"they all joined together constantly in prayer."
i love this picture of the early church. we are told that the 120 believers "all joined together constantly in prayer". mr. stott states that they prayed because a) Jesus had commanded them to pray and b) Jesus had promised the Holy Spirit.
the interesting thing is that Jesus promises the gift of the Holy Spirit, then commands the believers to pray for the gift. the promise is essentially given before the command to pray.
i suppose herein lies the secret of the power of prayer: the command to pray and the promise.
Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen to us; He knows all the difficulties and sorrows that we will go through in our lives. consider this most amazing verse from psalm 139:16: "all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to pass".
before (sometimes years before) He delivers us from these evils, He gives us the faith and the inclination to pray--that's the command to pray.
when rescue and deliverance comes--that's the promise fulfilled.
whenever you have been given the inclination, the desire, and the faith to pray--it is the prelude, the assurance of the promise fulfilled.
i suppose the lesson is that we are never to give up praying--the answer is on its way.
waiting and praying is the story of the early church, and it is the description of the lives of faithful believers in Christ.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
waiting and praying
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Promise of the Spirit
Today's reading comes rather timely when our country is knee deep in the presidential election season. I think the 3 errors that Stott points out in the apostles' question is something that we can all relate to on some level.
It is easy to submerge ourselves into worldly issues (politics, cultural issues of the day etc.) and fight these mini-battles as Christians and forget that God has charged us with a higher calling to further his kingdom. This is not to say that Christians should not have a voice and that we SHOULD do our part to vote responsibly---we should.
However, this is a great leveling and perspective changing passage that reminds us of what God has charged us to do and that he has equipped us with the power of his Spirit to carry out his great commission. Spread his word and his love to the ends of the earth.
It is easy to submerge ourselves into worldly issues (politics, cultural issues of the day etc.) and fight these mini-battles as Christians and forget that God has charged us with a higher calling to further his kingdom. This is not to say that Christians should not have a voice and that we SHOULD do our part to vote responsibly---we should.
However, this is a great leveling and perspective changing passage that reminds us of what God has charged us to do and that he has equipped us with the power of his Spirit to carry out his great commission. Spread his word and his love to the ends of the earth.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
The significance of the book of Acts
As John Stott alludes in the introduction to the post-resurrection events... the book of Acts is a crucial element in the Christian story. Not only does it explain what happened after the resurrection but it also explains the expansion of Christianity and puts many of the NT epistles into it's proper context. Without it our knowledge of the beginning of Christianity would be next to nothing.
This makes the study of the book of Acts quite exiciting. Here we are given a glimpse into how the early church under the leadership of the apostles faced the cultural pressures and challenges of their day. Here we are given a model church, not because it was perfect but because despite it's weakness, God raised up the most unlikely of people like Peter and Paul and Barnabas and Luke and Timothy and many others to build and strengthen his church. In the next several weeks, we'll be studying the book of Acts so I encourage you to read along and do the extra readings prayerfully. I know that I'm always encouraged in reading this book!
Posted by Pastor James
This makes the study of the book of Acts quite exiciting. Here we are given a glimpse into how the early church under the leadership of the apostles faced the cultural pressures and challenges of their day. Here we are given a model church, not because it was perfect but because despite it's weakness, God raised up the most unlikely of people like Peter and Paul and Barnabas and Luke and Timothy and many others to build and strengthen his church. In the next several weeks, we'll be studying the book of Acts so I encourage you to read along and do the extra readings prayerfully. I know that I'm always encouraged in reading this book!
Posted by Pastor James