One more thing from Acts, and then it's on to Romans.
My favorite passage is in chapter 26. Paul is presenting his case to and sharing the gospel with King Agrippa and the Roman governor, Festus.
While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad." But Paul said, "I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth."
Acts 26:24-25
No deep thoughts here. I just get a kick out of it.
Showing posts with label Acts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Acts. Show all posts
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Reflections on Acts, Part 3—BELIEVE
My final thoughts on our Acts study are about belief. During the weeks of the study “believe” was on my mind a lot because the word is used by Luke so frequently. Here are some examples:
Acts 4:1
But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Acts 4:32a
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul;
Acts 8:12
But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized men and women alike.
Acts 10:43
Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.
Acts 14:1
In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and Greeks.
Acts 16:30-31
And after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 28:24
Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe,
If I am not mistaken (Someone please let me know if I am.), all forms of the word “believe” used in Acts are derived from the Greek root word “pistis,” which Strong’s defines as follows:
1) conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
a) relating to God
1. the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
b) relating to Christ
1. a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
c) the religious beliefs of Christians
d) belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
2) fidelity, faithfulness
a) the character of one who can be relied on
Those of you whom I know are reading this are probably thinking, “Yeah, so what?” The emphasis in Acts upon belief and believers and those who had believed made me think often about the jargon we use in our postmodern Christian culture. We ask people if they are saved, if they have asked Jesus to come into their heart, when did they dedicate their life to Christ, and so on. Acts is about BELIEF. Why have we gotten away from using the word “believe”?
I think it’s because the common use of “believe” in our culture doesn’t mean very much any more. People go from religion to religion saying they believe each one as they experience it, but that can’t be true because if they really believed they would never walk away from a faith they claim to believe. Also, postmodern culture accepts that what each individual chooses to believe is okay and that there is no objective truth. Therefore, to believe in something is of much less consequence today than it would have been in the early church when believing on Christ could result in death or imprisonment.
“Believe” no longer has any weight, but “pistis” is weighty indeed because those who believed in the first century church were very different from the people around them. Their lives changed as a result of their believing the gospel, and the gospel spread because of their dedication to Christ and their example in the way they interacted with each other (See Acts 2.).
In Believing God, in her discussion of “pistis,” Beth Moore says, “…faith is not something that you have. It’s something you do.” True belief results in action, and anyone who claims to believe but doesn’t live like a believer cannot be a believer according to the picture of belief painted for us in Acts.
All this talk of belief makes me want to veer off into the direction of Christians not really knowing WHAT they believe, but I will save those musings for another day.
Acts 4:1
But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Acts 4:32a
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul;
Acts 8:12
But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized men and women alike.
Acts 10:43
Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.
Acts 14:1
In Iconium they entered the synagogue of the Jews together, and spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both of Jews and Greeks.
Acts 16:30-31
And after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
Acts 28:24
Some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others would not believe,
If I am not mistaken (Someone please let me know if I am.), all forms of the word “believe” used in Acts are derived from the Greek root word “pistis,” which Strong’s defines as follows:
1) conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
a) relating to God
1. the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ
b) relating to Christ
1. a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God
c) the religious beliefs of Christians
d) belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same
2) fidelity, faithfulness
a) the character of one who can be relied on
Those of you whom I know are reading this are probably thinking, “Yeah, so what?” The emphasis in Acts upon belief and believers and those who had believed made me think often about the jargon we use in our postmodern Christian culture. We ask people if they are saved, if they have asked Jesus to come into their heart, when did they dedicate their life to Christ, and so on. Acts is about BELIEF. Why have we gotten away from using the word “believe”?
I think it’s because the common use of “believe” in our culture doesn’t mean very much any more. People go from religion to religion saying they believe each one as they experience it, but that can’t be true because if they really believed they would never walk away from a faith they claim to believe. Also, postmodern culture accepts that what each individual chooses to believe is okay and that there is no objective truth. Therefore, to believe in something is of much less consequence today than it would have been in the early church when believing on Christ could result in death or imprisonment.
“Believe” no longer has any weight, but “pistis” is weighty indeed because those who believed in the first century church were very different from the people around them. Their lives changed as a result of their believing the gospel, and the gospel spread because of their dedication to Christ and their example in the way they interacted with each other (See Acts 2.).
