Clever Free Methodist

There is a powerful situation that takes place in the book of Acts.  It says in Acts 6:3-6 , “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.” Did you notice that the leaders of the early Church placed the responsibility for finding leadership on the “community of the disciples”? (Acts 6:2) That’s you! That’s us! We need to be on the lookout for those who would make good leaders in the Church. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, in fairness, this task was new for the early Christians, too. Before they were Christians, most were

  This past year has been one of deeper spiritual quests and discoveries. I think the pandemic and long-standing guidelines have many digging deeper for spiritual truth. I am intrigued by many who have asked me some very profound questions. One such inquiry involved the Disciple Judas and the meaning behind Luke 22:3 , “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.” They want to know if Satan literally entered Judas or if this is simply a figurative statement. Most scholars I’ve studied believed it wasn’t just a random satanic demon, but Satan, himself, who literally possessed Judas in order to use him for his dastardly plans. We need to remember how desperate Satan was in stopping Jesus from going to the cross. Think back to the very beginning when Jesus started his ministry by spending forty days and nights in the desert. Why? The answer is in Matthew 4:1 , “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Satan threw every