As I have stated previously, I have read the book of Acts over a 100 times but I still read with amazement. I am still amazed at the thought that God didn't look for the best and the brightest, the wealthiest and most influential, the most creative, the greatest orators to communicate His love; He simply chose all whom would surrender to Him. Now that doesn't mean that God doesn't chose all of the above, but there is so much freedom in knowing that it doesn't count on ourselves to accomplish His will.
The requirement is : Surrendering to His will! Rich or poor, educated or uneducated.
For far too long I have assumed that these men & women must have had some sort of favor from God that I didn't know about. They had to of had a better up-bringing, a better education, a greater experience, there had to been something that separated them from the pack, because what I read just does not for the most part add up in my personal life.
But as I continue on in this journey of knowing God I realize that I have made this relationship thing with Him much more difficult then it was intended. Of course, the idea of dying to myself is tremendously difficult, the reality of breaking down my selfishness is seemingly impossible, loving my wife the way Christ loved the church (Jesus, please help me), but besides those few issues it seems that the difference between me and the early church is simple OBEDIENCE!
I leave you with this quote in the hopes that it will awaken the necessity to die to self and live in wholehearted Obedience.
"The cross is laid on every Christian. It begins with the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death... we give over our lives to death. Since this happens at the beginning of the Christian life, the cross can never be merely a tragic ending to an otherwise happy religious life. When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time... death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at His call. That is why the rich young man was so loath to follow Jesus, for the cost of his following was the death of his will. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die, and therefore Jesus Christ and His call are necessarily our death and our life." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The angel said to cornelius, your prayer and neighborly acts have brought you to Gods attention." just like what pastor Jay was saying it had nothing to do with who he was but with what he did. Then we see he chose his own guard who he had seen to be especially devout. All in the same paragraph we see the ones God choose and cause to be chosen based on the way they live. If my boss had an important task would he choose me based what he knows about my character. Do I have the character that Jesus had. That should be and is my goal. That I would reflect Christ even when I don't think people see me because what I do I do for God.
ReplyDeleteReading these two chapters I was caught up in trying to understand the significance of Soul going blind for 3 days and going with no food.
ReplyDeleteWas going blind God's plan to humble Soul or was it a process to protect him until his faith grew stronger? I wonder?, but what I received from his word for sure is that Gods, love is the same for everyone and and he is waiting with his arms wide open if we say yes to his word and will.
These two chapters in Acts are riveting. They don’t just show the power of the church but they show the power of God’s plan inside of the individual. Men and women were willing to risk it all for the sake of ONE person. You see divine appointment’s occurring on a regular basis but what we don’t read about is the times they shared their faith and no one responded. They differ from us today because they remained just as persistent. One hundred denials would be worth the one open heart that would receive the Good News. This all points to the power of obedience and if I take God at His Word, follow through on what He has commanded, and trust Him with the results then I can see the impossible happen. There is no way around it, the time for obedience is now!
ReplyDeleteThese two chapters “visually demonstrate” the mighty works of God in action. I agree with Felix; not much is mentioned about “faith”. As I continue to rebuild my relationship with God, I am often reminded of how important faith is. Yet, life is sometimes over-powered by what is seen (reality). I wonder if the people who were in Damascus felt like I and so many other people do. Sometimes, I just want to see God in action.
ReplyDeleteIn my previous walk with God my faith was made strong every time I recognized His work was in action. In these two chapters people witness God giving sight to blind, healing lame men, revitalizing the dead, and even speaking loudly and clearly to individuals. In these acts, there is no question about God and His powers. So why would a person seeing such act not believe, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit, and grow the church? Though I know faith is one of the most important principles in Christianity, I wonder if a glimpse of the mighty acts of God will help the Church to grow as it did throughout the world as demonstrated in these two Chapters.
Is it wrong to pray for such “evidence”?
What strikes me in these passages is the fact that God can save anyone. When we look at Saul, a sworn enemy of the followers of Jesus, we see a man bent on destroying their belief system as quickly and as brutally as he can.
ReplyDeleteWhat was God thinking? Why would he use such a man? I believe the answer to these questions is us. At least it is eventually us. For God to use such a person to be His voice to the people, was so outrageous that it had to be God. The impact might not have been as great had someone else been chosen.
The people knew Saul and what he stood for. When they say such a profound change, the evidence was given to them of the true power and love of God.
Peter even solidified the concept in verse 34 when he says "I know realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right."
Often, we dismiss someone as being 'too far gone to be saved.' We have to get that idea our of our heads and just respond or act on the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
If God presents an opportunity to us, we must seize it and act on what we are hearing.
JV