As we head into the election, can we take a lesson from the early church? The early church stuck together, united under one purpose, the purpose that matters for eternity—people finding hope in Jesus.
Yes, we should vote, and, of course, we should care, and undoubtedly we pray for the state of our nation. Let's just make the main thing our primary focus.
Here is what our forefathers in the faith can teach us.
1. Stick together in love. Acts 2:44, "All the believers were together and had everything in common." 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. The Lord isn't asking us to give up our property right now. He's just asking us to give up our right to be right. To speak hope and not hurt each other, especially during this trying time.
Acts goes on to say:
46 "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts."
I am so grateful that we are meeting together in the church courts again—inside and out. And now we have the technology to meet online. You may not be able to "break bread in your homes" with others right now. But let's not break hearts online, throwing our opinions around without love for our brothers and sisters. To help with that, let's
2. Unite in prayer under the greatest cause. Acts 2: 5, "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." One wise writer said, "The angel freed Peter from prison, but it was prayer that brought the angel."
Prayer may seem passive, but it's the most active thing we can do. Charles Trumbull, a turn of the century Christian author: Prayer is releasing the energies of God. For prayer is asking God to do what we cannot do."
If our nation, if this world is to be healed, we need to call on the Lord to do what we cannot. If we want to be an attraction to Him and not, a repulsion, let's stick together in love and...
3. Trust that no matter what you see or can't see in front of you, God is still working all around to bring you abundant life. In this section of Acts, we see that the Lord didn't stop the Apostle James from being killed, but James isn’t complaining. He got an early invitation to the streets of gold and the eternal presence of his caring Savior.
The Lord did free Peter from prison. Both were part of His plan and brought good for all believers, whether they realized it at the time. Part of the reason the gospel spread to the world was because people took the good news with them as they scattered during persecution. God had a plan, even in what seemed like pain.
I pray that you can find some help and hope for the days ahead in these tools. And here's a chance for more hope:
COMMUNICATION DURING QUARANTINE CLASSES
Every Thursday in November (except for Thanksgiving) from 1-2pm.
(During the lunch hour if you are working.) I will be teaching a Zoom class for marriages. The stats are telling us that married couples are struggling during these Covid months. And after 40 years in the counselor's chair, I'd like to offer some time-tested tools.
The class will be affordable, only $30 per couple. And will be limited to no more than 5 couples so that everyone can get focused attention.
Contact Linda to register to get some insight into managing your life for a better relationship. https://www.lindanewtonspeaks.com
AND check out this week’s Freebie Friday, a classic when it comes to tools to benefiting marriages.