Author: mary

The people of Acts 2 experienced many miraculous things because they chose to follow Christ. First, they experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost they saw people from every language come together and understand each other because of the power of the Holy Spirit. Then, they experienced Peter’s powerful sermon that he delivered to the crowd. The people believed what Peter said, and 3,000 were saved that day. From there, the people form a community of believers and begin meeting everyday. They devoted themselves to the teaching of the word and were hospitable to all people. They gave up their belongings and shared everything they had. They saw people being added to their numbers daily.

This is what the body of believers should look like today. Can you just imagine? The church could have all things in common and see many added to their numbers everyday if they followed the lead of the Acts 2 church. As a body of believers, we need to strive to live in this way. We need to take care of those who need help. We need to teach the gospel and be hungry to learn more about the Lord. We could see change in our churches and communities if we lived like this.

Romans 12:21 gives us good advice when it comes to this Christian life: “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” There is so much evil in this world: people who only live for themselves, continuously live in sin, and people who take advantage of others. How can we be a light in a dark world?

This verse says to conquer evil by doing good. In other words, don’t be overwhelmed with evil, but instead conquer evil by doing good. For example, look at the life of Stephen in Acts 6. He was persecuted and ridiculed, yet He continued to conquer that evil by doing good and living for the Lord. When they threw stones at him, he allowed them. When the people yelled, “Crucify Him” at Christ before He went to the cross, He went willingly and even carried His cross. He conquered the evil in the word by taking up His cross. Jesus asks us to do the same so we can follow HIm.

Honor God by choosing to do good instead of allowing evil to win and conquer. Goodness and love will always win out.

Peace. If our world had more peace, we would see less divisions, less disagreement, and less disarray. It can be especially difficult when we see divisions at the highest level. I think anyone who has watched what has been going on in the world over the last year can agree that we could all use a little more peace and unity. Everyone has an opinion and argument with how the country should be run and what can fix all of the problems in the world.

God has called Christians to be peacemakers. We are the ones who should be loving the world and showing the world how to love. Romans 12:18 says, “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” That doesn’t mean we compromise on our beliefs. Instead, we need to stand for truth and live out the Bible so others can see what it really means to be a Christian. We should live in peace with our family, our friends, our church, our neighbors, our communities, and the world.

Pray about ways that you can be a peacemaker in your community and world. Ask God to give you wisdom and knowledge. May you be someone who bridges the gap between Christians and the rest of the world.

As a Christian, you have an identity in Christ. You are His chosen people. 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” God set you apart and called you His people, royal priests, a holy nation.

You are God’s very own possession. He bought you with the blood of Christ. He values you and loves you more than anything. Have you ever had something that you dearly loved? A prized possession? How did you care for it? When I was young, I had a trunk of my father’s possessions. He showed horses so it included ribbons, trophies, and some of his toy horses from his childhood. I would get each one out and unwrap the paper from it, admire them, and then wrap each one up and put it away. I made sure I handled them with care so nothing would happen to them. This is how God cares for us, but even more! He is a good Father who handles each of us with care.

In the same way that God handles us, so we should handle others. We should care for them and love them so they see the love of God in our lives. God sees us as His prized possession, so we should see others. We are the light of the world.

“Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” As Romans 12:16 says. The word harmony is a music term that is used to complement the melody. You can have one part in harmony or many parts that are harmonious together. When each section is focused on their own part they can sound beautiful together. But if one starts to try and control the other, they won’t be able to work together in unison. Just as if Christians are too proud to enjoy the company of others, they will not be able to work together.

So how can we live in harmony together? Reach out to others for wisdom and knowledge whether that be leaders in the church or teachers of the Word. Meet in groups together to learn more about the Word, how to implement it in your home, your job, and in the church. Believers can also work together when they serve the community. FInd ways to bring the gospel to the neighborhoods. This is exactly what the Acts 2 church did. They were so passionate about the gospel, that they met together everyday, gave up all things, and were hospitable and cared about the people around them. They saw thousands being added to their number daily!

The church today can still be like the Acts 2 church if they are passionate about the Lord and serving Him. They will be a sweet sound to the ears like harmonious music if their focus is the Lord.