Filled with Awe and Devoted

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

FILLED WITH AWE AND DEVOTED

Acts 2:42-47

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

NIV

This was the New Testament church in its early days, when the believers took care of one another, sharing what they had. They were devoted to the apostle's teaching and to fellowship. It seems the church today has lost some of what the early church experienced. We have not witnessed, in the years we have been associated with the church, people selling their possessions and goods and giving to anyone who had a need. For the most part, we all work to meet our own physical needs, but we also give to support various missionaries and those who serve us in full-time ministry. We may not break bread together, meet every day in church, or gather in our homes to eat together with glad and sincere hearts. The modern church does not resemble that early church very much, although we still gather together once a week. We wonder how glad the members of this modern church are to meet together. We wonder how much we are praising God, or whether we are just going through the motions. We have not seen the Lord add to our numbers daily those who were being saved. Why is that? There was something about that early church that we are missing. Are we filled with awe? Are there even some signs of wonders by any ambassadors of the gospel, or anyone who is a commissioner of Christ? We may not be as devoted or committed to following Jesus as we think we are. We know that we have nothing to boast about or be prideful about when we compare ourselves to that early church. Even without the comparison, we still have nothing to boast about or be proud of. We know that we should be seeking his kingdom first and foremost in our lives. We know that we should be following Jesus, that is, following the way he showed us how to worship and in our relationships with others. The question is whether we are succeeding, at least, in being anything like a New Testament church. Are we devoted to teaching the word? Are we devoted to learning the word? Are we devoted to the Lord, or are we trying to live with a divided heart, part devoted to self or our own pursuits, while giving a part to the Lord? We want to be filled with awe and devoted to Jesus.