Tag: church

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Acts 2:42-47

“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper, and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

What gives you a deep sense of awe? Perhaps the perfect sunset, or the crashing ocean waves. Those things that inspire awe are the ones which appear untouched by the mess of the cursed world. And here in the early church we see something so beautiful and profound and it cultivated that same depth of wonder: community.

Those things that inspire awe are the ones which appear untouched by the mess of the cursed world.

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We try to experience community in a variety of ways.  Potlucks, prayer meetings, and even intentional shared living spaces. While certainly many a casserole dish has been praised on a Sunday night, I don’t think that quite registers on the “awe” scale. And sadly, many shared housing situations do not go well for long. So what went so right for the early church? Simple: they were operating in a specific move of the Holy Spirit.

Some have become so disillusioned by divisions and conflict within the church that they have decided that the early church was a one-shot deal. Sure, the Holy Spirit was moving then, but now we’re in some type of dead zone. Jesus is still on the throne, but the Spirit has gone silent.

Ephesians 1:14 says, “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.” If God’s Spirit is not withheld, then there is always room for him to move. The harder we try in our own strength, the more we will fail. Embracing true humility and in every way devoting ourselves to prayer, teaching, and the miracles of God is the only path to re-living the community life of the early church.

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Acts 2:14-41

Take a moment to read Acts 2:14-41 before reading the devotional below.

When your first sermon ever involves zero schooling and a total lack of time to prepare and it wins over 3,000 people, you know the Holy Spirit is involved. Just three short years before, Peter was a smelly fisherman discouraged from a night of no fish. When Jesus overloaded Peter’s boats that day and invited him to become a “fisher of men,” he probably had this very moment in mind. (A few hundred fish practically sinking two boats doesn’t seem like such a giant miracle in comparison to 3,000 souls being saved by a single sermon.)

Peter’s sermon is so classically sermon-y: it starts with a joke, addresses the specific context of the Jewish audience, and goes on way too long. Remember that the crowd is murmuring rumors about drunkenness, which created a need for someone to step forward and make a claim about what was going on. Point #1: 9am is way too early for us to be this drunk. Point #2: The Old Testament (or the Jewish scriptures) directly prophesied about this exact moment. Point #3: We’re in the “last days” that we’ve been waiting for, so turn to God while you have time. (Side note: since time has continued on for 2,000 years since this sermon, we can safely say that we are still in the “last days” and these prophecies about the Holy Spirit remain true for us now.)

Peter had enough knowledge of the Old Testament and training from Jesus to speak with discernment, but his sudden boldness in leadership and his ability to publicly address a crowd in a compelling manner were provided on the spot. All Peter did was step forward in a moment that needed clarification. The Holy Spirit did the work to cause the crowd to believe.

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Acts 1

Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Acts 1 before reading the devotional below.

Today we begin our series through the book of Acts. The author, Luke, wrote both the book of Luke and Acts, with the end of the book of Luke and the beginning of Acts both containing the story of Jesus’ return to heaven. We continue on to find out what happened to the disciples after Jesus left them to begin the church.

Jesus’ first instruction for their task of spreading the good news of his resurrection is to go hang out in a room and do nothing. As a driven, type-A person, I really do dislike how often the Bible encourages waiting. And yet here we sit with the disciples, waiting in a room in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit.

In the meantime, they are working to come to terms with the complete betrayal of Jesus on the part of Judas, who has since committed suicide. It’s an ugly and gruesome start, that’s for sure. So they’re down one person, and they have to find a replacement on the team. “When in doubt, flip a coin” is the lesson at the end of this chapter. Yes, that’s right, the early church was founded on a divinely ordained coin toss.

You know you’ve been called to giant mission and have no idea what to do first? Just wait in a room with a bunch of people who are going to do it with you and let the Holy Spirit show up when he’s ready. Not sure how to decide between two great options? Pray and flip that coin. There is so little God actually wants us to wrack our brains to try to figure out. He’s leading you, one step at a time. Most likely it’s a lot slower than you’d expect. When you have eternity in mind, time isn’t really of the essence.

When you have eternity in mind, time isn’t really of the essence.

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Day 3 – 21 Days to Freedom

Galatians 5:5-6 (NLT)

“But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.”

When we get rid of the extra rules we’ve added on to our “good Christian” lives (see yesterday’s post), we enter into a new kind of living. Instead of rules we have a soft, moldable heart in which the Spirit can dwell. Basically the best thing to do to get close to God is turn into a mushy mess.

If rules can’t save us, and in fact make our lives so much worse, then we have to turn to something else to make our messed up lives right. The word “righteousness” means “to be made morally right or justified.” God has promised to make us right (so why do we keep trying so hard to do it ourselves??). The only actions that will ever matter are the ones we are invited by God to do. The prompting of the Spirit is the only motivation worth acting on. This is the “faith expressing itself in love” in verse 6. Literally nothing else matters.

Here’s your freedom for today: living in the Spirit gives us the emotional freedom to let God do the transforming.

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Here’s your freedom for today: living in the Spirit gives us the emotional freedom to let God do the transforming. All those things we grasp at to “fix” ourselves will never work. Circumcision didn’t work for the Jews, and dressing up for church won’t work for us. As we wait for God to deliver on his promise to make us right again, we can let go of all of our striving. So go ahead, pick something to let go of today. Find freedom in getting rid of at least one rule you are living by to try to be “good enough.” Feel free to post a comment to tell us what you are shaking off today so we can all be encouraged!

Find freedom in getting rid of at least one rule you are living by to try to be “good enough.”

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