A Growing Church

February 7

(Acts 2:47b NIV) “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

(Matthew 13:18-23 NIV)  ""Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: {19} When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. {20} The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. {21} But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. {22} The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. {23} But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.""

The church grows when people answer God’s call to repent and surrender their lives to the Lordship of Christ. When people stop running from God and turn to Him in repentance, the church grows. In the early church, people didn’t get saved weekly -- they got saved daily. That is what happens in a church devoted to God’s word, to community, and to prayer. That is what happens in a body of believers who concentrate on praise and expressions of devotion and worship. That is what happens when the people of God have a positive attitude about their church and live out their faith in love on a daily basis. That is what happens when the Spirit of God pervades the atmosphere of a church. This is still the kind of church Jesus calls us to be. This is the church that multiplies as the Lord adds daily to their number, producing a crop “a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.” -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day   

Positive Christianity

February 6

(Acts 2:46-47 NIV) "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, {47} praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.”

(Romans 15:13 NIV) "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

(Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV) "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children {2} and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

The new believers were positive people. They were “Praise the Lord!” kind of Christians. They had good things to say about each other and about their neighbors. They were short on gossip and long on encouragement. They built one another up instead of tearing one another down. They loved each other with the love they had received from the Lord. And it was noticed. Scripture says they enjoyed the favor of those around them, and the church grew. Positive people draw crowds. Positive people inspire us. We like to be around positive people. It’s easy to be a negative critic. It takes spiritual maturity to be a positive witness in the face of a negative world. But God can help. Maybe it’s time to change your attitude and become the kind of Christian who draws people to the Lord, instead of fulfilling all the negative stereotypes the world has about the church. It’s a matter of the will. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Rethinking Church

February 5

(Acts 2:46 NIV) “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together…”

(2 Corinthians 6:14 NIV) "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"

(Ephesians 2:19-22 NIV) "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, {20} built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. {21} In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. {22} And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

(Hebrews 10:25 NIV) "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

Togetherness is the natural result of being “one in Christ”. You can’t really “do” togetherness in an hour on Sunday morning -- it takes more time than that. The early Christians met together every day in the temple courts, and they “broke bread” together in smaller groups in their homes. They prayed together, studied together, worked together, ate together, played together, laughed together, and cried together. They were not only brothers and sisters, they became friends. They unyoked from those who did not believe, and became yoked together with Christ and with one another. For us to do this, we will need to rethink what we mean by “church”. We’ll need to see it less as a building or a meeting, and begin to see it as an existence and an identity. “Church” must become more than just a place or a doctrine. It must become “who we are”. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Sticking Together

February 4

(Acts 2:44-45 NIV)  "All the believers were together and had everything in common. {45} Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need."

(John 13:34-35 NIV)  ""A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. {35} By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.""

(1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV)  "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought."

Jesus brought people together. Those who truly followed Him became like family. They didn’t just get a spiritual buzz on Sunday morning, and then go their separate ways -- they stuck together, and cared for one another. They lived for one another and died for one another. They were generous with one another. Detaching themselves from property and belongings, they sold their personal possessions, and helped those among them who were in need. They considered the needs of others as equal to their own. This was more than a church with a lighted sign, a great band, and a radio show -- this was genuine community. We desperately need this today. In a world of small commitments, broken promises, and a myriad of choices, sticking together is harder than ever before. But there is divine power in it. It’s the Jesus way, and it is the way of the genuine disciple. Stick together! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day