There arose a murmuring. ACTS 6:1 A striking characteristic of the church in the book of Acts was its spirit of unity. With one accord, of one soul, and of one heart are expressions used to describe the atmosphere that prevailed. Unity of the spirit based upon the truth has especially marked the church in days of revival and is singled out as a thing well pleasing to God (Psa. 133). That being the case, we can be sure that Satan will seek to destroy it. The murmuring that arose among the disciples in Jerusalem created a division that threatened the very future of the work. How little we realize the potential for evil there is in an unrestrained tongue. When we begin to murmur and complain and thus cause division amongst brethren, the Spirit of God is grieved, the blessing of God is absent from us, and the adversary is pleased. What was the source of the problem in Jerusalem? Something of fundamental importance? Not at all something comparatively trifling, something of a temporal and material nature. Relatively insignificant matters have often caused much bitterness among saints and thus hindered blessing. Let us consider the possible results of our words before we speak and decide whether the issue is important enough to outweigh the risk of harming Gods work. Thankfully, there were men in the church in Jerusalem determined to give themselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word . . . and the word of God increased (Acts 6:4, 7). When tempted to complain, let us press on with our responsibilities in the work of the Lord and pray continually. In this way Satan's plans can be defeated and the kingdom of Christ extended In Celebration of Life in Him, Dr. Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net
