Devotion: “Writing Acts Chapter 29” Before you read this devotion I would like for you to get your Bible down and turn to Acts 29: 1 so you can follow more closely. You say “there are only 28 chapters”…You are right but I wonder if you have ever noticed how the book of Acts ends. [Acts 28:30-31 NIV] “30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ--with all boldness and without hindrance!” Could this really be the end? Is there or should there be more? This ending is just begging for more. The book of Acts ends rather abruptly…and many believe that Luke the Physician intended to write a 3rd volume (Luke, Acts, and ?) But I wonder if Luke is sending the church a message of the unfinished business, a reminder that the church is to continue moving forward. The story is still being told, and so the Bible-Believing, Evangelistic Church continues to write the book of Acts, even today. Once, Billy Graham was preparing for a major crusade but a liberal in area didn’t want him to come. This guy went to the committee and said, “we don’t want him here, he’s too old fashioned…he’ll set evangelism back 50 years in this city!” When Billy Graham heard this, he said, “I apologize for misrepresenting my intentions…I don’t want to send the church back 50 years, but 2,000 years!” The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ needs to get back to doing things the way they did in the first New Testament church. Do you remember that church? It was the one that turned the world upside down! As you read about the early church, you’ll notice the absences of some things that we think are vitally important to ministry like: Some churches can’t function without the Wednesday night meal orour video equipment. Some can’t function without programs. Some would even find it impossible to operate without pews! But here are a few things that we could and should be thrilled by: We should be thrilled by the Power of God and His presence in your church. We should be thrilled by the record of the lives of people just like you/me, marvelously transformed by the blood of Jesus into dynamic witnesses. We should desire to be a part of a church growing that is growing by leaps and bounds. This is how a normal church is SUPPOSED TO OPERATE! Vance Havner once said: “the churches of today are so subnormal, that if one of them gets normal, everybody thinks it’s abnormal!” Even Christian people in the community will say, what’s going on over there at that church? I want every church…MY church…YOUR church to get back to being more like the early New Testament church! To get back to the basics…to go back to the book we call the HOLY Bible. I want us to look together, this week, at what God can; what God will do if we get back to the basics: I want to pull 3 things from the opening verses Acts chapter 1, as we prepare to write Acts chapter 29. Tomorrow we will look at the “purpose” of the church. Thursday we will consider the “personality” of the church and Friday the “power” of the church.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 11:00:40 +0000
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