Do over
What if we,Christians as a collective whole, were given a do over? What if we could forget everything we think we know about "church"? What if we could erase everything we've ever been taught about what Christians are supposed to be like? What if we could start all over with just The Word? No preconceived notions. No years of traditions. No "this is the way we've always done it".
Now imagine you did all of that and wiped your mind of all the clutter. Then imagine you want to know what a "church" is supposed to be like. Since your mind is wiped clean you have to go straight to scripture to find out. Turn to Acts 2 and read verses 42-47. (Keep in mind this is a short devotion not a novel so we are not reviewing EVERY verse in the Bible). These verses begin by telling us what the very first Christians did and how they acted as an example for us all. Verse 44 says,"they DEVOTED themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.". The first thing I notice is that they were devoted. Devotion means "profound dedication or earnest attachment". They did not simply practice these things they were dedicated to them, their lives were completely attached to the teachings, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer. It was not just a part of their lives, it was what their lives revolved around. Now skip to verse 44. They were "together and had everything in common." Now we all have some things in common with some people, but they had "everything in common.". How was that possible? Read the next few verses. They had physical things in common because "selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." There was no social class, no one was better than the other. Acts 4:32 " All the believers were in one heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." It would be easy to have things in common if everything was shared. No one was worrying and struggling because everyone was taken care of. No one was distracted by the worries of the world because everyone was taken care of. In fact, 4:34 says,"There were no needy persons among them." Everyone was the same so everyone could focus on their dedication to Gods Word. Everyone was equal so there was no envy or bitterness or resentment. No competition, no cliques, no one left out. Now if you read this for the first time(remember you cleared your mind of everything you knew) then you would say,"Ah, so everyone in the church should have everything in common so that our life could be completely devoted to 'the apostles' teachings and to the fellowship, to breaking of bread and to prayer'. With physical needs met, we can focus on the spiritual." Taking the teaching from those verses tells us to share all we have as if it did not belong to us alone, but it belongs to the entire family of believers. So if I have more than I need then I should share with those who are in need. If we all actually did that, do you think there would be a single person among us in need? From their example we see that their would not be anyone in need.
Okay so we have taken care of the physical needs, is that all we need to have "everything in common"? Not quiet. We have to address the spiritual need as well. Verses 46-47 explains how they met those needs together as well. The first 2 words of 46 are the biggest example. It says,"Every day". Now since we have forgotten that traditionally we meet only twice a week, we read this and see that every day is when we should meet together. I don't know where or who came up with twice a week but that doesn't match their practice of "every day". Think about that for a minute. Are you not closest to the people you see and talk with everyday? When you love someone, don't you have the desire to be with and talk with them every day? It's not hard to see then how they could be so close and have everything in common because they met together every day! Now if we'll be honest, most of us don't read that and get excited to spend everyday meeting with our church family. The first thing we think of is all the reasons we can't meet every day. Work, school, sports, piano lessons, our favorite TV shows, and on and on. That's where devotion comes in. These first Christians had jobs and families and other stuff to do, but they chose to be devoted to Christ and not to everything else. Their lives revolved around Christ. Everything else was just extra. I read their devotion and think of when Christ said that we must deny ourselves DAILY and take up our cross to follow Him. That's what they were doing. They put Him as number one priority and everything else second. The rest of the verse explains they did not just "meet" together but they also "broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.". They met together, they ate together, and they praised God together. The best part is they ENJOYED it! They got to spend everyday with their new family! They had the joy of sharing together every day. It was like a family get together and dinner party every day! Satan couldn't break them apart because they were so close. And not only did it have a wonderful impact on them but it must have been apparent to outsiders as well, because the very next sentence says," And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.". Who wouldn't want to be a part of a family that is so close that they share every thing and meet together daily!? They didn't do it because they had to, they did it because their devotion to Christ fueled their desire to be together.
Now remember what you've always known and compare it to the few verses we just read. Does it sound the same or do you see some big differences? I see huge differences and I wonder if that's why our attitudes have changed. We don't seem to have quite the same devotion as they did. We don't have all things in common. We aren't sharing everything we have as if it did not belong to us. We aren't selling possessions to provide for others and we aren't meeting together daily. So I'm wondering, do we really want to be like our example, the first church, or do we want what is convenient and easy to handle? Are we really "devoted" if we have no desire to share our "things" and give our life daily to Christ? Can we really be of "one heart and one mind" if we have only a few things in common with a few people? Are we really doing Gods will for us if we are not following the example He gave us in His Word? Is there enough desire in us to follow Christ that we are willing to change? Are we willing to make good on our commitment to Christ and deny ourselves daily and take up our cross?
