living EXTRAordinary lives


Ordinary People Living Extraordinary Lives
Daily Devotionals for January 17-21
 

We continue to push pause on our study of Ephesians to focus on one of the important messages it heralds--the Good News of Jesus Christ. During this intermission, we are hearing from Dr. Lon Allison. He is preaching from the first four chapters of Acts. This week's sermon is entitled, "Adding Flavor to the Gospel."
 
In the first century Church, good works, signs and wonders, were God's chosen means for making the Gospel "pop" with tangible reality. Through believers, God met people's physical needs. Through believers He did miracles. This caused society to take note of the Gospel message.

What about today? We are hearing, in places where the Christian Church is growing, signs and miracles are occurring. What about the United States? Dare we ask, "Do it here, Lord"?

We thank Marie Allison, WBC's Director of Evangelism and Connect Ministry for preparing this week's devotionals.


 

MONDAY, JANUARY 17


Today we are reading Acts 2:1-12 as we prepare for the sermon Dr. Lon Allison will bring on Sunday, January 23.

1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

 

5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Aren't all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"


Jesus makes a curious statement in John 14:12 that ties in with this passage. He says, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

 How can we possibly do greater things than Christ?

At Pentecost Christ gave believers His Spirit. Ever since that day, anyone who has come to faith in Christ receives the Holy Spirit. To use modern vernacular, on the day of Pentecost believers were turbo charged. Our human ability to do good and to be good developed unimaginably.

When Christ was on earth He was limited to one human body. After Pentecost the church exploded. Now He inhabits millions of followers all over the world. On that day His capacity to change the world increased exponentially.

As you go through the day today, remember that you have underutilized Holy Spirit power. Ask God what works He would have you do for Him.

Dear Lord,
I confess that most days I forget that I have been turbo charged. I forget that You have given me the Holy Spirit to make me more like Christ and so I can be more fruitful for Christ. I recognize today--in a new and fresh way--that your Spirit lives within me. I recommit myself to Your work in Your power. I ask you now: What would You like to do together today?
Amen
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18


Today we are reading Acts 2:43-47.
 

43Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.


These four verses tell us two significant things about the early church. First, they were filled with jaw dropping awe at the work of God.

In our busy twenty-first-century lives we often race by the amazing on our way to the mundane. It is a spiritual discipline to stop and reflect on miracles that occur every day.

The Bible we hold in our hands is a miracle. It was written over a 1600 year time period, on three different continents, by forty different authors--from all different walks of life--yet it has one single message: It is the story of God's redeeming love. That is something to be amazed at.

Second, they were made new. Christ's blood, shed on the cross, paid the cost to free them from the control of their fallen nature. They were no longer under Satan's power. They had a new Master and that Master was God. Under Satan's rule they protected their possessions. They were selfish. Now they were giving it away. And the funny thing is, it didn't make them sad, it made them happy.

The end result was that people perked up and listened to the Good News of Christ--and the church grew.

What will you stand in awe of today? How will you display your transformation? How will you explain the origin of it?

Dear Lord,
Right now I stand in awe of You. Thank You for coming in the Person of Jesus to die for my sins. Thank You for giving me new life and new purpose. Today Lord, lead me to an opportunity to demonstrate the Gospel--how You have transformed me--by doing something tangible. Make me generous and guide me to a person who needs to see Your provision today.
Amen
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19


As we prepare for the message Dr. Lon Allison will bring on Sunday, January 23, today we are reading Acts 4:32-35.

 32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.


If this passage appears familiar it is because it is very similar to Act 2:43-47 that we read yesterday. In God's Word, repetition of a phrase or idea connotes importance. Luke, the writer of Acts wants the reader to know that the reality of Christ's life, death and resurrection dramatically changed the way believers lived their lives. Belief translated into action.

They were one in heart and mind. One of Christ's prayers in the garden of Gethsemane was for believers to be brought together in unity so that the world would know that the Father sent Him (John 17:23a). Here we see a beautiful picture of the answer to Christ's prayer.

We too can be an answer to Christ's prayer. By allowing the Word of God to take root in our hearts and lives we become unified, both with those who went before us and with each other.
We can agree fully on the essentials--the redeeming message of Christ and the display of that message through faith and generosity.

Lord,
Help me to be an answer to Your prayer by allowing Your Word to make a difference in my heart and in the way I live. Help me to be unified with other believers in caring for the lost by sharing the Gospel with them and caring for those in need by being generous.
Amen
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20

Today we are reading from Acts 3:6-10 as we prepare for the message Dr. Lon Allison will bring on Sunday, January 23.

6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.


Christianity is a religion of miracles. They appear throughout the Old and New Testaments. Miracles validated Christ as the Son of God and the Apostles as His co-laborers. Supernatural events convinced people of the truth of Christ.

Dr. Lon Allison's book Going Public with the Gospel says this:
 

"In this passage we see that after Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit he healed the crippled man. He simply said, "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." He had been given the power of God to continue doing the works Jesus had done. Vital Christianity requires faith that results in operating in the supernatural.

 

Any missionary who travels internationally knows that healings and miracles are commonplace in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, while they're rare in Western nations. Why? During his ministry Christ healed many, but his power was limited when he came to his hometown of Nazareth, the reason given: lack of faith. When a secular world view takes root in a culture--where there is little or no dependence on an unseen God--there is little room for faith or the supernatural."


Let's ask God to make us people of faith--people that operate in the realm of the seen and unseen.

Sandy Millar, pastor of Holy Trinity Brompton in London, says this about asking God to heal, "When we didn't pray for people to be healed, no one was. When we asked that people be healed, some were."

Lord,
Where I have not trusted you for miracles, I say, 'I am sorry.' Help me, and all of us within our church body, to ask You to do amazing things, so that people may come to know You--and all together we may give You glory.
Amen
FRIDAY, JANUARY 21

As we prepare for the message Dr. Lon Allison will bring on Sunday, January 23, today we are reading Acts 4:16-22, where the rulers and elders are trying to figure out how to deal with the aftermath of Peter's healing of a lame beggar.

16"What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name."

 

 18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, "Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

 

 21After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.


Many of us have had at least one friend or relative tell us not to speak to them about Christ. Until their heart changes we have no choice but to obey their wish. However, often times that request unnerves us so much that we become afraid to share with anyone, coming to believe that everyone feels as that individual does.

Here Peter and John were told by the authorities not to speak or teach about Jesus. Look at how they responded in verse 19, and put things in perspective. They tell the elders and rulers, "We are more afraid of God than we are of you."
 
Jesus had given Peter and John their marching orders. They were told to be His witnesses and they were going to do what He asked.

He has asked us to do the same and we need to respond as Peter and John did by putting things in perspective. We need to hold God as a higher authority than people.

That is one side of it. The other side of it is this: There are people like the lame beggar who live their whole lives longing for a touch of God. There are people who have been carrying a burden of sin, a feeling of being unloved, a sense of emptiness and purpose, a lack of direction on how to live a healthy life. They can be free from all that if we tell them how.

For every one person who does not want to hear about new life in Christ there are many others who are longing for it.

Dear Lord,
I confess I too-often listen to those who tell me not to speak about you. Today, I recommit myself to listening to you and doing what you have asked. Help me to find those who--like that lame beggar--are in need of a new life.
Amen