Latest / Bible Chat Devotional / February 19 - When Faith Changes What We Practice

Transcript

February 19 - When Faith Changes What We Practice · Bible Chat Devotional

• 0:02
  Welcome to Bible Chat, where we have devotional conversations
• 0:06
  rooted in Scripture and relevant for today, February 19th.
• 0:11
  Living with real integrity. Have you ever been tempted to
• 0:15
  bend the truth just a little, thinking it wouldn't really
• 0:18
  matter? Maybe it was a shortcut on an
• 0:21
  assignment, stretching the facts to look better or hiding
• 0:24
  something because you didn't want to deal with the
• 0:26
  consequences. Those moments feel small, almost
• 0:29
  harmless, but they quietly shape who we're becoming.
• 0:34
  Proverbs Chapter 11, verse one speaks with clarity.
• 0:37
  It says that a false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but
• 0:41
  a just weight is his delight. That means God cares deeply
• 0:45
  about honesty, even when no one else is watching.
• 0:48
  Integrity isn't about perfection.
• 0:51
  It's about alignment. It's choosing to be the same
• 0:54
  person in private that you claim to be in public.
• 0:57
  God doesn't delight in image, He delights in truth.
• 1:01
  We see the power of that kind of honesty in Acts chapter 19.
• 1:05
  The gospel reaches Ephesus, and people don't just say they
• 1:08
  believe, they change. They turn away from deception,
• 1:12
  from practices built on lies and manipulation, and they choose
• 1:16
  truth instead. And Acts chapter 19, verse 20
• 1:20
  tells us that because of this, the word of the Lord continued
• 1:23
  to increase and prevail mightily.
• 1:25
  Integrity didn't weaken the message, it amplified it.
• 1:29
  That's important for us to hear. We sometimes think being honest
• 1:33
  will cost us something, that telling the truth will set us
• 1:36
  back or make life harder. But Scripture shows us the
• 1:39
  opposite. When people choose integrity,
• 1:42
  God's power has room to move. When lives line up with truth,
• 1:46
  the message of Jesus carries weight.
• 1:49
  Real integrity creates real impact.
• 1:51
  This applies to everyday life. The way you handle
• 1:55
  responsibility when no one is checking, the way you speak,
• 1:58
  when gossip would be easier, the way you admit a mistake instead
• 2:02
  of covering it up. Those choices don't just build
• 2:05
  character, they createspace for God to work through you.
• 2:09
  People notice consistency. They notice when your faith is
• 2:12
  real, not just talked about. God isn't asking you to be
• 2:16
  impressive, He's inviting you to be honest.
• 2:19
  Integrity reflects his heart. It shows that your life belongs
• 2:23
  to Him, not just your words. And when you live that way, even
• 2:27
  quietly, God uses it in ways you may never fully see.
• 2:30
  So today, choose the just wait. Choose honesty in the small
• 2:34
  things. Choose truth over convenience.
• 2:37
  Because integrity isn't just about doing the right thing.
• 2:40
  It's about living in a way that allows God's truth to shine
• 2:43
  through you. Let's pray, Heavenly Father,
• 2:47
  thank you that you love truth and delight in integrity.
• 2:50
  Search my heart and show me where I've been tempted to
• 2:53
  compromise or hide. Give me courage to choose
• 2:57
  honesty even when it's uncomfortable.
• 2:59
  Shape my character so my life reflects your heart and use my
• 3:03
  obedience to make your truth known.
• 3:06
  I want my choices to honor you in every part of my life.
• 3:09
  In Jesus name, Amen. What if the way you pray changed
• 3:13
  because you truly knew who God is?
• 3:16
  The Supreme God Part 1 is an 8 book devotional and prayer
• 3:19
  journey that unveils the power, presence and glory of God
• 3:23
  through his biblical names. In Elohim you encounter God, the
• 3:27
  Mighty Creator who forms and sustains all things.
• 3:30
  Yahweh draws you into relationship with the Eternal I
• 3:33
  AM who is present and faithful. Adonai calls you to surrender to
• 3:37
  the Lord and Master who leads and directs your steps.
• 3:41
  El Elian reveals the God Most High, exalted above every power
• 3:45
  and authority. El Shaddai introduces the all
• 3:48
  sufficient God who nourishes and strengthens you.
• 3:51
  El Olam anchors your faith in the everlasting God whose
• 3:54
  purposes never fail. Elroy assures you that you are
• 3:58
  seen, known, and cared for by a compassionate father.
• 4:02
  And El Gabor awakens confidence in the mighty God who defends,
• 4:05
  delivers, and prevails. Through Scripture, devotional
• 4:09
  insight, and prophetic prayer scripts, this series teaches you
• 4:12
  to pray from revelation, worship with understanding, and walk
• 4:15
  boldly in God's character. If you're ready to elevate your
• 4:18
  prayer life and rediscover the God you serve, order the Supreme
• 4:21
  God Part One on Amazon today or visit prayerscripts.org to begin
• 4:25
  your. Journey Now I invite you to
• 4:28
  spend time with God in today's three-year Bible reading plan.
• 4:33
  Proverbs Chapter 11 verse One World English Bible A false
• 4:37
  balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but accurate weights are
• 4:40
  his delight. Acts chapter 19 World English
• 4:44
  Bible While Apollo's was at Corinth, Paul, having passed
• 4:48
  through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain
• 4:51
  disciples. He said to them, Did you receive
• 4:53
  the Holy Spirit when you believed?
• 4:55
  They said to him, no, we haven't even heard that there is a Holy
• 4:58
  Spirit. He said, into what then were you
• 5:01
  baptized? They said into John's baptism.
• 5:04
  Paul said John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance,
• 5:08
  saying to the people that they should believe in the one who
• 5:11
  would come after him, that is, in Christ Jesus.
