Live In The Unity Of Christ

Ephesians 4:4

"There is one body, and one Spirit

even as ye are called in one

hope of your calling" 

    Here Paul is talking about the Jew and the Gentile which had always been prejudice against each other. The Jews thought the Gentiles were not true followers because they were not circumcised and obedient to the Law of Moses. But over all Paul is talking  about the unity of believers in Christ. And still today there is problems with unity within our Christian families, inside our Church walls and outside the Church walls. The reason being, at times we as believers put ourselves in the center of the plan of Salvation instead of  placing Christ there. We should view our brothers in Christ on an equal level. 

   My Friends, God is sovereign over all races, cultures, problems of humanity (such as social and family situations, and even the unseen beings, "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God," (Eph. 3:10). We are God's chosen people having been set free from sin and made to be equals by Jesus' death and resurrection, we must live in unity of Christ.

Amen!

Reading: Eph. 4:1-16

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

   

Blessed Is The Lord

Psalms 68:19  

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, 

even the God of our salvation. Selah." 

   God's benefits are not few or light, they are loads; and they don't just come once, they come “daily.”  They are never confined to one or two favorites, for God knows we change and what we need changes daily. If He Himself burdens us with sorrow, He gives strength sufficient to sustain it; and if others oppress us, there is no cause for fear, for the Lord will come to the rescue of His people. 

   A world of meaning is condensed into a few words. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light, therefore blessed be the Savior's name for evermore. My Friends, Let us all bless the Prince of Peace! All the saved adore thee, and call thee blessed. 

Amen!

Reading: Ps. 68:18-20

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross life Ministry

The Gifts Of God

Ephesians 1:7-8  

"In whom we have redemption through his blood, 

the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; 

Wherein he hath abounded toward us 

in all wisdom and prudence;" 

    In our verses we study today we come across three of the great conceptions of the Christian faith.    The first is deliverance:.  In every case the conception is the delivering of a man from a situation from which he was powerless to liberate himself or from a penalty which he himself could never have paid, for his own redemption.  
   God delivered men from a situation from which they could never have delivered themselves. That is precisely what Christianity did do for us. When Christianity came into this world we were haunted by the sense of our own powerlessness. We knew the wrongness of the life we were living; and we also know that we were powerless to do anything about it.

   Then we have forgiveness: Even the rich and the strongest people in the world knows that they are in the grip of something they are helpless to deliver themselves from, and they need liberation. It is  that liberation which Jesus Christ brought. It is still true that he can liberate men from slavery of Sin, to the things that attract and disgust them at one and the same time. To put it at its simplest, Jesus can still make bad men good. 
    If there was one thing which men knew it was the sense of sin and the dread of God. Jesus changed all that. He taught men about the love of God. Because Jesus came into the world, men, even in their sin, discovered God's love.  My Friends, as the Scriptures tell us there is wisdom and prudence (sound sense), and Christ brought both of them to us, therefore let us stand on our Christian faith with God's gifts in hand.
Amen!
Reading: Eph. 1:7-8
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

  

In Christ

Ephesians 1:3  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings 

in heavenly places in Christ:" 

   The creating of this body was wrought and planned by the Father: He blessed us, He chose us, He predestined us, He adopted us. All this happened before the foundation of the world, (cf. v. 4).  Paul writes to those at Ephesus, "and to the faithful in Christ Jesus" (v. 1). The little word (in), is the most  important word  of this epistle when it precedes Christ. There have been so many words defining our salvation such as redemption, atonement, justification, reconciliation, propitiation  and the sacrifice of Christ.

   All of these are fine, and each presents one aspect of the many facets of our salvation, None however seem entirely adequate. What does it mean to be saved? This is a question that is answered simply by the Bible term, "in Christ." To be saved means to be in Christ. A sinner who has trusted Christ for his salvation has as much right in heaven as has Christ; or he has no right there at all! 

Amen!

Reading: Eph. 1:1-6

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You 

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Share In All Good Things

Galatians 6:10  

"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, 

especially unto them who are of the household of faith." 

    Paul is being Practical here. He reminds us that Church was and still is really a sharing institution. No Christian should strive to have too much while others had too little. "Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things," (Gal.6:6). So what Paul is saying here is; If a man is teaching you the eternal truths, the least you can do is share with him such material things as you possess. 