In Believing God, in her discussion of “pistis,” Beth Moore says, “…faith is not something that you have. It’s something you do.” True belief results in action, and anyone who claims to believe but doesn’t live like a believer cannot be a believer according to the picture of belief painted for us in Acts.
All this talk of belief makes me want to veer off into the direction of Christians not really knowing WHAT they believe, but I will save those musings for another day.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Reflections on Acts, Part 2
This is my second attempt at Part 2. The first attempt, begun more than a week ago, sounded harsh and judgmental, and while there is a place for righteous anger towards today’s church, I doubt that expressing it here is ultimately very beneficial. I also thought some of my comments may have been construed as criticisms against my own congregation, and I have no desire to go there. So I’ve decided to approach this from the standpoint of how God has convicted me personally in recent years regarding certain practices in the church as presented in Acts 2:42-47.
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
I’m going to avoid the urge to discuss Biblical illiteracy, church disunity, Christians living just like the rest of the world, and virtually nonexistent personal evangelism. I will concentrate on fellowship/hospitality and meeting physical needs.
Fellowship and Hospitality
I saw Biblical fellowship and hospitality in action in the church my husband I were members of when we first married. Most Sundays, the pastor, elders, and deacons would open their homes after morning worship and invite visitors and other church members for lunch. In my first weeks at the church (my husband-to-be was already a member), there was an invitation to a different home every Sunday. In this way, I got to really know a large number of people in a short period of time.
This practice emanated from two areas of conviction among the church leadership. First, a Biblical observance of the Sabbath that included avoiding eating out in restaurants; and second, a priority placed upon Biblical hospitality and fellowship that was demonstrated from the top down as well as taught from the pulpit. The church leaders lead by example and the example was followed among many members of the congregation.
All of this was a revelation to me. I was taught that observing the Sabbath was something that only Jews did; and fellowship meals were quarterly or monthly pot luck affairs at the church building. Despite my past experience, or perhaps because of it, I bought into the Sabbath observance/hospitality concept hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately, before the practice could take hold within our own home we moved away.
Our transition to our new home was difficult, and had we not already had friends in the town to which we moved and family nearby, I don’t know that we would have stayed. It was impossible not to compare our new church to our old one, and one area in which the new church compared extremely unfavorably to the old one was in the area of fellowship. The only invitations we received to dine in other church members’ homes were from our Sunday school teachers and people with whom we were already friends. We decided there were a number of reasons for this. First, many people went to church with their extended families and ate Sunday lunches with them. Second, many people ate out after church. And finally, there was an altogether different definition of fellowship.
In his book, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, Donald S. Whitney explains the problem. Here is an excerpt from the chapter, “Seek True Fellowship, Not Mere Socializing.”
…socializing is not the same as fellowship. Unbelievers can socialize, only Christians can truly fellowship. But far too often we think we’ve enjoyed the rich feast of fellowship when we’ve only snacked on sometimes tasty but spiritually empty socializing.
At its simple best, fellowship involves two or more Holy Spirit indwelled people talking about God and the things of God…
A significant part of the Lords’ ministry to us comes through others in whom He lives. And He intends for us to experience much of this comforting, encouraging, instructing, reproving, guiding, and sustaining ministry through fellowship. But if we talk with our brothers and sisters almost exclusively about things even worldlings can discuss and understand, we deprive ourselves of many touches from Heaven.
True fellowship seldom occurs unintentionally, especially from those who do not yet see the difference between fellowship and socializing. Enjoy socializing with other Christians, but discipline yourself to talk more about things that matter, and talk about them as though they do matter.
Based on Whitney’s definition, greeting people at the start of worship is not fellowship but socializing. The weekly breakfast with the guys wherein nothing but football is discussed is not fellowship but socializing. Hanging around after church talking could be fellowship, but it is more likely that it is socializing. Even having people in your home can simply be socializing if you are not intentional in your efforts to provide true fellowship.
