Grace Travelers

We are all born with reservations at The Lake of Fire (Rev 19:20; 20:10-15).  We can cancel them anytime. Yet the most certain event in our future is one we try our best to ignore and attempt to relegate to a comfortable distance. We are playing with fire!!

Choices
Just as we are free to make reservations at a hotel when we travel or go on vacation, we are free to make reservations for eternity. Listen in as we delve into the Rich Man and Lazarus.

"...having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end." (John 13:1) Jesus Loved Them!? Ha! They were a ragtag bunch of renegades. Loved them to the end. Knowing what they were doing behind His back and what they would be doing, even knowing what was in their heart. Their past, their present, their future! How do we know Jesus loves us?

It Happened.?! Jesus' resurrection is the single greatest hope-giver. Ever! He has power over death. Even more so, He has the gift of eternal life. It is the singularly unique aspect of the claims of Christianity. The evidence of the resurrection of Jesus demands a verdict that it was true. But, imagine being a little closer to the event. Your life would become controlled by it. You would not be able to get it out of your every waking thought. Unless you were a resurrection denier—your only other choice.

Saul (soon to be Paul) describes his journey from Persecutor to Apostleship - Salvation by grace, unplanned and unlikely, each has particular calling, please man or please God?, remember to minister to the poor.

Do you have them? Saul, the man imprisoning the first Christians had a 'come to Jesus' moment and began working for Him instead of persecuting Him. The man given the assignment to pray for and baptize Saul asked God why. The Lord said, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Are you baptized and filled for God's use?

When the 'religious establishments' core beliefs about death are challenged, they attack the church and Believers. Stephen was stoned for his sermon on the unbelief of Israel and his sermon launched the persecution of the emerging church by Saul.

Last week we looked at how the Spirit was establishing the church and how He draws people together. He was doing something miraculous in Acts 4 where people were holding everything in common. Satan decided to use Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5) to corrupt the integrity of the event. HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS FOR THIS ONE!

We see the power of community in the opening days of the church recorded in Acts. God was working in mighty ways and Satan was doing his level best to oppose Him. Join us as we Walk His Way.

The Gospel was beginning to be heard and the establishment began exerting their power against it. God steadily rolled out the message and grew the church (both spiritual and local). God worked through people to speak.

The church today doesn’t look like the early church in many ways. Does it matter? What did Jesus say for us to do? Go, Make Disciples, Baptize, Be His Witnesses. He didn’t specify one format or way or structure. He described the spiritual look of it, not the physical.