    Life holds the scales with an even balance. If a man allows the scales to tip to the lower side of nature, in the end he can expect nothing but trouble. But if he keeps walking on the high side doing the right thing, in the end God will repay. 

   My Friends, Christianity never takes the threat out of Life. What we do need to remember is this. It is the blessed true that God can and does forgive men for their sins, but not even he can wipe out the consequence of sin. For example: If a man sins against his body, sooner or later he will pay in ruined health, even if he is forgiven. If a man sins against his loved ones, sooner or later hearts will be broken even if he is forgiven. We cannot trade on the forgiveness of God. There is a moral law in the universe. If a man breaks it he may be forgiven, but he breaks it at his risk. Let us all remember the duty of generosity, and the old cliche, "No man who ever cast his bread upon the waters found that it did not return some day to him." 
Amen!

Reading: Gal. 6:6-10
Ref: HG SB; BDSB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Bearing Burdens

 Galatians 6:5  

"For every man shall bear his own burden."    

   Paul knew the problems that arose in any Christian society. The best of men slip up, it does not mean a deliberate sin; but a slip as a man on an icy road or a dangerous path. Now, the danger of those who are really trying to live the Christian life is that they are apt to judge the sins of others. Sadly to say but there is some hardness in many a good man. And there are many good people to whom you could not go and tell a story of failure and defeat, because they would probably be unsympathetic.    
However, if a man does make a slip, the real Christian duty is to get him on his feet again. The whole meaning of the word restore, stresses not to tear down, but to rebuild.  
   We are not to compare our achievement with the work of our friends and neighbors, but with what our best would have been. When we do that, there can never be any cause for conceit. When we speak of bearing burdens, there is a kind of burden which comes to a man from the chances and the changes of life. "It is fulfilling the law of Christ to help everyone who has such a burden to carry." 
   My Friends, There is also a burden which man must bear himself. There is a duty which none can do for us and a task for which we must be personally responsible. "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another," (Gal. 6:4). 
 Amen!

Reading: Gal. 6:1-5
Ref: HG SB; BDSB 

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry  

Keep In Step With The Spirit (PT-2)

Galatians 5:21 

"Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: 

of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you 

in time past, that they which do such things 

shall not inherit the kingdom of God." 

   Today we finish the rest of Paul's list of evil words, that if understood will keep us in step with the Spirit. We start with Uncontrolled temper;  the word Paul uses here means bursts of temper. It describes not an anger which lasts but anger which flames out and then dies. Self-seeking; this word has a very illuminating history. It originally meant the work of a hired laborer.  So it came to mean work done for pay. It went on to mean canvassing for political or public office, and it describes the man who wants office, not from any motives of service. but for what he can get out of it. Kinda like our government is today. 
   Dissension; literally the word means a standing apart. Dissension describes a society in which the   members fly apart instead of coming together.  Heretical division; this might be described as crystallized dissension. The word is hairesis (G139), from which comes our word heresy. It was not originally a bad word at all. It comes from a root which means to choose, and it was used for a philosopher's school of followers or for any band of people who shared a common belief. The tragedy of life is that people who hold different views very often finish up by disliking, not each others' views, but each other. It should be possible to differ with a man and yet remain friends. 
   Envy; is a mean word. It has been called  "the greatest of all diseases among men." The essence of it is that it does not describe the spirit which desires, nobly or ignobly, to have what someone else has: it describes the spirit which grudges the fact that the other person has these things at all. It does not so much want the things for itself; it merely wants to take them from the other. 
   Drunkenness; in the ancient world this was not a common vice. The Greeks drank more wine than they did milk; even children drank wine. But they drank it in the proportion of three parts of water to two of wine. Greek and Christian alike would have condemned drunkenness as a thing which turned a man into a beast. Actually we still do today.
   Revellings;  is a wild and fun time, if you enjoy the revelry of  New Year's Eve party, you might pay for parting hard the next day. But because it comes from the french word reveler meaning to rebel, it's tone indicates carousing or noisy partying. My Friend,s When we get to the root meaning of these words, we see that life has not changed so very much. 

Amen!

