By Allen White
All the
believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and
to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Acts 2:42 (NLT)
“Devote”
seems like a somewhat outdated word. In the musical Grease, Olivia Newton John
sang “hopelessly devoted to you.” Maybe the word is a relic of the 1950’s?
Maybe we are so busy and preoccupied today that we don’ t have the energy to
“devote” ourselves anymore. Maybe everything seems so unreliable these days
that we’d rather be tentative than devoted. It just seems safe that way.
The
dictionary defines “devote” as “to give up or appropriate to or concentrate on
a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc.: to devote one's time to
reading.”[1]
I’ve mentioned other places that balanced really has to do with focus. To
concentrate on one thing is perhaps to give up something else.
How do we
make sure that our spiritual life is on track? Now, I didn’t say perfectly in
order. I don’t think that happens in this life. The early church devoted
themselves to four things that helped them grow: God’s Word, fellowship,
sharing meals and prayer.
For some to
mention food and fellowship separately may seem a little confusing. Where I
grew up, fellowship equaled “pot luck.” Christian fellowship or koinonia carries with it the idea of coming
together in love, faith, and encouragement (Philippians 2:1-2).
What do you
devote yourself to? How would you rate yourself in terms of connecting with
other believers, studying the Word together, sharing meals together and
praying?
Support
Galatians 419 Ministries with a Tax Deductible Donation through the Joy to the World Foundation:http://joytotheworldfoundation.org/operating-projects/149-galations-419-ministries/backing
No comments:
Post a Comment