Together
Read This Week: Acts 2
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God, and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47 NIV
The last section of Acts 2 brings to mind some of the lyrics of Jack Johnson’s song, Better Together. It says, “It’s not always easy and sometimes life can be deceiving, but I’ll tell you one thing, it’s always better when we’re together.” It wasn’t always easy for the followers of Christ in the first century, and life was challenging, but they demonstrated that God’s design for His church was that it is always better when we’re together.
The word fellowship in verse 42 actually means “being together.” It is fundamental in the establishment of the Christian church for believers to be and do things together and celebrate what they have in common, namely, a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The six verses of this passage outline a week in the life of the early Christians and all the family of God did together:
• Bible Study (v.42)
• Prayer (v.42)
• Corporate Gathering (v.46)
• Fellowship (v.42, 44)
• Service (v.45)
• Meals (v.42, 46)
• Worship (v.47)
• Outreach (v.47)
These believers were not content to meet once a week for “a church service.” They met daily, served daily, cared for others daily, witnessed to unbelievers daily, studied God’s Word daily, and grew in spirit and number daily. Their faith and desire to be together was a daily reality motivated by love and commonality, not an occasional routine out of obligation.
The first two chapters of Acts show us that we must change the trajectory of the modern church to reflect the Biblical model of togetherness. We must harness the power of the Holy Spirit, contribute to the global movement of the gospel, and value being The Body. As the church is threatened by division like never before, and the culture becomes increasingly more antagonistic toward Christianity, we need each other. We need to be in harmony and in sync while on mission.
All the references to the church in the New Testament are communal and applied to everyone in the family of God. Through Jesus, people of all backgrounds, races, cultures, talents, gifts, and experiences unite for His glory and purposes. We were never meant to do this alone (v.44). So let’s do it together and make a difference in the world for the glory of God.
My comments last week had touched on some of what this last part of Acts 2 was talking about. When many signs and wonders were done through the apostles it was evidence of God’s power. It changes our lives. In reading it again this is what God said to me. He reminded me that He wants Jesus to become much more important to me than any possessions I have in my life. Jesus should be my focus. Possessions don’t matter. What is important is that we share our lives with one another.
We are stronger together with other believers. We can help pick each other up when we fall. We don’t just go through the motions of life, we actually do life together. We praise and worship together; we study God’s word together and we serve together. Together we can reach even more people by showing them God through our lives, actions, and sharing his words. Together we can do more to bring others to Him. Thank you God and thank you, Jesus!
Thank you for reinforcing these truths again this week, Kathy. Your reiterations about Biblical community and togetherness reminded me of that great passage in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Two are certainly better than one. Connectedness is better than isolation. Interdependence is better than obstinate independence. Relationship is better than loneliness. Unity is better than division.
This week, God gave me a song from Acts 2 called “We Thank You”:
We thank you, thank you, thank you
Our Father we believe, trust, rely on you
We are united and together as one
We thank you, thank you for letting us
See your wonderful signs going through life
With you side by side standing tall
Feeling your strength, power, and love
We are inspired, inspired by you
We thank you, thank you, thank you our wonderful Lord.
God’s love is so strong. He loves us all by showing his signs throughout our lives. It’s about us knowing it is Him. He wants us all to grow in Him.
I love your song, Alma. It reads like a psalm of thanksgiving and praise. Thankfulness and especially gratitude to God is one of the most beautiful of the human emotions. When I feel grateful and am encouraged to be grateful through pieces like yours, I find it to be a refreshing experience. Your post reminded me of a quote from pastor and author, John Piper:
What makes gratitude so beautiful is its rare combination of humility and joy. Like real love, real thankfulness displaces human selfishness — it’s impossible to feel conceited or conniving and feel truly thankful at the same time.
Thank you for pointing us to the feeling of gratitude to God to get the focus off of ourselves and onto the One that deserves it along with our praise and worship.
God also shared with me that 2 are better than one! when one falls, gets discouraged, the other one should help the other one up. Do you know what your purpose is here?
42 And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread and prayers. (Having a 2-way conversation with God) 44 And all who believed (who adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus Christ) were united and [together] they had everything in common.
First, it’s important to devote yourself to Father God daily, every morning, and all throughout your day. He has devoted Himself to you no matter what! If you haven’t given your life to Jesus yet, today is your day! Get saved then you can learn to grow in the ways of the Lord. As you devote yourself to Father God, Jesus’ teachings, read your bible daily, God has given you His Holy Spirit to help you, guide you in the right direction.
Next God has given us people who have devoted themselves to God so we can have everything in common. The people we chose to spend the most time with have an enormous impact on our life, our values, goals, and growth. So your closest friends need to be people who have devoted their lives to God too so they are influencing you to live a life with God. We don’t need someone influencing us to do things that will get us off track. We need people who will tell us the truth to help us to take it to the next level with God.
As you grow and mature, you’re stronger, you have overcome things that control you for bad. Now you have a testimony so you can help someone that are struggling. Don’t want to join them, then you can ruin your testimony. People are looking for someone who can help them out with the bad choices that they are making, they keep messing up, God needs us to show them the right way to live it brings hope to others that they can do it too.
Our job is to help others, encourage them, love them for God. So I encourage you to be the light, be the hope, for someone. Devote yourself to Lord 24-7 God loves you!
Heidi, once again, I love your reiteration of personal discipleship and devotion that enables and empowers us to influence, help, and equip others. This was my favorite line:
As you grow and mature, you’re stronger, you have overcome things that control you for bad. Now you have a testimony so you can help someone that is struggling.
As we stay personally connected to God (John 15), we are spiritually renewed and equipped to disciple and help someone who God has placed in our lives.