Reading: Gal. 5:16-21
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Keep In Step With The Spirit (PT-1)

Galatians 5:16  

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, 

and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh;"

  

    No man was ever more conscious of the tension in human nature than Paul. For Paul it was essential that Christian freedom should mean not freedom to indulge the lower side of human nature, but freedom to walk in the life of the Spirit. He gives us a list of evil things. Every word he uses has a picture behind it. Lets start with, Fornication; it has been said, and said truly, that the one completely new virtue Christianity brought into the world was chastity. Christianity came into a world where sexual immorality was not only condoned, but was regarded as essential to the ordinary working of life.  

   Impurity, is used of that ceremonial cleanness which entitles a man to approach his gods. Impurity, then, is that which makes a man unfit to come before God, the soiling of life with the things which separate us from God. Wantonness; It has been defined as "readiness for any pleasure." The man who practices it has been said to know no restraint, but to do whatever is desired. Josephus ascribed it to Jezebel when she built a temple to Baal in Jerusalem. The idea is that of a man who is so far gone in desire that he has ceased to care what people say or think. 
   Idolatry; this means the worship of gods which the hands of men have made. It is the sin in which material things have taken the place of God. Witchcraft; this literally means the act of  administering drugs and given of magical potions. It can mean the beneficent use of drugs by a doctor; but it can also mean poisoning, and it came to be very specially connected with the use of drugs for sorcery, of which the ancient world was full of.
   Enmity; the idea is that of the man who is characteristically hostile to his fellow men; it is the precise opposite of the Christian virtue of love for the brethren and for all men. Strife; originally this word had mainly to do with the rivalry for prizes. It can even be used in a good sense in that connection, but much more commonly it means the rivalry which has found its outcome in heated arguments and disputes. Jealousy; this being from which our word zeal comes and was originally a good word. It meant effort to match or surpass the desire to attain to nobility when we see it. But it degenerated and became to mean the desire to have what someone else has. A wrong desire for what is not for us.

Amen! 

Reading: Gal. 5:16-21
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Heart Of Man

Proverbs 14:10  

"The heart knoweth his own bitterness;

and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy." 

   The bitterness of his soul, the distress of his conscience, the anguish of his mind; for the heart of man only knows the whole of it. Some of it may be known to others by his looks, his words, and gestures, but not all of it, "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God," (1 Cor. 2:10).  Bitterness of soul often arises from outward troubles, pains, and diseases of body, losses, crosses, and disappointments. Sometimes it is upon spiritual accounts; but this is not the case of every heart. The hardened and hardhearted sinner feels nothing of it, only those who are awakened and convinced by the Spirit of God, to these, sin is a bitter thing in itself. It puts the want of repentance in them, it brings trembling and astonishment on them, fills them with shame and confusion of face, and severe reflections upon themselves seeing sin in its own colors. 

   Spiritual joy, passes the understanding of a natural man; he has no true idea of it: spiritual joy is what a sensible sinner partakes of upon the Gospel, the joyful sound of salvation, reaching his ears and his heart, at the revelation of Christ in him and to him. When pardoning grace is made to his soul, and he has the complete righteousness of Christ, then he is favored with a sight of the fullness of grace in Christ, and of the spiritual and eternal salvation that Christ has wrought out for him. He enjoys communion with God, and when he has a glimpse of eternal glory, and with the work of grace in his heart and well grounded hope, meekness and spiritual joy, that no stranger can interrupt nor take it away.      
Amen!

Reading: Devotional Scripture
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Freed From The Law

Galatians 3:13  

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being

made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed 

is every one that hangeth on a tree:" 

