Back to Basics

“When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.’”
Acts 4:24

We had just moved into a new rental house, it was freshly remodeled so even though the house had been built in the forties it felt new inside. We hadn’t been there but a week or so when a plumbing problem developed – the toilet was backing up into the tub – such fun…not. Luckily we have an awesome property manager so he came right over when we called. He quickly determined that the problem wasn’t in the house but outside where the pipes head for the main. He did some digging, made some corrections – so the toilet would flush properly and then acknowledged that the problem was more than he was able to take care of and that he’d have to find someone else to do the work. It appeared as though it was a situation of getting back to the basics.

This week’s passage from the Book of Acts is a get back to basics kind of story. Peter and John had been arrested, thrown in jail for the night and then taken before the Jewish religious leaders for questioning and discipline. Peter and John made it clear that they would, despite the many threats made against them, be faithful to the call God had placed on them to spread the good news of Jesus. As soon as they are released they headed back to where everyone else was hanging out and shared all that had happened. The response of the group – They prayed to their God, acknowledging Him as the maker of everything and asking that the Lord be with them, strengthen them and to give them a refreshed boldness – in other words they were getting back to the basics – prayer and relying on God to do all He had promised.

The result of these early believers and followers of Jesus getting back to basics – they received a top off of Holy Spirit power and a fresh boldness for speaking the good news to everyone they encountered.

Is your spiritual life flagging? Is life beating you up? Have you felt threatened by the world around you because you dare to speak the truth of God’s love and light into the dark world around you? Are health or financial issues causing you to lose faith, to lose hope? Does life seem to be a never ending storm? Get back to basics – pray to the Creator God who loves us so much He became one of us and then sacrificed his life for ours. Pray giving him the praise He deserves and asking for what you need the most - a top off of Holy Spirit power to restore your strength and renew your faith. Oh about the plumbing issue – they ended up putting new pipe in all the way across the street, how’s that for back to basics?

I’m getting back to the basics spiritually – how about you?

A Prayer
Father – Thank you that no matter where we find ourselves we can always get back to the basics of believing in and following You. Send your Spirit to give us a fill up when life seems to be getting to be too much for us. Remind us that You are the maker of everything and that You planned it for good. When we are ready to overflow with your Spirit, show us who needs our bold encouragement and the Good News of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, who calls us back to the basics – Amen.