JOANNES BLOG ON THE BOOK OF ACTS One of my favorite books of the New Testament, besides the gospel of John, is the Book of Acts. I have been studying it again in my personal Bible study time. I absolutely love reading about the birth of the Church. I find it fascinating the way in which God empowered a once helpless group of men, known as Jesus’ disciples, to turn the world upside down with their eyewitness account of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Men, who after Jesus’ crucifixion, locked themselves in a room for fear of what could happen to them, now boldly and fearlessly proclaim what they had truly eye witnessed. Sometimes we overlook the fact that the Book of Acts records that there were over 500 eyewitnesses who saw Jesus after He resurrected from the dead, who were still alive at the time the Book was being written. Wow! Peter, who had previously denied Jesus, not once but 3 times, preaches in Jerusalem to a huge crowd and about 3000 people respond to his message and are added to the Church as believers! What could have brought about the change in Peter’s life, as well as the other 10, who now are traveling with the message of the good news that Jesus Christ had risen from the dead and who is the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, who saves people from their sins? Would a group of men fearlessly give their lives for a lie, a cleverly devised plan to fool the masses? Some may die for what they perceive as the truth, but not for a lie. Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, records that God added to the Church daily. Persecution couldn’t even stop the message. What really struck a chord in my spirit is the following verse: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42 This verse is referring to the newly formed Church of Jesus Christ. As I meditated on this verse, I realized the need for the Church today to abide by the same principles; but, it was the matter of prayer that I began to focus on. Prayer is the driving force behind the power of God moving in the affairs of mankind. Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10. Jesus, in Matthew 21:13a, says, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”. Acts 4:31 it says, “ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” In Acts 5:19, we read that prayer was made without ceasing by the Church for Peter, as he was being held in a prison by King Herod, who wanted him dead. The Lord sent an angel into the prison and walked Peter right out of the prison! As I read this account, my mind immediately thought of Pastor Saeed Abedini, who has been held in one of the worst prisons in Iran since September of 2012. Are we, as a church, praying for this man? I see petitions being circulated thru email, on Pastor Abedini’s behalf, which may do some good, but are we “petitioning” the King of Kings and Lord of Lords for Pastor Abedini’s release? There are so many believers all over the world who are imprisoned for their faith. They are enduring horrific treatment. May we never forget them – we need to lift them up to the throne of God and make intercession for them. Brothers and sisters in Christ, may the Lord open our eyes to the truth that prayer is so very important. May we also never underestimate the power of corporate prayer. Our nation removed prayer from our schools in 1963. We all know the rest of this story. Shamefully, it was the Church who stood by silently and allowed this to happen. We are also instructed in 1 Timothy 2:1-3, “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior…” Church, are we praying for our nation and our President, even though we may not agree with him or his politics? At this point in time our nation has surely crossed into territory that I have never witnessed before. Being adventurous is one thing when it comes to exploring new territory, but our nation has crossed over from being a nation that follows God and honors His Word to becoming increasingly antagonistic towards those who hold to Christian beliefs and practices. Again, I ask, “Are we praying, Church?” When we stop praying, the enemy of our souls – Satan (the devil) advances his plans and schemes. One way that Satan wreaks havoc in the Church is to cause dissension and division among the members. I found in interesting that the Book of Acts records that a sharp disagreement arose between Paul the Apostle and a follower of Christ named Barnabus. It actually was Barnabus who was the first believer to reach out to Paul, after his life was radically transformed from persecutor of the Church to believer after an encounter with the risen Christ. The disagreement was over Barnabus’ desire to take a young man named John Mark along on a missionary journey with himself and Paul. But apparently Mark had previously abandoned Paul during a prior journey that they took together. So, they parted ways – Barnabus chose to take along Mark, because he wanted to give him another chance. He saw potential in Mark. So, Paul parts company with Barnabus. But you know, God worked through the both of them, in spite of the separation that took place. The message of the Gospel advanced to an area, which may not have heard the message, had the separation not taken place! God works out all things together for good even in spite of the enemy’s plan to bring destruction. Praise God! We see that Satan’s mode of operation has not changed one bit. He is still at work, trying to bring the same division in the Body of Christ. The Church over the centuries has formed different denominations and separated themselves from fellowship with other believers. Brothers and sisters in Christ, who at one time fellowshipped with one another, partook of the Lord’s Supper together and prayed for each other, now do none of those things together. The remedy for this is to pray for God’s reconciliation first, then for restoration. Jesus said in John 17:21-22, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that You gave me, that they may be one as we are one.” God’s plan for His Church is for all of us to become One, as Jesus and the Father are One. We are to be busy about doing the Father’s business till we are either called home or Jesus comes back for us. That is our purpose. I pray that you will be encouraged with these words. Thank you for allowing me to share what the Lord has put on my heart. ~ Joanne
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 18:02:59 +0000
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