In The Meantime
In The Meantime
Have you ever had one of those moments when you thought things were just about to go the right way? One of those moments when you felt like you had just dodged a bullet only to have something totally unrelated go haywire in your life? In Acts 12 we have one of those moments. Luke starts the chapter with the words “In the meantime” which means while all this other stuff was already going on, there’s another thing to add to the story. In this case, although Peter had dodged a bullet in one area of his life, he was about to experience fierce opposition in another that could even cost him his life. Acts 12 is Luke’s way of stopping to let us know that all the power and might of this world is nothing compared to the power and might of God if we would just earnestly seek Him in prayer. This is the story of how prayer can change the course of nations even.
The Proximity Effect
The Proximity Effect
The lives of the disciples weren’t transformed because of their scholastic study. In Acts 4:13 we read why they were transformed, because they “had been with Jesus.” As a church we are charting a course for the future and everything is hinged on one thing, the presence of Jesus. We believe that Jesus is the most attractional and transformational force on earth, and that if we get serious about walking into His presence we will experience the same proximity effect that the disciples did.
Colossians #6
Colossians #6
It isn’t a matter of whether we will face battles in our relationships, battles in our mind, battles physically or battles spiritually. We will! The question is how will you fight those battles when they come? Often, what we are going through isn’t as important as why we are going through it, and when we understand the “why” it can help shift our perspective, which precedes peace in the storm.