By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 20:1-16 Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV) When Jesus spoke the final words of Acts 1:8 to His disciples, they may not have realized the monumental task ahead of them. Many would, and still do, risk their lives to spread this message. Anyone believing that the message of the gospel

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 90-91 Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most HighShall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (NKJV) Living in a fallen world means we live in a world full of chaos, hatred, and evil. With 24-hour news, the internet, and social media, we are constantly bombarded with what is happening in the world. Isaiah 26:3 reminds us that perfect peace comes when we focus our attention on God, which is not easy to do when the wo

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 19:21-41 John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you [a]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (NKJV) Jesus reminds us that He spoke so we may have peace, but in the world, we will have tribulation, but we need not fear because Jesus overcame the world (John 16:33). The riot in Ephesus in this text is an example of how persecution can come because of th

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 89:30-52 Psalm 89:52 Blessed be the Lord forevermore!Amen and Amen. (NKJV) In times of struggle, when we are waiting on the Lord to meet our need, it can seem that God has forgotten us. It is at these times we must turn to the Word of God and have faith in his promises to his people, knowing He has not forgotten us. In this psalm, the psalmist Ethan laments the appearance that God has forgotten his covenant with David but concludes by

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 19:11-20 Acts 19:15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (NKJV) Since the fall of Adam and Eve, the world has been engaged in spiritual warfare, but God promised a savior in Genesis 3:15. This savior is Jesus Christ, and those who have surrendered their lives to Him can resist the devil (James 4:7), having access to the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). Some Jewish exorcists, seven so

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 89:1-29 Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever;With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. (NKJV) David, the second king of Israel, was promised an eternal covenant with God (2 Samuel 7:1-17). Even though David died, God’s covenant with him is eternal, with the covenant having an eternal existence through Jesus Christ, who conquered death by resurrecting from the grave. Jesus is the Son of

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 18:18-19:10 Acts 19:9-10 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. (NKJV) Paul had been in Corinth and could have remained there in comfort, but he knew his calling was t

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 87-88 Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil;For You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. (NKJV) As we read and study the psalms, we are exposed to raw emotion. The extremes of these emotions are joy and elation and fear and despondency. The psalms in this text are both psalms of Korah and give us a glimpse of a man having elation and joy regarding the city of God a

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 18:1-17 Acts 18:9-10 Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” (NKJV) Paul's ministry has been in motion. He enters a city, speaks in the local synagogue, and persuades some of the Jews that Jesus is the Christ and their Messiah. However, other Jews accuse Paul of blasphemy

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalms 85-86 Psalm 85:13 Righteousness will go before Him, And shall make His footsteps our pathway. (NKJV) The Psalms are the songbook of the Bible and represent an emotional seeking of God with one’s whole heart. The authors of the Psalms are being real and honest with God, opening their hearts to Him, seeking His restoration, mercy, and salvation. The Psalms of this text should challenge us to search our hearts to see if they are hearts

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 17:16-34 Acts 17:22-23 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you. (NKJV) The Apostle Paul was once the greatest persecutor of the church,

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 83-84 Psalm 84:12 O Lord of hosts,Blessed is the man who trusts in You! (NKJV) In the psalms of this text, we see a prayer for God to frustrate the conspiracies of Israel’s enemies against them, and praise for the blessing of dwelling in the House of God. Disciples of Christ can learn from these psalms, with Psalm 83 providing an example of praying for deliverance from the attacks of Satan. However, Psalm 84 reminds us of the blessing

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 17:1-15 John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you [a]will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (NKJV) While it would be nice if everyone hearing the gospel received it with joy, this is not in line with what Jesus said in John 16:33. In the passage of this post, we see Paul and those with him experiencing opposition to declaring the gospel, with them eve

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 81-82 Psalm 82:8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;For You shall inherit all nations. (NKJV) While the invention of the internet makes it easy to access information, it is also easy for anyone to post something that may not be true or even an outright lie. This includes something posted to a blog such as this one. This is why postings to this blog include a link to the scripture referenced, making it possible for readers to verify the sou

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 16:6-40 Acts 16:31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (NKJV) One of the roles of the Holy Spirit in the life of a disciple of Christ is providing direction as a counselor. Paul and Silas experienced this with the Holy Spirit directing them to Macedonia, but this led to their imprisonment and a miraculous jailbreak, leading the keeper of the jail to Christ. God’s plans for us

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 79-80 Psalm 80:19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;Cause Your face to shine,And we shall be saved! (NKJV) Times of trouble in one’s life bring feelings of fear, anxiety, depression, and even despair. It would be nice if becoming a disciple of Christ carried with it a life free of trouble, but that is not what Jesus told us would happen (John 16:33). In these two psalms, Asaph provides a pattern for surviving these times of trouble thro

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 15:30-41, 16:1-5 Acts 16:4-5 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily. (NKJV) After the Jerusalem Council and the resulting Jerusalem Decree, the church was strengthened and continued to grow. However, a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas could have don

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 78:40-72 Psalm 78:70-71 He also chose David His servant,And took him from the sheepfolds;71 From following the ewes that had young He brought him,To shepherd Jacob His people,And Israel His inheritance. (NKJV) In this section of Psalm 78, Asaph provides details of how God delivered his people held captive in Egypt, and gave them an inheritance in the Promised Land by driving out the Canaanites. However, God’s people still rebelled, bu

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Acts 15:1-29 Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (NKJV) Do I do good works to win God’s approval in my life, or am I saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8-9; James 2:14-17)? This is a debate that has lingered in the Church since its beginning, as illustrated in the text of this posting. The decision o

By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher Text: Psalm 78:1-39 Psalm 78:34-35 When He slew them, then they sought Him;And they returned and sought earnestly for God.35 Then they remembered that God was their rock,And the Most High God their Redeemer. (NKJV) The Book of Judges in the Bible chronicles a cycle of following God, rebelling against Him, suffering for this rebellion, seeking repentance, and returning to God. Sadly, the church, throughout its history, has followed this pattern, w