      Paul's argument seeks to drive his opponents into a corner from which there is no escape. Suppose, he says, "You decide that you are going to try to win God's approval by accepting and obeying the law. What would be the consequence?" First of all, the man who does that has to stand or fall by his decision; if he chooses the law he has got to live by it. Second, no man ever has succeeded and no man ever will succeed in always keeping the law. Third, if that being so, you are accursed, because scripture itself says, "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen" (Deut. 27:26). Therefore, of trying to get right with God by making the law the principle of life is a curse. 
     But scripture has another saying, "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith," (Hab. 2;4). The only way to get into a right relationship with God, and therefore the only way to peace, is the way of faith. But the principle of law and the principle of faith are completely opposite; you cannot direct your life by both at the same time; you must choose; and the only logical choice is to abandon the way of legalism and to venture upon the way of faith, of taking God at His word and of trusting in His love. 
   How can we know this is so? The answer to this truth is Jesus Christ; He brought this truth to the world and He had to die upon a Cross. For, Scripture says, "His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance," (Deu. 21:23). and so to free us of the curse of the law, Jesus himself had to become accursed.
   My Friends, As Believers, we must never forget that the peace, the liberty, and the right relationship with God that Believers possess, cost the life and death of Jesus Christ, for how could men ever have known what God was like unless Jesus Christ had died to tell them of his great love.
Amen!

Reading: Gal. 3:10-14
HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Unity Is Essential

Galatians 2:11  

"But when Peter was come to Antioch, 

I withstood him to the face, because 

he was to be blamed."

   Here in Antioch arose a terrible problem. The Jews and the Gentiles sit down together at a common meal. If the old law was to be observed it was obviously impossible. Peter came to Antioch and, at first, disregarding the old standards in the glory of the new faith, he shared the meal with Jew and Gentile. Then came in the Jewish party from Jerusalem. They used James' name although quite certainly they were not representing his views, and they worked on Peter so much that he withdrew from the meal. The other Jews withdrew with him and finally even Barnabas got up an moved as well. It was then that Paul spoke with all the intensity of which his passionate nature was capable, for he saw certain things quite clearly.

   A church ceases to be Christian if it contains distinctions. In the presence of God a man is neither Jew nor Gentile, noble nor base, rich nor poor; he is a sinner for whom Christ died. If men share in a common son-ship they must be brothers. 

   Paul saw that action was necessary to stop what just had occurred. He did not wait; he struck.  It made no difference to him that this problem was connected with the name and conduct of Peter. It was wrong and that was all that mattered to Paul.

   My Friends, a famous name can never justify an infamous action. Paul's action gives us an example of how one strong man by his steadfastness can see a obvious infraction and fix it before it becomes a problem.

Amen!

Reading: Gal. 2:11-13

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

Paul's Gospel Of Free Grace

Galatians 1:3-4  

"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our

Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that 

he might deliver us from this present evil world

according to the will of God and our Father"

   Paul's gospel was a gospel of free grace. He believed with all his heart that nothing a man could do, could ever earn the love of God. All man could do is ask for God's mercy in an act of faith. But the important thing is, is not what we can do for ourselves but what God has done for us.
   Paul was accused of making religion far too easy. This accusation was the reverse of the truth. If religion consists of fulfilling rules and regulations, it would at least be theoretically possible to satisfy it's demands, but Paul is holding up the Cross and saying, "God loved you liked that.'' Religion is not a matter of satisfying the law, but meeting the obligation of love. 
   My Friend's, Paul was not preaching the Gospel to be favored among men. He preached because he believed and he loved Christ, no matter the consequences. It is when others see that we are prepared to suffer for our faith which we say we hold that they begin to believe that we really hold it. If our faith cost us nothing, men will value it at nothing.  
Amen!

Reading: Gal. 1:1-10
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Responsibility Of Privilege

Romans 2:1  

"Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: 

for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; 

for thou that judgest doest the same things."

   The Jew believed that everyone was destined for judgment except himself. It would not be any special goodness which kept him immune from the wrath of God, but simply the fact that he was a Jew. He thought that he occupied a privileged position. God might be the judge of the heathen, but he was the special protector of the Jews. Here Paul is pointing out to the Jew that he is just as much a sinner as the Gentile is and that when he is condemning the Gentile, he is condemning himself. He will be judged, not on his racial heritage, but by the kind of life that he lives.
   The attitudes among believers and non-believers today are not different than from the Jews and Gentiles. For example, Some believers think, that everyone is destined for judgment except themselves. It would not be any special goodness which kept them immune from the wrath of God,but simply the fact that they are believers. The non-believer is constantly against religious rights and just flat out denies that there is a God. 
   We must remind ourselves, the same as Paul reminded the Jews. He told them bluntly that they were trading on the mercy of God. He asks them: "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 
(Rom. 2:4). 
   My Friends, Let us think of it in human terms. Suppose a young person does something which is a shame, a sorrow and a heartbreak to his parents, and because they love him, he is freely forgiven, and the thing is never held against him. He can do one of two things. He can either go and do the same thing again, trading on the fact that he will be forgiven once more; or he can be so moved to wondering gratitude by the free forgiveness that he has received, that he spends his whole life in trying to be worthy of it. It is one of the most shameful things in the world to use love's forgiveness as an excuse to go on sinning. That is what the Jews were doing. That is what so many people still do. The "Mercy and Love of God" are not meant to make us feel that we can sin and get away with it; they are meant so to break our hearts that we will seek never to sin again. 
Amen!

