Acts 27:31
"Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved."
Paul was a prisoner headed for Rome. The only way to get to Rome was to take the prisoners by ship. Before they started the journey, Paul warned the centurion that the journey would have "hurt and much damage." Yet, because the shipmaster said it would be fine, the centurion forged forward in the journey.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."
God has a secret agenda in all that He does. Yes, your suspicions are true. God has an agenda with all that He does. He has a reason as to why He wrote His Word. He has a scheme as to why He expects you to live a certain way. You will find this secret agenda is revealed in the verse above. God says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." His agenda is for you to live a peaceful life and to have an expected end.
Acts 22:21
"And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles."
One of the fears Paul had after he got saved was his past. He knew that he would have a hard time serving the LORD since he gave his life before salvation to kill those who were Christians. When Paul got saved, he went to Jerusalem. While there, he was praying in the temple when God told him to quickly get out of Jerusalem because his past would hinder him from witnessing to the Jews. God said, "Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles." God was not done with Paul. God reminded Paul that he lived in a big world, and though the Jews would not hear, the Gentiles would.
Psalm 122:1
"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
My family has gone to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night since the day I was born. When I was a child, my parents knew the importance of church and made sure I was in church every time there was a service. When I became an adult and had my own family, my wife and I have continued this because of the importance of church in ones life.
Acts 14:15
"And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:"
As was prophesied in the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit used men like Paul and Barnabas in a mighty way. While in Lystra, there was a man who was crippled from birth. He had never walked to the store, never played in a ballgame with his friends or taken an early morning walk with his pet. The only way this man could get around was if someone carried him from place to place. There is no doubt this is a truly sad story.
Acts 7:55
"But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,"
The early church came to a point in their growth where the apostles needed help with the administration of the church. They decided that they would seek out seven men who were "full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom." (Acts 6:3) One of those men who was appointed a deacon in the church was Stephen. It is quite interesting that Stephen was not just a man with a title, but it was very evident that he was full of the Holy Ghost. The result of being full of the Holy Ghost was that Saul could not get away from this good man's testimony and his life was eventually change. When you study Stephen's life, you see there were four definite evidences of being full of the Holy Ghost.
Jeremiah 2:21
"Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?"
God asked Israel, "...how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?" God could not understand how Israel could turn from becoming a nation that had everything going for her into a nation that allowed iniquity to abound. Israel was the nation that God salvaged from the nation of Egypt. Israel was a nation that God guided and protected through the wilderness. She was a nation who had seen God work in miraculous ways. She was the only nation to which He personally appeared at Mount Sinai. Yet, she had become a degenerate nation.
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:"
God promised the Christian that in the last days He would pour His Spirit upon "all flesh." It was after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that this would happen. Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, His pouring of the Spirit was only for a select few, but after He ascended to Heaven, He made the pouring of the Spirit available for every believer.
John 13:34
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another."
Jesus had just finished the Last Supper with the disciples. He knew what was about ready to happen. He knew that Judas would betray Him. He knew that Peter would deny Him. He also knew that the rest of the disciples would struggle with Peter's denial, so He wanted to make sure they learned to love as He did. He commanded the disciples to love as He loved so that those who hurt Him would not be pushed aside; rather, they would be given another opportunity to either get saved or to be accepted by other Christians.
Isaiah 57:10
"Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved."
Several years ago when I was still in high school, I worked at a paper factory after school and during the summer. On Friday afternoon before we clocked out, a few of the men would talk about what they were going to do during the weekend. They would often say, "We are going to get smashed this weekend." They would then ask me what I was going to do, as if my Christian lifestyle was inferior to theirs. I responded that I would spend my weekend nights with my family and the daytime trying to reach people for Jesus Christ.