burkina 26
vs. 11 "in my obsession against them, i even went to foreign cities to persecute them"
-God uses paul's past (predilection for obsessiveness and extreme personality/passion to travel to foreign cities) and redeems it for His glory - paul becomes obsessed with the gospel, travels to foreign cities to spread the gospel

vs. 17 "i will rescue you from your own people and from the gentiles"
-paul's calling is clear

vs. 22 "i have had God's help to this very day, and so i stand here and testify to small and great alike"
-paul is under trial but uses it as an opportunity testify to God's faithfulness

vs. 24 "you are out of your mind, paul! your great learning is driving you insane"
-the world thinks paul is crazy

vs. 29 "i pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what i am, except for these chains"
-paul's heart that God will change his enemies

vs. 32 "this man could have been set free if he had not appealed to caesar"
-again, God sends paul to rome through seemingly unfortunate circumstances (being on trial), but that's God's plan to spead his news in rome

burkina 27
vs. 3 "to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs"
-what friends do

vs. 15 "the ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind, so we gave way to it and were driven along"
-letting go

vs. 18 "we took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard"
-to survive a storm, must get rid of excess baggage

vs. 24 "you must stand trial before caesar"
-God is clear in sending paul to rome

burkina 28
vs. 2 "the islanders showed us unusual kindness"
-yeaaah, island hospitality

vs. 4, 6 "when the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, 'this man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live'. [...] seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god"
-people were looking for answers and wanted to jump to conclusions/place labels on people, looking for someone to look down upon, looking for objects of worship
-belief in a higher power named "Justice"

vs. 8 "after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him"
-healing takes prayer

vs. 24 "some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe"
-what happens all the time.

vs. 30-31 "for two whole years paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ"
-paul's ministry: taking ownership of his home and hospitality, impartiality, preaching the word and gospel

burkina 22
vs. 3 "i am a jew"
-paul's heritage, how he introduces himself; background is important

vs. 26 "this man is a roman citizen"
-God uses citizenship for a reason

burkina 23
vs. 3 "you sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law"
-grace vs. the law

vs. 6 "knowing that some of them were sadducees and the others pharisees"
-paul knows his audience and challenges them appropriately

vs. 11 "take courage!"
-be courageous, something to 'take', an action/a choice

burkina 24
vs. 14 "i believe everything that agrees with the law and that is written in the prophets"
-the message of Christ is in fulfillment of the prophecies and accurate/consistent

vs. 15 "and i have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked"
-we have the same hope, but Christ makes the difference/fulfills this hope

vs. 16 "so i strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man"
-paul trying to live/striving to live above reproach, not just before man/in public but what is done in secret/before God

vs. 25 "as paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, felix was afraid"
-when the word is preached, the word convicts and judges

vs. 26 "at the same time he was hoping that paul would offer him a bribe"
-felix hoping to find a way out, even though it was unethical. unethical ways out seemingly commonplace and acceptable here among politicians. hmm....

burkina 25
vs. 8 "i have done nothing wrong against the law of the jews or against the temple of against caesar"
-paul confident his behaviour is above reproach/blameless

vs. 11 "if however, i am builty of doing anything deserving death, i do not refuse to die"
-paul advocating for fairness and justice

vs. 25 "i found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the emperor i decided to send him to rome"
-God's plan. to send him to rome. via extreme means.

word.

burkina 19
vs. 10 "so that all the jews and greeks who lived in the province of asia heard the word of the Lord"
-goodness, all of them

vs. 11 "God did extraordinary miracles through paul"
-God does

vs. 20 "the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power"
-the word can still grow in power, even if it is inherently powerful

vs. 30 "paul wanted to appear before the crowd but the disciples would not let him"
-human desire versus friends' advice versus God's conviction, sometimes conflict

burkina 20
vs. 2 "speaking many words of encouragement to the people"
-giving courage through words

vs. 9, 12 "seated in a window was a young man named eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as paul talked on and on. when he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. [...] the people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted."
-hehehe. consequences plus redemption of someone talking/preaching on and on, and listeners falling asleep.

vs. 22 "and now, compelled by the spirit, i am going to jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there"
-compelled by the spirit overrides knowing the details and following man's plans

vs. 34-35 "you yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. in everything i did, i showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: it is more blessed to give than to receive"
-work hard; give hard

burkina 21
vs. 13 "i am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus"
-hard core

vs. 39 "i am jew, from tarsus in cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city"
-origins matter somewhat

vs. 40 "he said to them in aramaic"
-meet the people where they are, speak their language, know their language

burkina 16
v. 5 "so the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers."
-as a result of paul and timothy spending time with them, teaching how to live

vs. 31 "you and your household"
-guaranteed?
-that's what miracles do.

vs. 36 "go in peace."
-to go in peace is to go knowing that God ordained it.
-even tho... they didn't go at that moment, they asked for a little more dignity

vs. 40 "after paul and silas came out of the prison, they went to lydia's house where they met with the brothers and encouraged them"
-lots of encouraging going on here

burkina 17
vs. 11 "for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what paul said was true"
-eagerness
-examined
-every day

vs. 16 "he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols"
-it's okay to be in distress...
-but maybe at things like idols.
-my stress expresses itself in physical ailments, rather than emotional or mental distress. perhaps paul's thorn was caused by stress. i blame everything on stress.

