If Peter and Paul never left Jerusalem...

                               Where would we be?

I've been reading through the New Testament on my own and I am now in Acts. Reading carefully through Acts has opened my eyes to just how much the apostles did to spread the Gospel. Just wanted to share with you some of my thoughts...

We see in Acts 1 that Peter was the first to stand up and take charge in beginning a ministry dedicated to spreading the Gospel of Jesus. My question is, where would we be today if Peter and the apostles had not stood up and taken action? Peter, Paul, and the apostles devoted their whole lives to Jesus' ministry. And I mean whole lives... they gave up everything in order to travel and share the message of Christ. So many people were saved. These guys endured extreme hardships and persecution day after day, yet they did not once give up. Seeing just a few people saved in each town was worth it to them.

But where would you and I be if Peter or Paul weren't committed to the Lord's plan for their lives? Where would this world be? I reckon hardly anyone would know who this Jesus guy was! So many towns that the apostles travelled to hadn't even heard about Jesus or knew who God was. But through Peter and Paul and Barnabas and all the other guys' obedience to God, thousands were saved, or they had at least heard the Gospel. Can you imagine this world today if Paul hadn't acted on God's will? We would be like the people in Athens who worshipped an "unknown God" (Acts 17:22-23). Can you believe that? They had an altar with the inscription "TO AN UNKNOWN GOD." They didn't even know who they were worshipping! 

Think of this personally... What would people's lives or this world look like if we, as individuals, aren't obedient to God? God put His trust in Paul and the other men to take what they knew and spread it throughout the nations. He had a plan for them. And He has a plan for each of us. He is trusting and confiding in us to carry out our duty and responsibility as His followers. Kinda scary to think about... God confiding in me! What is it in your life that if you do, you could look back and say, "Wow, what if I didn't do that? Then this person wouldn't be saved... or this situation would be different." We need to go after what God is calling us to so much that we couldn't even imagine what life would be like if we hadn't. I don't know about you, but I desire to be like Peter and Paul. I don't want to be known as a lazy untrustworthy disciple of Christ. I want to be a fully committed follower who never gives up on God's call on my life. It's not always easy, but it takes faith and a lot of discipline...