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Transition (Part 1)
What happens when God tells you to move? Do you do it reluctantly at times, or do you jump out there and take the risk with a joyful heart? To be honest, sometimes God has to push me out. I can get comfortable with where I’m at and change can be scary. Sometimes we can get so caught up in doing things the same old way that we lose sight of God’s bigger plan for our lives.
When I talk about transition, I like to look at the book of Acts. It’s a time when the disciples were learning how to live without Jesus in the flesh. They had followed Him for the past three years, but now they were left to do the work by themselves. Out of that came the church of Acts. Many refer to it as the perfect example of how our churches should look today.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)
What a wonderful time that must have been. One night Peter preached and three thousand people got saved. Another day Peter and John healed a crippled beggar at the temple gate. Acts 3:15-16 says, “…people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.”
The church was alive and prospering. The transition from Jesus being with them in person, to now doing “ministry without Him” was going great. But something was about to change. Just when the ministry was flourishing, the church began to be persecuted.
Seeing the miracles and the outbreak of this new church, the religious leaders of that time began to get jealous. They arrested the apostles and put them in jail. After beating and flogging them, they released them thinking that this would stop their movement. Instead it only encouraged the apostles that they had been counted worthy to suffer for Jesus.
When that didn’t stop the church from growing and the message of Christ from being preached, the persecution began to get worse. Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, was doing miracles and spreading the word of God when he was seized and brought before the Sanhedrin. The people were stirred up with anger against him and they stoned him to death. He became the first martyr for Christ, and the church of Acts began to fear for their lives.
“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.” (Acts 8:1-3)
The church was in the midst of another transition. They began to flee the city. To stay there would have meant they could be put to death for preaching about Jesus. I believe God had a bigger plan. If this persecution of the church had never came to be, I believe that the church might not have expanded the way it did. People began to start churches and preach about Jesus throughout Judea and Samaria. The Word of God was spreading throughout the region and to the uttermost parts of the earth just like Jesus had said it would in Acts 1:8.
I think I’m going to make this a two part column and continue with it next week. I have a lot to write about this subject and I want to share about a time of transition in my own life. I’ll leave you with this: God is there in the good times and in the hard times. He is there in every move we make and every step we take.
Whatever transition you’re going through right now, just know that God is in control. He didn’t bring you this far to let you down now. His perfect plan for your life might not make sense in the present, but trust me, a few years down the road you’ll look back and see that God’s hand was leading you to where you needed to be.
Love you all!!! Have a great week and make sure to tune in next week for the exciting conclusion…
- geno
www.PutHimFirst.com
STOP BEING SOOOO SILLLLLYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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