lørdag 30. april 2016

A dynamic combination 2

NORSK
Yesterday I wrote about the important combination of obedience and good habits. There are several such combinations, and they will function as a fuse for God’s dynamite – the power that will put into effect what God wants to do:
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
Acts 1:14
I this verse I notice three factors:

1. Faithfulness (consistency)

In many ways this is a continuation of 'good habits'. There are at least three types of faith in the Bible. I think there is a 'proportion of faith' (1)  in all people. It is the conscious or unconscious recognition there must be something more than just a physical reality. This faith grows in a natural way when we start using it. 

The second is a gift of the Spirit (2). No one has this gift all the time, but some get it in certain situations or for certain purposes. The third expression of faith is faith-fulness. This is also part of the fruit of the Spirit.

2. Fellowship
The words ‘ joined’, 'together' and ‘along’ in today's verse are words that say a lot about fellowship. The first two say something about the purpose of coming together, and the last tells who came together. I think it is important who comes along. This amazing thing here is that the community does not distinguish gender, family or status. From this verse alone, I cannot affirm that there were people with different ethnic backgrounds represented, but that the gospel is for all was clearly demonstrated when the promise was fulfilled some days later. I think it was very important for Luke to reveal the open composition of the fellowship. But they also came together for a goal:

3. Focused Prayer
They had understood that to wait for something from God means prayer. They also knew what to ask for, therefore their prayers had a clear focus

Today 'manna':

Faithfulness, fellowship and focused prayers add to the dynamics of good habits and obedience
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(1) let us use them ... in proportion to our faith - Rom 12:6 NKJV
(2) to another (is given) faith by the same Spirit - 1 Cor 12:9
(3) the fruit of the Spirit is ... faithfulness - Gal 5:22
This reflection is part of 'Who acts throug Acts?'

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