When Jesus ascended into heaven, two angels dressed in white stood beside the disciples and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking into the sky?” (Acts 1:11).

If Jesus came today he would find persons as Ward Davis , Craig Green, Wes Hilliard, John Freeland, Bill Baker, Jim Rogers, Buster Payne, Frank Appell, Jerry Varnado, Eric Sizemore, Joseph Tillman, Craig Estes, Pat Doyle, Bill Ligon, Andy Vellie, Bob Moon, Gene Thomas, Mary Lucy Bonfim, Mary Blance, Elizabeth Wolf, Kay Harris, Mary Kicklighter, Earl Tyson, Jim Capps, Jesse Lough, Bert Alexander and hundreds of other “Men of Galilee.” These men are looking at the sky just as the amazed disciples, hoping that Jesus will return. They are not playing the game of promotion; they are just looking up!!

There were in fact 11 of them:

“Peter, John and James and Andrew, Phillip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women.” (Acts 1:13- 14)

These men were looking for direction and purpose. Their hearts ached with feelings of abandonment, despair and loneliness, all of them desiring for Jesus to return to them.

I would have done the same. The Lord had ascended into heaven. Why not look to heaven for His return? I must confess, I have been lonely at times, but I have not sold my convictions. I am looking up these days for the hope of His coming. Along with me, there are many men and women.

It all has to do with others and God. Jesus himself said it this way:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:25-40)

The conflict emerges when God does something for you to complete your ministry, and you find that others will not accept you. They reject you because what God is doing through you confronts their traditions, their system, and their tolerance.

Jesus did not live to get the approval of man; He lived to set the captive free. He did not sell out His divine purpose in order to be accepted by the Sanhedrin.

I ask you this question: “Who are you spiritually? Men of Galilee or Men of Georgia? Women of Galilee or Women of Georgia?

“Men of Galilee” will not buy into the idea that Mohammed has a way unto salvation or that gods from India can lead to the peace that surpasses all understanding. To any who embrace this kind of thought I say:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by whom we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Read it for yourself!

“Men of Galilee” are not pleasers of men. They must carry out their call to its fullness, no matter what the cost, and “partake of His holiness” without looking for the next appointment. They serve the “global village,” not the neighborhood. They praise, they pray, they cry, they dance, they laugh, they sing, and they love with the full extent of their faith. They express their faith with zest and color and texture of character. Read these words in red from Revelation 3:14-15:

” I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Are you numbered among the “Men and Women of Galilee” or among the pleasers of men? Do you identify with “Men and Women of Galilee” or to ministers who give an Indian god the place of the Son of God?
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> Rick Bonfim

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