Acts 5 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Acts 5:31

“God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.”

This may seem like a strange way to start, but here me out: who do we pray to? Do we pray to the God on the cross, the God in the grave, or do we pray to the God who conquered death, broke the grave, and is now seated in power and majesty at the Father’s right hand? It is important for us to focus upon who we are praying to and where He is at. He is no longer hanging on the cross but has come down in power and victory! He is no longer laying in the grave but has been raised to life in awesome wonder! He is no longer walking this earth in the flesh but ruling over it in the power of the Spirit!

If our picture of Christ remains one of Him in the manger only, then we are missing out on so much. What I mean by that is our understanding and acknowledgement of Christ and Who He is must grow as we grow in Him. Yes, we give glory and remember what He gave on the cross, and we praise the Father for raising Him to life through the power of the Spirit, yet we must remember that is not where He is today but rather He is seated in power, majesty, and perfection at the right hand of God! And do you know one of the things He is doing there for us this day?

Romans 8:34- Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your tireless efforts to intercede on our behalf! Praise God! So today as we pray, let us remember what Christ paid for us, how He paid it, and where He is today! For one day, if we finish our race, we will be with Him forever!

2 Timothy 4:7,8- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.

God bless! I love you all, but His love came, overcame, and is coming again! Praise, glory, and honor to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

Acts 5:42

Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. 

 

Acts 8:3 - But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

 

Day by day and house by house, one at a time, if need be, we see the Early Church taking this deliberate and thorough hands-on approach to preaching and teaching the Gospel. Can we still say that today? We also see that evil will go to any means necessary to stop or quench the Gospel, but will we preach and teach it? Evil in this world won’t stop, and we can’t either!

 

The Early Church grew exponentially, but I can only remember a couple of accounts of mass conversions. So how did they do it? The answer is right there: house by house and day by day; the Early Church ground it out regardless of the situations and circumstances around them. Could we be a Church like that today? A Church that goes after the one? Jesus does, and if no student is above his teacher, then maybe we should start following His lead on this (and so much more).

 

Whether you are called to preach to the nations or minister to one lonely broken heart, whatever you're called to, do it with everything you have and always for His glory! I’m so very thankful and grateful that God doesn’t look at the “numbers” before He decides whether He is going to come after us. He doesn’t say, “I got 99 more; I don’t need that 1,” but rather, “You guys sit tight. I will be right back!”

 

Matthew 18:12-14 - “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”

 

God bless! I love you all, but He loves you more and proved it on the cross! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, and the Holy Spirit!