burkina 18

vs. 9 "one night the Lord spoke to paul in a vision: 'do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. for i am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because i have many people in this city''
-empowerment

vs. 25 "he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately"
-fervour
-accuracy

vs. 27 "the brothers encouraged him"
-lotsa lotsa lotsa encouragement

burkina 13
vs. 2 "while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said"
-this is when the spirit speaks

v. 23 "the Saviour Jesus, as he promised"
-fulfilled promises

v. 48 "all who were appointed for eternal life believed"
-appointing/selection

burkina 14
vs. 9 "paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed"
-it takes faith before healing

vs. 15 "telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God"
-worthless! worthless! worthless!

vs. 28 "and they stayed there a long time with the disciples"
-spending time in ministry

burkina 15

vs. 8-11 "God who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. he made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? no! we believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are"
-we are all sinners under grace.

vs 19 "it is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the gentiles who are turning to God"
-that i won't get in your way, Lord

burkina 12
v. 5 "but the church was earnestly praying to God for him"
-pray. earnestly. with earnest.

v. 10-12 "when they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. then peter came to himself and said, 'now i know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from herod's clutches and from everything the jewish people were anticipating.' when this had dawned on him, he went to the house of mary"
-we aren't spoon fed/held by the hand the entire way. kinda scary. but the angel at least gets him to the end of the street, until peter can think for himself/act appropriately.

v. 22 "immediately, because herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten by worms and died"
-no mercy for stealing credit!

burkina last tuesday 10

v. 2 "devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly"
-simple but easier said than done, what to strive for

v. 16 "this happened three times"
-pattern w/ peter?

v. 19 "while peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit of said to him"
-the pieces aren't always clear at first... and takes different visions/promptings to finally act and allow oneself to be guided

v. 33 "now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us"
-cornelius acknowledges God's presence and is ready to hear the word

v. 43 "all the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name"
-gospel!

burkina wednesday 11

v. 17 "who was i to think that i could oppose God?"
-but we all want to sometimes

v. 19 "scattered by the persecution"
-God used persecution to bring the message to other lands

v. 23 "encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts"
-encouragement as giving courage to people to be wholly devoted to the Lord

burkina 9 - monday
v. 4 "he fell to the ground"
-kind of a common place to be when meeting Jesus? thrown to the ground...

v. 5 "i am Jesus, whom you are persecuting"
-saul/paul maybe thought he was persecuting Jesus' followers, but not really Jesus... or maybe Jesus' followers can think that THEY are being persecuted, when reality is otherwise

v. 7 "they heard the sound but did not see anyone"
-often people hear but do not see, then do not believe

v. 17 "then ananias went to the house and entered it"
-good thing for saul/paul that he did

v. 22 "proving that Jesus is the Christ"
-can it be proofed?

v. 31 "encouraged by the Holy Spirit"
-the Holy Spirit gives courage

v. 36 "who was always doing good and helping the poor"
-make me like this please!

daaaahhh

burkina 8 sunday
v. 1 "a great persecution broke out"
-epic

v. 20-23 "may your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! you have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. for i see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."
-God owns all

----------------
burkina 7 saturday
v. 7 "leave your country and your people"
-in ref to God telling abraham... not just your country (slap in the face) but also your people (rub it in)

v. 9/10 "but God was with him and rescued hims from all his troubles"
-not just some (as in slavery), but all his troubles

v. 22 "powerful in speech and action"
-words without actions is bogus, but actions can be enhanced with words

v. 25 "moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not"
-moses already knew his calling, to some degree. but even so, when he thought he was living it out, it was actually way different from what God planned for his role as a 'deliverer'...

v. 30 "after forty years had passed"
-long time

v. 48 "the Most High does not live in houses made by men"
-He's too big for that

vs. 54 "full of the Holy Spirit"
-when someone's full of something there's no room for anything else

vs. 60 "do not hold this sin against them"
-stephen's gracious spirit

burkina 6
-epic fail.
====================
v. 2 "it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables"
-works without faith are dead
-faith without works is dead
-everyone should use their gifts to serve others, but word first, then human needs next, though both go hand-in-hand

v. 7 "so the word of God spread"
-what happens when everyone's doing their part

v. 15 "and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel"
-Christ lives in us

burkina 5:
i can't hide from You, Lord.
persecution is ok.

burkina 4:
vs 12: "salvation is found in no one else"
-what are the other things from which i seek salvation? (work, success... etc)

vs 29: "now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness"
-asking the Lord to consider what's at stake... as kinda like leverage in asking for strength

vs 31: "after they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."
-prayers can shake

burkina 3:
vs 6: "but what i have, i give you"
-i can't give what i do not have. i must have Christ first in order to give.

vs 7: "taking him by the right hand"
-peter's ministry and outreach is very hands-on. he cannot work from a distance, but extends himself first.

vs 26: "when God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways"
-what are my wicked ways?
-to be blessed by christ, i must first turn from my wicked ways
-repentance is turning away from wicked ways and turning to God

burkina 2:
vs 33: 'exalted to the right hand of God'
vs 42: 'they devoted themselves'
vs 47: 'and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved'
it takes a village.
it takes a devoted village.
sitting at the right hand of God - at the right ear of God as an intercessor.