Acts 2:42

Monday 1/ 9/12

Acts 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

Interpretation:

     Here, we have the beginning of the church. The word that sticks out is continued. Jesus had recently gone up to heaven, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit had just happened creating possibly the biggest revival ever, and three thousand people were just saved. Wow! Every Christian in the area might have been thinking “This is awesome! What next?” So now it comes to this verse. Perhaps they expected even more great things – miracles to be done, Jesus to come back in a few weeks, or even more people to get saved the next day. While the next verse does talk about miracles, and the rest of acts has great things in store, we must remember that these Christians didn’t know that yet. They didn’t sit around and wait, but rather they continued in their fellowship, prayer, and Bible doctrine. And not only did they continue, but they did it steadfastly. It doesn’t read that they did it for as long as the miracles were happening, or they did it as long as the apostles kept speaking in tongues. How many times do we see a work of God, get on fire for Him, and then drift off and slowly go back to our day-to-day routine slowly setting other priorities before the things of God that are really important. Doctrine, prayer, and fellowship were so important to the early church, but is it just as important to us that we are willing to continue steadfastly in it – regardless of whether or not the experiences and “spiritual highs” come or not?

Application:

     I get so excited when I see God do something great in my life or reveal himself to me in a special way. But the next day or two, when events don’t seem to be as awesome or I can’t see God work in my life as much as the previous day, I start to get worried and wonder why I can’t feel God’s presence as much as I could a day or two ago. I start to wonder if I am doing something wrong in my Christian walk or if God has gotten apathetic towards me and doesn’t feel like working in my life. I need to remember that every day I might not see God do great things in or through me, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t. I just need to continue doing what He’s called me to do (read His Word, pray, fellowship with other Christians) and leave the rest up to Him no matter how long it is before God decides He wants to reveal more of Himself to me and let me feel more of His presence.”