Jumping and Leaping Happening in the Church!

At this past weekend’s services, something was a little different:  people were leaping, jumping and praising God!  Yes, Calvary members were on their feet singing the song that goes along with Acts chapter 3, the story of the lame beggar who Peter and John healed by the temple.  As you recall, the beggar was lame from birth and, at the name of Jesus Christ, his ankles knit together and he was able to walk.  Oh, he did much more than that; we read that he went walking and leaping and praising God. 

Let’s think about this for a minute. If you had never walked in your life and you were lame from birth, can you even imagine what was going through this guy’s mind?  Wow!  Can you just see him running and jumping and testing out his new found legs?  He was excited and astounded, just as the crowd was that day. 

Why was it so hard for us, this weekend, to stand to our feet and sing that simple song from Sunday School with hesitation?  Some were excited to stand up and sing, while others looked a little irritated.  We all had to be reminded by Pastor Steve to SMILE. 

Why is it that we don’t come to church excited to be here most Sundays?  Why is it such a chore to come?  As we read the Book of Acts, church was not dull at all!  What would happen if we come with a sense of expectancy that God would not only show up, but that people would be healed and the Holy Spirit would be filling us to overflowing each week?  The Early Church encountered signs and wonders all the time.  God always showed up! 

The truth is, God still shows up, but we often have other things on our minds.  There’s the Viking’s game we need to get home to see and the brunch we need to get to after church.  Then there are the myriad of tasks we need to get done at home before the kids go to school on Monday.  The list that goes through our minds as we enter church is usually pretty long. 

What would happen if we could set aside our agendas for one hour and just focus on God’s agenda?  We need to ask God to shake the church like He did in chapter 4, to fill each of us with His Holy Spirit and to give us all a sense of boldness for Christ like never before. 

Just think, church could be an exciting place just like we read in the Book of Acts, but we need to pray and believe.  The Early Church was a church that was literally on its knees.  And notice that God always showed up, God always filled them with His Spirit, and God gave them the courage and boldness they needed. 

If you and I want to have the same boldness of faith like Peter and John, then we need to start by getting on our knees in prayer and then rising up to praise God with a thankful heart and a smile on our faces!  God will give us the boldness, and God will use us in ways we can’t even imagine to change this world and to bring glory to Him.  Let’s leap and jump and praise God all the days of our lives!

Here’s a great song the reminds us to be bold and strong in the Lord!

To God be the Glory!

Pastor Carol