Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Call to Spiritual Leadership
Acts 1: 15-26
"Lord you know everyone's heart..."

In the initial stages of Christianity there was only about a hundred and twenty disciples who witnessed Jesus' life from the baptism by John to the resurrection.  This is an extremely small number if you think about the mission that lay ahead for them.  They were not discouraged because they were small in number; they set out to evangelize, following through with The Great Commission.  They knew that the living God is with them and will work through them.  Sometimes we may find ourselves in situations where we will be few in number, maybe at our jobs, schools or other aspects of life. We must not lose heart; the early church also had such humble beginnings.   The only way the sphere of Christianity can grow is if we live it out every day, but it starts with each of us, everyday, and in everything.
One of the challenges we face as part of our Church is how to choose our spiritual leaders, the early church also faced this issue.   For the early church one of the requirements was, they were looking for someone who was a witness to the life of Christ.  Today we have to look for those among us who live as a witness to the life of Christ. We as the congregation of believers are called to pray the same prayer today, "Lord you know everyone's heart.  Show us which of these two you have chosen..."  Acts 1: 24
Once we have prayed this prayer we are called to act in faith.  The early church drew lots, for us it maybe a panel of elders or even election of office bearers. We often ask God to show us what our role is in His grand plan, although when given the chance to take a stand, we are afraid to make ripples, so we fail to answer the call.  Nowadays, many of our young generation leaders are tired of the politics in church that instead of hearing the call that's before them, they choose to find other churches with less politics. The life of a Christian is not one that is spent in our comfort zones, we are asked to step out in faith and serve even when it is uncomfortable. 

PRAYER:  Lord challenges us to step out in prayer for our leaders and seek your guidance to answer the call to become better spiritual leaders in our community. Amen

Thought for the Day:  Those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action.-- Interpretation from the Declaration of Independence 

Dr. Binu Chacko, St. John’s MTC, NY









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