It is impossible to read too much , but always keep before you why you read. Remember His 3-R’s, our “need to Receive, Recognize, and Rely on the Holy Spirit” COMES before all else. Taken My Utmost For His Highest Approved Unto God, 11 L
What made this woman Thecla so powerful? She was naked and unashamed because at the revelation of Jesus she discovered herself. Even though she was a new convert, she made a compelling ambassador. As she raised her voice in prayer, she demonstrated courage in the face of death. A brave daughter who might be denied the right to preach fully clothed in many a pulpit won a multitude of converts naked and surrounded by beasts in a cruel coliseum. When I read stories like this, I like to think Eve smiles. (I am sure Sarah does too!) For the battle Eve lost in the intimate nurture and safety of a garden has been won many times over by reborn daughters in arenas of open hostility.
The crowd had gathered to see an execution, but instead they witnessed the reversal of the fall. May our lives continue this legacy. As we daily declare that our salvation and substance are found in Christ alone, we increase our capacity to be filled with him and hasten his return.
Today we know more about the Bible than at any other time in our human history. And yet where has this knowledge brought us? We have an abundance of information and a glaring lack of transformation. I fear in many ways and on many fronts intellect and talent have been substituted for God’s Word and the guidance of his Holy Spirit.
I want more. What I sense in my spirit is an outpouring and harvest without rival.
This broken world needs to see God’s power. Perhaps it is time we echo the prayers of the early church.
So now, Lord, listen to their threats to harm us and empower us, as your servants, to speak the word of God freely and courageously. Stretch out your hand of power through us to heal, and to move in signs and wonders by the name of your holy Son, Jesus! (Acts 4:29–30 TPT)
And what did these prayers set in motion?
At that moment the earth shook beneath them, causing the building they were in to tremble. Each one of them was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they proclaimed the word of God with unrestrained boldness. (Acts 4:31 TPT)
It is time for God’s Word to be proclaimed with unhindered brash boldness. In many ways, the challenges Thecla faced were not that different from our own. There was outrage when she decided to take a path that was unexpected and to live a life that was consecrated. Family members tried to hold her back, the government tried to legislate her faith, men tried to take her by force and suppress what they saw as rebellion. And yet all along she was the one who was truly free. Whether she lived or died had no bearing on who she knew she was . . . she was a handmaiden of the Most High God.
NEXT UP: Living A Life Without Rival