The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Acts 2:42-47 (day four)

Multitudes were added to the church!  Before that growth took place though, the Holy Spirit did a mighty work in the hearts of the believers.  Much preparation was made before growth took place.  First, the believers were listening to the teachings of the apostles.  They were seeking personal, spiritual growth (aka maturity) on a daily basis.  They also spent time in fellowship and eating together as a church.  Time spent together creates an opportunity to practice the character of Christ as well as to be held accountable for living a Christ-like life.  The final church community activity they joined in was prayer.  Listening and communicating with God to know His mind and will.

Without the preparation in the Spirit that the early church participated in, the addition of new members (aka church growth) would never have taken place.  Have you desired growth to take place in your church?  Have you been willing to put in the time for your personal maturity to prepare for this revival?  Or maybe you have asked God to grow the church, but have neglected your own Spiritual growth.  Ask God to mature your faith and He will take care of the rest!

Re:Verse passage – Acts 2:42-47 (day three)

“Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe.”

“Everything is awesome,” as the hilarious song declares in The Lego Movie. Gradually in that storyline, as in real life, one comes to the understanding that no, everything is not, in fact, awesome – at least in the sense of good and beautiful. Perhaps you’ve known of or been part of groups that proclaim with such forceful insistence that their organization is awesome that you wonder whether they might be trying very hard to convince themselves that it is, because they couldn’t bear the truth that it’s not. But here, we find a group of people who lived with a continual sense of joyful astonishment at their life together near God. They had discovered that the Savior called them – not the rulers of this world – to have the last word as they taught Christ to the nations.

Re:Verse passage – Acts 2:42-47 (day two)

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common…vs. 44

What are you looking for in a fellowship of believers? At what point does the life of the church start to interrupt your personal calendar? Are you afraid of being this “all in” when it comes to following Jesus? With this sense of community there is a genuine sense of belonging, but also accountability. You cannot be in this kind of close quarters and hold things back. My fear is that we have made church attendance and/or membership some sort of social demarkation rather than a central focus of our faith journey. God intended us to be in fellowship, and look what happens when we are. The world is changed.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day seven)

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable […] for correction.” vs 16

What we have here is a promise from God that if we are faithful to the study of His Word, it will begin to shape every part of our being. We will find ourselves questioning, wondering, and reasoning with the Scriptures as it corrects our very beliefs. This has led many people to begin to “deconstruct” their faith. Deconstruction is not in and of itself wrong as long as the deconstruction and what is being reconstructed in its place are both sourced in Scripture. The problem in many modern cases of deconstruction is that the source of both constructions are found outside of Scripture. If we use anything outside of the Word of God to prop up our faith, the structure will crumble under the weight of the smallest resistance. The majority of us do not need a full on deconstruction, but what we do need is to refortify our structure with Scripture and let God correct the areas where we have allowed the world to influence our faith.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Timothy 3:14-17(day six)

The Bible is not a rudder. A rudder is a marvelous tool that allows a captain to steer the vessel the direction he desires. It has no authority or command of its own.

There are many churches today that use the Bible like a rudder, twisting and turning it the direction they want to go. In their hands the Bible does not correct, teach, or guide; it only functions as a tool for blind guides.

The Bible is not a Rudder, it is rather the Captain’s commands. The Captain’s commands carry weight, authority, wisdom, and knowledge that steers the ship the direction it MUST go, simply because they come from the the Captain. Everyone on the vessel listens and obeys the Captain’s commands, and if they don’t the Captain’s own words corrects them.

That has been the legacy of the Bible in the First Baptist family. And I am thankful.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Timothy 3:14-17(day five)  “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,”.   One of the greatest privileges in my days of youth ministry, was “partnering” with volunteers, parents, and grandparents to disciple teenagers. Such a wise strategy found in the scriptures- ministers, mentors, parents, and grandparents all speaking the truth of scripture into the minds and hearts of children and youth. I love how Paul describes Timothy’s faith- “things you have become convinced of”. Preaching, teaching, family devotions, bedtime prayers – all used by the Spirit to convince a young heart and mind of the purpose and power of the scriptures. Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  So, who are you talking to?  Who is talking to you? We can be used to convince. We still need to be convinced.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day four)

What a concise, complete description of the purpose or work of Scripture!  Scripture is not an end to itself, it leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  It accomplishes four tasks in the lives of believers…teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.  What a gift we have in the inspired Word of God!

Looking for direction in life?  Looking for a course change…or preparation for things to come?  God has provided for you, long before you were even aware of your need.  From the beginning of time, God has proclaimed His message of forgiveness and salvation by faith.  His inspired Word has pointed the way.  Men have sought to discount the value of the Word…they have tried to discredit the truth of the Word…they have labored to dishonor God, the Author…all without success.  God’s Word will endure forever.  Make it a part of your daily life and you will always be equipped for every good work!

Re:Verse passage – 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day three) 

“…knowing from whom you have learned them…”

Here’s something true about a local congregation: You know these people. Your Sunday school teacher is ­­________. Your fellow committee member is _________. You and _______ became friends at a single adults retreat in 1985 or whatever. The point is that peers, teachers, pastors, ministry project partners – these folks know you, and you know them. And sometimes, you get tired of them. They always say the same thing about certain scriptures. You and they disagree on various issues, etc. Maybe they’d admit to feeling the same about you, too. That’s not good or bad. It’s just everyday church. And it’s in the repetitive, predictable aspects of congregational life that Christ will show himself faithful to you. These people would die for you, you for them, and you teach each other about the Lord. That’s eternal.

Re:Verse passage – 2 Timothy 3:14-17 (day two)  and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. vs. 15

Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

I love my Bible. I read it every day. I read it for many reasons, not the least of which is a directive from the Lord to meditate on these words, hide them in my heart, to teach them to my children. The words give insight each time I study them. In our passage this week Paul gives us an remarkable picture of the result of “training up a child.” Paul reminds Timothy that he has trained for this. This thoughtful, intentional grounding given by Timothy’s mother and grandmother begins to bear fruit as he enters the mission field. What are we giving to our children? Are we training them for the work to which we are all called? If we aren’t, who is? If we are indeed striving to be Better Together, doesn’t that begin with a grounding in God’s Word? Let the training begin.