What if the Day of Pentecost in Act 2 was Done as We Would Do it Today?

What if the day of Pentecost, found in Acts 2, was accomplished by modern thinkers of today?  It would definitely be different.

Peter pounds the table.  “Alright, quiet down.  Pentecost is only a week away and we have a lot of work to do.  Matthew, have you gotten a place for us to hold our Evangelistic Meeting?”

Matthew smiles proudly.  “I reserved the King David Concert Center.  It will hold one thousand people.”

Thomas shakes his head vigorously.  “One thousand people?  How do you expect us to get that many people to come?  We should be realistic here and get a smaller place which will cost less.”

John examines a flower as he interjects in a soft voice. “We should give everyone a flower and invite them to come.  Love them, and they will come. Peace, love and Jesus.”

Thomas rolls his eyes at John.  “John, your so Heavenly minded, your no earthly good.  Love doesn’t pay the bills.  We have to be good stewards of what God has given us.”

James scowls at Thomas. “Leave my brother alone Tom.  He might have something there.  We could go out into the city and give flowers to everyone with a card inviting them to the meeting.  They are more likely to read the cards and come with a present attached.”

Peter nods, “That’s good James.  I am putting you and John in charge of publicity.  Get those flowers and cards out to everyone.  I want to fill that center up.  If God is willing we might get a hundred converts.  Wouldn’t that be something.”

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit was in charge and not a church committee.  When we plan we look only upon the physical, but God sees the hearts of the people.  He knows how to touch them and bring them to Him.  After Jesus ascended into Heaven, the disciples waited and prayed together.  They didn’t make plans on how to reach the world, but instead they waited until the Holy Spirit came and orchestrated an event filled with God’s power.  As a reslut about 3000 people were saved that day.

Photo Credit: And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well When the tongues of flame are in-folded Into the crowned knot of fire And the fire and the rose are one.- ts elliot.jpg  By Jo Naylor

The Last Words are Important

I remember when I was a teenager living at home and had signed up to join the Navy.  The day I left home to go to boot camp, my family and I said good-bye.  It is at those times, that the most important concerns a parent has on their heart are expressed.  Nothing profound was really said when I left except for two things that were very important.  1. “I love you” and 2. “Take care of yourself.  You be careful.”

I can still hear my mothers voice.  What the White House was doing that day, what was happening on some TV show, and the price of tea was in China, were not important when I left.  The facts that I needed to remember I was loved, and I should be careful were important.

When Jesus left the earth, He didn’t talk about Caesar, religious leaders or even remind them of His past teachings.  He knew he was about to leave them, but they could not survive alone.  He had a mission for them, and they would need all the help they could get.

Acts 1: 1-11 tells about Jesus’ last words before he Ascended into Heaven.  He had two important messages for His people.

1. They were not to go out into the world until they had received power from the Holy Spirit.  Jesus loved the people and promised to send someone to help them, guide them, and take care of them.  God will not leave His people to stand alone against the world.

2. Once they had been baptized with the Holy Spirit they were to be a witness for Christ to those near and far, even to the whole earth.

Today, we talk about many things that we think are important in the Christian life.  I believe abortion is wrong, families consisting of a man married to a woman, and supporting Israel are all important concerns.  Did Jesus tell his disciples to get involved in politics?  Did He say to get laws changed so that they support Biblical principles?  No.

That does not mean we roll over and let anti-Christian laws, and movements have their way.  It simply means that the answer is not in laws but in Christ.  Change the hearts of men and you change the world.  Change the laws and the hearts of men will just change them back again later.

We are to be witnesses of Christ.  Tell the world about Jesus.  Tell about His love and His sacrifice.  Tell about how Jesus has changed your life.  No one can argue you about your own testimony.  You are a witness of God working everyday in your life.  Share it. Share what God has told you in scriptures.

Read the great commission and remember, this is the most important thing Jesus had to say before He left us in this world.  Read it and believe that Jesus loved you so much that He wanted you to hear these last words and take them to heart.

