Verse of the Week - Acts 9:31 NIV - January 4, 2016

2016 is here! How did you celebrate New Year's Eve? Bill and I had a Game of Thrones TV marathon with our Season One and Season Two DVD sets. We talked about making New Year's resolutions, but decided not to make any. However, our pastor gave us a New Year's resolution during worship service.

Brother Jimmy's Challenge

Brother Jimmy challenged us to adopt the following parts of Acts 9:31 as an individual and a church resolution. 

• Personal Peace 
• Peace between the members of the church
• Fear of the Lord, or reverential awe
• Listening to the Holy Spirit

The Early Church was Blessed

Acts 9:31 tells us that that the early church was blessed because they included reverence and awe of God in their daily life.  Additionally, The church will increase in numbers when the church body is living in peace, have reverential awe, or fear of the Lord, and are following the counseling of Holy Spirit. 

My NIV Discipleship Bible footnotes include four sentences about the biblical truths expressed in verse thirty-one of chapter nine in the book of Acts:

1. "Timid" does not belong in the church's vocabulary. The Spirit gives the church strength and courage to accomplish its mission.
2. The Spirit works with the entire church as well as individual to provide power and guidance in the astonishing mission to witness to every person on earth. 
3. Church growth depends on God's strength and encouragement provided by the Holy Spirit. 
4. The result is a reverent, worshiping, witnessing church. 

Bill and I are accepting Brother Jimmy's challenge. 

Our New Year's Resolution is to have personal peace, be a peacemaker at church, continue to worship God with reverence and awe, and to continue listening to the Holy Spirit for guidance and direction. 

Are you going to accept Brother Jimmy's challenge? 

We hope you are because living a joy-filled life before leaving Earth is what God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit want for you. Come on brothers and sisters, grab onto the joy and spread the Good News!