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If you want to see Christians thriving, look at the end of Acts 4. They are united, empowered, and strong with a sense of togetherness that many had never experienced before. So much so that they begin to give away even their most valuable possessions for the sake of the gospel message. But then something happens.

Acts 4:23-31 introduces us to a believers prayer. Peter and John had just come back from being questioned, threatened, and put in jail for miraculously healing a crippled man in the name of Jesus. After telling the other believers what had happened, they all decided to pray.

Acts 4:7-10​ says, “They (the rulers, elders, and teachers of the law) had Peter and John brought before them: ‘By what power or what name did you do this (Heal a lame man)?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people!

Last week we talked about how God empowers, strengthens and uses all those who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior. Today we see that He’ll also use us to share Christ with others. God will use you and I to further His Kingdom.

​God empowers, strengthens, and uses all those who claim Jesus as Lord and Savior. Most of us would consider ourselves as unworthy or unusable. But Scripture is clear about the type of people God uses for His works.

​This morning our devotions focused on Jesus' early years AFTER his birth in the manger. We looked at his father Joseph, the often over-looked important figure in the nativity setting.

Prayer was a source of power in the life of the early church. The question I ask myself is, "Is prayer source of power in my life?" What about you, is it a source of power in your life?

When a person comes to know Christ, or when that person asks Christ to be the Lord and Savior of their life, Scripture says that the Holy Spirit will then live in, around and flow out of them. That doesn’t mean that person becomes perfect. We know that. But, the Holy Spirit does become that person’s helper, comfort, intercessor, counselor, strength, teacher, and power. It helps that person to pray and to spread the good news locally, regionally, and throughout the world.

At the Pizza Ranch Support Center, we've been working through the Book of Acts during our weekly prayer time. Last week we saw the incredible introduction of the Holy Spirit to Christians. They heard, saw, felt, and did things that were unexplainable​, or so they thought.

At the Pizza Ranch Support Center we’ve been working our way through the Book of Acts during our weekly prayer time. Since starting Acts 1, we’ve been anticipating the arrival of the great gift that Jesus said would be coming. That great gift is the arrival of the Holy Spirit; the gift that would live in, around, and flow out of all those who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Do you ever wonder how to get closer to God? Or to be able to pray without ceasing? I believe it starts with a thankful heart. When we thank God throughout our day, not only does it help us pray more often, but it also provides a solid foundation of many other prayers.

In Philippians 3, Paul shares his history as a religious leader who knew the law and followed it as well as anyone, but he goes on to confess that he did not know the truth of who Jesus was until Jesus grabbed his heart. Paul shares that this truth, that Jesus is the one true Son of God and the only way to be saved from sin, became the rally cry for his life, and that he would “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”.