Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....May 20, 2019
Probably the most informational book of the Bible, to Christians, is the Book of the Acts of the Apostles.
In this book, we learn of the travels and deeds of the 12 and how they carried on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Do not take this book lightly as it lays the foundations for centuries of events for Christians. We continue...
Acts 2:42-47
According to Acts 1:8, the moment the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples at Pentecost – they were called (just as we are called) to participate in changing our world for the glory of God.
But you will receive power when 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. Acts 1:8
I think it is in the little things in the Christian life where we must be faithful if we’re to share in changing our world.
An example of this is not in making our bed but in kneeling beside it when we first awake to seek intimacy with the Father that we can begin to change our world. For if we will not take time to meet with God in the small moments, what makes us think we will stand for Him in the big moments.
When it comes to dealing with all things spiritual – it is in learning how to engage our enemy we learn how to punch him in the nose to overcome and defeat him.
Likewise, it is in never underestimating the size of our God and His call on our lives but in understanding that success is found in our dependence on God and not in our independence from God that we can change the world.
Maybe most importantly – understanding how difficult life can be, how following Jesus can be so challenging, and how the enemy is constantly seeking to kill, steal, and destroy – if we want to change our world – we cannot do it alone – we need other believers to unite with us to spur one another along towards love and good deeds – hence the church. That is why our current message series on The Simple Gospel is so important to listen to, but more importantly, understand. The Gospel is simple to read and have it in our heads. However, the Gospel is NOT SIMPLE to carry out. Picking up our cross each and every day is the hard part. Again, hence the church.
On the day of Pentecost, when all heaven broke loose – not only did the Holy Spirit show up in a big way to the disciples and empower Peter to boldly speak the truth of the Gospel – but after 3,000, or more, people come to Christ – the church began.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
Before we jump into the heart of the church as God intended, let me remind you of the ONE item that can’t be missed or forgotten – the church is a movement of the Holy Spirit If you take the Holy Spirit out of the church – then it’s no longer a church but an impotent religious gathering. From the outset, church can only occur when God’s people submit and depend on the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Thus the heart of the mission of the church is to connect believers with the Holy Spirit
The early church modeled for us the essential elements necessary for the church to champion walking in the Spirit.
The Apostles were...Devoted to Following SCRIPTURE
The apostle’s teachings – to reveal, God-inspired truth.
They were committed to knowing, applying, and living the truth. They were more than hearers – they were doers. Like newborn babies, they were hungry for truth – to know God and to know His will for their lives.
I wonder, today, how many of us Christians are as dedicated to this theme of doing and not just hearing.
The Scripture is our true north. It is God’s primary voice to our lives. It is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths.
Here’s the truth about the Bible – if I do not hide it in my heart, I will not follow God. And biblical illiteracy is rampant in the church today. And because we don’t know it, we don’t live it. And worse, we don’t know how to live it. I am dumbfounded sometimes at the lack of knowledge that Christians have about the Word of God. I cannot tell you how many times I receive this answer to the question....What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?...."It is living a good life." YIKES!!!!
Study to show yourself approved of God… 2 Tm. 2:15
My brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do. -James 1:19f
The Apostles were....Devoted to Sharing ENCOURAGEMENT
fellowship, (koinonia), is an invested partnership – this is more than popcorn, parties, and picnics. This is sharing life and allowing other believers to pour into you, encourage you, and hold you accountable to pursing and serving God.
This refers to being personally engaged in spiritual intimacy with one another to spur each other along in living for Christ.
This has been lost among most believers in today’s church. We live independent rather than interdependent lives. Our lack of participants in Small Groups is an excellent example of the church NOT being involved.
If we are to thrive in our faith, we need one another to spur one another along.
Therefore, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
-Hebrews 10:19-24
One with MANY – One with SOME – One-on-ONE
The Apostles were....Devoted to Regular EXAMINATION
breaking bread – a reference to communion
In celebrating the Lord’s Supper we not only remember the love of God expressed thru the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ – it is a time of reflection and self-examination to make sure that we’re in a right relationship w/ God. The point is to constantly be taking an audit of our intimacy.
The Apostles were....Devoted to Prayerfully SEEKING
As believers, prayer is about individually and together being in desperate pursuit of knowing and following God. Prayer is the desperate pursuit of God’s direction and will.
