Back to the beginning

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:12-14

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Princess Bride. Inigo Montoya is on a mission to find the six fingered man, but has taken a job with Vizzini to pay the bills. After being bested by The Man in Black, Inigo does what Vizzini said--if things fall apart, go back to the beginning. When told to leave by a member of the Brute Squad, he refuses, saying, "Well, this is where we got the job, so it's the beginning. And I am staying till Vizzini comes."

That sounds exactly like what the disciples did. Jesus tells them to hang out in Jerusalem until they get the Holy Spirit, then disappears into the sky. But rather than drinking themselves into oblivion, like Inigo did, they prayed.

This wasn't a dinner prayer; it was a continual supplication. Show us what we're supposed to do, Lord. Send this Holy Spirit thing you've told us about.

That's where we're at too. Ironically, our Wednesday night small group Bible study (of other people in the same boat) is meeting at the house where we first started. On Sunday morning, after the weekly"can't we go back to the church with donuts" conversation, Patrick explained that just like God told Noah to build a boat, God told Mommy and Daddy we're not to go back to the church with donuts, and we're obeying. But now we need to pray and listen closely to see where God wants us to go...or if He wants us to start a house church.

So we visited a church in our Jerusalem (we've been commuting to Samaria for church). The worship was ok, the sermon was good, a little more Pentacostal than we're used to (a time for speaking in tongues during the service, forced raising of hands), but they're growing and Spirit filled.

So we'll continue to pray and listen...back to the beginning, you could say.

Give us ears to hear and eyes to see...and patience to wait for your call.