LOVE = REACH Day 21

Today I was reading in the book of Acts : Jesus was taken to Heaven and the Holy Spirit came. It was the Day of Pentecost and it was truly a revolutionary moment in Christianity. The church took shape in a new way – man had access to God, the Holy Spirit came and baptized them in boldness, and they were filled with the Spirit.

 

Acts 2:44-47

44 And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other, 45 selling their possessions and dividing with those in need. 46 They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, 47 praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to them all who were being saved.”

In these Scriptures we see the church had experienced a new, fresh outpouring and they were in the midst of transition/growth. This reminds me of where Lake Hills is at right now (so many of us are in transition and we are growing). The church spent time together, they saw people healed, they gave to the poor, they had joy and as a result they were able to reach their community! The church grew daily.

I think often we complicate the way it should be. When we make room for God to move in our lives we open the door for us to REACH people.

I grew up in a small town in Southeastern Kentucky – I was a coal-miners daughter (for real). I was a part of a small Church of God in a town that has the population of 800. I experienced community in this little holler in the Appalachian Mountains. People knew your name, knew where you lived, would walk by and talk if you were outside, helped if you were struggling financially, and prayed for you if you were sick. It was very much like the Walton’s or Little House on the Prairie.

Most of us long for that type of community, but we have replaced it with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other detached – faceless means of connecting (I’m not knocking it, I am on social media as much as anyone else). However, I believe there is something very significant about community. When the Holy Spirit invades our lives He causes us to want to be at church, to want to spend time together, we desire fellowship with one another, and it is attractive to others.

I believe the more we allow the Holy Spirit to come into our life the more we will Love and Reach those who do not know Christ!

 

ACT:

Read Acts 1-3

 

REACH:

Ask God to give you an experience with the Holy Spirit that will help you REACH others. An experience that is life transforming, attractive, and one that leads you to community with others!