Prayer Journal
Thursday, September 21, 2000
"One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer - at three o'clock in the afternoon." Acts 3:1
The fifth book in the NewTestament of the Bible is called Acts. This is actually an abbreviated title for the complete one, "The Acts of the Apostles". Acts is an account of the lives of those who walked and talked with Jesus. I can't imagine what it must have been like to walk and talk with the Lord, can you?
The apostles not only conversed with the King of Kings. They lived with Him, ate, walked, worshipped and prayed with Him. After the disappointment of his seeming death had been replaced with excitement over his resurrection, their habits changed. Right?
The book of Acts tells us they continued their strong emphasis on prayer, fellowship and communion. These are the same things done while Jesus walked among them. Only now, the apostles were teaching others how to live in the same way.
It's interesting that they still continued in their Jewish traditions. They did this even though their profession of Jesus as the Son of God, flew in the face of the Jewish leaders. I would have loved to have overheard one of those daily prayer meetings in the synagogue when Peter stood up and prayed. I imagine the synagogue was never the same again.
Can you imagine the conversation of the Jews on Sunday morning after the Sabbath? The Christians were meeting down the street having church after preaching Jesus in the Synagogue the day before. Wouldn't it be great to have church on Saturday and Sunday?
The Jews had crucified Jesus to keep him quiet. Now, in every meeting, Jesus doesn't show up. No, a whole bunch of Jesuses (pardon that word) show up. And these guys are BOLD! They don't care if they're threatened or persecuted. They are going to preach Jesus whether you want to hear it or not!
I was thinkin'.. We, as the church of this age, have the same opportunity as the first church. When Jesus called us "Salt" and "Light", he was using an illustration of our influence in the world, not within the walls of the church worship center.
Can you think of a way to be "Salt n Light" today that will be pleasing to God? When the world doesn't come to church, perhaps we need to take church to the world. What a novel idea! WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
