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

Effective Ministry Requires Commitment

February 27

(Acts 4:19-20 NIV) ““But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. {20} For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.””

(Acts 14:1-7 NIV) "At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. {2} But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. {3} So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. {4} The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. {5} There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. {6} But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, {7} where they continued to preach the good news."

(Luke 19:37-40 NIV) ""When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: {38} "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" {39} Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" {40} "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.""

At some point, our commitment to Jesus and His message will be tested. If our commitment to sharing the Gospel has never been tested, it is likely we are not faithfully communicating the heart of Jesus. When we are tested, we have a choice to make -- we can fold like a card table or we can stand strong. Peter and John stood strong. They told the authorities, “We cannot help ourselves.” They could not stop talking about what they had seen and heard with Jesus. When we come to the point where we “cannot help ourselves”, God will give us courage for every situation and we will be empowered to tell people about what we’ve seen and heard. Effective ministry requires commitment. It will also take the Holy Spirit’s power to stand against the public pressure to silence our witness. But if we stand strong, we can have an effective ministry, and souls can be saved. Stand strong! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day