Devotion - Acts 2:14 (NIV)

(14) Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say."

Once again we find Peter standing up and taking charge…except this time it’s not in the private surroundings of Jesus as Peter uttered the words, “Thou art the Christ”. He is not in the privacy of the upper room dealing with ministerial duties. Now we find Peter mustering more courage than we have ever seen him before. Sure he was brave as the guards came to take hold of Jesus…because Peter knew that as long as Jesus was there he could walk on water, it was going to be alright, and Jesus could make a way. But…that time is over. Peter has been strong enough to lead them into prayer and unity. He has been a pillar in administrative organization but this is people not fish. This is ministry…not business. This is the breaking point. Peter is not the most educated Apostle of the group. Peter was a sailor. Have you ever heard a sailor talk? Peter isn’t qualified to make the speech he is about to make…much less to lead in the direction that he is about to lead.

The church had been a religious system of laws and legalistic rituals and routines. All of the religious men of the time had assembled together in Jerusalem for the Pentecost Feast. This was a special occasion by which everyone remembered and honored God. It was a sacred event. It was a holy event. Devout religious men, from all over, had kept the heart of God alive through the ups and downs of oppression and slavery. They had been the heartbeat of the church up to this point. They had committed themselves to the legalistic teachings of the Pharisees. They nurtured the Old Testament stories in their children to establish generations built on knowing who the great “I AM” is. It’s safe to say the people there in Jerusalem want to know and want to serve God. It’s the whole reason they are there. Howbeit the church that they are used to is about to change.

Back to Peter…

How would you like to be the guy…untrained, uneducated, short tempered, not very patient, apt to make some bad decisions…how would you like to be the guy that is going to stand up and boldly take the church where it’s never gone before? How many of us would have the courage to stand up against the religious elite, devout men, and people that have been serving God all of their life one way…and take them into something entirely new? But here is a great truth revealed to us…

It takes new people to take the church in new directions.

The Pharisees couldn’t do it. The Sadducees couldn’t do it. It took a new face…as a matter of fact the church took on a new face. Instead of the religious elite being the only ones who hear from God, the poster child for Christianity became the uneducated, the poor, and the humble. Instead of leaders taking the church where it needed to go…it became the servants who would rise up and faithfully by their actions lead the charge.

And here is the immediate thought that came to my mind when I was researching this scripture…

“We’ve been taught, trained, and established in our own hearts by the power of Jesus Christ! It’s time to stand up and put actions to our words. It’s time to live our faith. It’s time to stand up and be a witness, a martus, to the divine works of God! We must address the call of evangelism in our own lives. We must address the tug at our own hearts to “Go”. It is our duty and it is our honor to tell others about our once tragic life that has been totally transformed and overcome by the redeeming power of Jesus and the cross!"