This Scripture always stands out to me because we see what it takes as we desire to receive all that God has for us as we live in this world waiting to go home. Devotion to the apostles’ teaching – which was from God’s word and sharing the Good News about Jesus was what was important as they learned together. As I studied the word devotion in the context for this passage the Greek word was proskarteres, which means: To give constant attention to a thing. This is so important for us to remember as we seek wisdom from the Lord. I know in my heart the things I devote to and the effort I give or attention I give them. This is how we need to see our walk with the Lord, giving constant attention to it and never being satisfied with what we have already learned.
As good leaders go, good leaders model behavior. We see all through God’s word the modeling of the writers of the books to a life that is devoted to Christ. They went through their steps, they had their hard times and they stayed focused on what was important. Think about this the next time you are struggling or feeling down about something, and then dive into what God’s word is showing you and make the changes needed to devote to His teachings.
The next thing I like is the word fellowship. We should be a community of believers together lifting each other up, helping each other out and sharing life together because in numbers we can make a difference. Also when we fellowship with devoted people there is accountability to God’s word and our transformed life. Just fellowshipping with worldly people leads to worldly thoughts and thoughts that don’t give glory to God. Look what verse 47 says, “All the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” Wow, we plant seeds and we water and God makes it grow. This is amazing because if we fellowship with believers and help each other grow we are more confident to share and show our lives to non-believers and God opens the door for people to know Him.
It’s amazing how by living like Christ and acting in love this entire system works for the Kingdom of God. The final thing is prayer. We can never feel like our prayer is not important. As we pray and talk to God we open our heart and the communication helps us have peace and understanding. As we mature we need to remember that our journey is working together with God, to learn, grow and show what the Lord has shown us and that a life of devoting, fellowship and prayer will help us share the Good News of Jesus to the world. Amen