No great spiritual awakening has begun anywhere in the world apart from united prayer – Christians persistently praying for revival. J. Edwin Orr
If we want to change our world – it begins and ends with walking in the Spirit. The early church reveals to us that if we are to be a church that abides in Christ and lives under the influence of the Holy Spirit, participating in this Divine movement – then it requires that we diligently study the Scripture seeking to live it, we engage in genuinely accountable relationships with other believers desiring God’s best for us, we constantly audit our willingness to follow Christ, and we diligently seek His direction through prayer longing to hear and sense His guidance in our lives.
If we want to participate in changing the world – then these are the priorities we must seek. It is in these (4) priorities that we walk in faith instead of by sight and by fear. Nothing great has ever been accomplished by God through fear.
FEAR is believing the enemies ways are better than God’s way – while FAITH is believing God’s ways are better than the enemies ways. I love you all:)
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
The Hug!
It's wonderous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you're blue.
A hug can say, "I love you so,"
Or, "Gee, I hate to see you go."
A hug is, "Welcome back again."
And, "Great to see you! Where've you been?"
A hug can soothe a small childs pain,
and bring a rainbow after rain.
The hug! There's just no doubt about it-
we scarcely could survive without it!
A hug delights and warms and charms.
It must be why God gave us arms.
A hug can break the language barrier,
and make your travels so much merrier.
No need to fret about your store of 'em,
the more you give, the more there's more of 'em.
So stretch those arms without delay
and give someone a hug today!
-Author Unknown-
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
As we move through the Books of the Bible, we continue with 2 Corinthians....
Who wrote the book?
Paul wrote 2 Corinthians at a vulnerable time in his life. He had learned that the church at Corinth was struggling, and he sought to take action to preserve the unity of that local body of believers. The letter is riddled with personal comments as Paul revealed details about the persecution he had suffered for the sake of Christ as well as about a mysterious thorn in the flesh that kept him reliant on God.
Where are we?
After sending Timothy off from Ephesus to deliver the letter of 1 Corinthians, Paul, in his concern for the church, made a quick visit of his own to Corinth. Afterward, Paul returned to his work in Ephesus, where he wrote a sorrowful letter to the Corinthians that has not been preserved (see 2 Corinthians 2:1–11; 7:8). Paul then departed for Macedonia. Once there, he received a good report from Titus regarding the Corinthians (7:13), which led Paul to write a fourth letter to them, titled “2 Corinthians” in the Bible. (See 1 Corinthians page to read about Paul’s first two letters to the Corinthians.) The apostle composed this letter near the end of AD 56, possibly in the city of Philippi.
Why is Second Corinthians so important?
This letter offers a great deal of personal insight into Paul’s life that is not present in any other New Testament book. However, in chapters 8 and 9, his letter also clearly reveals God’s plan for His people to give to others. Paul first focused on the generous example of the Macedonian churches, largely Gentile, who gave to their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Then he exhorted the Corinthian believers to make donations of their own to the work in Jerusalem. Several realities about Christian giving become clear in these two chapters: Christians give generously according to, and at times beyond, their financial abilities; Christians give their money across racial and national lines; Christians who make commitments to give should follow through with those promises; and Christians should give cheerfully, rather than under compulsion.
What's the big idea?
The church at Corinth had recently been struggling with divisions and quarrels. But for a majority of the believers, the problem had been solved by the time Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. Many had repented of their sinful ways and had come back into unity with one another and with the leadership of Paul.
However, Paul still felt the need to articulate a defense of his apostleship and his message. Some in the church had apparently taken his meekness among them to be a sign of moral weakness or lack of authority (2 Corinthians 10:1–2). These accusations led Paul to defend himself by arguing that he was on the same level of importance as the other apostles, that he had deep knowledge of the Christian faith, that he had suffered profound physical punishment in the name of Christ, and that he had received visions and revelations from God (11:1–12:13).
How do I apply this?
Just as Paul wrote to the Corinthians in the wake of their repentance from divisions and quarrels, the message for today is clear: living in unity requires us to humbly forgive one another and to follow our leaders. Second Corinthians reminds us that even as Christians, we hurt each other and need to forgive those who wrong us (2 Corinthians 2:7). That Paul was willing to exhort the Corinthian believers to forgive those who had fallen away and repented, even as he defended his own apostleship against a vocal opposition, illustrates the apostle’s commitment to this way of life among God’s people.
In what ways do you struggle to forgive others and/or to follow your godly leaders? An overinflated sense of ourselves often leads us to strike out on our own or hold on to our frustration and anger regarding the choices of others. However, just as Paul reminded us of Jesus’s ministry of reconciliation (5:17–19), we must seek to reconcile relationships in which disunity reigns. Look out for the pitfall of disunity with leaders and other believers in your own life while striving to live among all people in humility.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou