Increasing in Number Daily
I pray we are all seeing these verses in the book of Acts that show us the things that the early church was doing, and how it was growing. I believe it is easy for all of us to see the differences between then and now. We all need to search our hearts and ask God to show us what has changed. Why are we not seeing those same things happening today? Is it the world we live in, or is it us? I am quite sure it is us. When Paul and Barnabas, and then, Paul and Silas, went on their missionary journeys, they encountered a world that was more immoral and pagan than what we have today. They found people of many different beliefs, and they had much opposition from the authorities. However, they still saw great success in their work. (Acts 16:5) The churches which they established were being strengthened in the faith, and they were increasing in number daily. That is what the world today will have to see happen, if we are to win the world to Christ in our lifetime.
It is God's will for all of us to grow in our faith and in "the faith." That means we grow in our understanding of the Lord and in the doctrines taught by Jesus and the apostles from the very beginning. When we are growing in the faith, we are continually practicing the things that we have learned from God's Word. The results will be that we see others saved and others growing in the faith, too. If we do this on a daily basis, we should be seeing our churches increase in number daily. The reason the Lord has laid this on my heart so much is that our church and many churches go weeks and months without seeing people saved and baptized into the church. Yes, we may have folks come from other churches for various reasons, but that should not be the main way we grow. There was no growth from transfer of membership in the early church. It was all by conversions. I pray that we will all seek the Lord and ask Him to show us how we need to grow in the faith ourselves. Then, let's ask Him to show us how to tell others about Christ and help them grow in the faith, too. Then, we will see our churches growing in number every day.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 17-20.