to join you! I'm looking forward to the interaction we will have on this blog as we study the book of Acts!

The devos will differ in format from day to day, but two things are constant: 1) a daily reading, and 2) additional Scripture passages that are in bold. Be sure to read any and all of the readings/bold verses that appear so that you can see the full picture of what is taught that day.

Remember, you can access any of the previous devos that have been posted from the "Blog Archive" section on the left side of this page.

Friday, July 4, 2008

Peace in a Time of Trouble - Part 3 - Devo for 07/05/08

Reading
John 16:25-33

Responsive Questions
1. How would Jesus' assurance of the Father's love help the disciples in the days just ahead of them?
2. In verse 32 Jesus predicts that his disciples will abandon him. How will Jesus' promise of peace and victory (v. 33) sustain and help you after a time of failure?
3. Which of the promises in this chapter has made the deepest impression on you, and why?
4. How can you use these promises to strengthen a friend who is going through trials or discouragement?

Applying This Passage in Your Life
1. Jesus offers joy (John 15:11; 16:22-24), peace (John 14:27; 16:33), and love (John 13:34-35; 15:9-19). What is the difference between what the world calls joy, peace, and love compared to the descriptions given by Jesus?
2. Pray that you will always choose God's joy, peace, and love and not settle for the world's imitations.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

responsive questions:

1.they know that what they do is for there heavenly father and it will give them some reasurence(spelled that wrong) that he loves them. it will encourage them. and it will help them believe Jesus.

2.i will know that God will forgive me.

3.that He sent the spirit to be with us. so when i want to do something wrong or when i do something wrong the spirit will convict me.

4.well i can tell them that we have the spirit to convict us so that when we do wrong we will know. and the spirit kinda keeps us on trac, its like our personal gps.

Anonymous said...

1. His love is the greatest love and that will help them get through tough times.

2. After times of falure Jesus is always there to give us peace and because he has overcome the world that gives me the strength to overcome my problems.

3. God's love because even when we fail he still loves us.

4. When they have trials or discouragement God will forgive them.

Anonymous said...

1. They would be sure that the father is with them and that he will help them go through the though time.

2. He reminds us that that he has defeated the world and that with him we can have peace.

3. The one where Jesus says that the father loves us and he is with us. This really encourages me.

4. We can remind him that God is always there for us he is always going to help us and guide us.

Anonymous said...

responsive
1.that he will always love them when they think nobody does.
2.in him we will have peace.he will help us through anything he can do anything he has overcome the world.
3.i dont know if this chapter says it but probably but that Jesus is always with us and will always be that is just amazing and so assuring.
4.to tell them that Jesus is always with them and that he will always be even through tough times.
applying
1.the descriptions of God are all from God and what his opinion are and true.the ones from the world may not be true and are just from the world not gods perspective.
2.okay.

Anonymous said...

1.They needed to be assured that God loved them because what was to come could seem very depressing to those who followed HIm.They needed to know that He was not leaving them forever.

2.When I mess up it is good to know that I can overcome that failure with the power of God.This verse is telling us that no matter what we do, Christ has already defeated sin,and with His help,I too can overcome that downfall.

3.This particular passage is really helpful to me because I mess up a lot,and it is good to know that I don´t have to do it alone.

4.I can tell them that eveybody struggles and messes up,but we need to give that struggle to God so He can help us.

Anonymous said...

1. by believing
2. God WILL forgive me if i ask.
3. love because if he did not love us he would not have died on the cross for us.
4. tell them that the Spirit love them and God does too even if they think nobody else does.

Anonymous said...

RESPONSIVE QUESTIONS
1. It would not seem or feel like God loved Jesus when He allowed Him to be tortured and crucified. But Jesus was telling them not to trust what SEEMED to be true...but to believe the Truth, no matter what.
2. Oh, the sweet relief of forgiveness and restoration from One Who knows ahead of time that I'm going to blow it!
3. That one...in question #2...because I do blow it so often, and yet He forgives and restores me and promises to help me to truly change.
4. Share the truth with them. Encourage them not to believe what their emotions are telling them and to believe the Truth instead.

APPLICATION
1. Jesus's joy, peace, and love are not conditional...not based on my performance or His mood.
2. I don't want an imitation...I want the real thing!

Anonymous said...

1.it would help them belive in jesus
2.god will forgive you god loves all of us he wants us to know how much he loves us
3.he sent his angles to watch over us
4.jesus is always with us

Anonymous said...

Responsive Questions

1)By trust

2)God will forgive me

3)That God died for are sins

4)Jesus will be with us when-ever

Anonymous said...

Responsive
1. because they would have to lean on him when they would eventually see Jesus being crucified on the cross.
2. because its important to know that God is in control. and that Christ overcame the world.
3.probably when Jesus says that God will give u what u desire albeit that u would have Godly desires.
4.the answer is in the question
Applying
1.in the world, joy might be considered as how much material things u have, peace would just mean no wars, and love means many things in our society today.

Anonymous said...

1. they would know that it would help them through the hard times.
2. it will remind me that God forvives.
3. well i would have to say Gods love because even when i fail i know that he will still love me.
4. just remind them that Jesus loves them and tell them how he loves them and when he loves them.