Reading: Rom. 2:1-11
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

  

Christ Strengthens Me

Philippians 4:12-13  

"I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where 

and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, 

both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things 

through Christ which strengtheneth me." 

   This power can satisfy. It was not that he was dissatisfied with his own state, for he had learned the gift of content. We must understand that contentment is not complacency; it is containment. The abiding Christ within Paul's body assured him of his satisfaction. 

   Which brings us to two kinds of Christians: (1) The thermometer believer. His satisfaction is totally dependent upon outside circumstances. He simply registers the prevailing spiritual temperatures. (2) The Thermostat believer. His satisfaction is totally independent of the outside circumstances. He is not only unaffected by it, but actually controls that area surrounding him.

   This Power can Supply. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  So Lets just summarize what it means to be in Christ. My Friends, To be in Christ means Salvation. To work through Christ means sanctification. To live for Christ means dedication. To surrender to Christ means consecration. To be with Christ means glorification.  I close with this, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19). 

Amen!

Reading: Phil. 4:10-19

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You 

And Your Family 

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross life Ministry

    

   

 

The Love of God

John 3:16 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should 

not perish, but have everlasting life."  

   This tells us the width of God's love. It was the world that God so loved. It was not a nation; it was not the good people; it was not only the people who loved him; it was the world. The unlovable and the unlovely, the lonely who have no one else to love them. The man who loves God and the man who never thinks of him, the man who rests in the love of God, all are included in this inclusive love of God. 
   My Friends, God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love." and that's the way we should love Him. Why? Because each day is a new beginning and things of yesterday are gone. "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day," (2 Cor 4:16).
Amen!

Reading: Devotional Scripture
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You 

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

Look Out To God

Romans 1:21-22  

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, 

neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, 

and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing 

themselves to be wise, they became fools," 

    What did the sinner do? Instead of looking out to God, he looked into himself. He involved himself in vain speculations and thought he was wise, while all the time he was a fool. Why? He was a fool because he made his ideas, his opinions, his speculations the standard and the law of life, instead of the will of God. The sinner's folly consisted in making "man the master of things." He found his standards in his own opinions and not in the laws of God. He lived in a self-centered instead of a God-centered universe. Instead of walking looking out to God he walked looking into himself, and, like any man who does not look where he is going, he falls.
   My Friends, let us not be all about ourselves, and how we do things in life, or what we think we can gain by having our own standards concerning life as we see it. For we are mere sinners saved by  God's Grace. No matter what our calling may be from God, it will all be done under the same Grace.
Amen!

Reading: Romans 1:18-22
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry  

Paul's Last Journey (PT-3 Paul Sails To Rome)

Acts 28:11-12 

"And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, 

which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor 

and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, 

we tarried there three days." 

   In the early Part of the Spring, they board a new boat and sail for Rome. Paul is met by some Roman Believers both at Puteoli (forty three miles from Rome. And (35 miles from Rome at the Three Taverns he was met by believers again. Note the phrase in (v-28:15), "to meet us." is the same word found concerning the Rapture of all Believers in 1 Thessalonians. 4:17, where we read, "to meet the Lord in the air." It is a term regularly used of the official welcome given by a delegation who went out to meet a visiting official and accompany him into the city.