Those Sunday lunches in the early years of our marriage still inspire me. I have especially fond memories of having lunch in the pastor’s home. The food was always delicious, but never complicated, and the conversation was stimulating. My husband and I decided that instead of just pining for the past, we would do what we could do to follow that model in our new home and church. When it came time for us to purchase dining room furniture, we bought a table that would seat ten. I have been collecting recipes for dishes that can be assembled the evening before and that feed a number of guests. The homes we have built have large living areas conducive to entertaining modest crowds.
At this time, the reality of our practice has not matched our vision, but now that our children are getting a little older, our vision should become more of a reality. (Tired children don’t make for good dinner companions.) My prayer is that we would bless others as we have been blessed and that true fellowship would exist within the church.
Meeting Physical Needs
In recent years, God has made me sensitive to the lack of emphasis in the church upon meeting physical needs. Evangelical churches do not do nearly enough to meet physical needs and do not teach their members the importance of meeting physical needs. It is at best an afterthought. In Acts, Luke makes it clear that in the early church, things were much different: And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
In his book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, Ron Sider writes of the early church:
The picture of the first Christians in Jerusalem presented in the early chapters of Acts is one of astonishing love and joyous fellowship. Dramatic economic sharing was the norm… From later sections of Acts, it becomes clear that families retained private property. Membership in the fellowship did not mean one must place all property in a common purse. But the economic sharing was so extensive that observers were compelled to say that “there were no needy persons among them” (4:34). This astonishing economic sharing produced powerful evangelistic results!
Anyone with a heart for meeting physical needs cannot but refer to Christ’s own emphasis on the subject in His description of the judgment in Matthew 25:35-36:
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick , and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
It is interesting to note that in this description of the judgment, God doesn’t judge based on effectiveness in sharing the gospel but on efforts at meeting physical needs. I think this is because the two cannot be separated. A concern for physical needs is inherent in the gospel message. In His “mission statement” in Luke 4:18-19, Jesus, quoting Isaiah, says of himself:
The spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
Ad recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
Meeting physical needs is another area in my life wherein the reality doesn’t match the vision, but at this time, we are doing what we can. We are supporting a Romanian family monthly through World Vision, and we are responding to other needs as God directs us. Also, in serving as president of my WMU group for the past two years, I have been able to lead in making meeting physical needs a priority for our group.
I will close with something to ponder from Ron Sider:
The World Bank reports that 1.2 billion of the world’s poorest people try to survive on just one dollar a day. At least one billion people have never heard the gospel. …if American Christians just tithed, they would have another $143 billion available to empower the poor and spread the gospel.
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
I’m going to avoid the urge to discuss Biblical illiteracy, church disunity, Christians living just like the rest of the world, and virtually nonexistent personal evangelism. I will concentrate on fellowship/hospitality and meeting physical needs.
Fellowship and Hospitality
I saw Biblical fellowship and hospitality in action in the church my husband I were members of when we first married. Most Sundays, the pastor, elders, and deacons would open their homes after morning worship and invite visitors and other church members for lunch. In my first weeks at the church (my husband-to-be was already a member), there was an invitation to a different home every Sunday. In this way, I got to really know a large number of people in a short period of time.
This practice emanated from two areas of conviction among the church leadership. First, a Biblical observance of the Sabbath that included avoiding eating out in restaurants; and second, a priority placed upon Biblical hospitality and fellowship that was demonstrated from the top down as well as taught from the pulpit. The church leaders lead by example and the example was followed among many members of the congregation.
All of this was a revelation to me. I was taught that observing the Sabbath was something that only Jews did; and fellowship meals were quarterly or monthly pot luck affairs at the church building. Despite my past experience, or perhaps because of it, I bought into the Sabbath observance/hospitality concept hook, line, and sinker. Unfortunately, before the practice could take hold within our own home we moved away.
Our transition to our new home was difficult, and had we not already had friends in the town to which we moved and family nearby, I don’t know that we would have stayed. It was impossible not to compare our new church to our old one, and one area in which the new church compared extremely unfavorably to the old one was in the area of fellowship. The only invitations we received to dine in other church members’ homes were from our Sunday school teachers and people with whom we were already friends. We decided there were a number of reasons for this. First, many people went to church with their extended families and ate Sunday lunches with them. Second, many people ate out after church. And finally, there was an altogether different definition of fellowship.
