the power of unity

1corinthians1:10
10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

So this scripture stood out to me during me reading for it reminded me of the importance of unity within the church. So at this time the new converts were arguing over doctrine, practices etc which destoyed the sprit of unity they had when they were first baptised. It reminded me also how sometimes you've been in the church so long you forget why you became a member. Well due to their arguments they lost sight of what made them join the church in the first place. Faith in the lord Jesus Christ. They had felt God's love and had spiritual confirmation of what paul taught was true and were baptized and happy.So thankfully paul reminded them of their faith in Jesus Christ and not worry over trivial things and do what he taught them. Yes I can see the strain they were after paul left, they were brand new converts left to run the church which was like asking the imposssible but they did it the best they could and paul helped as much as he could from a distance. Now here in modern times this scripture reminded of division of churches, doctrine, practices and even divisions within the church which breed confusion,strife and resentment. I truly believe when we as diciples of christ are united in our faith and our love for each other our spirits are magnified and our power for food increases 10 fold.

The power of change Acts 9,13-18
So this week as I read through Acts I was quite impressed with Saul's conversion. I realized I never knew Saul was later known as Paul the apostle.So when Saul is first introduced he went around persecuting the church. Acts 8:"As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison."Not only that but he was going to the high priest for lists of the saints to put them in prison.Acts9:2 "And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem." So right now he is doing all he can to pervert the church of God. Then something unexpected happens, Jesus Christ appears unto him and personally asks him why he is doing what he does.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
This is the beginning of his conversion and the start of his new life as an apostle of the lord.Now there were those who were skeptic of his miraculous change of heart but they were proven wrong when they saw his sincere change of heart. That is what faith in Jesus Christ does it gives you a new heart and new life as his diciple. It always amazes me how far Gods love for his children go for none are turned away. God doesn't see us as we are now but who we can become for we can always become something or somone better with Gods help. Paul was an amazing missionary he helped thousands of people change and repent just like he did. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power to change, for its never too late to become who we were meant to become. I feel like I have gotten to know both saul and paul personally this week and am impressed by both men for they both instruments in the lords hands.

The acts of the apotles

Well another semeter has started at byu Idaho and I am studying the new testamment, Mainly acts through revelations. So this week I studied acts 1-8, 10-12. So what was the main theme of these scriptures? What was taught? The main theme was missionary work. Jesus Has acended into heaven after his ressurection and charged his apostles to teach the gospel and keep his church going. They bore powerful testimony of Chirsts divinity, they spoke boldly against sin. They called and ordained apostles and sent them all over to preach the gospel.Here is a short summary of what the apostles taught the people,
1.Calling and ordaining of the apostles.
2. Conferring the gift of the holy ghost by the laying on of hands
3. Christs death and ressurrection
4.propheys of the second coming
5, testimony of Christs divinity
6. Repent and be baptized by the proper authority and recieve the holy ghost.
7. testifies of the latter day gathering of israel
8. gospel preached to the gentiles
9. martydom of stephan
10. peter and john imprisoned
11. Missionary work.
This list is just a small part of the apostles efforts in teaching the gospel but its clear to see missionary work was the main objective in this scriptures