“The most powerful weapon for silencing the mouth of the world is not brilliant theological apologetics, but the practice of a holy life that resembles Jesus Christ.” “Now it happened, as Jesus went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they were watching Him closely. And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?’ But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. Then He answered them, saying, ‘Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?’ And they could not answer Him regarding these things” (Luke 14:1–6). (1) As I meditated on today’s passage, Luke 14:1–6, the phrase that first caught my attention was: “they were watching Him clos...
The way the Lord builds His church [Acts 4:19-20] I have gained insight through studying Acts chapter 4 during the church leadership Bible study session. The revelation I received is regarding how the Lord established His church (referred to as the early church). However, what surprised me is that the pattern of how our churches are being established in this current age seems to be the opposite. I identified the pattern of how the Lord established the early church in five steps, which I have named the "Top to Bottom Method": (1) Prayer (v. 31, see also 1:14-15), (2) Being filled with the Holy Spirit (vv. 8, 31), (3) Proclamation of the gospel (vv. 8-12), (4) Increase in believers (v. 4, see also 2:47), (5) Loving community (vv. 32-37). However, I believe that the methods of the world are the exact opposite, which I have called the "Bottom to Top Method." I compared the world's methods with God's ...