Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Joy in the City

“So there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8:4)

The city was Samaria. The joy was the result of Philip’s work. He was among those scattered by the persecution Saul was leading. He went to Samaria and began the work of proclaiming the gospel. People listened intently, and they saw the signs he performed: healing and casting out “unclean spirits.” Thus there was great joy in Samaria among those who heard and believed.

What a great goal this would make for a church or even an individual Christian. What would your city look like if your church’s goal was to bring great joy to your city? What if that was your church’s vision as well as your mission, and everything you did and said centered around bringing joy to your city?

Whether or not a church might adopt this as a vision statement, or mission statement, or a goal, certainly each of us as individual Christians can make it our aim to live our lives, both in word and deed, in ways that will bring great joy to our city. Would you consider adopting this as your personal goal?

Lord, We pray that our city will experience great joy because of Your gospel, and we pray that we may be part of helping that to happen. Amen.

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