In his book, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, Donald S. Whitney explains the problem. Here is an excerpt from the chapter, “Seek True Fellowship, Not Mere Socializing.”
…socializing is not the same as fellowship. Unbelievers can socialize, only Christians can truly fellowship. But far too often we think we’ve enjoyed the rich feast of fellowship when we’ve only snacked on sometimes tasty but spiritually empty socializing.
At its simple best, fellowship involves two or more Holy Spirit indwelled people talking about God and the things of God…
A significant part of the Lords’ ministry to us comes through others in whom He lives. And He intends for us to experience much of this comforting, encouraging, instructing, reproving, guiding, and sustaining ministry through fellowship. But if we talk with our brothers and sisters almost exclusively about things even worldlings can discuss and understand, we deprive ourselves of many touches from Heaven.
True fellowship seldom occurs unintentionally, especially from those who do not yet see the difference between fellowship and socializing. Enjoy socializing with other Christians, but discipline yourself to talk more about things that matter, and talk about them as though they do matter.
Based on Whitney’s definition, greeting people at the start of worship is not fellowship but socializing. The weekly breakfast with the guys wherein nothing but football is discussed is not fellowship but socializing. Hanging around after church talking could be fellowship, but it is more likely that it is socializing. Even having people in your home can simply be socializing if you are not intentional in your efforts to provide true fellowship.
Those Sunday lunches in the early years of our marriage still inspire me. I have especially fond memories of having lunch in the pastor’s home. The food was always delicious, but never complicated, and the conversation was stimulating. My husband and I decided that instead of just pining for the past, we would do what we could do to follow that model in our new home and church. When it came time for us to purchase dining room furniture, we bought a table that would seat ten. I have been collecting recipes for dishes that can be assembled the evening before and that feed a number of guests. The homes we have built have large living areas conducive to entertaining modest crowds.
At this time, the reality of our practice has not matched our vision, but now that our children are getting a little older, our vision should become more of a reality. (Tired children don’t make for good dinner companions.) My prayer is that we would bless others as we have been blessed and that true fellowship would exist within the church.
Meeting Physical Needs
In recent years, God has made me sensitive to the lack of emphasis in the church upon meeting physical needs. Evangelical churches do not do nearly enough to meet physical needs and do not teach their members the importance of meeting physical needs. It is at best an afterthought. In Acts, Luke makes it clear that in the early church, things were much different: And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
In his book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, Ron Sider writes of the early church:
The picture of the first Christians in Jerusalem presented in the early chapters of Acts is one of astonishing love and joyous fellowship. Dramatic economic sharing was the norm… From later sections of Acts, it becomes clear that families retained private property. Membership in the fellowship did not mean one must place all property in a common purse. But the economic sharing was so extensive that observers were compelled to say that “there were no needy persons among them” (4:34). This astonishing economic sharing produced powerful evangelistic results!
Anyone with a heart for meeting physical needs cannot but refer to Christ’s own emphasis on the subject in His description of the judgment in Matthew 25:35-36:
For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick , and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
It is interesting to note that in this description of the judgment, God doesn’t judge based on effectiveness in sharing the gospel but on efforts at meeting physical needs. I think this is because the two cannot be separated. A concern for physical needs is inherent in the gospel message. In His “mission statement” in Luke 4:18-19, Jesus, quoting Isaiah, says of himself:
The spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
Ad recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.
Meeting physical needs is another area in my life wherein the reality doesn’t match the vision, but at this time, we are doing what we can. We are supporting a Romanian family monthly through World Vision, and we are responding to other needs as God directs us. Also, in serving as president of my WMU group for the past two years, I have been able to lead in making meeting physical needs a priority for our group.
I will close with something to ponder from Ron Sider:
The World Bank reports that 1.2 billion of the world’s poorest people try to survive on just one dollar a day. At least one billion people have never heard the gospel. …if American Christians just tithed, they would have another $143 billion available to empower the poor and spread the gospel.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Reflections on Acts, Part I
This spring, our small group studied Acts using Kay Arthur’s New Inductive Study Series. Being a “doctrine girl,” I was afraid I would get bored, and although there were times it dragged a little for me, the study was much more of a blessing than I anticipated. Following is the first of three planned posts highlighting some of the things that stand out from the study that I have thought about and that we discussed as a group during our last meeting.
