They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42, NASB)
Anyone who teaches golf knows when they have a serious student on their hands. After the first lesson, the student will be out hitting balls, putting, chipping, and practicing what we discussed. They might stop by and give an update on how things are going. Another student will come for lessons, but not practice between lessons. That is their choice, but if asked, I will encourage them to practice. It is hard to move on from the first lesson without some practice time in between.
The same thing applies to our walk with the Lord. It is hard to grow if we aren’t feeding our souls. In between Sunday church services, we have several ways to “hit balls”—reading the Word, time in prayer, attend a small group, reading a great book, watching a video, and one of my recent favorites, listening to messages and songs on YouTube.
These weren’t people looking for excuses to stay home. They wanted to grow!At the risk of dipping my foot into the judgment pool, I always wonder whether people skip out on these growth opportunities for good reason. In a couples’ small group I am part of, we have lost several couples over the years. Some of these have been lost for the sake of other ministry connections, including family care. But others have seemed just to drift away. I feel like if they haven’t replaced the time with something similar, they are missing out on a chance to grow.
Maybe the same thing has happened in your Links Fellowship. There your take might be like mine: “I really wish they would come back to the group—for their sake and for ours.” Not a judgment, but a concern about what they will replace it with.
Today’s passage tells us that the early believers “were continually devoting themselves” to important faith practices. These weren’t people looking for excuses to stay home. They wanted to grow!
Let’s say I pointed to a player on the range and said, “Ben is a great student. He is always hitting balls, practicing his short game, and never hesitates to ask questions about the game. He is a self-starter; no one has to tell him to practice.” That is the kind of student who has a chance to improve. It’s also the kind of student who can be an example to those of us who may be less motivated. We can look at our passage in Acts the same way. Those early believers can be an example to us. We want to stay devoted, and we want to encourage others to stay devoted, too.
So, what about our friends who leave our small groups and Fellowships? Let’s commit to asking God for wisdom in following up with them. They may have a good reason, or they may be encouraged that we have their best interests in mind. We always do well to “encourage one another and build up one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
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Bill Euler
November 26, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.