Loving God bless and protect this dear reader in all they may face today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
Our text comes from Acts 2: 42 They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. 43 Everyone around was in awe - all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! 44 And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. 45 They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met. 46 They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, 47 as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved. (The Message).
One of our daughters works in Austin and yesterday she called to say there are billboards up in the Austin area that say that the world will end on May 21, 2011. That would really put a damper on our district conference set for the next day on Sunday, June 22nd. Not to mention several graduation parties, the actual ceremonies, etc. She investigated and found that this small, radical group believes the Bible has mathematical formulas for knowing when the world would end. This same group made the same prediction for 1994 and the group's leader said he had the equations wrong; now that he has corrected those equations he knows for sure that Saturday, the 21st is the last day or the first day of Judgment. The only thing I would agree with is that the Bible does contain formulas; how to live life to the fullest, how to know God's love, how to love one another, how to receive eternal life, and how to have life in abundance. This passage for today is just that formula. The first believers outside of the small group that actually followed Jesus, came to the abundant life knowledge by doing what they knew to be best for their life. Here's that formula: Step one. You can never hear enough about the life and teachings of Jesus. Do you worship in a place where a clock sits over the entrance to the church (in other words where your preacher can see?). Or does you church have an official, self-designated time keeper; you know, the one who points to the watch when the sermon has run too long or makes the throat-cutting motion when he (you know it's always a man!) thinks the preacher has gone "over time?" Those folks don't yet know life in abundance. Step two. Enjoy the fellowship of other believers. And not just around a meal. These folks who know Jesus and the abundant life He has brought to them enjoy each other's company and there is no time limit for sharing with each other and those who come to be with them immediately after or immediately before worship. Step three. Enjoy and celebrate a common meal. Yes, fellowship dinners are great as is the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Breaking bread as it used to be called is a time to be thankful together for sharing with others what God has shared with you and yes, I'm talking food. Step four. Pray. Pray for each other, pray for the ones who don't have time to be with you (or don't want to), pray for the Church and its mission, its leaders and servants. Pray together and pray alone. There is power in prayer and we gain more and bless more when we pray more.
The results were seen almost immediately: God worked marvelous and unexplainable things. "Signs and wonders" done by those who had been with Jesus. As a result, those believers came to trust God for and in all things. These sold their possessions to help one another and to help the church. Nothing was held back. Everything was done as a celebration for what God had, was, and will do. Compare that to those times when we hold back. We claim "the economy." We claim "we're realists." We claim "we need to be ready for a rainy day (and you wonder why some places are experiencing droughts?)." We claim, "We don't know what tomorrow holds." Those who live like that don't attract many people. The places where folks trust and celebrate what God can do and have a general positive outlook on life, do attract folks. And that was the case with this first church. Yes, there was a sense of Christ's immediate return but that made them work all the harder and better to meet the needs of people while they waited. Even if Jesus does not come in a couple of Saturdays and even if He does, we have work to do and much to celebrate.
PRAYER: Loving God, we trust You and we celebrate all that You are doing in our midst. I pray that I might do more and be more like You would have me be. Give me a heart for celebration of everything. Let me be the example of one who truly knows life in abundance. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
