Read About It—Acts 12:19-25
Computer viruses can wreak havoc to your cyber health! (Even Mac users--long apathetic about viruses--are now forced to at least be aware of potential threats.) A well-planned and executed virus can literally spread around the globe in a matter of days or even hours. But despite the insidious character of a virus, it is still nothing more than a computer program—a set of commands that your computer executes. Just goes to show that even when buried within an electronic collage of 0’s and 1’s, language is a powerful medium that can influence for good or evil.
Kind of makes you wonder what it would be like if today’s technology had existed when Jesus walked the earth. Can you imagine—Jesus walks by the first disciples and says, “Follow me.” Within a few days, the entire world has received an e-mail (or Tweet or IM or whatever!) that tells about this man whom some are calling the “Messiah”. (Did I mention that they also received communiques about the Microsoft/Nike e-mail trace program and the kid who died when he licked a used hypodermic needle in his double-dipped ice cream cone?) Anyway, Jesus’ life and ministry picks up speed at an accelerated rate! Every time He heals someone or casts out a demon, news spreads around the globe within hours! People flock from all over the world to see Him! Web cams broadcast 24-hour feeds of Jesus’ ministry. Bootleggers distribute MP3’s of His “Sermon on the Mount.” Every word He preaches becomes the hotly debated topics of blogs, Facebook and the Twitter-verse. Then there are the religious opponents of Jesus, the Pharisees and Sadducees. Every lie they tell, every attempt to defame and discredit Christ spreads just as quickly, just as thoroughly as the truth. Weird, huh?
You see, in the “real” world, both truth and lies perform just like a computer virus. They infect the system of every vulnerable user! And we are like computers, our own “programming” constantly evolving from a steady stream of data flowing in and out of our lives. Acts 12:24 says that the Word of God “continued to increase and spread”! Even before the invention of computers and viruses, the truth of God was an unstoppable force that spread across the face of the earth along human networks, infecting the system of every user and literally changing the world forever! And it is still growing and spreading today!
Okay, go back and read Acts 12:19-25 one more time.
Now for the REAL stretch—Disciples of Christ…
Know God—In what way did God reveal Himself to you as you read His Word?
Live for God—What one lifestyle change is God calling you to make?
Love Others—In what way is God calling you to minister to someone in need?
Bear Fruit—In what ways will you set the example and the standard for others to follow?
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