Acts 2:42-47
Verse 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
These 3000 new believers may have just joined the Church but they were soon proving what it meant to be one of God’s people. Remember these people were not all from Jerusalem and so it is good for us to understand these practices of the new church were not being done solely in the main city. These are actually the practices which would come to mark the people who those in Antioch gave the name, Christians.
By devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching they were putting in the effort to learn all they could about their new found faith. We know they knew how to be good Jews because they had made the journey to Jerusalem for the festival, bringing their required offerings. They were good rule followers but they needed to learn to live the grace life the disciples had learned while ministering with Jesus. It was like getting the inside info on how to live the Christian life.
The Jewish people were known for their diligence in teaching their younger people the mighty works of God. They had even been commanded to teach their children in their comings and goings of day to day living (Deuteronomy 6:7). The Lord wanted them to know the importance of their children knowing all the things God had done in the past so they would know what He could do in the present and future. The disciples and these new believers knew those teachings needed to include the truth about Jesus.
These people would have taken in as much of the teaching as they could before heading home but this wasn’t just for their benefit. The disciples were learning more about the mission they had been given. Though they may have been confused how they were going to spread the word about Jesus to all the world, they had just learned the Holy Spirit could help them with languages and now they were seeing they weren’t going to be alone in carrying the news forward.
If we want to experience the same kind of revival in our lives we need to be seeking the teaching of the Bible too. Remember, part of revival is passing on the truth about Jesus and we can’t pass on something we don’t know.
Making It Personal
How devoted are you to learning the teachings of Jesus? What amount of time do you dedicate to learning the things of Jesus? Do you apply what you learn?
Making It Personal Kids
How important to you is learning about Jesus and His teachings? What do you do to learn His teachings? Do you try to live like He teaches you to?
Closing Prayer
Father, forgive us for not being as faithful about Your teachings as we should be. Give us an ever growing hunger for Your teachings. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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