Weekly Devotional - Aaron
"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." -Acts 2:40-41
This past Sunday we celebrated a great many things, but things that also go nicely together. Pastor Pete spoke over, the Biblical word is prophesied, over our high school seniors who are being sent off to various parts of the world. Along those same lines, we also celebrated 3,000 people stating that they have decided to follow Jesus at Thrive. In a few weeks the Biblical calendar will commemorate Pentecost. When 3,000 were added to the followers of Jesus and also sent off to their various homelands to make more disciples and expand the Kingdom of God. One of the beautifully poetic things about the Pentecost story in Acts is that the 3,000 number is not an arbitrary number, but is a callback to the first Pentecost that was celebrated in Exodus. Now, bear with me, this is going to take a slightly dark turn. In the original Pentecost story, Moses is receiving the Commandments on Mt. Sinai. However, the people at the base of the mountain have erected an idol and are partying their cares away. God informs Moses that the people have 'returned to Egypt' in their hearts. They have erected an idol like they had in Egypt and are worshiping it. As a result of this, 3,000 people were killed. Yikes. In the future, they celebrate the whole giving of the Law part; this was very important to them and their identity, but they leave this dark stain out of those celebrations. However, the story of Jesus is about redemption. Jesus isn't just taking the best parts of us and dying for those things, He is taking all of it. The good. The bad. The ugly parts we don't talk about anymore. He takes all of it, uses it, and redeems it. We recall that just before the Exodus story we read of the Tower of Babel and God dispersing people by creating diverse languages. In Acts, post Jesus' resurrection, we read of people coming together from all parts of the world, hearing the Gospel in a unified language, and God adding, not destroying, 3,000; a complete and whole redemption. He then sends them out to usher in the Kingdom of God; the redemption of all things to the ends of the Earth! We are a part of that process. We play a part in redeeming the lost, broken, confused, and ugly parts of our world. Shedding light into every corner of darkness beginning with our own hearts and expanding across the globe! Glory to God in the highest, who has brought all things into proper alignment, and is continually redeeming all things and adding daily to His Kingdom!
Questions to Ponder:
1. What has God redeemed and restored in your own life?
2. Everyone is commissioned to expand the Kingdom of God. How do you feel this role is being fulfilled in your life?
This past Sunday we celebrated a great many things, but things that also go nicely together. Pastor Pete spoke over, the Biblical word is prophesied, over our high school seniors who are being sent off to various parts of the world. Along those same lines, we also celebrated 3,000 people stating that they have decided to follow Jesus at Thrive. In a few weeks the Biblical calendar will commemorate Pentecost. When 3,000 were added to the followers of Jesus and also sent off to their various homelands to make more disciples and expand the Kingdom of God. One of the beautifully poetic things about the Pentecost story in Acts is that the 3,000 number is not an arbitrary number, but is a callback to the first Pentecost that was celebrated in Exodus. Now, bear with me, this is going to take a slightly dark turn. In the original Pentecost story, Moses is receiving the Commandments on Mt. Sinai. However, the people at the base of the mountain have erected an idol and are partying their cares away. God informs Moses that the people have 'returned to Egypt' in their hearts. They have erected an idol like they had in Egypt and are worshiping it. As a result of this, 3,000 people were killed. Yikes. In the future, they celebrate the whole giving of the Law part; this was very important to them and their identity, but they leave this dark stain out of those celebrations. However, the story of Jesus is about redemption. Jesus isn't just taking the best parts of us and dying for those things, He is taking all of it. The good. The bad. The ugly parts we don't talk about anymore. He takes all of it, uses it, and redeems it. We recall that just before the Exodus story we read of the Tower of Babel and God dispersing people by creating diverse languages. In Acts, post Jesus' resurrection, we read of people coming together from all parts of the world, hearing the Gospel in a unified language, and God adding, not destroying, 3,000; a complete and whole redemption. He then sends them out to usher in the Kingdom of God; the redemption of all things to the ends of the Earth! We are a part of that process. We play a part in redeeming the lost, broken, confused, and ugly parts of our world. Shedding light into every corner of darkness beginning with our own hearts and expanding across the globe! Glory to God in the highest, who has brought all things into proper alignment, and is continually redeeming all things and adding daily to His Kingdom!
Questions to Ponder:
1. What has God redeemed and restored in your own life?
2. Everyone is commissioned to expand the Kingdom of God. How do you feel this role is being fulfilled in your life?
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