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In more than three decades of my Christian life, I have been blest by 2 types of Daily devos'
(matter not exceeding 500 words) in universal Christian literature. Not only those Devos'
which have a different theme everyday but also the ones which revolve around a certain
theme over a period of time, say a fortnight, have richly edified me. In fact, both
styles have their own inherent advantages. If the former style caters to the varying
spiritual needs of a christian from day-to-day, the latter aims 'to ground'
a child of God in a certain subject in order he derives the full benefits of the
deep insightful study of a certain topic, spread over a fixed span of time.
In my Daily devo page, I have consciously tried to go in for 'a blend of both the
styles' whereby within a constant theme, I would be aiming to focus on different
facets of it which admittedly is a closer imitation of the 'Constant theme' style
than the 'Varying topics' one.
Having dwelt on the topics
- “The Christian journey”
- “ The Conquest of Canaan” and the
- “Lent season”.
in the previous months, now in the months of April and May, considering that
post resurrection of Christ (one of our concluding themes’ you would remember
in the meditations of March, was Resurrection), birth of the Church was a
landmark event in Biblical history, I want to cast the spotlight on the Book of
Acts (which records the birth and growth of the Church). This would ensure to a large
extent continuity of thought albeit under the ambit of new subject.
Once again, let me wish you a happy and an edifying read…
Suresh Manoharan
April 11th
An united unit
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:
"Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you;
listen carefully to what I say.”
- Acts 2:14
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While being on the subject of Pentecostal day, now let’s get it straight.
Prior to the Pentecostal day, PETER WAS NEVER A TEAM MAN, IN THE TRUE SENSE OF
THE WORD, IN JESUS’ TEAM. There had been in Peter a propensity to always project
himself ahead of his fellow disciples…as the best of the lot. The result?
He often ended up with a foot in his mouth! Take for instance to
I-am-greater-than-others walk on water, along with Jesus
(Matt 14:25-31),
which ended in near tragedy or for that matter a case of subtly and unconsciously
advancing Satan’s cause, which ended in a sharp rebuke from the Lord
(Matt 16:22-23).
Throw in the seemingly bold proclamation “I will never desert you, even if others do”
just before Jesus’ crucifixion
(Matt 26:33), and the picture of a man trying to row
the boat on his own, becomes complete.
Now observe the remarkable transformation in the same Peter. Seeing the unwarranted
criticism
(Acts 2:13) being heaped on his fellow disciples (seeing their apparently
strange way of praising God in unknown languages, some cynics in the crowd mistook the
influence of the Holy Spirit on them for the influence of the spirits of the bottle!)
the Scriptures state pertinently that Peter now stood WITH the Eleven. Amazing, isn’t
it that we, normally selfish beings, once in His hands start playing with and for our
team members. Yes, since all of us are uniquely made, there may be, once in a while
disparity in views but for the greater cause, we are encouraged to sink our differences
and pull together.
Tomorrow, we shall come to the passionate speech of Peter, which was historical
for more reasons than one.
Prayer:
Father, we realize that our unity brings thee joy. Enable us, your unique
children to toil together for thy glory, with unity of heart and mind. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.
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