https://www.wearereachingnations.com https://www.wearereachingnations.com/Transforming-Life-Restoring-Hope Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” <div> <img src="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/a0fe11c8/dms3rep/multi/Prayer-Fasting2-2700x1800.jpg" alt="" title=""/> <span> </span> </div> <div data-rss-type="text"> <p> <!--StartFragment--> <!--StartFragment--> </p> <p> Theme <br/> </p> <div> <p> Luke shows how the gospel spread rapidly from Jerusalem to the whole Roman Empire, and from its Jewish roots to the Gentile world. </p> <p> Overview </p> <p> Luke wrote this book as a historian to tell what happened after the resurrection of Jesus. It’s the second volume of the good news—the sequel to the Gospels. In it Luke explained Christianity’s amazing growth—perhaps to legitimize the church to civil authorities or to confirm the faith of believers. The <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+1&amp;version=NET&amp;resource_entry=quest-study-bible/introduction-acts"> <cite> NIV Quest Study Bible </cite> </a> says Luke seems to have wanted congregations to understand the source of conflict between Jewish and Gentile Christians who were brought together through Jesus the Messiah as members of God’s family. These difficulties faced by the early church can serve as an encouragement to us in the present-day church. The disciples’ zeal that took the gospel across ethnic and national boundaries can also inspire us today. The Spirit so active in Acts is the same Holy Spirit that is currently at work today in the church. </p> </div> <!--EndFragment--> <!--EndFragment--> <p> </p> </div> Tue, 09 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.wearereachingnations.com/Transforming-Life-Restoring-Hope thumbnail https://www.wearereachingnations.com/Find-And-You-Shall-Seek Matthew7 :7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. <div> <img src="https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/a0fe11c8/dms3rep/multi/events_img-640x480.jpg" alt="" title=""/> <span> </span> </div> <div data-rss-type="text"> <p> <!--StartFragment--> </p> <p> Theme </p> <p> Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah sent by God to fulfill OT prophecy. </p> <p> Overview </p> <p> The <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1&amp;version=NET&amp;resource_entry=quest-study-bible/introduction-matthew"> <cite> NIV Quest Study Bible </cite> </a> says the Gospel of Matthew serves as a transition that connects the story of the Old Testament with the story of the New Testament, helping us understand how the life and teaching of Jesus built on what had come before. According to the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1&amp;version=NET&amp;resource_entry=niv-study-bible/introduction-matthew"> <cite> NIV Study Bible </cite> </a> , many elements in Matthew’s Gospel point to a Jewish or Jewish-Christian readership; for example, Matthew has more quotations from and allusions to the Old Testament than any other New Testament author. This does not mean, however, that Matthew restricts his Gospel to Jews. He records the coming of the Magi (non-Jews) to worship the infant Jesus, as well as Jesus’ statement that the “field is the world” (13:38). These and other passages show that, although Matthew’s Gospel is Jewish, it has a universal outlook. </p> <!--EndFragment--> <p> </p> </div> Mon, 01 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://www.wearereachingnations.com/Find-And-You-Shall-Seek thumbnail