January 13, 2019

January 06, 2019

In the last installment of Pastor Ben's study of the Book of Acts, we looked at the healing of the lame man outside the temple. Peter and John have now been arrested and are before the ruling council, the Sanhedrin. This is the same body of men who interrogated Jesus, before delivering Him to Pontius Pilate. They did not let their fear paralyze them, nor prevent them from boldly proclaiming Christ crucified. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter did just that. And the men of the council could not refute his testimony. Instead, they admonished Peter and John and commanded that they cease teaching the people in the name of Jesus. After their release, Peter and John immediately joined the believers in prayer, and they prayed for even more boldness with which to continue sharing the Gospel of Christ!

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. — Acts 4:31

God was so pleased with Peter's prayer, that He shook the building!

Do we have desperate prayers, like Peter's? The world around us is suffering. The world around us needs to hear the message of Christ crucified. Do we pray for boldness to witness to those around us, or are we paralyzed in our fear?

December 30, 2018

2018 has come to an end, already, and this is the time when we start setting goals and making resolutions for the New Year. Among other things, we resolve to be more self-controlled, self-disciplined, self-reliant, self-motivated, more loving, more reliable, etc. To state it succinctly, more successful. And, those are not necessarily bad goals. The problem is that they are inwardly focused; they rely on the self as the source of change. But, in reality, we can do nothing apart from God’s power. And Jesus tells us as much in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” And Paul, the titan of the faith, knew this and had this to say in Romans 7: 18, “… I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” So, what if we were to turn it around and shift our focus from ourselves, and instead focus on the real source of the change that we desire? In 2 Corinthians 12:9, the Lord tells Paul (and us, of course), “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” In who’s weakness? In ours. Paul got it, and in the next verse he tells us, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” You see, God’s glory is on display when He does a work in us that brings about change. So, what if we were to turn it around and adopt Paul’s mindset, in this New Year? What if we resolved to rely on God as the source of our strength and direction, our source of change, instead of ourselves? Will we “allow” God to display His power in us through our weakness? Will we make room for God to bring forth the change in our lives that we so desperately need?