“Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”Acts 8:4 NIV
Today is Acts 8.
After Stephen was martyred, “great persecution” came against the church. This caused the church to scatter “throughout the regions.” But this did not stop the Good News about Jesus from continuing to spread. Those who were scattered continued on mission, “preaching the Word.” (Verse 4)
As they did, lives were being changed. Demons were being cast out of people, and the “paralyzed or lame were healed.” (Verse 7) In Samaria, it was reported that “there was much joy in that city” (Verse 8 ) because Philip had proclaimed Jesus to them and they paid attention to what was being said.
When we desire to serve God with all our hearts, opposition will occur. In America, we may not live under the threat of martyrdom, but that does not mean that our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, will not try to stop us. We must be determined to stay on mission and preach the Word!
We have the message that changes lives. We have the same Holy Spirit working within us to empower us to boldly proclaim Jesus! As we ask Him to fill us to overflowing, He will work in us and through us to proclaim Jesus to everyone we come in contact with no matter what opposition may arise.
“Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty… And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit…” Acts 6:3, 5 ESV
Today is Acts 6.
Let’s leave that to the professionals… It is easy to think that the dividing line between clergy and laity needs to be well defined and not crossed. BUT no matter how we serve God one thing is clear. We need to be “full of the Spirit.”
The apostles were needing to devote their time to “preaching the word,” but a need arose within the church to care for the widows. This would require serving by distributing provisions. So they picked out seven men to serve who were “full of the Spirit and of wisdom.” Stephen was noted as being a man “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” He was also noted as being “full of grace and power,” and he was “doing great wonders and signs among the people.”
Stephen is a great example to us of an ordinary man who served an extraordinary God. Even in serving God in the most ordinary of ways, “waiting tables,” he served in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are no different. Whether we serve God as a mother of children, a fast food worker, a business professional, or a full time minister in a local congregation, we need to serve as one “full of the Holy Spirit.” God has plans to use us wherever He has us, for His glory! He plans to work “great wonders and signs” (verse 8 ) through our lives. The key is to live our lives “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” as Stephen was.
Serving God is not just for the professionals…Whether preaching or waiting tables, we are called to know Him and make Him known!
“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.” Acts 5:42 NIV
Today is Acts 5.
Can’t stop talking!!
What the disciples had experienced with Jesus was real. They were willing to stand boldly and proclaim it. Even in the midst of threats by the authorities, prison, and beatings, they could not stop talking about Jesus.
When they were told to stop, Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than men…” God had given them a command, “Go…and tell the people all about this new life.”(verse 20 ESV) They obeyed!
When we have a real encounter with Jesus and experience the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we are changed. We can’t stop talking about all that He has done! “Every day… from house to house” everywhere we go, we cannot stop “teaching and preaching” who Jesus is!
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 ESV
Boldness! Peter, “filled with the Holy Spirit” spoke with boldness. Even when arrested and brought before the powerful religious leaders, Peter and John were not afraid.They continued to testify of Jesus and His salvation. This boldness gave evidence to the council of a fact. These men had been with Jesus!
Peter and John were “common men,” fishermen. They were “uneducated.” They were not the elite But there was one characteristic that stood out about them, “they had been with Jesus.”
When we live our lives surrendered to the Holy Spirit, filled with Him, it will be evident that we have been with Jesus as well. The same Holy Spirit, that enabled Peter and John to be bold and to display Jesus in their lives, desires to fill us and give us boldness as well.
After the council released Peter and John, they went to their friends and prayed. They asked for God to continue to grant them boldness so they could continue to speak His Word “with all boldness, while {He stretched} out {His} hand to heal, and signs and wonders {were} performed through the name of {His} holy servant Jesus.” (Verse 30) When they prayed the place was “shaken” and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” (Verse 31) With great power they testified of the resurrection of Jesus. (Verse 33)
We have a purpose in our lives. We are to know God and to make Him known. Peter and John gave evidence that they had been with Jesus, they knew Him. Everywhere they went they witnessed of Him, made Him known. God’s purpose for us has not changed! What God has called us to He will empower us to do! He longs to fill us with His Holy Spirit so that we can be witnesses! We can proclaim the Word of God with Boldness through the power of the Holy Spirit!
“By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see… Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,” Acts 3:16, 19 NIV
Today is Acts 3.
Miracle! A lame man, who was well known for begging at the gate of the temple, was healed in Jesus name as Peter and John spoke to him! He began to leap and jump and praise God. Crowds started to gather. Peter, once again, testified of Jesus and His resurrection. He spoke of the power of Jesus name and having faith in His name. This power “completely healed” the man.
Peter speaks to the greatest need of the crowd, their spiritual hearts. Wholeness starts there. The people were sick with sin. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
God never changes. He is still the God of miracles. I have seen more than one miracle in my own life. These miracles testify to us of a God who is able to bring complete healing not only to us physically, but spiritually. Our hearts have been darkened, diseased by our own sin and selfishness. We are burdened by the weight of our guilt. But God offers us a New Beginning. Our sins can be blotted out and “times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”
Repent and turn back to the God! He longs to live connected to us in a deep and intimate relationship where we receive His life, wholeness, and healing. moment by moment of each day.
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”” Acts 2:38-39 NIV
Acts 2 is one of my favorite chapters of the Bible. It is when the men and women who had been following Jesus as He walked and talked with them on earth were filled to the overflowing with His Holy Spirit. They had known “God with Us/ Emmanuel” now they KNEW (Intimately) God within us — the Holy Spirit.
Rushing wind, tongues of fire, each of the disciples speaking in other tongues, then they went out onto the streets below. They were “declaring the wonders of God.” (Verse 11)
Then Peter stood up to preach with BOLDNESS. Peter, who had a little over a month and a half before denied Jesus three times in the garden as Jesus stood trial and was later led off to be crucified, that same Peter preached! What a difference the presence of the Holy Spirit within the life of a believer makes! The words that the Holy Spirit enabled Peter to speak that day “cut to the heart” (verse 37) of the people. They wanted to know what to do. These words have stood true throughout the centuries of what we should all do when we hear the Holy Spirit calling to us. “Repent and be baptized… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
What a promise! The promise of the Holy Spirit and all the wonderful works that He does in and through a believer were not a one and done deal. “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off— for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Verse 39)
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come to give us power. (Acts 1:8) With the Holy Spirit in our lives, we too can live our lives with a new beginning. We do not have to remain in our old patterns of selfishness and sin. We can live with our lives full of the Holy Spirit. May we hunger to know “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:14) each and every day! Then we will be empowered to do what the disciples did on the day of Pentecost— KNOW God and make Him known!
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” Acts 1:8 NIV
Acts begins where the Gospel of Luke left off. For 40 days after His resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples and spoke to them about the kingdom of God. Could you imagine what the disciples had witnessed with their own eyes? They had seen Jesus as the soldiers arrested Him in the garden. They had seen Jesus as He was beaten and nailed to a cross. They had seen Him as He breathed His last breath. Then they had seen the empty tomb! They had seen Him, in His risen form, as He showed them the nail prints in His hands. They had shared meals with Him, listened to Him teach them, and then they saw Jesus as He ascended into heaven!
But in all this, Jesus instructed them to wait. Jesus wanted to empower them to be “witnesses.”
Jesus had already told them that the Holy Spirit was going to come. Jesus came to us as “Emmanuel, God with us”, but the Holy Spirit would come to begin something new — God IN us!
Jesus said “… in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…” (verse 5) The disciples obeyed the words He spoke to them. They went to the upper room and were “constantly in prayer.” (Verse 14)
“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”Matthew 4:4 NIV
Dear Devoted and Determined Princess Warriors,
Have you ever considered the condition of your spiritual life? Would you describe your spiritual life as one of abundance, thriving in a living and real relationship of oneness with God? Or have you been living a life that is destitute — wanting and needy, never satisfied, never content, without continual comfort, hope, joy or peace? I considered these questions almost 4 years ago, when I first began attending WOW. At that time, I did not know that the most important thing about me was my spiritual heart. I knew I was living without hope, joy, and peace. I was not satisfied nor was I content; however, I did not realize why. I did not realize that the Word of God was an indispensable necessity for my spiritual heart and life. I did not see that I truly could not live or thrive without the Word.
