Act 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. NIV
After Jesus was crucified on our behalf to atone for our sins, He rose from the dead and spent 40 days teaching the apostles. The first part of the book of Acts records this and how He then ascended to Heaven prior to His sending the Holy Spirit to fill those who would serve Him in the days and years to come.
After the Spirit filled those gathered in the now famous upper room, Peter was inspired and emboldened to preach a sermon that profoundly convicted the Jews who had rejected Jesus and demanded His execution. They repented and were baptized. They made it abundantly clear to everyone that they were now dedicated followers of Jesus.
They didn't stop with verbally acknowledging Jesus as Lord and being baptized. For them it wasn't a one time "accepting Jesus as my Savior" and then going on with there lives pretty much the same as always. It wasn't even just a token cleaning up of their obviously messed up lives.
The who repented when they heard Peter preach that day knew they needed to live totally different lives. To do that they needed to learn more of what Jesus wanted them to know.
Therefore they devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
They devoted themselves. Another translation puts it "they continued steadfastly" in these things.The Greek word conveys “attending one, remaining by his side, not leaving or forsaking him.”
Devoting themselves to the teachings of the apostles and to the fellowship with one another and with having meals as well as communion together, and praying were things these first century believers continued in steadfastly.
Today we have the teachings of the apostles written down in the Bible. We can and should devote ourselves to the teachings in the Bible as well as the other things that are listed in Acts 2:42.
Let's spend at least some time each day learning the teachings in the Bible. Let us also spend time with other Christian believers, having meals with them, and making sure we find time to pray because that is what Jesus, who happens to be our Boss, expects us to do.
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Keep writing John
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