BBD 07.13.16 No Other Name (New)

#1 · July 13, 2016, 12:33 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on July 13, 2016, 12:33 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Since June 8^th 1998, this
is the 1760^th

Burning Bush Devotional

13 July 2016

No Other Name

And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and
scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and
as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at
Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what
power or by what name have you done this?”

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of
the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done
to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you
all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man
stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you
builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation
in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved.” – Acts 4:5-12 NKJV.

There is
a new law in Russia that essentially outlaws the sharing of your faith whatever
that faith may be. The
Barnabus Fund which helps persecuted Christians across the world has this to
say about the new law: “The new
law will require any sharing of the Christian faith, even a casual conversation,
to have prior authorization from the state. This includes something as basic as
an emailed invitation for a friend to attend church. Even in a private home,
worship and prayer will only be allowed if there are no unbelievers present. Churches
will also be held accountable for the activities of their members. So if, for
example, a church member mentions their faith in conversation with a work
colleague, not only the church member but also the church itself could be
punished, with individuals facing fines of up to 50,000 rubles ($770).”

The new law was promoted by Putin as being needed to
protect against terrorism according to a report by Radio Free Europe. Radio Free Europe also reported the law: “boosts state
access to private communications, requiring telecom companies to store all
telephone conversations, text messages, videos, and picture messages for six
months and make this data available to the authorities. Encrypted programs must
provide authorities a key, and the law also increases the number of crimes that
14-year-olds can be prosecuted for and restricts the activity of religious
preachers.” The law is in violation of International law and of the
Russia’s own constitution; however, the law, any law, doesn’t seem to matter to
dictators. (WND 07.07.16 Many thanks to World News Daily for this article!)

In the United States, and in other free countries we are
seeing a creeping constriction of religious freedoms. What once was considered
preaching the Word of God i.e. the Bible, is now seen by many as hate speech.
There are those who are continually trying to constrict the ability of pastors
to interpret the Bible according to how they are led by the Spirit. New laws
are continually being proposed that would bring the United States closer to
that of Russia’s now control, or attempted control, of any religious
conversations.

In Acts 4 after the
healing of the lame man, Peter and John were confronted with whether or not to
bow to the commands of the Sanhedrin, “So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach
in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18).” Peter and John are not afraid of the Sanhedrin
which could have severely punished them. Instead of bowing to the will of man,
Peter and John make it very clear what they intend to do: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to
listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we
cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard (Acts 4:19b-20).” After their release they pray, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants
that with all boldness they may speak Your word (Acts 4:29).”

What will the Christians in Russia do? Will
they continue to share their faith, or will they bow to the will of Putin? I
suspect that they will continue to cautiously share their faith when they have
the opportunity, even with the risk of the legal penalties. How will those of
us who live in other countries respond when our religious liberties are
restrained? Will we have the courage to stand up for our faith? Will we have
the courage to preach as did Peter that there is salvation in no other name
than that of Jesus Christ of Nazareth; and that, “there
is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved?”

In the United States, we still have freedom to
speak of our faith, and to assemble to together to worship our God. Sadly, even
though we have those freedoms, the vast majority of believers rarely exercise
them; especially in the sharing our faith with another person. We can change
the course of history by rising up in the name of Jesus, and speaking boldly of
our faith, as did Peter and John. Will you do it? I think your God would like
an answer.

Copyright © 2016. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating
18 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush
Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000
subscribers across the world.

The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM

The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from
the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the
Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of
the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Prayer
Requests:
Please continue to pray for McCoy Greer, Michelle Abetz,
Shane Hall, Brad, Reta (my sister), Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Loretta Brewer
and Jeanie. I am still recovering from my hip problem, but thankfully I am no
longer in pain.

Please pray for an end to the
racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page.
You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

You can contact Ed Wrather at edwrather@yahoo.com or
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by sending
a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Since June 8^th 1998, this
is the 1760^th

Burning Bush Devotional

13 July 2016

No Other Name

And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and
scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and
as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at
Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what
power or by what name have you done this?”