   When Paul arrives in Rome he is granted great freedom, by being guarded by only one soldier. Soon after his arrival he assembles the local Jewish leaders to explain who he is and why he is in Rome appealing to Caesar. The Jews are curious to hear his strange message about Christ. After his sermon, some accept the Savior, but of course, many do not. 
   This would be the last of seven recorded defenses of his ministry by the apostle. Here are the other six. Before the Jerusalem mob (Acts 22:1-23, before the chief captain (Acts 22:24-30), before the Sanhedrin (Acts 23:1-10), before Felix (Acts 24:10-23), before Festus (Acts 25:8-12, and before Agrippa (Acts 26:1-32.
   To the unbelieving Paul quotes the words of Isaiah, "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed," Is. 6:9-10). 
    Luke ends his remarkable account with the following words: "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him, (Acts 28:30-31). 
   My Friends, Paul did not stop here. It was during this time that Paul wrote , Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Philippians. However it is believed by many that Paul was released after the two years and traveled around once more preaching Christ before his final arrest and martyrdom in Rome. It was probably during this time that Paul wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. 
   Paul was one of the most Godly person in the Bible except for Jesus Christ. Paul was a believer that never gave up no matter the situation he was in, or the pain he had to ignore. I pray that we all stand firm for our beliefs and serve our Lord with every ounce of strength we have. 
Amen!

Reading: Acts 28:11-31
Ref: HG SB, WGTTB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

Paul's Last Journey (PT-2 The Shipwreck)

Acts 27:44  

"And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken 

pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, 

that they escaped all safe to land."  

   After Paul told them to be of good cheer; he says, "for I believe God that it will be just as it was told to me. Then He warns everyone to stay on board and not attempt to lower the life boat, and encourages everyone to eat by publicly saying grace over his bread. Soon after the entire 276 souls on board begin to eat, (v-27:36). 

   At daybreak the ship hits a sand bar and runs aground. Julius the centurion denies the soldiers request to kill the prisoners even if they could escape, and orders all to swim for the nearby island of Melita. Soon every single person is safely ashore. The people of Melita treated the shivering survivors with kindness, built a bonfire on the beach to get them warm. Paul is suddenly bitten by a poisonous serpent which has hidden itself among the firewood that Paul help to gather. But to the amazement of all, he suffers absolutely no discomfort whatsoever.  

   My Friends, This event was a direct fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy in Mark and Luke, "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover," (Mark 16:18),  Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you," (Luke 10:19).  Note: Paul did not pick up the serpent directly, the serpent was within the wood that Paul picked up. "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God," (Matt 4:7). During the three month stay on the island, Paul heals many including the father of Publius, governor of the island. Tomorrow (PT -3 Paul Sails To Rome).
Amen! 

Reading: Acts 27:39-44
               Acts 28: 1-10
Ref: HG SB, WGTTB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry 

  

Paul's Last Journey Begins

Acts 27:2
  "And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, 

meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, 

a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us."

   Luke now joins Paul who is placed aboard a ship sailing west with some other prisoners in the custody of Julius, a member of the imperial guard. This Roman official would later treat Paul with great Kindness and respect, (Acts 27:1-3). After some difficult sailing, they arrived at Fair Havens on the southern side of Crete. The time was around about late autumn. In those days it was the dangerous season  for sailing was from September 14 through November 11. After these dates all navigation on the open sea was discontinued. In spite of this knowledge, and over the protest of Paul  who had already been through a least three shipwrecks, "Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep," (2 Cor. 11-25), the boat Captain set sail for Phenice, and stay the winter there.
   Soon however,  they are caught up in the grip of a winter typhoon. One of the must vivid accounts of a storm in recorded history is described by Luke. The ship is blown far out to sea completely out of control. The terrified sailors band the ship with ropes to strengthen the hull. the following day as the seas grow higher they throw the cargo overboard. The next day all the tackle and loose objects are are also discarded. After fourteen frightful and desperate days Luke writes, "And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we souls be saved was then taken away," (Acts 27:20).
   Paul,this fearless apostle of God appears and standing on the water soaked deck, Sirs, if you had listened to me, and not sailed from Crete we would not have gained this harm and loss. (v. 21). Then Paul tells them to be of good cheer for there will be no loss of any man's life, only the ship. For there stood beside me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, "Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee," (Acts 27:24.) We will continue with (PT-2) The Ship Wreck  Tomorrow.
Amen!

