“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” -Acts 2:46
As I read Acts, I’m so encouraged by the early church. Sometimes I wish it were the same today - an anointing from the Holy Spirit like never before. People being healed, raised, saved, delivered daily. But what if it could be? What if we could really see the same kind of miraculous power at work today?
I believe we CAN.
It starts with getting our hearts right with the Lord. As believers, it is so important that we do not think that we are “good enough” or “off the hook”. I’ve noticed in the past few years how The Church (meaning Christians as a whole) is compromising on so much. Teaching, fellowship, worship, reverence for the Lord, truly showing love, giving, and more.
When we take one step toward the way the world does something, we are taking a step away from God.
Let’s take fellowship for instance: church is coming to a close, we hear the “Amen” and we immediatelay grab our keys and start thinking about our to do list instead of connecting with the people around us. Guilty. We all live busy lives, but what if we were intentional about those extra 10 minutes and genuinely asked someone how their week was? What if we stopped and prayed for them right then and there for healing, favor, [fill-in the blank]? We would see change happen and we would begin to witness what the early church was like. So, when we compromise on something ”small” like rushing out of church or giving just 5% instead of 10% for our tithe we allow the enemy to get a foothold and the steps away from God continue. Compromise happens again and again, step by step, until we are a football field lengths away from where the Lord really purposed for us to be: in His will, living out the kingdom agenda.
How do we get our hearts right with God? It starts with taking a step toward Him. No matter where we are or what we are doing, all we have to do is recognize God and give Him the honor that is due. This can look like taking 5 minutes on your lunch break [yes 5 minutes]. Pray, repent of any sin, and just sit in silence asking the Lord to reveal Himself to you and allow the Holy Spirit to speak. I started doing that this week instead of checking email and it’s been more fruitful than I could have imagined. Being intentional about my time, recognizing the Lord for who He is, and believing He would meet me and speak in that time has left me with lists upon lists on my phone of words straight from the voice of God.
Why do I share all of this? Because I desire to see a move of God in our culture, our world. I am so looking forward to things to come when Christ returns, but before Hedoes, there is work to be done. People to reach and miracles to take place.
There is so much more to dive into about what The Church is, but for now I leave you with this: take a few minutes to sit before the Lord. Share your heart with Him. Talk to Him. Then get quiet [physically and mentally] and let Him reveal an area in your life/heart that is a few steps in the wrong direction. Then, allow God to help you to step toward Him. Give Him the chance to speak to you - I promise He will, just listen. As you do this, as you allow Him to make your heart right, He can begin use you in miraculous ways just like He did back then.
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