The First Century Church was not without it’s own problems and difficulties. It is important that we learn from it’s weaknesses as well. At the same time the proof that God was at work then has stood the test of time. I am personally convinced that the only power the early Christians had was their total dependency upon Jesus Christ. The time the apostles and disciples of Jesus spent with Him was used to purge every sense of self-reliance they possessed. Finally the shock of the Cross brought them to their lowest point.

It would be difficult to comprehend what they must have felt when hearing that He had risen from the dead! Some did not believe at first. When He fully revealed Himself to them their lives would never be the same. Jesus was preparing in them a New Wineskin which would not split open and waste the wine which symbolized the Holy Spirit. The foundation, the Rock upon which the early church was built was this realization of Who Jesus was! He is the Creator and Lord of all! They would continue to learn and grow in their dependence upon Him, and the power of the Holy Spirit would affirm their faith again and again. (Luke 5:34-39, Matthew 16:17-18)

Millions of believers in Christ are fully blessed and satisfied in their church experience today. Some, however, are beginning to hunger for what they have read about in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. They have seen God bless His people again and again, only to see the interference of prideful humans. Now they are looking for a New Wineskin, one that will preserve both the wine (Spiritual vitality) and the wineskin (believing community).

Is this wishful thinking, or unbridled idealism? You decide for yourself. I for one have caught a glimpse of His glorious Church, with the saints equipped for serving, building up the Body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith, unto the Knowledge of the Son of God, unto a maturity, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ! (Ephesians 4:11-13)

The church in the book of Acts did not have telephones or the printing press, let alone radio, tv and the internet. Yet after Jesus ascended their numbers grew from the 120 that gathered in Jerusalem to 5,000 in a short time. Within 3 centuries Christianity became a dominant force in the Roman Empire. God has often chosen to use the few and the weak according to this world. He has also chosen to use you in a special capacity that belongs to you alone!

Do not believe the lie that you are insignificant! The Creator of the entire universe is calling you to turn from serving your will and the will of others to serving Him and His glorious purpose in the Kingdom of God! Trust Him today! You have a part in building a better world as He prepares you and molds you into His image. You can be a part in His Church, His body, that is crashing down the gates of hell!

Lately I have been looking to the New Testament and particularly the book of Acts and comparing the practices and methods of the early church with those of today. I would challenge you to do the same. Is it possible that our traditions and patterns of thinking have placed a heavy load on us that God never intended? Could these traditions and patterns of thinking actually hinder us from enjoying life in the fullness of God’s wonderful plan?

Jesus challenges us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. Maybe not an easy path, but definitely one that will liberate us from the self-centered version of the Gospel that we often hear today. It is only in losing our lives that we truly find our lives fully in Him!

A famous statement in the bible proclaims “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) For those of us who believe in Him these are powerful and encouraging words. So no matter how discouraging local and world events may seem, He is yet at work in this world and among His people. It has become my conviction that the Hand of God can be seen by those who look for and are expecting Him. He is at work in places and in situations that I may never see. I am thankful that my limitations do not limit Him!

You may have heard this saying: “The largest room in the world is the room for improvement.” By asking the question, “What can we learn from the First Century Church,” I am suggesting that with all of our progress over the past 2,000 years, there might be a great amount of room for improvement in Christian circles. Even Paul, the apostle of Christ sought to put the past behind him and press forward in His pursuit of Christ. (Philippians 4:13-14). How can we so easily settle for less of Him?

At times I have read some of our modern customs and practices into the stories in the book of Acts. Only when I saw how some of these customs and practices created problems, did I go back and re-read the story. I was amazed and shocked to find that many of my traditions are simply not there. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting that we today can or should precisely reproduce everything we see in Acts. I am suggesting that we can learn valuable lessons — not only can but should learn from them. That I believe is the very reason the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write this book!

Acts opens with the last few days that Jesus had with His disciples after His resurrection. Just as it was during the entire last 3 1/2 years of His life and ministry, His concern was things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3). Then, before He was taken up into a cloud, He commanded them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4) The entire book of Acts could be summed up in these final words:

“And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power, but you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:7-8)

He had already reminded them of what John the Baptist told them. John came baptizing in water but Jesus would baptize them in the Holy Ghost and fire! Here was the reason for this baptism, this emersion in the Holy Spirit. It was to empower them to live as He lived, bearing witness to His resurrection by lives that show what God intended for us from the beginning!

Everything that follows in the 28 chapters of Acts could only be made possible by the power of the indwelling Spirit of God! They waited until 50 days after the Passover, and the power of the Holy Spirit came. Soon afterwards a great number of hearts were turned to Christ!

In this a principle was established. Jesus would no longer be physically present with His followers, but He would lead them just the same. The key to their success was in their obedience to Him. In Acts and throughout the bible we find examples of people who did not trust in their own abilities but in the mysterious guidance of the Holy Spirit. Lord help us to remember their examples every day, as well as those of the multitudes who up to our day have through faith seen your wonders performed in Your Name.

The story of the work of Jesus Christ in His people has long fascinated and challenged me. I have to admit that as a kid I could not get enough of fantasy stories in movies and comic books that featured heroic acts by individuals with super powers. So naturally I was interested when I learned in the bible about real heroes who trusted in God and were able to accomplish amazing things!

At the same time I felt a disconnect between the Christian world of that time and that which I saw in the bible. Growing up it seemed as though it was more about what we cannot do rather than what we can do through Christ. When I found a church that read, and studied and preached from the book of Acts in the bible I was immediately drawn to it. None of us were super heroes like Samson, David, Daniel, or even Peter and Paul. But that did not stop us from desiring a greater experience of the power of the Holy Spirit.

