Bible Study: Acts 8, 1 to 8 and John 6,
35 to 40.
The saying is indeed very true that comfort is the enemy of
progress. When we are too comfortable, we tend to become too lazy and even our
skills and abilities gradually die out. We never know what we are capable of
until we are stressed out and we never discover our talents until we face
serious challenges in life.
With the death of Stephen, the first martyr, a great persecution
immediately arose in the church. Although the stoning of Stephen was fuelled by
internal jealousy, his death seemed to have had such a great impact turning the
enemy within to an enemy from outside. Up on till that day, there was a great
cohesion between Christians and the Jews but with the martyrdom of Stephen, it
was like the Christian community had opened fire on themselves. Saul being a
fine Jewish scholar laid waste the Church moving from house to house
persecuting as many Christians as he could find.
Now, no
body prays for such calamity but one is tempted to think that if not for the
persecution begun by Saul, these new Christians were not really prepared to
venture out of their small community. They would have simply remained
comfortably or even turned their interests to other mundane things such as the sharing
of meals or building of houses. The great persecution become a needed catalyst
to push on the spirit of evangelization in the early church.
So we
read of Philip who while running for his dear life in Jerusalem arrives at
Samaria and there he discovers some hidden talents God had just deposited in
him. He could work miracles, he could cure people of unclean spirits and demonic
possession as well as those held bound by physical sickness or paralysis.
If you
agree with me, the church in this part of the world is enjoying a great time of
peace and tranquility. People are not afraid of being Christians or scared of
going to the Church. It would also surprise you to know that the main concern
in the mind of most Christians today is not how to spread the message of Christ
further but simply how to make money! Becoming a pastor or a minister is no
longer a matter of calling but a nice profession worthy of churning in income
like every other profession. The drive for church membership these days is not
about bringing salvation to the soul but mainly about increasing the offertory.
Do I say
we should pray for persecution? Maybe not, but the point is, should we face
some element of such, we would once again pick up our bibles and stop focusing
on prosperity verses!
In the
end, just as the great persecution helped to spread the message, we would agree
that when God allows calamity in our lives, it is not meant to break up down
but to help us move to a higher level.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, help me to always see the brighter side in whatever
situation you put me. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be
Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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