POWER IN ABIDING

Acts 12:6-14:20

The book of Acts is such a great case study for how God can work in and through us to bring others into His kingdom. Here we can see examples of people abiding in Christ—and how God honors that abiding:                                                                                                                                            

• The church in Jerusalem fervently prays for Peter—and Peter is miraculously delivered from prison (12:6-17).
• The church in Antioch worships and fasts—and the Holy Spirit sends out Barnabas and Saul (13:2-3).
• Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit—and judges Elymas’s attempts to thwart the proconsul from hearing the gospel (13:8-12).                                                                                                                        

This even happens in the face of persecution at Pisidian Antioch and Iconium (13:49-52; 14:6-7). In spite of opposition the gospel is spread, and the disciples are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. It’s a beautiful picture of how God can use us when we abide in Him.

Lord God, help us to abide in you today, so that we might produce much fruit and so prove to be Your disciples.