Pastor's Ponderings: Tuesday Bible Study on Acts of the Apostles 4:23-31 (September 9, 2025)

September 9, 2025:  Tuesday Bible Study on Acts 4:23-31

Good morning my dear friends in Christ.

Please offer prayers of thanksgiving for Sarah who spent some really good time with Larry and Joyce at the care center were Larry has been in rehab. Her visit, along with my phone calls, and all our prayers have truly given them faith and strength in this time of so much uncertainty for Larry after his back surgery. Please also add Kandice and Lisa to your prayers once again. Lisa is having circulation issues in her leg and is going through treatment for a difficult to heal lesion. She also appears to have some pulmonary health issues. Kandice has received word from her oncologist that she is growing more cancerous tumors and nodes. She, Lisa, and Alexis have been able to get out for wings a couple of times, which helps to keep things more normal as Kandice continues her battle with cancer. Pray for her to have relief from pain more days than not, and of course our every prayer should be for the LORD'S healing miracle to take away this cancer which has created so many issues in the lives of this family. Remember, that our October yard sale is to benefit our member family who is in Maui. They are most thankful for our continuing prayers and support.

Today we move on to Acts 4:23-31. This passage is really a message for all of us who are members of Christ's Church. Here in Jerusalem is this brand-new Christian community, Peter and John come back to tell them what was said and ordered from the Temple leaders, and the whole community offers their confession of faith in the Power and Love of the Lord to carry the faithful through the toughest of times.  This small church confesses their trust in Christ and God to do all that is promised, and indeed to continue to enfold the faithful who speak the LORD'S Truth in the world to be protected and even emboldened. Obviously, the evil of those who hold all the power and wealth in the Temple has not cowed the Disciples from acting through the name of the Savior and doing so with amazing confidence. The threat of those who bear their own words, which shows the powerful trying to prove to all who will hear them, that they are on God's right path. The faithful in Christ know otherwise. If you have any doubt about the power of Christ's Love and how it is to play out in the world, because you have listened to some self-centered, wealth desiring, devious "truth" bearer, I am confident that you might feel a bit squeamish, like what is being said does not fit with the Loving Son of God which you know so well, when that happens it is time to look more carefully at the who, the what, and the how of that individual's life.  The Word of God as shared by clergy across the globe, must hold on to the Love of Christ, and the desire of God for His goodness to surround the faithful with comfort, joy, and peace. (This is what God wants for all His Creation.) And when it doesn't do that, we must question if what we are hearing is the Truth according to Christ. Please note that the disciples and the early church reach out in everything to Christ, and to His Father, beseeching them to help the Disciples and those of new faith in Christ to speak with boldness, grace, and love. So maybe we need to see how we are doing. I will tell you right now that I believe that American is an amazing example of the faithful bearing the hope of Christ forward. We are not perfect, individually, or corporately. We must, as the new church in the Acts did, turn to the confession of our faith, and then act with confidence in the face of a world who still does not know God's truths for living. These Truths are ours today. Come and know forgiveness, life with God, and Salvation through Jesus Christ, our LORD, and Savior. The victory of Christ for us is not something that is coming, it is our victory TODAY! Today the abundant love of God through Christ and the Spirit is ours. We need to live it to show others the power of Christ which is in us all the time.

I pray that the joy of knowing Christ will fill your life today.

With the Love of Christ, Pastor Kim