The Growth of Christianity


 Jesus came to this world and chose a group of men who would be the beginning of his "church", the ones called out of this world to serve him and spread the "gospel" good news about his life, death, and resurrection. Their message began to spread especially when Saul of Tarsus, who later because Paul the Apostle to the gentiles made a lifetime commitment to evangelize the world. He went on three missionary journeys to plant and grow churches in major cities throughout the Roman Empire. After Paul died his work was established in fertile ground and "Christianity" became a dominant force even recognized by Rome. The Christians were persecuted by many of the Roman Emperors but the more that were martyred the more that would accept Jesus and multiply. The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus as a gift to the church to empower them. Before Jesus left this world he told his followers that he would be with them even unto the end of the world.

NEW MIND-NEW PERSON

Thoughts Produce Desire – Action – Fruit (Life Or Death)

So I find it to be a law (rule of action of my being) that when I want to do what is right and good, evil is ever present with me and I am subject to its insistent demands. For I endorse and delight in the Law of God in my inmost self [with my new nature]. Romans 7:21-22 (AMPC)

The Apostle Paul is writing about the inner struggle we all face in life – the struggle of having a desire to do things we don’t want to do yet finding it hard to do the things we know are right. A constant battle rages between the flesh and the spirit. Our born again spirit desires to commune with God, to pray, praise and worship, but our desires and appetites are constantly bombarded by images on TV, movies, and social media. We have information coming at us from every side and we literally must fight to get quiet times. The spirit man in us has to be fed spiritual food which comes through worship, prayer, praise and reading our Bibles or other Christian materials in our quiet times. However, the enemy of our souls knows that he cannot touch our spirit because the Holy Spirit lives there, instead, he tries to appeal to our natural senses. He draws us by making things look, sound, feel, taste, and smell nice so we can be drawn away from the reality of what is important, and that is our relationship with God.

Often we don’t recognize that the battle is won or lost in our thought life. Long before we commit an act, we would have pondered the whole scene in our minds first. The Apostle James also chimes in on desire, action, and fruit, He said, “But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15 (AMPC). So you see from this scripture that what we feed grows in our lives. If we feed the spirit with the word, praise, worship, and prayer we can develop thoughts, desires, actions and fruit for the kingdom. However, if we feed the flesh with movies, music, images, books and even friends contrary to the word of God we are setting ourselves up for sin and eventually death both spiritually and physically. 

Your thought life is powerful and precious and whatever you allow to dominate and stay in your mind will also bring forth actions, and fruit be it life or death. I want to encourage you to take time every day to feed your spirit in God’s word. 

“What consumes your mind is what controls your life.” - Unknown

DEVOTIONAL

A Humble Heart

BIBLE READING: Luke 18:10-14

We humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings.

After examining our life closely (as we did in Steps Four, Five, and Six), we may feel cut off from God. Considering the scope of what we have done, we may feel unworthy to ask God for anything. Maybe our sinful behaviors are despised as the lowest kind of evil by those whom we consider respectable. We may struggle with self-hatred. Our genuine remorse may cause us to wonder if we even dare approach God to ask for his help.

God welcomes us, even when we feel this way. Jesus told this story: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).

Tax collectors were among the most despised citizens in Jewish society. Pharisees, on the other hand, commanded the highest respect. Jesus purposely chose this illustration to show that it doesn’t matter where we fit in society’s hierarchy. It is the humble heart that opens the door to God’s forgiveness

ARE YOU CONVINCED?

Genesis 3:6 NLT
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

Satan tried to make Eve think that sin is good, pleasant, and desirable. A knowledge of both good and evil seemed harmless to her. People usually choose wrong things because they have become convinced that those things are good, at least for themselves. Our sins do not always appear ugly to us, and the pleasant sins are the hardest to avoid. So prepare yourself for the attractive temptations that may come your way. We cannot always prevent temptation, but there is always a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). Use God’s Word and God’s people to help you stand against it.

As we read Genesis chapter 3:1-6, we see satan being introduced in the garden. He comes to Eve trying to explain the Word of God to her. We must understand for ourselves what God's Word says and means because Satan will twist God's Word to deceive us. We should always ask ourselves if what we are doing is consistent with what God wants for us.

THE ORDER OF GOD

God created everything according to His designed order. Humans are made in the image of God. Sure there are theories of humans evolving from apes, but it would take more faith to believe that than to believe we are created from God.


EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO ITS KIND

The following verses from the bible states the order in which God created life:

Genesis 1:21 NLT So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird-each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:24-25 NLT Then God said, "Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind-livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals." And that is what happened. [25] God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11-12 NLT Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation-every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came." And that is what happened. [12] The land produced vegetation-all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

This lends proof to the order of God that still exists today. Everything God created gives birth to it's own kind. Apes give birth to apes, so it is impossible for humans to come from them.  Animals give birth to animals and humans give birth to humans.

NO MEAT BEFORE SIN

According to God's perfect design, humans and animals were created vegetarian.

Genesis 1:29-30 NLT Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. [30] And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground-everything that has life." And that is what happened.

SIN BROUGHT DEATH

Because Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness through sin, God used the skin of an animal to clothe them, meaning an animal had to die.

Genesis 3:21 NLT And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

YOUR FAITH WILL MAKE YOU....

Mark 5:34 NLT And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over."

As I read this amazing display of faith, I came to the realization that it is this kind of faith that will move our Lord to action. Because of what this woman heard about Jesus, she showed her faith by what she did and Jesus said her faith made her well. What about us? What will our faith make us do? Will we be as bold and determined as this woman was to reach out and grab Jesus because we are convinced He holds the power to whatever we need? We should come to God expecting  Him to give us what we need as a child will approach their natural parents with confidence when they need something. Like this woman, let us practice coming to our gracious God with boldness, knowing and expecting Him to meet our needs.

Hebrews 4:16 NLT So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

GOD BECAME FLESH

1:14 When Jesus was conceived, God became a man. He was not part man and part God; he was completely human and completely divine (Colossians 2:9). Before Christ came, people could know God partially. After Christ came, people could know God fully because he became visible and tangible in Christ. Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form. The two most common errors people make about Jesus are to minimize his humanity or to minimize his divinity. Jesus is both God and man.