(Romans 12:1-18)

Jesus is Passionate. He is I AM. If you say "I am struggling", Jesus is with you in your struggle because He is I AM. Jesus is with us in and through everything. Jesus literally created us to be a part of Him in every way possible. He is present and wants us to invite Him into every moment of every part of our lives and experience His presence wholly.

In Acts 16 & 17, Paul, Silas, and Timothy continued together on the 2nd missionary journey of Paul. The Holy Spirit closed some doors and opened others, leading them exactly where the Lord wanted them to be for people who were ready to hear the Gospel Message of Salvation. Paul wasn't alone in his travels or his ministry. Building community and friendships is especially important when we endure seasons of suffering and persecution, because those times will come. We need people who are desperate for Jesus, people we trust, to stand by us and help fight in the battle either through prayer or words of encouragement. We are not to live isolated. As a child of God, we are a part of the family of God. We are not alone and not meant to be alone. We need to keep trusting the Lord, trust that He knows where He's leading us. We need to trust that His plans are good. We need to press on. The Lord will strengthen us as we go and as we wait. We need to listen to His Spirit guiding us. God's plans are always the best plans and worth the journey, every step of the way.

In Acts 14 & 15, Paul and Barnabas continue on the mission Jesus assigned - spreading the Gospel message of Jesus to the ends of the earth. They experienced severe persecution along the way, but they stayed on mission no matter what as they followed the lead of the Holy Spirit and saved lives for eternity. We are not here to merely "hang out and collect things" until we die. We are here to save souls for eternity. We have a mission and a commission from Jesus Himself to spread His message and make disciples wherever He sends us, one person at a time. When we humbly surrender our hearts and wills to Jesus trusting that He will strengthen us through anything and everything that comes, we can be the voice Jesus created us to be. Jesus said the world will know us by our love and unity so we need to unite and stay laser focused on Jesus and the mission He assigned. We can choose to humbly gather together and follow the Holy Spirit and His wisdom in every step and every exhale.

In Acts 13, we see Saul transition to Paul and "Barnabas and Paul" transition to "Paul and Barnabas" as the Lord works in Paul's life leading him, training him, and preparing him for the mission on his life the Lord had assigned to him. As we press on in prayer, seek the Lord, read His Word, and walk through the doors the Lord lead us to and through, He will lead us right where He wants us to be. He will lead us right to where we have always meant to be. We need to trust the Lord and His direction, trust His will, and trust His perfect timing. The Lord wants His Kingdom full and He has given us each gifts and talents that He intends to be used for that exact mission. The Lord doesn't want to lose a single soul.

In Acts 12, Herod put Peter in prison with the intent to have him executed. While Peter was imprisoned, Christ followers prayed - the church prayed. Prayer is powerful. We need to pray. We need to unite and pray together. We need to pray passionately and intensely with all our guts. We need to pray and trust God for His will and His outcome that will surely come in His perfect time. The Lord answered their prayers and Peter was miraculously set free from prison. The Lord sent an angel to set Peter free, but the prayers of the Lord's children sent the angel. The people who had joined together were shocked to find that the Lord not only heard their prayers, He answered them and Peter was free. The Lord will answer our prayers according to His will and in His perfect time. We need to keep praying and trust Him with every outcome. He is faithful.

In Acts 11, after Cornelius and his family and friends accepted the Gospel message and surrendered their hearts and lives to Jesus, Peter had to defend them to the other Messianic Jews in the nation. Word preceded Peter and reached Jerusalem before he returned and he was greeted with opposition and offense. Peter gave witness to all that had happened and as they listed to the vision and direction the Lord had sent Peter, how the Lord moved through His Spirit to the Gentiles, and how the Word of God carried that power forth, their offense was silenced. They responded by rejoicing and praising the Lord for this mighty move. They realized quickly that Jesus came to earth, died on the cross, and rose from the grave defeating sin and death for anyone and everyone who repents and entrusts their hearts to Him. Jesus has no favorites. Anything is possible with the Lord and He will use the impossible to draw people to His mighty Name and His powerful Love. We are not to judge others, live in disbelief or hinder God or His Spirit. The Gospel, the power of God, and His authority are gifts for anyone who hungers and thirsts for the hope that can only be found in Jesus.

(Romans 8:12-39)

The love Jesus has for each of us is the love that sent Him to the cross for us. The love Jesus has for us is the perfect holy love that kept Him on the cross for us as He endured our judgment in our places. Jesus gave us a whole Book that reveals who He is, how much He loves us, what He's like, and how greatly He thinks of us. It's up to us to open His Book and become desperate for Jesus - falling more and more in love with Him as we do.

In Acts 10, Cornelius, a Gentil centurion from Caesarea, sees an angel sent by God in a vision giving him directions to send for Peter. In Joppa, Peter also had a vision from the Lord, however he didn't understand it fully yet. When Peter was called on by Cornelius' messengers, Peter followed the direction of the Holy Spirit immediately and went with them. Confident in what he had heard from the Lord, Cornelius anticipated a message coming with Peter and invited everyone he knew to his home to hear the message. The Lord clarified for Peter what he had been shown and Peter knew he was to share the Gospel message with the Gentiles and they all received the message joyfully. The Holy Spirit fell on them and the Gentile Pentecostal Revival began. Cultural, religious, and social barriers were broken allowing the Spirit of God to move mightily and save lives for eternity. We need to be obedient to the Lord first, and follow wherever He leads no matter what. He may be wanting to do something different and move in a whole new direction to save lives - now and for all eternity.

In Acts 9, Saul was traveling on the road to Damascus on mission to find followers of Jesu and bring them back to Jerusalem in chains as prisoners. However, the Lord met him on that road and changed his life from the inside out forever from that day forth. Saul experienced Jesus personally and powerfully. The scales from his eyes were removed and he could now see the truth - the truth of Jesus and that He truly is alive - He truly is our Savior! He began preaching boldly about Jesus to everyone he met wherever he went. Jesus forgives our sins. It is finished. He has forgiven us, not because we have earned it or deserve it, but because He loves us that much. He offers us joy, mercy, compassion, hope, and peace that passes all understanding. It's up to us to repent and accept His gift - His salvation offer. It truly has a give of utterly amazing grace.

In Acts 8, the Lord led Phillip to leave a revival breaking out in Samaria and to head out to the desert. Phillip ran excitedly to where the Lord led him and the Lord led him to an Ethiopian man in a chariot. The man was reading from the prophet Isaiah about our Messiah, the Suffering Servant. He didn't understand what he was reading and Phillip was able to explain the Gospel message of Salvation to him. He excitedly received Jesus and wanted to be baptized instantly! There was no reason not to baptize him right then and there as they came to a body of water so that is just what Phillip did. The Word of God teaches us to love, listen, discern, and respond as we live out His Word in our daily lives and interact with those He places around us. We are all commissioned to spread the Gospel message to the ends of the earth - one person at a time - and trust the Lord with the outcome as we follow His lead in every single step.