Hungry

"The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord." (Acts 13:44)

Do the readings from Acts these past two weeks make you hungry?  I am CRAVING what I read!

The work of the early church after Christ's ascension into heaven is full of adventure.  It overflows with abundant work of the Holy Spirit in a continually growing body of believers.  Their bold faith leads them to proclaim the good news to all who will listen, and "as many as were appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:48)

Astounded by what they witness the Holy Spirit doing in the hearts of their hearers, the church not only rejoices but sends off their best preachers to take the Gospel to other places (Acts 13:2-3).  The Holy Spirit takes Philip, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and others off to various towns so that not only the Jews but the Gentiles can hear and believe as well.  What an amazing time that must have been!

It was probably similar to what the Christians in places like Nepal are experiencing, when the Gospel is still new and many are hearing the name of Jesus for the first time.  I can hardly wait to hear all of the stories Michael will bring back from this trip.

One thing that really jumped out at me from our readings so far is how often the early church fasted and prayed.  In fact, all throughout our readings this year we have seen not only individuals like Daniel, Moses, and even Jesus fast, but whole nations as well.  So it has always confused me why such a powerful practice from the Bible is not a more regular part of what we do as a church today.

Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount seems to focus in on three specific directives to His followers: giving, praying, and fasting (Matt. 6:1-18).  From His instructions in this portion of Scripture, Jesus tells His disciples, "...when you give...(v. 2)...when you pray (v. 5)...when you fast (v. 16)."  How else are we supposed to read this except that Jesus expects us to do all three?

Jesus also tells us to do these acts of worship without announcing it to others, so maybe all of you fast regularly and I just don't know because we never talk about it.  I know of friends who fast when there is an intense need for fasting and prayer in a situation or when they long to hear God's voice or see His power at work in their lives.  I just think it is strange that we don't talk about it more commonly the way we do prayer and giving.  Probably because going without food is so hard.  We have to take our stomachs off the throne and let God have that place, and I know that is hard for me.

But as I read the book of Acts, I am HUNGRY for God's power to work the way in which I see Him working among the early church.  I also can tell from these readings that many who heard the Good News were hungry for more of the Spirit, too.  They CRAVED the only One who could fill and satisfy!

Those in leadership positions took Jesus' teachings from the Sermon on the Mount seriously.  They didn't want to miss anything God might have for them or do through them.

"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,  'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'" (Acts 13:2) --wisdom for whom to send

"Then after fasting and  praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off." (Acts 13:3) --anointing to preach

"And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed." (Acts 14:23) --anointing to lead groups of believers

I don't know if these verses jumped out at you in your readings, but I pray the Lord will help us take them to heart.  I pray He will show us what He wants to do through us as He did to the apostles and the early church.

Fast to fill.

The upside-down economy of God.