FRESH FAITH

Reading: Acts 4:20

The day of Pentecost has come and gone. Now Peter and John, transformed and emboldened by the Holy Spirit, have captured the attention of both Jerusalem and the Jewish leaders by healing a man who has been paralyzed since birth, They are brought before the same Sanhedrin that had a few months earlier condemned Jesus to death. They, however, are being let off with slap on the wrist and a stiff warning, "Stop talking about Jesus!" and also by implication, to cease using His authority to empower their activities.

Peter and John listen politely, then boldly refuse the conditions of their release. "But one thing we can tell you: we cannot possibly restrain ourselves fron speaking about what we have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears," - Acts 4:20 the Voice:Reader's New Testament


They know they have a mission, a purpose, But more than that they have an experience and a relationship. It is an experience and a relationship that has transformed their lives and transformed them as persons. The result, as they say, is history.

By contrast so many of us as Christ-followers seem to require programs, incentives and constant motivation simply to talk about Jesus. Why is that?

Perhaps because we have allowed ourselves to separate our identity from the Person in whose image we have been created, We would rather people see Steve or insert your name here than have them see Jesus when they see us. Perhaps it is because we are content with old memories of what God has done in our lives or we have sought nothing new from Him recently. As a result those old memories lose their power when these experiences are a part of a distant spiritual past instead of a powerful spiritual present. When your small group or church shares their God stories, do they have to reach way back in the past or are they talking about God was doing just yesterday or is doing today?

Maybe our prayer today should be, "Lord, give me a fresh encounter with you today. Keep my eyes and ears open to what You are doing today, And letme choose to be a part of it." I suspect the more we shared this prayer each day, we would have no trouble with that passion to share Jesus.

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn