Many of you might already know this, but the Lord showed me something this afternoon that I thought was pretty sweet (as most times it is) and want to share with you.
In Acts 1:8, Christ delivers the very powerful charge to the disciples that "they will receive power then 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." I have always thought this was amazing how Christ's intent for the disciples is to move outward and impact their community, "state," and outer parts of their world. His purpose is not for them to stay sitting pretty in Jerusalem. In addition to this verse, I have always been told however that the disciples did not leave Jerusalem until Acts 8. I have always thought how stupid of the Disciples to stay put when Christ had told them to leave, but then I am reminded to bite my tongue and remove the grotesquely large plank from my eye!
What hit me though today was what I read in Acts 8:1. It says that "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church of Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria." I am not sure why the Apostles were the ones who stayed, but I do know that because of this persecution Philip left to Samaria and proclaimed Christ there. Wait, you mean to tell me what persecution came and seemed to play into God's plan for His people to go into Samaria? But wait...I thought bad things weren't suppose to happen to Christians...ha! What is even more intriguing though is the thought that had it not been for the persecution who knows how long they would of stayed in Jerusalem. But still, what is even cooler, is the person to whom was causing the persecution and leading the way. None other than one of the greatest missionaries to ever walk this earth: Paul (then known as Saul). How Sovereign is our God that He uses a man to impart persecution on His people (by His permission), to get them to advance His mission, and to later have that man do more for the Lord then He ever though possible. Funny thing is, God was using Paul long before Paul even knew it!
Makes me smile and chuckle at how great our God is, how sovereign He is, and how I must strive to follow His commands daily while understanding that trials and persecutions are glorifying Himself by accomplishing His eternal will! It seems to have worked this way in Acts, and I believe it still works this way today!
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2 comments:
Hey man i remember when we looked at this together... good times. Just a little piece of info you might be interested in if you are thinking any more about Seminary. DTS was voted by Christianity Today as having the best online seminary. You can do up to a year of your education online. Just a little tid bit for you if you are intersted. Love ya man
yea i agree with that completely... i was just proposing a question. To me it is kind of like the prolife/prochoice argument. It is great that a person be prolife. If that person chooses to be prolife, they must then be prolife in every aspect. Not just prolife for unborn babies.
In the same way with God not looking on sin...to say in some instances he looks on sin and others he doesnt. That doesnt hold up with Christ on the cross.
Like i said i am still flushing this thing out in my mind. I think you have great insight about the nature of the Trinity. I appreciate your thoughts bro! Nothing but love for ya! I wu wu
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