{"id":1432,"date":"2019-02-09T11:54:43","date_gmt":"2019-02-09T19:54:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=1432"},"modified":"2019-02-09T11:54:43","modified_gmt":"2019-02-09T19:54:43","slug":"devotion-acts-432-37-one-heart-one-mind-one-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=1432","title":{"rendered":"Devotion Acts 4:32-37 One Heart, One Mind, One God"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Acts 4:32-37<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33\u00a0With great power the apostles continued to testify\u00a0to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God\u2019s grace\u00a0was so powerfully at work in them all 34\u00a0that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them,\u00a0brought the money from the sales\u00a035\u00a0and put it at the apostles\u2019 feet,\u00a0and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 36\u00a0Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means \u201cson of encouragement\u201d), 37\u00a0sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles\u2019 feet.<\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In\u00a0Vs<\/b>\u00a023-31<\/b>\u00a0we recall that after being threatened to talk no more about Jesus (which they of course rejected) Peter and John came back to their \u201cown people<\/i>\u201d and raised their voices in honor to God.\u00a0 After the prayer, the actual place they were in was physically shaken.\u00a0 Wow, just wow!\u00a0 That was the first thing that happened after the healing of the lame man, after the testimony they had shared before the Sanhedrin and the people, after they refused to budge an inch in their testimony of Jesus, then after their praising God with their people.\u00a0 So, obedience to God to boldly move in the power of the Holy Spirit to do the work that God called them to do was in their hearts and souls.\u00a0 Then, still feeling the fire of the Holy Spirit within they refused to not obey the commandment of the Lord to share the Gospel at every opportunity.\u00a0 Their hearts were overflowing with the wonder and joy of God and they shared all that had happened with the fellow believers, thereby blessing and encouraging them.\u00a0 Immediately after that all that there was the powerful shaking of the room as the power of God flowed out of all of them.\u00a0 Oh praise God! How grand to be so filled with God, so yielded to the Holy Spirit, that a room filled with Believers would be shaken! As wonderful as that is, something even more spectacular follows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The shaking of the room almost seems like God making the Believers aware that \u201cWait, there is more!\u201d\u00a0 We go on to read that the believers were unified.\u00a0 Wait, thousands of believers were of one heart and mind?\u00a0 One heart and mind, isn\u2019t that a miracle?\u00a0 Think of a church we attend, any church will do.\u00a0 Is everyone who attends the church so united that it could truly be said that all are of one heart and mind, with no \u201cyeah, buts?\u201d\u00a0 I can\u2019t think of no church that is truly like that.\u00a0 Now it is best to take the Bible at its word.\u00a0 It states that all believers were of one mind and one heart.\u00a0 The Word of God says it and so I believe it.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure many will rush forward and say that we have to be reasonable and know that it is certain that there were things they differed on, and that is okay.\u00a0 Yet, that is not what the Word states.\u00a0 The ones who rush forward believe that since they have not experienced such unity then it is not possible.\u00a0 Well, have they ever been so united, so powerfully obedient and in love with God, so filled by the Holy Spirit flowing into and out of them with great power, that the room they were in was shaken?\u00a0 Yeah, likely none.\u00a0 Family, these people were so in love with God and with each other that they knew the kind of unity that was fulfilling the command of Jesus in\u00a0John 13:34-35\u00a0<\/b><\/span>\u201cA new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.\u00a035<\/a>\u00a0By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 Also let\u2019s consider what Jesus said in\u00a0John 17:20-23<\/b>\u00a0\u201cMy prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,\u00a021<\/a>that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.\u00a022<\/a>\u00a0I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one\u2014\u00a023<\/a>\u00a0I in them and you in me\u2014so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0 The unity Jesus was praying about was a unity between the Trinity itself and a unity of us with Him, and a unity of us with one another.\u00a0 Is that what we today walk in?\u00a0 Let\u2019s not change the meaning of the Word of God to excuse ourselves.\u00a0 Do our lives reflect the unity that God wants us to have?\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 If so, I have never seen that, not by me, or anyone else.\u00a0 Though, many are pulling in and praying!\u00a0 Let us love God and each other with all that we can.\u00a0 Then maybe rooms will shake!<\/p>\n

More powerful than the room shaking was the saturation of love they all shared.\u00a0 There were many in town for the holy days.\u00a0 Thousands became believers at Pentecost.\u00a0 Thousands more after that.\u00a0 Many out-of-towners were new in the Lord and staying to learn more of Jesus Christ and to grow in the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 They needed a place to stay, food to eat and a place to bathe and sleep.\u00a0 The Believers who could help were quick to let their actions be proof of their love.\u00a0 They sold land and property to help those who need help.\u00a0 Barnabas is noted as He is a prominent member of the first generation church.\u00a0 This very name for him noted his love for others.\u00a0 Wow, to be known by that name was a great honor.\u00a0 May we all bear it!<\/p>\n

Now some will say that these verses are a call for communism, or socialism.\u00a0 Not at all!\u00a0 This was merely Brothers and Sisters expressing the love of God within them to one another.\u00a0 This was meeting specific needs at a specific time.\u00a0 It was not the setting up of government, it was not promoting communism or socialism.\u00a0 For starters, they were not trusting in a government to be so pure as to with complete transparency, honesty, care, lack of selfishness for self, family and friends that they could be trusted to rule over the people in such a way.\u00a0 In fact, knowing the heart of men, they knew no person or persons could be what these two governments required.\u00a0 No Family, these people were living out their hearts, minds and spirits in a spiritual theocracy with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit at the helm.\u00a0 And they were willing servants to the One they call Master and Lord.\u00a0 Things were shaking as they were empowered by the Holy Spirit with a boldness to speak the Gospel regardless of circumstances.\u00a0 Praise God and perhaps we all may live in love and unity and be so bold and see great miracles happen.<\/p>\n

More powerful a miracle than the shaking of the room was the unity, love and boldness to serve God.\u00a0 That, from all of us, is truly miraculous.\u00a0 May that be the miracle that today we are blessed with!\u00a0 Love God.\u00a0 Love each other.\u00a0 Live it like we mean it.\u00a0 Love and blessings to all!\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n

Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acts 4:32-37\u00a0–\u00a0All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33\u00a0With great power the apostles continued to testify\u00a0to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God\u2019s grace\u00a0was so powerfully at work in them all 34\u00a0that there were no…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,100,94,17],"class_list":["post-1432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-john","tag-micah","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1432"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1433,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1432\/revisions\/1433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}