• 5:14
  When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord
• 5:17
  Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on
• 5:20
  them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke with other
• 5:23
  languages and prophesied. They were about 12 men in all.
• 5:27
  He entered into the synagogue and spoke boldly for a period of
• 5:30
  three months, reasoning and persuading about the things
• 5:33
  concerning God's Kingdom. But when some were hardened and
• 5:36
  disobedient, speaking evil of the way before the multitude, he
• 5:40
  departed from them and separated the disciples, reasoning daily
• 5:44
  in the school of tyrannis. This continued for two years, so
• 5:47
  that all those who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord
• 5:50
  Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. God worked special miracles by
• 5:54
  the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were
• 5:57
  carried away from his body to the sick, and the diseases
• 6:01
  departed from them, and the evil spirits went out.
• 6:04
  But some of the itinerant Jews exorcists took on themselves to
• 6:07
  invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the
• 6:10
  Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul
• 6:14
  preaches. There were seven sons of 1 Seva,
• 6:17
  a Jewish chief priest. Who did this?
• 6:19
  The evil spirit answered. Jesus I know, and Paul I know.
• 6:23
  But who are you? The man in whom the evil spirit
• 6:26
  was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against
• 6:29
  them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
• 6:32
  This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks who lived at
• 6:35
  Ephesus. Fear fell on them all, and the
• 6:38
  name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
• 6:41
  Many also of those who had believed came confessing and
• 6:44
  declaring their deeds. Many of those who practiced
• 6:46
  magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the
• 6:49
  sight of all. They counted their price and
• 6:52
  found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver.
• 6:55
  So the word of the Lord was growing and becoming mighty.
• 6:58
  Now after these things had ended, Paul determined in the
• 7:01
  spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Echaya to
• 7:04
  go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see
• 7:08
  Rome, having sent into Macedonia two of those who served him,
• 7:12
  Timothy and Erastus. He himself stayed in Asia for a
• 7:16
  while. About that time there rose no
• 7:18
  small disturbance concerning the way, for a certain man named
• 7:22
  Demetrius, A silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis,
• 7:26
  brought no little business to the Craftsman whom he gathered
• 7:29
  together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs,
• 7:33
  you know that by this business we have our wealth.
• 7:35
  You see and hear that not at Ephesus alone, but almost
• 7:39
  throughout all Asia. This Paul has persuaded and
• 7:42
  turned away many people, saying that they are no gods that are
• 7:45
  made with hands. Not only is there danger that
• 7:48
  this our trade come into disrepute, but also that the
• 7:52
  temple of the great goddess Artemis will be counted as
• 7:55
  nothing. And Her Majesty destroyed whom
• 7:58
  all Asia and the world worships. When they heard this, they were
• 8:02
  filled with anger and cried out, saying, Great is Artemis of the
• 8:05
  Ephesians. The whole city was filled with
• 8:08
  confusion, and they rushed with 1 accord into the theater,
• 8:12
  having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia,
• 8:16
  Paul's companions in travel. When Paul wanted to enter into
• 8:20
  the people, the disciples didn't allow him.
• 8:22
  Certain also of the Asyarcs, being his friends, sent to him
• 8:26
  and begged him not to venture into the theater.
• 8:28
  Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the
• 8:31
  assembly was in confusion. Most of them didn't know why
• 8:35
  they had come together. They brought Alexander out of
• 8:38
  the multitude, the Jews putting him forward.
• 8:40
  Alexander beckoned with his hand and would have made a defense to
• 8:44
  the people, but when they perceived that he was a Jew, all
• 8:47
  with one voice, for a time of about two hours cried out.
• 8:50
  Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
• 8:53
  When the town clerk had quieted the multitude, he said, You men
• 8:56
  of Ephesus, what man is there who doesn't know that the city
• 8:59
  of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great goddess
• 9:02
  Artemis, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?
• 9:05
  Seeing, then, that these things can't be denied, you ought to be
• 9:08
  quiet and to do nothing rash, for you have brought these men
• 9:11
  here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your
• 9:15
  goddess. If, therefore, Demetrius and the
• 9:17
  Craftsman who are with him have a matter against anyone, the
• 9:21
  courts are open and there are proconsules, let them press
• 9:24
  charges against one another. But if you seek anything about
• 9:27
  other matters, it will be settled in the regular assembly.
• 9:31
  For indeed, we are in danger of being accused concerning today's
• 9:34
  riot, there being no 'cause concerning it, we wouldn't be
• 9:38
  able to give an account of this commotion.
• 9:40
  When he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.
• 9:45
  Thanks for joining us on Bible Chat, where Scripture meets
• 9:48
  everyday life. If today's devotional encouraged
• 9:51
  you, share it with a friend and be sure to follow the podcast so
• 9:55
  you won't miss the next conversation.
• 9:57
  Until next time, stay rooted in truth, anchored in hope, and
• 10:01
  walking daily with Jesus.