Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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Reviving the Spirit of Unity and Fellowship

Bible Reading: Acts 2:42-47

 

Key Verse: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:47)


DEVOTION

 

In this chapter of Acts, Peter gives a public testimony of Jesus Christ being the Messiah and urges the crowd of Jews to accept their teachings and “save themselves from this corrupt generation” (Acts 2:40). They accepted the apostles’ teachings and broke bread with them and prayed and this marks the beginning of the early church. A place of believers who repented of their sins and adopted the teachings of the apostles and unified despite their many backgrounds. Later on in the passage, the believers had everything in common as they all sold their possessions, broke bread with each other and spent time together at the temple. The passage marks an important lesson for us today, urging us to ignore what makes us different from others and unifying through our beliefs in Christ. As said in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Our differences should not define us nor make us who we are, but our identity in Christ should be our life. As Christians we must strive to help others in our community in strengthening their faith and learning from each other. It becomes difficult to make unity and fellowship a priority when we consider Christ a small part of our lives and not the main priority. Individualism becomes the focus of our lives- how successful we are, how comfortable we live, the way we look, etc. Putting ourselves first may seem rational in “this corrupt generation,” but we fail to grow in the truth of Christ when we focus on only ourselves for growth and sustainment. Being able to share commonality with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ allows us to grow in our faith and see the perspectives of others we may not experience ourselves. In Hebrews 10:24–25 it says  "Consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together… but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Therefore, it is impossible to be one with Christ if you are not one with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, we pray that you strengthen us to be able to glorify Your Name in the words we speak to each other and allow our actions to be a testament of Your love to us. Help us to humble ourselves to be able to listen to others and be a guiding hand in times of need. In Jesus name, Amen
 

Thought of the day

Let us humble ourselves to remember that our lives are not defined by our worldly skills or assets, but God’s work and the lives of those we change.

 

Esther Mathew
Salem MTC

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