The Apostles Are Coming! The Apostles Are Coming! (Part 2)

Flickering candles scattered throughout the family room provided light for the home church as shadows danced across walls. The adults sat on a leather sectional, a matching loveseat and a brick fireplace hearth while the children sprawled out on the carpet. The scene was reminiscent of a time when the church’s existence was threatened by Nero’s bloody pogroms. And like those early Christians, the group huddled together seeking refuge from a cruel enemy, searching for more victims to devour.

Perhaps, the angel of death will pass us by, Luke thought. But how will that happen?

Then Luke looked around the room at the home church’s members. Ike and Hannah Albertson, Juan and Debbie Rodriguez, Ezra and Bonnie Cho, Ben and Myra Goldberg, Tim and Margie O’Riley and all the children.  Luke’s wife, Cat, sat next to him on the hearth. All were present and none seemed to have suffered major injuries from the nuclear bomb.

Yet, death hung like a drape over the assembly. Everyone felt its evil presence. It was an all-out battle to keep panic and the “if only’s” from invading their thoughts.

But what struck Luke as utterly amazing were the children. They seemed peaceful. A few even played quietly in the breakfast nook. Others sat in front of their parents on the carpet. Margie’s four month old baby even giggled and kicked his feet on her lap.

We need to be more like children, Luke thought.

His inner meditations were overridden at times by the outside sounds of explosions, distant sirens and the roar of raging fires. The external commotion from the aftereffects of the nuclear bomb only added another lead brick to the group’s emotional overload.

Then, as Luke Stone sat there, his spirit leaped to life within him. Stirrings like this had occurred in times past as a result of the spiritual gifts, but now, it was even more pronounced. Divine strength eclipsed his human weaknesses and fears. Where just seconds before he had seen nothing but impossibilities, he now saw opportunities. A heaven-inspired plan formed in his mind.

He stood up and looked around at the assembly.

“Four lepers sat in the midst of a disaster when they said to one another, ‘Why are we sitting here until we die?’ Having nothing to lose, they marched toward the enemy’s camp. The Lord then amplified the echoes of their footsteps, causing Israel’s foes to retreat from the battle site. Thus, triumph swallowed up defeat. This victory was not accomplished by a group who continued to sit within their walls of safety. It happened because a few men decided to ignore their circumstances and weaknesses and do something.”

The assembly focused their eyes on him. They needed no announcements or advertising hype to inform them that the mantle of the apostle rested upon Luke. They knew. And like Paul the apostle, Luke did not speak with persuasive words of wisdom, but instead, he demonstrated the Holy Spirit and power so that the people’s faith rested not in him but on the power of God.

“Now, like the four lepers, we have a decision to make. To sit here until we die, or to obey God,” Luke proclaimed.

Luke paused and did not bully the group into following his beliefs. He knew this was the Holy Spirit’s job and that He would guide them into the truth. (Short excerpt from an upcoming book, LA Died Today)

The apostles are coming, not to sit in large churches and receive adulation, but to advance the Kingdom of God against impossible situations and bring glory to the King.

(Continued in Part 3)