Let's Turn Our World Upside Down

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Early Church Had It Right

Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

— Acts 2:43

Today's devotion is adapted from a recent post on Pastor Greg's blog. To see his latest blog entry, click here.

The early Church, the Church of the book of Acts, "turned their world upside down" (see Acts 17:6). Do we ever need that today!

These first-century believers were filled with both joy and the fear of the Lord.

Acts 2:46-47 tells us, "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people" (NKJV).

This phrase "gladness and sincerity of heart" literally means "with unaffected joy!" I love that–they were not afraid to express joy in their faith.

But there also was a sense or reverence and awe among these believers. Acts 2:43 says, "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles" (NKJV).

What is the fear of the Lord?

It does not mean you should be afraid of God. To fear God means that you have a healthy respect or reverence for Him. Another translation describes it as "a wholesome dread of displeasing God." In other words, I love God so much that I want to do all I can to keep from displeasing Him.

Look, I am all for relevance. We need to make sense to the people we are reaching. But let's not lower our standard in order to extend our reach.

Let's not trade reverence for relevance.

I think for us to seek to live godly lives is very relevant, and very different than what this world has to offer. That's how we will turn our world upside down, instead of the world turning us upside down.