MOTION WITHOUT MOVEMENT

Lucy was sitting behind her desk counseling Charlie Brown one sunny afternoon. Looking at him sternly she said, “Try to accomplish something!”

“Accomplish something?” he responded quickly, “I thought we were just supposed to be busy.”

Peter had some good advice in one of his most powerful sermons. He reminded his audience that “Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Peter was reminding his listeners that Jesus lived a life of service and servanthood – always looking for and finding ways to accomplish God’s work in His world. What is interesting about this sermon is its brevity: within a few sentences, he was able to present the life, death on the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus, as well as His fulfillment of all that had been written about Him in Scripture.

The effectiveness of our preaching or witnessing, working for or serving Christ does not depend on the length of time we take to present His message or how long we live. Rather, the source of the Christians’ effectiveness is found in another statement in this same sermon. Peter said that “God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power.”

Our Lord will bless our labors for Him when we are willing to become Spirit-filled and Spirit-led. Only then will our witness have His power and accomplish His will.

Prayer:  Help us, Lord, to surrender our lives to You and be available to You to do Your work. May we realize the blessings that may be ours as we serve You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:    And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38