November 21

Growth of the Early Church - Acts 3:1-26, 4:1-37,5:1-42, 6:1-7

Ok, so I google image-ded "God's Word" and this is one of the images that came up. Really, it's not just for Skid. I guess it's because the word is God's sword. And wouldn't God's sword be a light saber?

I'm not a scholar or even a really deep thinker or a reader of Hebrew and/or Greek. I can't tell you how the original language of the verse gives you deeper, richer meaning. So if you're looking for that, you won't find it here. Not that I downplay any of those things. It's just not me. I am just a reader and a writer. And I believe the scripture speaks to all ages, all people of all languages. That what you really need, you'll find here without benefit of the wisdom of man. That knowing God isn't a matter of I.Q. or reading ability. It's a matter of the heart. I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit to guide and convict us. I believe in miracles. I'll warn you. I tend to see the miraculous in everything. And the few miracles I've been apart of I can't prove beyond a shadow of a doubt. But if doubt didn't maintain its shadow, there would be no faith.

So what you have here is not my studied interpretation of the scriptures. Just my take as a person reading the Bible through in 2008 for the first time.

Here's a verse in today's reading that put to mind all that I've said in my opening above.

"When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Acts 4:13

At the end of the day, I don't care how great a scholar or thinker people might think I am. I want them to note that I've been with Jesus.

In today's reading, I see men so changed by the power of Christ's resurrection that they can't contain themselves. Peter and John's preaching comes from the overflow of a joy that I want to know. They are still basking in the glow of the wonder of it all, 40 days with the risen Savior. They can't do anything but preach. And the rulers and elders and Sanhedrin can't stop them. They've barely begun and they already have a congregation bigger than ours at North Boulevard. And no worries about a church building. Ha, they live in a borrowed building.

"The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade." Acts 5:12

How do the religious leaders ignore these miracles? I know they're afraid of this movement and trying to stop it. But do they really want to plot the deaths of the apostles? The crucifixion of Christ didn't turn out so well, did it?

But even with the apostles leading and miracles and signs being done, there is still disagreement in the church. And, instead of being ignored, it is embraced and dealt with. The Grecian Jews felt their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. From it's very first days, service was at the heart of the church.

Lord knows.