God is Working His Plan
God has a plan, and He will carry it out, and He usually does it in ways that are completely unexpected (Isaiah 55:9). First, growth of the church and the spread of Christianity were prompted by persecution that began with the stoning of Stephen (8:1). Jesus told the disciples in 1:8, “and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Persecution was the means God used to relocate the first believers so the gospel would spread.
Persecution as a catalyst for the spread of the gospel reminds me of our recent missions conference. Carmen Hale from Elam Ministries spoke to us about their work in Iran. She told us that when the Shah was in power and there was religious freedom in Iran, no one was interested in the gospel, but since Islamist fundamentalists have been in power the church has been growing. Several Iranian pastors have been martyred in recent years, and people are now flocking to the churches. A new translation of the New Testament into Farsi (Persian) was recently completed and published. Carmen showed us a video of the clandestine arrival of the new Bibles, and you have never seen more beautiful, joyful people as those who were waiting expectantly for their new Bibles—in the knowledge that their presence at this event could cost them their lives.
A second observation about God working His plan relates to Paul and his intentions to go to Rome. Romans 1: 9-17 and Romans 15:20-33 make it clear that Paul planned to stop off in Rome en route to Spain NOT to spend several years imprisoned there. However, God in His infinite wisdom provided the circumstances for Paul to author Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, Philippians, and II Timothy through Paul’s imprisonment. (Paul was imprisoned twice in Rome. First, from ~60 A.D. to 62 A.D. and, then, from ~63 A.D. to 64 A.D.)
God Keeps His Promises
In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abram, “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” A brief online search gives an approximate date of 2147 B.C. for God’s calling of Abram. More than 2,000 years later, we begin to see this promised fulfilled in Acts chapter 10 with the Roman Centurion Cornelius’s conversion.
This brings to mind 2 Peter 3:8-9: But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
I am someone who often FEELS (herein lies the problem) that God is not moving quickly enough for me. I would do well to remember His word and how He has worked in the past.
Next time, I will examine the first church as presented in Acts.
God is Working His Plan
God has a plan, and He will carry it out, and He usually does it in ways that are completely unexpected (Isaiah 55:9). First, growth of the church and the spread of Christianity were prompted by persecution that began with the stoning of Stephen (8:1). Jesus told the disciples in 1:8, “and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Persecution was the means God used to relocate the first believers so the gospel would spread.
Persecution as a catalyst for the spread of the gospel reminds me of our recent missions conference. Carmen Hale from Elam Ministries spoke to us about their work in Iran. She told us that when the Shah was in power and there was religious freedom in Iran, no one was interested in the gospel, but since Islamist fundamentalists have been in power the church has been growing. Several Iranian pastors have been martyred in recent years, and people are now flocking to the churches. A new translation of the New Testament into Farsi (Persian) was recently completed and published. Carmen showed us a video of the clandestine arrival of the new Bibles, and you have never seen more beautiful, joyful people as those who were waiting expectantly for their new Bibles—in the knowledge that their presence at this event could cost them their lives.
A second observation about God working His plan relates to Paul and his intentions to go to Rome. Romans 1: 9-17 and Romans 15:20-33 make it clear that Paul planned to stop off in Rome en route to Spain NOT to spend several years imprisoned there. However, God in His infinite wisdom provided the circumstances for Paul to author Ephesians, Philemon, Colossians, Philippians, and II Timothy through Paul’s imprisonment. (Paul was imprisoned twice in Rome. First, from ~60 A.D. to 62 A.D. and, then, from ~63 A.D. to 64 A.D.)
God Keeps His Promises
In Genesis 12:3, God tells Abram, “in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” A brief online search gives an approximate date of 2147 B.C. for God’s calling of Abram. More than 2,000 years later, we begin to see this promised fulfilled in Acts chapter 10 with the Roman Centurion Cornelius’s conversion.
This brings to mind 2 Peter 3:8-9: But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
I am someone who often FEELS (herein lies the problem) that God is not moving quickly enough for me. I would do well to remember His word and how He has worked in the past.
Next time, I will examine the first church as presented in Acts.
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