Photo Credit: Saying Goodbye by Dannyman

Does God will the Suffering of Christians?

I want to recommend reading the post, Does God Will the Suffering of Christians by Jonathan. 

What does scripture say about suffering?  Is this something that is part of being a Christian?

Please read this post. I think you will find it worthwhile.

Photo Credit: FOXE Voices of the Martyrs by Chris Yarzab

Is the RFID Device in Health Care Bill the Mark of the Beast?

I am not even sure there is a RFID device required by Americans in the Health-Care Bill, but if there is, would it be the Mark of the Beast?  Let me say positively the answer is yes and no.  Maybe.

I don’t think it matters if it is the actual mark of the beast.  It still has the same purpose as the Mark.  “Wait a minute.” You call out to me. “It does not mean I am worshiping anyone if I got the implant.  I am not saying someone besides Jesus Christ is God.”

Well, let's take a look at what it does mean when someone receives this RFID chip in their hand.  It will be required to buy and sell because your finances will be on this chip.  That will help stop identity thief and track criminal activities.  The government will be able to track financial transactions and better predict financial problems and keep track of things better such as unemployment.  We will be able to trust the government to save us from recessions, unemployment, debt and other difficulties.

The chip will hold our medical information.  This way, anything that has happened to you medically will be available to doctors who are working with you.  Even if they had never met you before and have to treat you such as when you’re a thousand miles from home while on vacation.  It will tell them if you are an organ donor so that they might harvest your organs quicker.  It also will give the government information on the physical health of people so that they know how to fund research and what diseases to concentrate on curing.  They will know all about everyone's health and be able to wisely decide who should receive care and who really does not need care.

They will be able to to keep track of where people are.  This will help to locate children who are abducted, find criminals, watch traffic, and defeat terrorism.  There is a loss of privacy, but the country will be a much safer place because of it.

How can this be The Mark?  I don’t think it is, but it still is worshiping to take this chip.  This chip is designed so that the Government can save you from many problems we have in this country.  The Government becomes our salvation.  Taking this RFID chip is saying that we are trusting the Government to take care of us.  We are putting our faith into the Government instead of in God.  Taking the chip is saying that the Government is the answer and not God.

Receiving this chip is placing your money, health and all that you own into the Governments hands.  Without  the chip, you cannot  buy or sell.  You cannot  get medical help.  You cannot  travel.  You cannot  have a job. The government is in control of your life.  If you do anything it does not like, it can turn off the chip so that you can do nothing at all.  The government has become your God with control over your life.

In the early church, they had the same problem.  They had to worship Caesar, or they could be arrested and killed.  If a Citizen of Rome worshiped Caesar, they could have free food, be entertained at such places as the Coliseum, and go to the public baths.  The government did all it could to keep its people happy.

Those who denied Caesar were imprisoned and killed.  Thousands died on crosses, by wild beast, or were killed by gladiators.  They were lit on fire, boiled in oil, starved and beaten.  All they would have had to do was to bow to Caesar, and they could live a peaceful life.

Taking this RFID chip is bowing to Caesar.  I don’t know if all this talk about the chip being required is true or not.  I do know that eventually it will be true.  When that happens will you bow to Caesar?  Will you receive the chip so you can live in this world?  I know not where you stand on this, but as for me and my house, we will serve and trust the Lord, our God and Him only. 

Photo Credit": rfid by Alejandra H. Covarrubias

Fear: Financial Security

Money is one of the most argued about subjects in a marriage.  Worrying about finances has probably caused more ulcers  and stress then anything else.  Lets be honest and confess that we Christians are not immune from being distressed about our debts and how little money we have.

I am fortunate to be debt free.  I have money in the bank and some retirement money.  I am not rich by any stretch of the imagination.  I need to watch my money, but I am much better off than many people.  Money should not be something to worry about and yet I wonder about my future.

My wife and I are planning a trip to visit our daughter who works for Peace Corp in The Gambia.  I just bought the tickets and as I looked at the money I was spending, I confess I cringed a little.  We could use that money for other things.  It would be nice to have it in savings in case of some unforeseen problem in the future.  I did not want to spend the money.  I love my daughter, but I would be seeing her a few months after our visit anyway.

