As Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He stopped at a village in between Samaria and Galilee and found a colony of 10 lepers crying for deliverance from their terrible disease. “Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him” ().

Faith is a personal matter. God has given to each individual free will and a mind of his own, so that each may choose where to put his faith. The result of such freedom is that some men wisely place their faith in God Himself, while others unwisely place it in some other person, group of persons, or system of belief. But every man chooses for himself, because faith is a personal matter.

Lecture time! A time for spiritual refreshment. A time for reflection and worship. A time for decisions to do better, for resolutions to improve. Lecture time is a time for spiritual growth. It’s a great time of the year!

The conversion of Saul is one of our favorites in the book of Acts because it gives us the assurance that everyone is a prospect of the gospel of salvation, even the chief of sinners (). As one author put it, he was “the most zealous and unrelenting opponent of the gospel transformed into its foremost proponent.” We have no doubt that Saul of Tarsus, persecutor and reviler of the church was saved from the sins of his horrible past; the question is when was he saved?

Jesus likened His kingdom to leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three pecks of meal, until it was all leavened ().

Make no mistake, growth is an inherent part of the kingdom of heaven. The influence of the kingdom can’t help but spread. It is like leaven, that pervades all it touches. It is like a seemingly insignificant seed that grows into a formidable tree. The kingdom is contagious. The Lord intended it to be that way.

Every day is important. Every day is special. Every day has its own achievements, its own failures, its own joy and sorrow. A day is a time to work, a time to enjoy, a time to dream, a time to hope, to pray and worship. We should cherish each day; there will never be another just like it.

Among the recurring themes in Acts of Apostles is the “day by day” continuance of the Lord’s disciples. It was the day by day constancy of the early church () that resulted in its unparalleled unity and growth. “Day by day” they continued. “Day by day” they increased. “Day by day” they examined the scriptures. “Day by day” they reasoned with the lost. “Day by day” the Lord added to their number those who embraced the gospel message.

When the children of Israel cried in hunger during the wilderness wanderings, the Lord heard them and satisfied their needs. He rained down from a heaven a bread-like substance, called manna, that fed them for 40 years until they crossed the Jordan and ate the produce of the Promised Land. But this would not be the last time that Jehovah provided spiritual food for His people.

After a gospel meeting in Orlando, we took a day to go to Disney World. Taking time off for fun is always accompanied by a tinge of guilt for me—there’s always so much that needs attention. So some written reflections from a day in the Magic Kingdom helps purge my conscience and hopefully find some profit in the excursion for someone other than the theme park executives.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (). The word “ashamed” here is from a Greek term aischune, which means to have a feeling of fear or shame which prevents a person from doing a thing. Here it is apischonomai, a strengthened form of the word.