{"id":4601,"date":"2016-01-10T00:05:01","date_gmt":"2016-01-10T05:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/?p=4601"},"modified":"2016-01-09T21:51:18","modified_gmt":"2016-01-10T02:51:18","slug":"daily-rcl-bible-reading-devotional-january-10th-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/2016\/01\/10\/daily-rcl-bible-reading-devotional-january-10th-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily RCL Bible Reading Devotional \u2013 January 10th, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<strong>Scripture Reading(s)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span id=\"en-NIV-27923\" class=\"text Acts-28-23\"><span class=\"versenum\">23\u00a0<\/span>They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God,\u00a0and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets\u00a0he tried to persuade them about Jesus.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-27924\" class=\"text Acts-28-24\"><span class=\"versenum\">24\u00a0<\/span>Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe.<\/span>\u00a0<span id=\"en-NIV-27925\" class=\"text Acts-28-25\"><span class=\"versenum\">25\u00a0<\/span>They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: \u201cThe Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he saidthrough Isaiah the prophet:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"poetry top-05\">\n<p class=\"line\"><span id=\"en-NIV-27926\" class=\"text Acts-28-26\"><span class=\"versenum\">26\u00a0<\/span>\u201c\u2018Go to this people and say,<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text Acts-28-26\">\u201cYou will be ever hearing but never understanding;<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Acts-28-26\">you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.\u201d<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span id=\"en-NIV-27927\" class=\"text Acts-28-27\"><span class=\"versenum\">27\u00a0<\/span>For this people\u2019s heart has become calloused;<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Acts-28-27\">they hardly hear with their ears,<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Acts-28-27\">and they have closed their eyes.<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text Acts-28-27\">Otherwise they might see with their eyes,<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Acts-28-27\">hear with their ears,<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"indent-1\"><span class=\"indent-1-breaks\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"text Acts-28-27\">understand with their hearts<\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"text Acts-28-27\">and turn, and I would heal them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"line\"><span class=\"versenum\">28\u00a0<\/span>\u201cTherefore I want you to know that God\u2019s salvation\u00a0has been sent to the Gentiles,\u00a0and they will listen!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Reflections<\/h2>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Picture.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2766\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-2766\" src=\"http:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Picture-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Lydia.jpg\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Picture-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Picture-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Picture-198x198.jpg 198w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>An\u00a0author once said that &#8220;The gift of Christ is for anyone who wants to receive it.&#8221; Rebellion is often a reality in the hearts of those who are exposed to the truth of the gospel and choose to reject it. When I was fifteen, I was exposed to the gospel message. I remember I was faced with the reality of my sin and thinking that I had to make a choice. I could either choose to accept Christ in to my heart or reject it. Accepting the truth of the message of the gospel was the best decision I could have ever made.<\/p>\n<p>In this passage we see how Paul longingly tries to convince his listeners to the message of the gospel. He appeals to them through the use of the Old Testament in attempt to prove to them that Jesus was the Messiah. \u00a0The truth of the matter is that when you are faced with the message of what Jesus has done for you, there is always a response that must be given. God longs for us to turn and give our hearts over to Him. My prayer is that when you come to the realization that Christ loved and died for you so that you would not have to, your heart becomes broken and open to Christ coming into your life.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The more I learn about the sin in my own heart, the more I want to know God&#8217;s grace. (AW Tozer)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<hr \/>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Justin-Holmes1.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4182\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-4182\" src=\"http:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Justin-Holmes1-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"Justin-Holmes1.jpg\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Justin-Holmes1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Justin-Holmes1-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Justin-Holmes1-198x198.jpg 198w, https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Justin-Holmes1-180x180.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p>Therefore I want you to know that God\u2019s salvation\u00a0has been sent to the Gentiles,\u00a0and they will listen! (Acts 28:28)<\/p>\n<p>Jesus came first for the Jews and then to the gentiles (Romans 1:16, Matthew 15:24). Paul did his ministry in a similar way. The passage in acts 28 records Paul&#8217;s words to a group of Jews who refused to believe that Jesus was the messiah. Paul would enter each town, go to the synagogues, and then when the Jews rejected his message he went to the gentiles. What can we learn from Paul&#8217;s charge in Acts 28?<\/p>\n<p>God has a plan and a purpose for everyone. However, if you reject the gospel it can and will pass you by. Do not end up the those in the gospels who rejected Jesus and lost out on eternal life.\u00a0Luckily God is patient and he will accept anyone, even at the 11th hour.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Scripture Reading(s) 23\u00a0They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God,\u00a0and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets\u00a0he tried to persuade them about Jesus.\u00a024\u00a0Some were convinced &#8230; <a title=\"Daily RCL Bible Reading Devotional \u2013 January 10th, 2016\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/2016\/01\/10\/daily-rcl-bible-reading-devotional-january-10th-2016\/\" aria-label=\"More on Daily RCL Bible Reading Devotional \u2013 January 10th, 2016\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12227,"featured_media":4602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,2280],"tags":[2347,2286,2346,2344,2284,2285,2345],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12227"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}