INTERNAL GRUMBLINGS
Today's reading: Acts 5-6
"But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent..." Acts 6:1 NLT
Put yourself in the era of the early church.
Against all odds--threats, persecution, shunning--the church grew by leaps and bounds.
People believed in the risen Lord. House churches busted at the seams. Jews and Gentiles worshiping together. The Gospel spread like wildfire.
The enemy, not Rome, couldn't contain it. Satan couldn't shut it down. The deceiver was not able to squelch the fire burning in the new believers.
So he stirred up discontent among them.
Inconveniences.
Comparisons.
Small issues of little value.
Little things that took their focus off of God and placed it on themselves, their needs and their wants.
Doesn't he do the same thing today?
Today, in a time when we can reach around the world with the Gospel, he causes internal grumbling, inside issues and personal beefs to stem the flow of God's saving grace.
Insider problems arise causing believers to stumble before ever leaving the church house.
Personal preferences cause offenses that slow down the spreading of the Good News.
And all the while, our enemy just smiles.
Church, let's put aside our petty grievances and link arms for the mission at hand--presenting Jesus to the ends of the earth!