After the money was spent, and I was spending some time with the Lord, He and I had a conversation that went sort of like this.

“Son,” He asked. “Are you suppose to be going on this trip?”

I thought about it and nodded, “Yes lord.  You are the one who has called Kathy (my wife) and I to go on this trip.”

“Why are you going?”

“The first reason is to see Dawn (my daughter) and see what her life is like in The Gambia.”

I thought I had answered the question, but I didn’t hear anything, so I searched my mind before adding more.  “And we are going to Rome before that to see some things there.”

“I want to bless Kathy and you.”

“Thank you lord and you have always been a blessing.”

“The reason you are going on this trip is because I am sending you.  You have seen me send others on trips, which were paid for by others.  I have blessed many before this, and now I am going to bless you.   Do not worry about the money.  That is my concern, not yours.”

Looking back at my life, there have been times when money was very tight.  We have been in debt and had very little money to work with.  There are times when I was out of a job, and we didn’t know how we would pay our bills.  Somehow God has always come through.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Photo Credit: Worried by kpishdadi

Playing Grownup

I look at myself in a mirror, and I see an adult male with gray hair.  I will be 61 years old soon, and I think I look pretty good for my age.  I am an adult.  I have served in the U.S. Navy, gone to college, married, help raise three daughters and now have eight grandchildren.  I think I qualify to be called an adult.

I do wonder, however, what God sees when He looks at me.  He doesn’t care as much about how I look on the outside.  God looks at me and sees my true spiritual maturity.  Do I look like a small child wearing my parents clothing and playing as an adult.  Am I still a child who needs spiritual milk?  Does He have to change spiritual diapers on me because I have soiled myself with sin again?  What does He see?

He doesn’t care about my resume of jobs, schooling, or family.  He looks upon my heart and sees how close I am to being like Christ.  Jesus is the  only one I am to compare myself to.  It would be easier to compare my spiritual maturity to Billy Graham.  I have a long long ways to go.

The early church had people who played at being mature Christians. In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira tried to lied and tried to fool people into thinking they were mature.  They found out that God knows their hearts, and all that they do.  Those were days when depending on someone to be a strong, mature Christian could get you arrested and killed if it turned out they were still children.  Ananias and Sapphira died because of their deception.

How dangerous is it to depend on your maturity?  In the United States, we have a lot of people playing spiritual grownup.  The result is slow growth of those who are Christians and very little growth in numbers resulting from evangelism. In other countries, there might be persecution, and you need to grow quickly or Christianity could die out.  No matter where you are, God needs you to grow.  Stop your childish ways.  Be willing to sacrifice that milk and search for God’s meat.  Thankfully, God will keep working to make us  mature Christians.  We just need to trust Him and follow His leading.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

Photo Credit: In Daddy's shoes by carrier

Spirit Led Gatherings: Part Three Fleshing It Out

Guest post today is part 3 of 3 in a series by Travis Kolder who authors the blog, Pursuing Glory.

We’ve been talking about Spirit-led gatherings the last few posts.  In our first post, we looked at what a Spirit-led meeting might look like in the first-century  church.  Next, we tried to define what the characteristics of a Spirit-led meeting are.  Today I want to look at some examples of what a Spirit-led meeting might look like today.

Let me give you an example from a recent gathering that I participated in.  For those of you who don’t know, I’m a house church planter and advocate.  The church that meets in our house gathered a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday night.  We typically gather together, eat a meal, and then try to focus on whatever the Lord is doing or saying.

Normally, after the meal when we gather in the living room, there is a short, awkward period where those who are gathered aren’t sure what to do next.  This is actually a good thing, because it forces us to turn to Jesus and get direction from Him about what we’re doing.  He is the head of the body and it’s good for us to get direction from Him.  This particular night, my wife asked everyone a question.

