Vicki's Wednesday Word

  Acts 2:42-47 42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 43 A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. 44 And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. 45 They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. It is no wonder Methodists are crazy for their Carry-In Dinners. It’s right there in the Bible! The kind of community described here sounds like joy to me. When you stop to think that the Crucifixion had only been a couple of months before, these things came t

  John 7:10-17 NLT 10 But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. 11 The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. 12 There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” 13 But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders. 14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked. 16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.” Some people thought Jesus was going to lead them in overthrowing the Roman con

  Habakkuk 2:1-2 NLT 1 I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost.  There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint. 2 Then the LORD said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. 3 This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. The end. We don’t like to talk about it very much. It makes us very uncomfortable. If you have studied your Good Book, you know it is coming. While Habakkuk is referring to the imminent Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and the end of life as the people of Israel knew it, the end of our world will come someday as well. The Lord let Habakkuk know that he will still be in charge, no matter how it may seem or how long it takes. The same thing applies to us today. No matter what is going on in the world around us, be it pest

  Matthew 4:1-4 NLT 4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Temptation comes to us in more ways than we can count. We are enticed by “promise of pleasure or gain,” as Merriam-Webster puts it. It might be scrumptious, nutrition-less food. It might be just one more cocktail. It could even be ten more dollars’ worth of lottery tickets. But, there are many more forms of temptation than what might be strictly for enjoyment or to line our pockets. We might be tempted to tell that “little” lie to avoid unpleasantness. No one would ever know if we cheated just a little, or cut ahead in line, or took credit we didn’t d