Reading: Acts: 27: 1-38
Ref: HG SB, WGTTB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.
The Cross Life Ministry

A Plot To Kill Paul

Acts 23:21  

"But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, 

which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink 

till they have killed him: and now are they ready, 

looking for a promise from thee."   

   Here we see two things. First, we see the lengths to which the Jews would go to kill Paul. Under certain circumstances the Jews regarded murder as justifiable. So forty men put themselves under a vow. The vow was called A cherem, which means destroy, and it is also referred to as the ban. When a man took such a vow he said, "May God curse me if I fail to do this." These men vowed neither to eat nor drink, and put themselves under the ban of God, until they had assassinated Paul.
   Second we see the lengths to which the Roman government would go in order to administrate impartial justice. Paul was a prisoner; but he was a Roman citizen. God has all things at His disposal. A nephew of Paul's, never mentioned elsewhere, hears of an ambush laid for him and warns him of it. Paul sends him to the chief captain, who expedites the departure of Paul under a guard to Caesarea. Therefore a Roman Commander quickly removes Paul that very night to Caesarea, protected by 470 armed soldiers. He sends a letter ahead to Felix in Caesarea, explaining why Paul is being sent to him. 
  My Friends, We are on different ground here. God watched over him, but all is on the level of human divine foresight an opportune ways. There is not the angel as in Peter's case, nor the earthquake as at Philippi. 
Amen!

Reading: Acts 23: 12-30
Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

Paul's Farewell Visit To Troas

Acts 20:7  

"And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came 

together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready 

to depart on the morrow; and continued 

his speech until midnight."

   At Troas a young man named Eutychus accidentally falls to his death from an upper balcony after falling asleep during a midnight sermon preached by Paul. To a great relief to all, Paul raises him from the dead and continues his sermon. At dawn Paul leaves for Jerusalem.

   Although Paul was in Troas seven days (v. 6), apparently neither he or the local church met for breaking of bread until the first day of the week (v. 7). The fact that Paul and others sometimes attended Sabbath services in Jewish Synagogues (17:1-3) does not prove that the apostolic Church kept the seventh day as a special day of worship. It only shows that the early missionaries took the Gospel message wherever and whenever they found people gathered together. This fact can be seen in all Paul's Missionary Journeys.

   This witness was carried on daily in every possible way. (cf. 1 Cor. 9:19-22). The early churches were specifically warned against submitting themselves to the bondage of any legalistic observance of Sabbath days, (Col. 2:16, cf. Gal. 4:9-11). These same churches voluntarily chose the first day of the week as an appropriate time for fellowship and worship (Acts 20:7, 1 Cor 16:2), the day on which the Lord arose and repeatedly appeared to His disciples, (John 20:19-24, 25-29). 

   My Friends, It was a new day for a new people belonging to a new creation, a day of commemoration, joy, service and spiritual rest. What the disciples had and felt that day, we as believers have all of it, all day every day, because of that same Jesus that died on Calvary for the world.

Amen!

Reading: Acts 20:7:16

Ref: HG SB  

May God Bless you

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry

The Sons Of Sceva

Acts 19:11-12  

"And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: So that from 

his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, 

and the diseases departed from them, and the 

evil spirits went out of them." 

   A family of vagabond Jews composed of  Sceva, a chief  priest, and his seven sons had been watching Paul do his mighty miracles and decided to attempt a little exorcism on their own. They seen a demon possessed man, so they cried out over him the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth,"(Acts 19:13b.) 

   What followed would be amusing if it were not so tragic. " And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded," (Acts 19:15-16).

   Exorcism is a dangerous thing unless the exorcist is anointed by the Holy Spirit. This story quickly spread throughout the city and resulted in a great revival. Many believers who had been practicing black magic confessed their deeds. Over $10,000 worth of occult books and magic charms were then burned at a public bonfire.

   My Friends, there are still evil spirits working all around us today. But there is no spirits like Paul's around today. Most of us is just sinners saved by grace and trying to walk the straight and narrow to make it through the gates of Heaven. We might not be Paul but if  you are a child of God, and anointed by the Holy Spirit there is no limit, because God is in charge! "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you, " (Prov. 1:23). 

Amen!

Reading: Acts 19: 11-22

Ref: HG SB

May God Bless You

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry