Dodger: Hi! Thanks for coming by again. I'm so glad you're here. Lilly and I were about to read a letter from a friend down in South Dakota. He goes by the name Clauly, and he does a lot of volunteer work.
Lilly: He has all sorts of experience in helping people from working at homeless shelters to assistance in the middle of natural disasters. The number and kinds of things he's done are so amazing that I can hardly wait to see what he's up to now. What does the letter say, Dodger?
Dodger: I'll show you. We can all read it from here-
Lilly: That sounds tough. He asked us for advice. Can you think of anything?
Dodger: Well, to be honest...I'm not sure what to do.
Lilly: They're building a church. That's a great idea. The real question is how they work out their public relations.
Dodger: You know, all this talk about churches made me think of the book of Acts in the Bible and how the early church worked.
Lilly: Let's look there! Maybe there's some help for Clauly in it. Oh, by the way, his name is pronounced CLAW-lee. It's spelled kinda weird.
Dodger: Let's see here. Jesus is going into heaven in Acts 1. Before He leaves, He tells His disciples to wait in the city of Jerusalem until after He sends them the Promise of the Father and they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. So first He makes a promise, then He leaves them and goes into heaven. They do as He says and then...we'll pick up the story in Acts 2. Would you read, Lilly?
Lilly: Sure. "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV)
Dodger: Wow. Could you imagine? These people were just sitting there and all of a sudden, WHOOSH and the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to speak in other tongues!
Lilly: That is pretty amazing, but you know, they weren't just sitting there.
Dodger: How do you mean?
Lilly: They were obeying Jesus and waiting for His promise.
Dodger: That's true.
Lilly: Plus, they were doing it as a group.
Dodger: Right.
Lilly: God blessed their obedience and fulfilled His promise. It doesn't say in the Bible that it happened right away. It may have taken some time, but God blessed the fact that they were serving Him. As a result of the Holy Spirit's work, the people around Jerusalem took notice of what Jesus' followers were doing, and after a sermon from Peter, roughly 3000 people were saved.
Dodger: Wow! That's a lot of people in one day!
Lilly: It is, and it was possible because of their obedience to God. He worked through them as a united group to fulfill His promise and save a ton of people.
Dodger: I get it. They may not have been worried about failing to finish, but they had to rely on God and be united. They weren't squabbling or arguing or being harsh with one another. They waited together to see what God would do. I think the same advice could be given to Clauly. Just keep waiting and trust that God will bless your team's efforts. You'd be surprised what God can do through even a small group of people who come together to obey Him. If you believe God meant for you to build the church don't give up. Who knows what God has waiting right around the corner? In fact, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 18:19, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." (NKJV) How well this applies to obeying God!
Lilly: Seems to me like the Bible knows how to give advice on everything important.
Dodger: Well, it is God's Word, and He knows what's more important than anything.
Dodger: Well, I gotta get ready for school. In answer to Clauly's question I'd better write and tell him that things are good.
Lilly: Me too. I'm really happy our friend came by today. Thank you so much for stopping here and hanging out with us. Have a wonderful week!
Dodger: Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's never going to change!
Lilly: আসি!
(Stationery obtained at http://www.1-computer-stationery.com/stationery_template_papers/artistic_stationery_papers/jpg_templates/artisticstat658.jpg, a webpage neither owned nor operated by I-BulldogStudios)
NKJV Means New King James Version)
Lilly: He has all sorts of experience in helping people from working at homeless shelters to assistance in the middle of natural disasters. The number and kinds of things he's done are so amazing that I can hardly wait to see what he's up to now. What does the letter say, Dodger?
Dodger: I'll show you. We can all read it from here-
Lilly: That sounds tough. He asked us for advice. Can you think of anything?
Dodger: Well, to be honest...I'm not sure what to do.
Lilly: They're building a church. That's a great idea. The real question is how they work out their public relations.
Dodger: You know, all this talk about churches made me think of the book of Acts in the Bible and how the early church worked.
Lilly: Let's look there! Maybe there's some help for Clauly in it. Oh, by the way, his name is pronounced CLAW-lee. It's spelled kinda weird.
Dodger: Let's see here. Jesus is going into heaven in Acts 1. Before He leaves, He tells His disciples to wait in the city of Jerusalem until after He sends them the Promise of the Father and they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. So first He makes a promise, then He leaves them and goes into heaven. They do as He says and then...we'll pick up the story in Acts 2. Would you read, Lilly?
Lilly: Sure. "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV)
Dodger: Wow. Could you imagine? These people were just sitting there and all of a sudden, WHOOSH and the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to speak in other tongues!
Lilly: That is pretty amazing, but you know, they weren't just sitting there.
Dodger: How do you mean?
Lilly: They were obeying Jesus and waiting for His promise.
Dodger: That's true.
Lilly: Plus, they were doing it as a group.
Dodger: Right.
Lilly: God blessed their obedience and fulfilled His promise. It doesn't say in the Bible that it happened right away. It may have taken some time, but God blessed the fact that they were serving Him. As a result of the Holy Spirit's work, the people around Jerusalem took notice of what Jesus' followers were doing, and after a sermon from Peter, roughly 3000 people were saved.
Dodger: Wow! That's a lot of people in one day!
Lilly: It is, and it was possible because of their obedience to God. He worked through them as a united group to fulfill His promise and save a ton of people.
Dodger: I get it. They may not have been worried about failing to finish, but they had to rely on God and be united. They weren't squabbling or arguing or being harsh with one another. They waited together to see what God would do. I think the same advice could be given to Clauly. Just keep waiting and trust that God will bless your team's efforts. You'd be surprised what God can do through even a small group of people who come together to obey Him. If you believe God meant for you to build the church don't give up. Who knows what God has waiting right around the corner? In fact, Jesus Himself said in Matthew 18:19, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." (NKJV) How well this applies to obeying God!
Lilly: Seems to me like the Bible knows how to give advice on everything important.
Dodger: Well, it is God's Word, and He knows what's more important than anything.
Dodger: Well, I gotta get ready for school. In answer to Clauly's question I'd better write and tell him that things are good.
Lilly: Me too. I'm really happy our friend came by today. Thank you so much for stopping here and hanging out with us. Have a wonderful week!
Dodger: Remember, Jesus loves you, and that's never going to change!
Lilly: আসি!
(Stationery obtained at http://www.1-computer-stationery.com/stationery_template_papers/artistic_stationery_papers/jpg_templates/artisticstat658.jpg, a webpage neither owned nor operated by I-BulldogStudios)
NKJV Means New King James Version)
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