Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Act 11:19-24 Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.  The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.  News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.  When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. Acts chapter is very important, because not only does it discuss the issue of circumcision, we can also see God's work there.  The shift of focus in Acts went from the church of Jerusalem in the first ten chapters to the church of Antioch from chapter eleven onward.  Political, geographic and economic reasons certainly contributed to the shift of focus, but if you read carefully you'd find that church of Jerusalem was still mentioned after chapter 11, but it was about their repeated argument around the questions of circumcision. There was intense debate during the council of Jerusalem over the issue of preaching the gospel to the gentiles because, as recorded in chapter 15, they heard that gentiles accepted the Lord without being circumstance.  Even in chapter 20, Paul went back to church of Jerusalem for the last time and they told the local brothers that there were thousands of gentile believers who were zealous for the law.  The gospel had spread around the Roman Empire, but they were still arguing over legalities.  The shift of focus from church Jerusalem, therefore, was a result of the church no longer focused on the work of the Lord, but rather was wasting their time on minor details such as circumcision, thus they could no longer be a vessel of God.  On the other hand, as the believers scattered around and also reached Antioch.  The church of Antioch seemed to have restored what took place at the church of Jerusalem before, as believers gathered to worship and followed the way of the Lord.  They took care of each other's needs and had great testimonies of life of discipleship, just like the original church of Jerusalem.  What was the key for their revival?  It was because the Lord was with them. Indeed, whenever two or three of us gather in the name of the Lord, the Lord is with us.  It is a different story, however, whether the Lord's presence will actually be manifested so that others will see the Lord among us.  May the Holy Spirit help us, let us first seek to see God's presence manifested among us, so that we will love one another and pursue Him with more eagerness.  The priorities must be respected, so may God help us to welcome His work in our daily life.    Pray with Pastor Tong Liu      Lord, may your Spirit open our hearts to welcome you to move among us in our daily life.  May your presence be manifested in our lives, and let others see that we are indeed believers who have received your grace.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name, amen!