Author: admin

For two thousand years people have studied the first century church to learn why they grew so dramatically and changed their society so thoroughly. Much of the answer lies in this verse.

What they did, they did daily. Consistency, over time, can change the world. Their faith was not occasional or sporadic. You could count on it. What they did was done in unity. The church had a common purpose because it had a common Lord. Their witness was not fractured through division and lack of cooperation. Because the early Christians spent so much time seeking the Lord together, they tended to have the same heart. They also spent time together in each other’s homes. They cared about each other and enjoyed each other’s company. Church was fun! That is why they had gladness of heart. These people didn’t have to be coerced into attending services or meeting together. They wanted to. Finally, they had a simplicity of heart. They kept it simple! They didn’t play games or wear masks. They loved God and they loved one another. The results were astounding.

The key to the Christian life is much like sports: keep it simple. Don’t neglect the fundamentals. Be consistent. Is there anything more important than living your Christian life, well?

Anyone can resolve to do something for a brief time. Those who achieve great accomplishments, however, are those who stick with their commitments over the long haul.

Few Christians are unaware of things they could do that would strengthen their faith and expand their witness. Our primary challenge is not knowledge, but will. The reason the early church had such astounding success is because they continually did the right things. They strengthened their understanding of Christian doctrine. They also regularly met together for fellowship and encouragement. Finally, they prayed together. The consequence of such behavior was a world turned upside down.

Many Christians today regularly bemoan the fact that they are not experiencing the spiritual victories the way they know they should. Yet these same people carelessly neglect the practices that could provide them the strength they required to attain their spiritual goals. Being steadfast means you are consistent, dependable. It suggests you are not haphazard or fickle. Being steadfast entails doing the right things, not merely when you feel like it or doing so is convenient. Steadfastness implies regularly, consistently, relentlessly, doing the right thing. Are you?

At times we can be lulled into thinking that society and people in general are fundamentally good. We may assume that unbelief and immorality are the exception. The Bible has no such illusions.

Scripture is clear that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard for living (Romans 3:23). The world is widely dominated by the prince of darkness. The standards and values of the world, while at times improved by Christian influence, are fundamentally opposed to God’s ways. It ought never to surprise us when the world promotes values or lifestyles that are foreign to God’s nature. We ought not to be caught by surprise when the world pressures us or tempts us to compromise our beliefs or standards. The society we live in is perverse!

How ought we relate to a society that is fundamentally opposed to our God? With our eyes wide open! We ought to function as salt and light, determined for God to use our lives to change our society for the better. We ought never to place our trust in this world because we know it will always disappoint us. For, it is just as perverse in our day as it was at the time of Jesus.

The active presence of the Holy Spirit can make an enormous difference in our life!

Peter was an enthusiastic follower of Jesus, but he had an unfortunate habit of stumbling at crucial moments. His Lord was praying in the garden, but Peter was dozing. Jesus was surrendering peacefully, but Peter was amputating someone’s ear. Jesus was being falsely accused and bullied while Peter was adamantly denying he knew who Jesus was. Despite Peter’s best intentions, he kept letting His Lord down.

But that was before the erstwhile disciple received the filling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. After that moment, Peter and his companions faced criticism and mocking once again. This time, however, Peter stood up, rather than slinking away. He raised his voice to be heard, rather than whispering denials. He spoke truth, boldly. In fact, he preached such a powerful, spontaneous sermon that 3,000 were immediately added to the church.

What happened? The Holy Spirit had changed Peter’s life. That’s why Jesus instructed His followers to wait until the Spirit’s filling. He knew the powerful difference the Spirit would make in His followers’ lives. Are you serving Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit? What is the evidence?

In every age there have been people who faithfully served God. And, in every generation there have also been people who mocked and opposed those who were serving God! If you are presently facing pressure or persecution because of your faith, don’t be surprised. It has always been so.

The first century disciples knew Jesus personally. They were the earliest recipients of the Holy Spirit’s filling. Christ personally commissioned them to proclaim the Gospel. Perhaps no people in history did so more enthusiastically or compellingly. Yet there still were those who mocked them. People scoffed at their enthusiasm for Christ. They laughed at their beliefs. They ridiculed their actions.

There have always been people who refused to believe the Gospel message. No amount of proof or testimony could change their stance. Don’t let them discourage you. The fact is that there have also been those who did gladly embrace the Gospel message. History records numerous people who were grateful for those who boldly shared truth with them. If you are presently facing opposition for your Christian faith, take heart. You join the ranks of faithful servants of God who, by their witness, have seen millions of people ushered into the kingdom of God.

