9 May. People see signs and miracles and believe
"The apostles did many signs and miracles among the people. And they would all meet together on [under] Solomon's Porch. None of the others dared to join them, but all the people respected them."
"More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to the group of believers."
"The people placed their sick on beds and mats in the streets, hoping that when Peter passed by at least his shadow might fall on them."
"Crowds came from all the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were bothered by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."
(Acts 5:12-16)
Why did the early Christian church grow so fast?
This passage from Luke's account of the 'Acts of the Apostles' tells us quite clearly: More and more men and women experienced the healing power of the Holy Spirit in their lives and realised their need for the love of Jesus to bring joy and peace in their hearts.
So why, as Christians, are many of us pussy-footing around today unsure of how to share the love of Jesus with our friends and neighbours?
The simple answer is that we're not following this 1st century blueprint for bringing people into the kingdom of God!
If our friends and neighbours who are bothered by 'evil spirits' and who are frightened of dying from numerous possible illnesses (and that's 99% of the population) could only see the wonderful signs and miracles that God performs in our everyday lives, they'd be eager to find out why, as Christians, we're different to other people and stand out from the rest of the crowd!
Do YOU stand out from other people (like those early apostles did)?
Do people notice that, as a Christian, your lifestyle is radically different?
Do your neighbours know that you do crazy things (in their opinion) because you're a Christian?
We're fascinated by the bemused looks on our friends faces when they discover that we bought a field in Kenya to grow food for orphan children, or we paid for a child's hospital expenses. They think we're crazy when they discover we've paid the salaries of teachers in India or we help to care for poor children in West Africa.
But these modern-day 'signs and wonders' show Jesus's amazing love in action in our world today, and beg the question, "Why are these Christians different from the rest of our friends?"
This is radical Christianity in action - 'preaching' in a world where 'actions speak louder than words'.
And, yes, some of our friends have started coming to our church and are learning about Jesus's amazing love in their OWN lives!
The photo shows the colonnaded porticoes (or 'porches') on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem today.
You can read more about the acts of the early apostles @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/the-believers-share-thei…/