The question was an invitation for everyone in the room to talk about opportunities they had to share the Gospel with those around them this week.  This opened the door for conversation  and several people shared about different times where God had opened the door to speak about Christ.  Gradually this transitioned into the topic of loving people.  When that transition happened, we then began to talk about the best ways to love those in our midst.  We talked about marriage, inner healing, and learning how to love others.

Somewhere in the midst of the conversation, my downstairs neighbor (also a believer, but not a part of our house church) popped up and joined us.  As the conversation was winding down, we asked if we could pray for him (partly because he was heading to an Asian nation in a few days, partly because it’s our custom to pray for people new to our gatherings).  The men in our group gathered and prayed as one of the others grabbed a guitar and sang.  Prophetic words and prayer began to flow. 

After the prayer and prophecies for our friend were finished, the singing and worship continued.  One of the brothers stood up in the middle of the singing and my wife saw an opportunity to pray for some physical ailments he had.  Another brother and I grabbed some oil and laid hands on him and there was a strong sense of the presence of the Lord as we prayed. (A few days later this same brother testified to a healing in his back as well as a significant healing in one of his organs that hasn’t been confirmed by a doctor but seems like is functioning much better.) We had started eating at 6:00 P.M. and now it was approaching 9:00 P.M., about the time folks start winding down and heading home.

Does every meeting work like this? No.  Do supernatural things happen every time we gather? No.  There have been really boring meetings. There have been meetings where most people are not engaged with the Holy Spirit. There have been meetings where one person has taken control of the meeting and talked the entire time. There have been meetings where verbal and almost physical fights have broken out.  But honestly, even in these meetings, the Holy Spirit was working.  He was strengthening, challenging, and growing us in the good things and through the bad.  And every bad meeting has forced us to look more towards the Holy Spirit and less to our own control. 

I guess I would sum everything up by saying that the Holy Spirit is alive and active. He’s not just able to lead individuals, but whole groups of people.  If we look to Him and create an environment where He can lead, supernatural things will happen beyond what we can plan or orchestrate.  Are you hungry to express Jesus with others and experience Him? Then find a small group of believers with the same heart and begin to wait on the Lord together.  You will not be disappointed. 

Part one of this series is Spirit Led Gatherings: Have You Met With Christians Like This?

Part two of this series is Spirit-Led Gatherings: Part Two- Definition

Photo Credit: dove-object-black2 by knowhimonline

Spirit-Led Gatherings: Part Two- Definition

Guest post today is part 2 of 3 in a series by Travis Kolder who authors the blog, Pursuing Glory.

In the last post, we looked at a Spirit-led meeting in the first-century  church.  It’s important that as we talk about the subject that we are clear about what we’re talking about.  Most people believe that the Holy Spirit is leading believers when they gather, no matter what happens.  My goal is not to comment on whether the Holy Spirit is leading every gathering of believers.  But when I look at Scripture, meetings that are led by the Holy Spirit are much different than most church gatherings, I have been a part of. But it is important to understand what Scripture says about Spirit-led gatherings so that we can pursue that reality wherever we are.

Part of the difficulty in describing Spirit-led meetings is that no one gathering is the same.  That is part of their joy. The Holy Spirit has different goals and agendas in each gathering of believers.  But there are a couple of key elements that are usually present:

Spirit-led meetings are led by the Holy Spirit. This should almost go without mention, but most Christians I know believe that the Holy Spirit leads their leader who leads the meetings.  In reality, this frequently ends up being a meeting led by some kind of senior leader: a pastor, a bishop, an elder, etc.  Spirit-led meetings are not led by one person who is led by the Spirit.  They are actually led by the Holy Spirit as He leads multiple individuals in a church to participate in the gathering.

Spirit-led meetings are participatory. Because the Holy Spirit dwells inside of each truly born-again  believer, Spirit-led meetings are participatory.  Paul describes this reality of believers gathering together in 1 Corinthians 14:26: “What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation,”(emphasis mine). The reality is each believer brings to a meeting of believers a piece of what God is doing for the whole church to be built up.

Spirit-led meetings are governed by love. Love for other believers should be the goal of every Spirit-led meeting. Scripture is clear that the reason we gather is to provoke one another to follow Jesus more fully. We gather together with other believers for their sake, not for ours.  This requires us to lay down our lives for the building up of others.  That’s why in the middle of correcting the Corinthians for their out of control meetings (1 Corinthians 12-14) Paul spends a whole chapter talking about the critical importance of love instead of just giving a giant list of instructions.  If we gather as believers to follow the Holy Spirit and we practically demonstrate love to our brothers, everyone present will be built up by Jesus.  The result will be a more whole and mature body of Christ.

Spirit-led meetings edify the body. God has actually designed the body of Christ so that it builds itself up in love. Part of the way you know you’ve been part of a meeting led by the Holy Spirit is that the individual members of the body are built up by the Holy Spirit through other individual members of the body. This does not mean that everyone teaches in the meeting or even that everything goes as planned, the diversity of ways God accomplishes this will boggle your mind.  But God does it and He uses the simplest among us to do it when we are following His Spirit.

Spirit-led meetings demonstrate the gifts of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to lead a meeting, He manifests Himself through the gifts He has given each believer present.  In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul describes a number of unique gifts that God manifests when believers gather: words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, and discerning of spirits.  These gifts (and probably others) are the ways God acts when He desires to build up His church through others.

We’ll talk a bit more about current Spirit-led gatherings in a future post.  But for now, what elements of Spirit-led gatherings have you seen when your church gathers? What parts are you missing?  Have you ever seen all of these elements in one gathering? Tell us about it in the comment section. 

Part one of this series is Spirit Led Gatherings: Have You Met With Christians Like This?
Part three of this series is Spirit Led Gatherings: Part Three Fleshing It Out

Photo Credit: dove-object-black2 by knowhimonline

Spirit Led Gatherings: Have You Met With Christians Like This?

Guest post today and the next couple of days is by Travis Kolder who authors the blog, Pursuing Glory

The day has been long and though you’ve worked hard serving your master  all day, you’re eager to join your brothers and sisters as they gather tonight.  You make your way cautiously through the streets of the Ephesus, trying not to draw attention to yourself.  Quietly you slip into the house Julian.  You arrive a few minutes before dinner.  Others will arrive shortly.  You stagger your arrivals to avoid suspicion from the Roman authorities.

More people continue to come.  Julian’s wife and some of the other women have prepared a meal and when everyone has arrived, Julian leads the gathered church in a time of remembering the sacrifice of Jesus and the meaning it has for everyone as a community.  The meal continues with great love and joy.  Others continue to arrive and there are a few people that you don’t personally know who have come as well.  Soon the house is full, both of people and great joy.

The meal ends and those that are gathered sit quietly and listen as those who can read open up the scrolls and read parts of the Scriptures*.  Then Julian pulls out a scroll and reads part of a letter that had passed on to him from Paul.  You’ve never met Paul, but everyone in the church has great respect for him.  Then Julian recounts a story from the life of Jesus that had been passed on to Him.  

Quickly the conversation begins to shift from Julian to others.  While the earlier those who could read were the primary contributors, now everyone has begun to participate.  Simple hymns that the earliest Christians wrote are sung.  Not everyone has a great voice, but all are stirred by the words that call for you to stand firm in the face of difficulty.  A simple, illiterate brother stands up and begins to speak.  He begins to whisper, but his words carry great authority and remind everyone of the need to cleanse their lives.

Finally a sister stands up.  She speaks in a language no one in the room understands.  There is great silence as everyone waits to see if there is an interpretation.  Then a man you don’t recognize stands up, in tears.  He says he is from the land you’ve never heard of but the woman has just spoken about a medical condition that his mother back home has been dying from.  The words spoken promised healing.  No one in the room had known of the situation and now the man wants to serve the same Christ that everyone has been speaking of so passionately.