Now that's not everything about church, but I think it's enough to think on for now and an excellent place to start.
Kristy!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
Now imagine you did all of that and wiped your mind of all the clutter. Then imagine you want to know what a "church" is supposed to be like. Since your mind is wiped clean you have to go straight to scripture to find out. Turn to Acts 2 and read verses 42-47. (Keep in mind this is a short devotion not a novel so we are not reviewing EVERY verse in the Bible). These verses begin by telling us what the very first Christians did and how they acted as an example for us all. Verse 44 says,"they DEVOTED themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.". The first thing I notice is that they were devoted. Devotion means "profound dedication or earnest attachment". They did not simply practice these things they were dedicated to them, their lives were completely attached to the teachings, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer. It was not just a part of their lives, it was what their lives revolved around. Now skip to verse 44. They were "together and had everything in common." Now we all have some things in common with some people, but they had "everything in common.". How was that possible? Read the next few verses. They had physical things in common because "selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." There was no social class, no one was better than the other. Acts 4:32 " All the believers were in one heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." It would be easy to have things in common if everything was shared. No one was worrying and struggling because everyone was taken care of. No one was distracted by the worries of the world because everyone was taken care of. In fact, 4:34 says,"There were no needy persons among them." Everyone was the same so everyone could focus on their dedication to Gods Word. Everyone was equal so there was no envy or bitterness or resentment. No competition, no cliques, no one left out. Now if you read this for the first time(remember you cleared your mind of everything you knew) then you would say,"Ah, so everyone in the church should have everything in common so that our life could be completely devoted to 'the apostles' teachings and to the fellowship, to breaking of bread and to prayer'. With physical needs met, we can focus on the spiritual." Taking the teaching from those verses tells us to share all we have as if it did not belong to us alone, but it belongs to the entire family of believers. So if I have more than I need then I should share with those who are in need. If we all actually did that, do you think there would be a single person among us in need? From their example we see that their would not be anyone in need.
Okay so we have taken care of the physical needs, is that all we need to have "everything in common"? Not quiet. We have to address the spiritual need as well. Verses 46-47 explains how they met those needs together as well. The first 2 words of 46 are the biggest example. It says,"Every day". Now since we have forgotten that traditionally we meet only twice a week, we read this and see that every day is when we should meet together. I don't know where or who came up with twice a week but that doesn't match their practice of "every day". Think about that for a minute. Are you not closest to the people you see and talk with everyday? When you love someone, don't you have the desire to be with and talk with them every day? It's not hard to see then how they could be so close and have everything in common because they met together every day! Now if we'll be honest, most of us don't read that and get excited to spend everyday meeting with our church family. The first thing we think of is all the reasons we can't meet every day. Work, school, sports, piano lessons, our favorite TV shows, and on and on. That's where devotion comes in. These first Christians had jobs and families and other stuff to do, but they chose to be devoted to Christ and not to everything else. Their lives revolved around Christ. Everything else was just extra. I read their devotion and think of when Christ said that we must deny ourselves DAILY and take up our cross to follow Him. That's what they were doing. They put Him as number one priority and everything else second. The rest of the verse explains they did not just "meet" together but they also "broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.". They met together, they ate together, and they praised God together. The best part is they ENJOYED it! They got to spend everyday with their new family! They had the joy of sharing together every day. It was like a family get together and dinner party every day! Satan couldn't break them apart because they were so close. And not only did it have a wonderful impact on them but it must have been apparent to outsiders as well, because the very next sentence says," And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.". Who wouldn't want to be a part of a family that is so close that they share every thing and meet together daily!? They didn't do it because they had to, they did it because their devotion to Christ fueled their desire to be together.
Now remember what you've always known and compare it to the few verses we just read. Does it sound the same or do you see some big differences? I see huge differences and I wonder if that's why our attitudes have changed. We don't seem to have quite the same devotion as they did. We don't have all things in common. We aren't sharing everything we have as if it did not belong to us. We aren't selling possessions to provide for others and we aren't meeting together daily. So I'm wondering, do we really want to be like our example, the first church, or do we want what is convenient and easy to handle? Are we really "devoted" if we have no desire to share our "things" and give our life daily to Christ? Can we really be of "one heart and one mind" if we have only a few things in common with a few people? Are we really doing Gods will for us if we are not following the example He gave us in His Word? Is there enough desire in us to follow Christ that we are willing to change? Are we willing to make good on our commitment to Christ and deny ourselves daily and take up our cross?
Now that's not everything about church, but I think it's enough to think on for now and an excellent place to start.
Kristy!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
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