Lord, Do It Again!
SCRIPTURE: Acts (NIV) 5:42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
OBSERVATION: I commented on this verse last year, but the Lord showed me a new emphasis. Last year, the SOAP was about location. They met “in the temple courts and from house to house.” Today, the emphasis is not location but timing. They met “Day after day.”
Bibles had not yet been printed. If they could have afforded one, they were not even yet for sale in the market. The early believers needed to know the truth that is now recorded in the scriptures. It had not been recorded in writing; it was still in the minds of those who were witnesses of Jesus. Their hunger to know about Jesus and what He taught caused them to gather with other believers and listen to what the Holy Spirit would speak through the early church leaders, or read letters from those who had been with Jesus.
APPLICATION: Today, many believers have their personal copy of the Bible. They can have time each day set aside for reading and praying. Those of us who have Bibles, should be willing to invite others, (daily?), into our homes where the Bible can be read aloud. Others may not be able to read or cannot afford to buy a Bible but they can listen to God’s Word being read. That is how the early church in the book of Acts began!
Having believers strong in the Word of God is one of a pastor’s greatest responsibilities. Anyone who can read, can read the Bible for others to hear. The power is in the Word of God…not on the pages or in the book, but in the Word of God. God honors His Word!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, when we consider how the church has grown out of meetings in homes, schools, on riverbanks to where it is today…DO IT AGAIN around the world. Send a mighty revival in Africa and Asia and anywhere your Word is honored. In the strong Name of Jesus we pray, Amen
Pastor Leon
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