Joy floods the room as everyone begins to glorify God.  Several brothers surround the man and begin to pray for him.  Plans are made for a baptism the next day, which interferes very little with everyone’s plans because most had planned to assemble together the next day anyways.  The gathering goes late into the night as others share about the greatness of Christ, the worth of following Him despite the cost, and the imminence of His return. You leave late into the evening encouraged by the supernatural work that has obviously taken place.

*Today we would know this as the Old Testament
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The story you’ve just observed is the story of the church of Jesus Christ.  While this story obviously took place during the first century in Ephesus, by changing a couple of minor facts, this story could also take place in any city around the world today.  In fact, while this story may seem fantastic, it is actually a restructuring of testimonies from Scripture, early church history, and the meetings of many churches around the world today.  These meetings are not unique to the first century, but they are abnormal to most Christians in America today.

The story above is actually what I refer to as a Spirit-led meeting.  Elements of the story can change. What makes the story we witnessed different from most church gatherings we see is that the people in the story gathered to encourage one another and be lead by the Holy Spirit. It’s my contention that these meetings don’t need to be confined to first century. They can happen again today.  My hope is as we delve into the topic of Spirit-led gatherings, you’ll be encouraged not just that they happen, but to actually be a part of these gatherings in wherever you live.

Today, though, tell us about you: Do you think a meeting like this is possible today? Why or  why not?  Leave a message in the comment section.


Part two of this series is Spirit-Led Gatherings: Part Two- Definition
Part three of this series is Spirit-Led Gatherings: Part Three Fleshing It Out

Photo Credit: dove-object-black2 by knowhimonline

Repentance Brings Freedom

Stopping the act of sin is not repentance, and it does not break the stronghold it has on you.  I have heard the definition of repentance as turning around.  Turning away from a sin is part of repentance, but it is the result of repenting not the substance of it.  Repentance is an act of the heart.

As testimony to God’s working in my life, I want to tell you about a sin that possessed me.  I have had a problem with the sin of Pornography all my life.   My dad had Playboys and other pornographic magazines around the house.  I remember both of my parents watching a porn movie at a neighbor's house.  Mom didn’t seem to have a problem with it.  I just didn’t think there was that much wrong with it.  Everyone did it.

God could have helped me get rid of the sin by punishing me or forcing me somehow to stop looking at the pictures.  If he had, I would have turned away from the sin, but my heart would still be in the same state as before.  I would still have the desire within me even though outside everything seemed fine.

I became a Christian, and God started working with me.  I kept thinking that I had to stop.  I tried to stop.  I was not very successful really, but I did better.  I was determined to stop, and I did my best to force myself to turn away from pornography.  It was deep rooted stronghold that gripped me.

What is so wonderful about God is that He never gives up on me and has promised to work in my life and make me the man I was designed to be.  Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

I want to tell something I feel strongly about.  I am not a sinner.  Do I sin? Yes, but my identity is as a Child of God.  I guess you could say I am a Saint who sins, but not a sinner who is a Saint.  God looks at me as what I will be.  My state may be in this sinful world in a fleshly body, but my standing is in Heaven at the right hand of Jesus.

God has  taken that stronghold which had me in its grip and changed my heart. He did not whip me across the back to force me to stop looking at pornography.  He helped me to realize the pain, suffering and heart ache my sin was bringing to those who were in the pictures, who took the pictures, and my friends and family whom I knew and loved.  I saw clearer God’s heart on the matter.  That has changed me more than any punishment could have.  I didn’t stop because of fear, but on the account of the  love God placed in my heart, I am almost totally free.

I am not totally free? I have to keep my guard up against the sin.  I am free of the stronghold, but if I want to I can give into temptations which come along.  There are temptations at times still, but it does not have the power it used to.  Jesus locked up those temptations in a cage and gave me the key.  I have a choice.  I can unlock the power of temptations into my life again, or I can love those around me and God by following His commands.

In today’s world, it can be hard to follow Christ.  It is not easy to cast of strongholds of sin when the world says it is normal.  To attempt stopping a sin is a road to almost sure failure.  Instead let God change your heart and your entire being will follow.

 

Photo Credit: Man in chains looks up to the light by emersonquinn