My spiritual condition was similar to a physical condition my daughter, Faith, experienced as a newborn. She did not latch on correctly when nursing. The first two weeks of her life were absolutely miserable for her. I tried to get her to nurse correctly, but she couldn’t. She cried and cried and could not be comforted. When I took her in for her two-week checkup, she had lost two pounds. The doctor instructed me to supplement her feedings with formula. When I did, Faith suddenly became a sweet and peaceful infant. The weight loss stopped, and she began to grow.
Four years ago, I was not latching on to the source of my spiritual food, the Word of God. I was not thriving nor was I surviving well. I thought I could satisfy and fulfill myself with earthly things when I was meant to be connected to God in a love/ faith relationship. Simply put, I was not making room for God’s Word to dwell in my spiritual heart. I was not reading His Word, receiving it, understanding it, believing it, and obeying it. Instead, I was ignoring it, neglecting it, omitting it, cherry picking it, and rejecting it. As a result, I was living a destitute life — empty and hopeless.
In our verse this week Jesus is speaking of such a condition. Jesus tells us that “‘…Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” As my infant daughter needed physical nutrition in order to thrive, you and I need spiritual nutrition. Jesus, the living Word, is “…the true bread from heaven” (John 6:32)! Jesus and every inspired word written in the 66 books of the Bible are the bread, the spiritual food you and I desperately need for nourishment, sustenance, and growth of our spiritual hearts and lives. Every day we need to continually feed on the Word of God that is right and true, sweet as honey, more precious than a thousand pieces of silver and gold. As we make room for the Word in our hearts, we will truly live a life of abundance! But we must choose to “latch on to the Word,” or receive the Word and take it in.
As I consider the words spoken by Jesus in our verse this week, I am contemplating these questions: How hungry am I for His Word? Do I long for His Word more than I long for my next physical meal? Do I take time planning and scheduling when I can eat more of the Bread of Life, God’s Word, and take it into my spiritual heart? Perhaps you wonder the same things. The Word of God is an indispensable necessity for our spiritual hearts and lives. May we truly hunger for “every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
This week’s song is “Your Words” by Third Day featuring Harvest.
“Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.” Revelation 5:13-14 NIV
I love this scene of worship recorded in the Word. For one moment when I read it I get a small picture of the reality of what is going on right now in heaven.
This morning I have been reminded of how I have been invited to join that chorus.
“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:22-24 NIV
Jesus opened the door for me join in, but how many time have I sat down with my Bible to “do” my quite time and only read the Word.
I know I have limitations. I live in a fallen world, but I must never forget that I have the invitation to come. I, at any time, can join the heavenly worship that goes on day and night.
There is a quote that says we are to “Come to God with God in mind.” The time I spend with God each morning really isn’t about me. It is about Him. I must come desiring to experience Him!
Each morning I am like Zacchaeus who climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus. When I sit down in my chair and open His Word, I want to see a glimpse of Him. But Jesus is always so much more than I could ever ask, think, or imagine. He wants me to come down from my sycamore tree because He wants to “stay at my house” (Luke 19:5). My response can only be like Zacchaeus’s was — receive Jesus joyfully!
When I sit down in the early morning to spend time with Jesus, may I always be reminded who I am welcoming into my life. May I join in with the heavenly chorus worshipping Him. It is there that I get a glimpse of Jesus and the invitation to sit down with Him. So I may live as one with Him, listening to His Word.
Worship ushers me in to time with Him in His Word. Time that is not like any other. I miss it all if I come just to read a short devotion and mark off my religious box. He has come to stay at my house to be with me! How could I not do like Zacchaeus and “receive Him joyfully?” How could I not, if only for a few moments, join the heavenly chorus in my worship of Him?
Your Love 