Focal Passage: Acts 9:36-43
Have you ever noticed that many Christians seem to want to do big temporal things and small eternal things? If you check the average Christian’s bucket list, you’ll find many of the same endeavors included on lost peoples’ lists. What is our obsession with skydiving, extreme mountain climbing, marathon running, travelling the world, and others? Most of our ancestors never did any of these things, yet they still lived full and meaningful lives. Aside from the experience and the adrenaline rush, do these challenges really change us? The answer depends on the kind of change we are seeking.
While Peter ministered in Lydda, two men from Joppa came to escort him, without delay, to the bedside of Tabitha, their deceased sister in Christ. When Peter arrived, he found a group of widows tearfully displaying the garments she had made.
He could have comforted them during the wake and proceeded to preach the hope of the resurrection at her funeral, but God had other plans.
The exhortation to come without delay revealed that the believers in Joppa hoped for a miracle. Peter sent everyone out of the upper room (as Jesus did in Matthew 9:25), and proceeded to kneel and pray.
He then said, “Tabitha, arise,” and God brought her back to life.
Peter helped her to her feet and presented her alive to the mourners. The wake had become an awakening!
Although we live in a different time under different circumstances, God still calls His people to be instruments of His power.
If we desire to see our churches rejuvenated and God’s glory put on display as we’ve never before seen it, then we must begin to take bold steps of faith. Consider a spiritual bucket list consisting of things that will bring glory to God.
Here are a few possibilities: witnessing to a lost person you keep avoiding, going on a mission trip, caring for neglected people, putting your money toward the Great Commission.
Wouldn’t you rather meet Jesus with these experiences than a photo album and memories of an adrenaline rush?