Ancient Words: Name Above All Names, Strength from His Name
And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people.
And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (Act 2:44-47).” How did this happen in AD 33? What motivated these 1st century people to share all they had, have all things in common, meet daily together, have fun (gladness) and share a common purpose? Who gave such energy and devotion and courage?
Jesus’ time in the flesh ended a few days earlier with the people having something tangible to view, observe and place their trust in. But now, Jesus was gone, ascended to heaven, taking his place at God’s right hand on the heavenly throne. Yet, his Spirit was sent to lead and direct, empower and embody—-his Spirit was sent to give strength to all who would call on the name of Jesus. John recorded Jesus speaking shortly before his death: “…. If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified (Joh 7:37-39).”
Living water is the strength that would be provided by Christ’s Spirit. In Samaria, he spoke to the woman at the well about God’s powerful water: “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water (Joh 4:10)…. “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life (Joh 4:13-14).”
The followers of Jesus, after his death, were given this living water, they were given an abundant supply, never to thirst again. They were made strong in the Spirit of Christ to endure, overcome, meet the challenges of the day, persevere under the darkness which sought nothing less than to stamp out the light and the strength that the light possessed. The evidence is seen throughout the book of Acts: “… And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles (Act 8:1).” However, we see what response came out of great persecution: “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all (Act 4:32-33).” His Spirit is the same yesterday, today, and forever as the Ancient Words proclaim. The same Spirit remains today to provide strength to all of us who serve the name Jesus, who died in our place.
Scott and Jane Johnson minister with East Faulkner Church of Christ and BRG Bible. Bible questions can be sent to [email protected].
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“Just Ok, Is Not Ok!”
I recently saw a series of commercials for AT&T entitled “Just OK is not Ok.” My favorite one is about the surgeon. A couple is speaking with the nurse about her husband’s upcoming surgery. She asks the nurse if she had ever worked with Dr. Francis to which she replies, “yeah he’s ok.” This obviously makes the couple nervous.
Next, in walks the surgeon who implies that he may or may not have been reinstated. He then asks the patient if he was nervous. The patient nods and the surgeon says, “yeah? Me too. Its okay we’ll figure it out. I’ll see you in there!” If I was the patient in that situation, “just ok” and a nonchalant attitude by the surgeon is not something that I would appreciate. Unfortunately, in our society we see that attitude a lot. “Just OK” should never be ok! We should never be satisfied with doing just enough to get by. Why settle for good, when we can be better? Taking pride in our work and whatever we do should be a standard that we live by. Believers especially should subscribe to this mentality. Colossians 3:23 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” In our daily walk as believers whether at our jobs, in our homes or whatever we are doing we must always strive to do our best unto the Glory of God! We are called to be examples in what we do and how we do it. People are always watching and unfortunately some are watching and waiting to “catch” us doing something wrong! So, in all that you do, remember to do your best, after all, He cared enough to send His very best, His Son! Peace and Blessings,
Captain Jason Perdieu is corps officer of the Salvation Army of El Dorado.