Do Christian leaders occasionally make the mistake of trying to bring people to a place of participation they are not ready for. People should be rooted in the church as well as rooted in the Word of God to be productive.
The disciples already had His promise of a SPIRITUAL return to be IN them, but this was different. The angels speak of another PHYSICAL return of the Lord.
Ordinary people were able to do extraordinary things because the Spirit of God was at work in their lives. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is not a luxury; it is an absolute necessity
That the residents of Samaria hear the gospel was more important to Jesus than the restoration of the kingdom to Israel would have been beyond the disciples’ imagination.
Guest post: by Carolina Toledo MsCarolinaToledoMeza@gmail.com (Carolina is a Virtual Assistant who does much of my transcription, setup of website content, editing of video, etc. She lives in Intibucá, Honduras, where they have recently experienced significant difficulty. I invited...
Imagine them thinking and talking among themselves, ”You know that resurrection was a pretty neat trick, but I wonder when He is going to take care of the ‘main’ thing, the business of restoring the kingdom to Israel?”
The main difference between John and the book of Acts disciples was that the disciples had experienced a personal Pentecost – they had been filled with the Holy Ghost. Empowered by the Holy Ghost, the disciples could exclaim, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
To hear someone else's story of success is often motivational. It an build our faith. In the early 1900's, Horatio Alger wrote stories about impoverished boys who managed to rise above their low place in life. Poverty was rampant. Horatio...
As the group near the ascension of the Lord, He gave specific instruction as to where they were to go and what they were to wait for. What had been spoken of just over 40 days earlier would soon be a reality.
Books have been written about the last words of various people. God manifest in flesh spent His last days on earth focused on, “the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”
God does not always inform us as to the “so that” intended as the next step forward, but never stop looking for God’s “so that” in your life. You ran into an old friend last week. Was the intent to get an update on their family? Perhaps, or was something else meant to happen?
Infallible proofs were provided to the apostles. By extension, I can choose to believe and accept these infallible proofs though I did not see this proof for myself.
Disciple making is essential for growing Christ’s kingdom. While we may have a grand record for converts, how many of these become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ? How many of those we convert will make it to heaven? Now...
With Jesus there was action and doctrine. A bird must have two wings in order to fly. The church must also have the two wings of “action” and “instruction.” Seek balance – “to do and teach.” Both are necessary. To be over-balanced toward one or the other leaves the church weak.
Began . . . a word that calls for a continuation. Luke was volume one of a saga that could not be contained in one writing,. God's approach is different, the tools being employed are different, but what He started has not concluded.
Jesus was both a “doer” and a “teacher.” Teaching without action is philosophy. Those who “do” without having instruction usually end up taking that is unfocused or do things the hardest way possible. As leaders we must “do” and “teach.”