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of
the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done
to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you
all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man
stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you
builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation
in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved.” – Acts 4:5-12 NKJV.

There is
a new law in Russia that essentially outlaws the sharing of your faith whatever
that faith may be. The
Barnabus Fund which helps persecuted Christians across the world has this to
say about the new law: “The new
law will require any sharing of the Christian faith, even a casual conversation,
to have prior authorization from the state. This includes something as basic as
an emailed invitation for a friend to attend church. Even in a private home,
worship and prayer will only be allowed if there are no unbelievers present. Churches
will also be held accountable for the activities of their members. So if, for
example, a church member mentions their faith in conversation with a work
colleague, not only the church member but also the church itself could be
punished, with individuals facing fines of up to 50,000 rubles ($770).”

The new law was promoted by Putin as being needed to
protect against terrorism according to a report by Radio Free Europe. Radio Free Europe also reported the law: “boosts state
access to private communications, requiring telecom companies to store all
telephone conversations, text messages, videos, and picture messages for six
months and make this data available to the authorities. Encrypted programs must
provide authorities a key, and the law also increases the number of crimes that
14-year-olds can be prosecuted for and restricts the activity of religious
preachers.” The law is in violation of International law and of the
Russia’s own constitution; however, the law, any law, doesn’t seem to matter to
dictators. (WND 07.07.16 Many thanks to World News Daily for this article!)

In the United States, and in other free countries we are
seeing a creeping constriction of religious freedoms. What once was considered
preaching the Word of God i.e. the Bible, is now seen by many as hate speech.
There are those who are continually trying to constrict the ability of pastors
to interpret the Bible according to how they are led by the Spirit. New laws
are continually being proposed that would bring the United States closer to
that of Russia’s now control, or attempted control, of any religious
conversations.

In Acts 4 after the
healing of the lame man, Peter and John were confronted with whether or not to
bow to the commands of the Sanhedrin, “So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach
in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18).” Peter and John are not afraid of the Sanhedrin
which could have severely punished them. Instead of bowing to the will of man,
Peter and John make it very clear what they intend to do: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to
listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we
cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard (Acts 4:19b-20).” After their release they pray, “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants
that with all boldness they may speak Your word (Acts 4:29).”

What will the Christians in Russia do? Will
they continue to share their faith, or will they bow to the will of Putin? I
suspect that they will continue to cautiously share their faith when they have
the opportunity, even with the risk of the legal penalties. How will those of
us who live in other countries respond when our religious liberties are
restrained? Will we have the courage to stand up for our faith? Will we have
the courage to preach as did Peter that there is salvation in no other name
than that of Jesus Christ of Nazareth; and that, “there
is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved?”

In the United States, we still have freedom to
speak of our faith, and to assemble to together to worship our God. Sadly, even
though we have those freedoms, the vast majority of believers rarely exercise
them; especially in the sharing our faith with another person. We can change
the course of history by rising up in the name of Jesus, and speaking boldly of
our faith, as did Peter and John. Will you do it? I think your God would like
an answer.

Copyright © 2016. Ed Wrather. The
Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998
the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather
began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those first
devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison
facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating
18 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush
Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000
subscribers across the world.

The Addictions Kit - Biblical Help for Addictions by Ed Wrather is now
available for download from Amazon. The Addictions Kit provides practical Biblical steps to defeat
your addiction that actually work.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VIYLNLM

The New Pastor's Training Manual is available for download on Amazon. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ8UTGS If you prefer a paper copy of the book you can order it from
the Burning Bush website at http://bit.ly/1uXDBnk

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the
Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of
the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Prayer
Requests:
Please continue to pray for McCoy Greer, Michelle Abetz,
Shane Hall, Brad, Reta (my sister), Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Loretta Brewer
and Jeanie. I am still recovering from my hip problem, but thankfully I am no
longer in pain.

Please pray for an end to the
racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many
prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page.
You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

You can contact Ed Wrather at edwrather@yahoo.com or
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with
endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional
please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by sending
a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org