I wanted to work with what we had available to us.
Though two of my children finished in private high school, the bulk of education for all three was public school.
I wanted to know that, if we worked hard with who they were and what we had, they would have every post high school option available to them for their choosing.
God seems to lead us on a similar course. He always works with what we give Him in surrender of our will to Him and in time spent in the hard work of getting to know Him.
He works with what we make available to Him.
In Acts 1, after His resurrection, Jesus is leaving instructions with the apostles for their next steps, as He knows His earthly departure is imminent:
"...[you are waiting on] the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."Our mission as believers is to spread the Good News of Christ. This is action that requires strategy. Where do we begin?
Church circles often discuss what an Acts 2 church would look like, where believers [commit] themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Peter's how-to includes this admonition:
"Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!"For most of us, we can't exit the culture any more than most kids can exit public school. But we can work hard with who we are and with what we have.
Since local churches are simply parts of the greater Church, it seems valuable to ponder an Acts 2 community, where resources are pooled, harmony is built and the message of Christ flourishes.
We'll ask God for some how-to's.
Tomorrow: fighting our proprietary spirit.
