A Revival

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

A REVIVAL

Acts 5:12-16

12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

NIV

There seems to be a slight contradiction within this text, but upon examination it is not. What appears to seem contradicting is that no one else dared join them, nevertheless, more and more men and woman believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As the Apostle's made it a custom of gathering in Solomon’s Colonnade, other sects were also in that habit. The Pharisees , the Sadducees and the Herodians all were in the custom of gathering in Solomon’s Colonnade, but as the Apostles were now there, these various sects would have nothing to do with the Apostles and did not want anyone to think they were a part of the Apostles group. These are those who would not dare join them. But the common people, those who did not belong to one of those sects, were among those who were amazed at the miracles and wonders done by the Apostles and came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the teaching and preaching of the Apostles. It was always about the miraculous signs and wonders among the people which brought many to salvation in Christ. Healings and casting out of demons will always bring a crowd, and as we can see it certainly did and all that were sick or possessed were healed, not some, but all were healed. This all happened in the early church, but what has happened to the latter church? It still seems that all the other sects want nothing to do with Christianity, but we are not seeing miraculous signs and wonders and large numbers of people added to our number daily. We seem to be all gathering together and teaching and preaching Jesus Christ, but then maybe we are not gathering all together. Maybe all the different preaching and teaching, the different doctrines and interpretations of scripture is keeping the large numbers from being added to our number.  Maybe this is the reason there is no miraculous signs and wonders, and not many healings as well. But what can we do about that? There is always going to be division among the churches, and what can one person do? What kind of life lesson can we learn? Can we be like that early church? Some churches are gearing things within to attract the unchurched, but still the unchurched see all the different beliefs within the church and think us as hypocrites because in all reality they already know how a Christian is supposed to behave. What we can do, is simply try our best, with the help of the Spirit, to behave more like Christ. To put ourselves out there, being a believer in the open, among the people, talking about Jesus, teaching the truth to everyone, and just maybe some miraculous signs and wonders will start appearing, and crowds with gather and begin to believe. Let this start with us, let a true revival of the early church start with us.