Grace Giving Empowers Preaching

March 3

(Acts 4:33 NIV) “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.”

(2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV) "But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this grace of giving."

(2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV) "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

Grace giving empowers gospel preaching. The early Christians gave generously to one another as they witnessed to their changed lives, and the apostles continued to testify with great power. This combination of faith and deeds changed the world. The generous church grows -- the stingy church shrivels. Generous Christians grow -- stingy Christians shrivel. Christian witness is muted by a stingy heart, while grace giving opens the doors of heaven. This goes way beyond money -- it’s about the joyful and sacrificial giving of one’s life, one’s time, one’s love, one’s talent, and one’s heart. The church needs Christians who are more concerned with what they can offer the church, than with what the church can offer them -- believers who ask, “What can I give?” rather than, “What can I get?”. This is the kind of church the disciples belonged to, and it’s a worthy model for today. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

I Surrender All

March 2

(Acts 4:32 NIV) “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”

(2 Corinthians 8:1-5 NIV) "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. {2} Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. {3} For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, {4} they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. {5} And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will."

This Sunday someone, somewhere, will sing the old hymn, “I Surrender All”. But almost everyone who sings it has an exception clause or two -- an unwritten list of things we won’t surrender. Very likely, that list includes some of our possessions. Soon after Pentecost, the infant church became the most generous institution on the face of the Earth. The early Christians surrendered up their possessions and shared all that they had with one another. Only fully surrendered hearts can bow like this to God’s heart. Their hearts had become one -- they now had the heart of Jesus. They not only sold out to Jesus, they sold out for one another. They gave up the right to use the word, “mine”. Vanity, envy, and striving for status had no place in their lives. This kind of giving requires divine intervention. Only a heart overflowing with the Holy Spirit can be this generous. May our hearts be filled! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day   

God Answers Prayer

March 1

(Acts 4:31 NIV) “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

(Matthew 7:7-8 NIV) "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. {8} For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

(1 John 5:14-15 NIV) "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. {15} And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."

The prayers that shook the building where the disciples had gathered were prayers for courage and boldness to witness in the face of danger. That kind of prayer can still shake the church. When we begin to pray according to God’s will as the disciples did, asking the Lord to do great things through us for His glory, He will enable us to speak the word of God boldly, and the church will grow. We may suffer, but God’s Kingdom will expand. When we allow God’s Spirit to fill us, and when we live with the faith and joy of the early church, we will see awesome answers to prayer. And when God answers prayer, what He has done in our lives will not remain a secret. How the Lord blessed us and changed us will become a part of our normal, daily conversation. The church will grow when genuine faith brings genuine change, and when those genuinely changed share a genuine witness. Speak up! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Effective Ministry is Dependent

February 28

(Acts 4:23-30 NIV) ““On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. {24} When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. {25} You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? {26} The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' {27} Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. {28} They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. {29} Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. {30} Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.””

Effective ministry is powered by a strong dependence upon God and His church. Peter and John gathered the church together, and went before the Lord in prayer. They were team players, not rugged individualists. They praised God for what He had done, and remembered His greatness. They asked for faith and strength to continue doing ministry. We don’t hear them asking for protection, or that God would spare them from the penalties of speaking the truth. They asked for the courage to fulfill their calling, regardless of what happened. They asked God to make them effective ministers, and to make them more visible, even though their lives had been threatened. They asked for boldness in preaching. This is the kind of prayer that can change a city, or even the world. And if we desire an effective ministry, this is the kind of prayer disciples should be praying today. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day