UPWARD AND OUTWARD


"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship… and to prayer…. praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42, 47)

Read: Acts 2:42-47

For two weeks, Bishop Josep Rossello spoke about envisioning church. The account of God moving in the lives of these first believers shows them as learners of the Gospel and as a family of believers who become the envisioning church. They devoted themselves to prayer and praising God in a way that gained favour from others and caused their numbers to grow.

This is not the prescription of a perfect church, but the description of what an ideal church can look like—and it all starts with prayer. Luke shows us the early church’s devotion to prayer is foundational, leading them to a deep faith and zealous outreach.

Devotion to prayer shows we are first and foremost dependent on the power of God in our lives. This translates to praying in our personal prayer time, life groups and prayers meeting. It means a continuous attitude of prayer as we go through our day.

ON THE COUCH WITH GOD TODAY

How committed are you to prayer? Maybe you want to be but struggle knowing how. From gratitude to walking prayers, become devoted to prayer with a new way to pray through the Everyday Faith Prayer Guide.


Location: Londres, Reino Unido

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Danger

Image
If you’re reading this right now then be warned. This devotional to spiritual warfare is a bit dangerous, not to you, but to your way of life. If ignorance is bliss, it aims to destroy that bliss forever. Imagine living in a house infested with termites. For years you never noticed them. Just beyond reach, just out of sight, they lived, they ate, they spawned, they festered. For all those years you blindly ate, played, and slept, unaware of the lurking presence right beneath your head at night. If you live in a house full of termites is it better to know or is it simpler to live in ignorance? If you prefer ignorance, then stop reading right now. If you don’t want to know about the spiritual forces that have been eating away at the foundation of your life and family like termites, then there’s no need to go any farther. Ignorance is in fact bliss, at least for the short term. This book’s aim is nothing short of ripping up the base boards, pulling out the sheetrock and exposing the d
Read more

FEARFUL

Image
" Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles " (Acts 2:43) Read: Acts 2:43 The word awe is defined as “fearful” and usually refers to the fear of the LORD in the Bible. Fear of the Lord doesn’t mean sheer terror. It’s having a healthy respect for God’s power, acknowledging his all-encompassing character and that he holds life and death in his hands. Early believers focused upward and gave God credit for the miracles performed through the Apostles and the salvation they offered through Jesus. We have no less reason for awe of God today. His signs and wonders are all around us. He created everything (Genesis 1:1), holds everything together (Colossians 1:17) and raised Christ from the dead by which we are saved and made new (Romans 6:4). He has a home for each of us in his Kingdom (John 14:2), which will be established when Jesus returns (1 Thessalonians 4:16). God is the author of life through which babies are formed, and plants s
Read more

Worship

Image
Text: Psalm 104.24-35 Psalm 104 starts and ends with the words, “Praise the Lord, my soul”. The beginning and the end are a proclamation of praise to the Almighty God. In fact, the whole psalm is a review of the greatness of God in creation and, therefore, a meditation on God’s providence. To consider such things, helps us to draw closer to God and worship Him. If we are sincere with ourselves, our daily situations (children, work, news, stress, etc.) can take our attention away from God. It is not easy to just plug-in and worship the Lord. I find myself missing so much of God’s creation, because my mind wanders off to my daily concerns. My wife calls me to really see the beauty around us, otherwise I would miss it. How easy it is for us to be carried away and not once lift our eyes to the Lord, and worship Him that created the earth. Let us open our spiritual eyes, God has revealed through the authors of the Psalms that all of creation is called to worship. It is not just appreciation
Read more