SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/5/2017 12:36 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
Sharing Practically
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts 4:32b, 34-35
Message of the verses: “and
not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all
things were common property to them…For there was not a needy person among
them, for all who were owners of land of houses would sell them and bring the
proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet; and they would be
distributed to each, as any had need.”
John MacArthur writes
“A very practical test of a Christian’s love is how much he or she is willing
to sacrifice financially. James asks,
‘If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one
of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet do not
give them what is necessary for their
body, what use is that?’ (James
2:15-16). The apostle John expressed it
even more bluntly: ‘But whoever has the
world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against
him, how does the love of God abide in him?’ (1 John 3:17).” As believers in Jesus Christ we are stewards
of what God has allowed us to have, and perhaps at times we are not good
stewards. The people in this first New
Testament church were good stewards of what they had as they knew it all
belonged to God and when someone needed something they had they were willing to
give it to them because of the shared love that they had in Christ.
Paul writes the
following in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 in order to demonstrate the sacrificial spirit
of poor believer in Macedonia:
“1 Now,
brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in
the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a
great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty
overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 3
For I testify that
according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own
accord, 4 begging us with much
urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, 5 and this, not as we had expected, but they
first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”
Now if I remember
correctly the offering that Paul is referring to here is the offering that Paul
was collecting for the poor church in Jerusalem because of a drought that
happened there.
Now as we go back to
the time Luke is talking about we see that as a result of this practical
demonstration of live that took place in Jerusalem was that “there was not a
needy person among them.” When we looked
at when the church began in Acts chapter two it was mentioned that there were
many pilgrims there for the feast of Pentecost and we have to believe that many
of them who were saved stayed there in order to be under the teaching of the
apostles, and so there was much need during this time. Another thing that must have happened was
that many of the new believers in Jerusalem who actually lived there would have
lost their jobs because of their new found faith in Jesus Christ. This kind of thing still goes on today as in
some families when a person becomes born-again the family and the people they
are working for disowns them.
Now because the church
was meeting all of the needs of these people must have been something that the
community would have noticed and perhaps could have caused them to investigate
to see why this was happening.
I have a doctor friend
of mine who at this time is in the jungles of Peru along with some other
doctors and nurses giving medical aid to those who are living in the
jungle. This lady had a good thriving
practice in her home town before she decided to become a missionary serving the
Lord in different places around the world.
She is doing this for the love of the Lord and to tell others about
Jesus Christ.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:
“Peter” (Acts 12:11).
Today’s Bible question:
“Cyrenius was governor of what country?”
Answer in our next SD.
10/5/2017 12:59 PM
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