In that desire the Lord did some wonderful things among us. His presence was very real in our meetings. Over the years we also had some great disappointments. From where I stand, it looks like eventually many lowered their expectations of what God might do supernaturally among us. A few even rationalized that the only supernatural work would be that which takes place within us.

Of course we know that the main focus of Jesus was always on the condition of our hearts. Our prayer is to be for the will of God our Father to be accomplished in earth as it is in heaven. That must first be fulfilled within us by the miracle of the New Birth. It does not end there, however. If heaven enters my heart, my entire life will eventually change. The miracles and the amazing spread of the Gospel in the book of Acts came about through people who were dramatically changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was by that same power that they believed and obeyed Christ. What can we learn from them? I submit that like them, we can still hear from God, follow Him, and be empowered to obey Him! Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God!

My hope is that in our day we will revisit the book of Acts with open hearts and minds. By many accounts the Christian church is in decline at least in the West. Yet, there is still the possibility that believers in our day can “turn the world upside down” as did the early Christians. Maybe we can cast off unnecessary practices that have become heavy burdens, and take up the very principles that enabled the early Christians to overcome impossible odds. This is not a boring faith by any means, but an adventure that has continued for thousands of years!

If you are interested in considering more things that the First Century Church could teach us, I hope you will join me in this study by subscribing to my blog at https://livingtruth.com or my Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/livingtruthcom

All Christian groups that consider themselves orthodox agree on 2 things. It is absolutely necessary to them to acknowledge that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. His birth was miraculous. They also insist that Jesus was literally and bodily resurrected from the grave. These and other amazing signs are proof that Jesus is the Son of God, and not simply a wise teacher or a very good man.

The stories of the miracles that Jesus performed are well known even among unbelievers today. In Luke’s second volume of Gospel history many miracles are recorded as well. These are not nearly as well known. In a previous article I shared a quote from the British minister and bible translator, J. B. Phillips. He suggested that the modern church world has reason to become disturbed or uncomfortable by what we see in the New Testament book of Acts.

Could it be possible that we hear less preaching and teaching from the book of Acts because of the challenges the Early Church presents to us? It is so wonderful to think of our lovely Savior and His power to forgive, heal, control nature, atone for our sins and rise from the grave. We quickly cry “heresy” when anyone denies that His miracles were real. He was the Son of God! However, in Acts we see the same power to heal and work miracles in ordinary humans like us!

Not only do we see them healing the sick but we also see other strange behaviors. Today if someone claims that God talked to them we might roll our eyes or even begin to avoid them. In Acts, as in many other biblical passages, it appears very normal for God to give counsel and direction to individuals in various unusual ways. Again, conservative Christians can be very dogmatic in proclaiming that we have a book that came into being by the very fact that God spoke to and through men. Interestingly, some of those same people claim that God would never, ever do that again!

As I look around I have to admit that miracles like those we see in the bible are not as common place today. Then I have to ask myself, “why is that so?” Some offer various explanations to to answer that question, but Jesus gave one explanation to His disciples that might just apply to us today. They asked Him why they could not deliver a certain child from demon possession. His answer was this: It was because of their unbelief. (Matthew 17:19-20).

Instead of making excuses for our shortcomings today, maybe we would do better to share the confession of the father of the boy in that same story, he cried out:
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) I don’t know about you, but I believe that is a prayer that God will answer!

If you are interested in considering things that the First Century Church could teach us, I hope you will join me in this study by subscribing to my blog at https://livingtruth.com or my facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/livingtruthcom

The Western World has the story of Jesus Christ embedded in its culture and its history. The four accounts of His life in the New Testament are among the most well-known books in the world today. But what of the events that followed His life, His teachings, His death, resurrection and ascension to heaven?

Today I would submit that the second volume of this story that began in Luke’s gospel has the potential of shaking modern Christianity down to its foundations! In our bibles this book is entitled “Acts,” or “The Acts of the Apostles.”

In the preface of his translation of Acts, “The Young Church In Action,” J.B. Phillips wrote:

“It is impossible to spend several months in close study of the remarkable short book, conventionally known as the Acts of the Apostles, without being profoundly stirred and to be honest, disturbed. The reader is stirred because he is seeing Christianity, the real thing, in action for the first time in human history. The newborn Church, as vulnerable as any human child, having neither money, influence nor power in any ordinary sense, is setting forth joyfully and courageously to win the pagan world for God through Christ. The young Church, like all young creatures, is appealing in its simplicity and its singleheartedness. Here we are seeing the Church in its first youth, valiant and unspoiled — a body of ordinary men and women joined in an unconquerable fellowship never before seen on this earth.

“Yet we cannot help feeling disturbed as well as moved, for this is surely the Church as it was meant to be. It is vigorous and flexible, for these are the days before it . . . . became fat and short of breath through prosperity, or muscle bound by over organization. These men did not make ‘acts of faith’ they believed. They did not ‘say their prayers,’ they really prayed. They did not hold conferences on psychosomatic medicine, they simply healed the sick. But if they were uncomplicated and naive by modern standards, we have ruefully to admit that they were open on the God-ward side in a way that is almost unknown today.”

If anyone is interested in why these comments were made, and want to be challenged by them, I hope you will subscribe to my blog at https://livingtruth.com or my facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/livingtruthcom where we will seek to find what can be learned from the First Century Church!

What do you expect in the new year?