Christ’s return and our ultimate heavenly destiny will be unbelievably magnificent. It is easy to focus on the cessation of our earthly suffering and hardship. It is fascinating to imagine what it will be like to be gathered with all the saints of history before the awesome throne of God as we worship Him for eternity. Knowing that Christ will one day judge the living and the dead ought to give us hope. Yet we ought not to get ahead of ourselves!

God did not create us for time but for eternity. We will only spend a miniscule fraction of our life, residing on earth. For most of our eternal existence we’ll abide in the spirit world, in heaven. That’s why for the brief time we have on earth, we must do that which we can only do there: witness for Christ and expand God’s kingdom. In heaven, there will be no unbelievers. In paradise, God’s kingdom will be absolute. Our primary calling then will be to worship with the other saints.

But in this life, there are unique opportunities. So don’t waste your time gazing into heaven. Serve the Lord faithfully on earth while you can. What you do in this life will have dramatic repercussions throughout eternity.

Throughout history, God’s power has been utilized to accomplish numerous divine purposes. God’s power brought the universe into existence. It has made the sick well and the dead enlivened. It has provided food for the hungry and protection for the oppressed. It has produced solutions for humanity’s most pressing problems and has brought comfort to the afflicted.

Yet perhaps one of the most important manifestations of God’s power is when He enables His people to proclaim the Gospel message. Jesus knew His disciples would require power to withstand persecution, torture, and death. Yet Christ’s focus was on enabling them to testify.

At times we can pray that God would give us a good day, or that He would “be with” us. But God’s desire is that we would be witnesses to Him. Our witness begins at home. It expands to our workplace, to our city and region in which we live. God wants to empower us to be a witness throughout our nation and ultimately across the world. You might think the magnitude of such an assignment is impossible. You are right! That is why you need His power. Do you have it?

As Christians we can at times become intrigued by various questions concerning biblical and theological issues. Numerous books have been written to satisfy our curiosity. If we’re not careful, we can become so preoccupied with such questions that we find ourselves staring into heaven while being no earthly good!

One of the realities of serving God is that we are the servants; He is the Master. We don’t have to understand everything God is doing before we obey. We don’t have to know the exact times and places or details before we move forward. Our responsibility is to serve.

Our pride may urge us to master the undiscoverable. It certainly makes us look brilliant when we ascertain things God claimed were not for us to know. There are compelling “signs” that the end is drawing nearer. There is evidence that Christ’s return is looming. Nevertheless, when Christ does return, hopefully He will find us diligently serving Him and not preoccupied with speculating and debating about the details of His return.

Christians are entirely dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s power. Without Him working actively in our lives, we can accomplish nothing. Imagine the disciples’ excitement at seeing Jesus after He had risen from the grave. Consider their enthusiasm after watching Christ ascending into heaven and promising to return. Imagine how anxious those disciples would have been to go and tell everyone they met the good news of the Gospel.

Yet Jesus instructed them to wait. He knew it was useless to attempt to serve Him or witness about Him until they had been endued with power from on high. For the Church to succeed, it would have to be established with power. Serving without the Holy Spirit’s filling would only lead to discouragement and failure.

Have you been serving Christ without the manifest evidence of the Holy Spirit’s filling in your life? Have you been so eager to get to the task at hand that you did not wait for the prerequisite power of God in your life? Have you been daily entering the workplace without the Holy Spirit’s decisive presence? Have you been quick to serve Christ without first ensuring you had His power?

There are at least two facts every Christian ought to be cognizant of. The first is that they belong to Christ. The second is that the world in which they live is under the evil influence of Satan. As a result, we live our lives in constant tension.

At one moment we can celebrate a victory we have experienced with Christ, and the next hour we are in the midst of a spiritual assault. As a consequence, we can never relax our guard. In fact, it is generally immediately after a spiritual victory that we can expect a satanic attack. It was after Jesus had successfully prayed and fasted for 40 days that Satan tempted him. It was immediately after Jesus fed the 5,000 that His disciples sailed straight into a fearful storm. It was immediately after confessing Jesus was the Christ, that Peter was rebuked for being a mouthpiece for Satan. Life can be uncertain when we live for Christ in a world dominated by Satan.

The truth is that, in this life, we must deal with both realities. We are children of God with the desire to think on things above. Nonetheless, we still function on the earth below, where Satan continues to fight a relentless, though futile, war against our King. Have you been experiencing both realities in your life, lately?