SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/16/2017
9:27 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Spiritual
Character
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Acts
2:43-47a
Message of the
verses: “42 They were continually
devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and
many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those
who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began
selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as
anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together
with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47
praising God.”
The title “Spiritual Character” is the next main title in
the chapter we are following from John MacArthur’s commentary, and under that
main title are two sub-titles which we will look at the first one this
morning. He writes the following under
this main point of “Spiritual Character.”
“A church that fulfills the spiritual duties will find that those duties
produce spiritual character. Four
aspects of the first fellowship’s character may be discerned in this passage.”
“IT WAS AN AWE-INSPIRITRING
CHURCH:” “And everyone kept feeling a
sense of awe (Acts 2:43a).”
I think that the first thing we need to do is look up the
word that is translated “awe” as I am not sure how many times that word is used
in the Bible. “1) fear, dread, terror, 1a) that which strikes terror, 2) reverence
for one’s husband,” this word is translated as “fear” 41 times in the KJV. John MacArthur says that it “refers to fear
or holy terror related to the sense of divine presence, to the attitude of
reverence. It describes the feeling
produced when one realizes God is at hand.
It is used in Acts 5:5 and 11 to describe the reaction of the deaths of
Ananias and Sapphira. In Acts 19:17 it
depicts the reaction of the citizens of Ephesus to the attack on some Jewish
exorcists by a demon-possessed man. Luke
7:16 uses it to portray the reaction to our Lord’s raising of the widow’s
son. The life of this first fellowship
was so genuine and spiritually powerful that ‘everyone,’ whether inside or
outside the church, ‘kept feeling a sense of awe.’”
What people were in awe of was not the buildings, the
programs or anything that reflects human ability, now it was by the
supernatural character of the life of the people in the church. This is the kind of thing that happens when
the people in the church are using their spiritual gifts in a proper way.
I remember a time close to fourteen years ago when the
Lord was using me in a very special way to tell our neighbors about the end
times that is described in the Word of God.
Many of them were getting saved and it was a week before Thanksgiving
fourteen years ago that the Lord awoke me around 4:30 in the morning and began
to work on my heart. I sensed that what
He was saying in my heart was that I was not responsible for the salvation of
those that were being saved, but He was.
The Lord certainly had a hold of my heart and had my attention and
perhaps the word “awe” would be a good word to describe what was going on at
that time, for indeed the Lord was working in a very special way during that
time fourteen years ago as many were saved, all to His glory.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I love when the
Lord uses me to tell someone about Christ, and then they receive the gift of
salvation.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To trust the Lord to use me to tell others
about Jesus Christ and His salvation.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Elisabeth” (Luke 1:43).
Today’s Bible
question: “Where had Festus asked Paul
to go when Paul appealed to Caesar?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/16/2017 10:05 AM
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