"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers... and day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Acts 2:42,46-47)
I think we all understand what the word devotion means. We understand what it means to go to a devotional or to have daily devotions. In those cases we set apart a time (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or however else) for God and for God alone. But I want you to notice something that I noticed in the phrase "they devoted themselves". This is more that something they did for half an hour a day. It's something more than seeking out the secret place throughout the day. They devoted themselves, their whole person, to Christ and the life He called them to. Their lives were centered around the Church and Christ. They did it every day without fail.
So I have one question: how does this picture compare to our lives? So many times our lives consist mainly of our lives and then we add God in. We hear a message about centering our lives around God so we add more of God into it thinking that is what God wants from us, but that just isn't enough. He wants devotion to Him and not just for half an hour a day.
I don't really know the best way to illustrate this. I'll try something but I don't know if it will connect well or not. Think of the last time you started a new hobby. Something like playing an instrument, writing poetry, doing artwork, building something, reading a book, working on a model, playing a sport, or even playing a new video game. When something like this happens you go to work and go to school but your mind is continuously on that new hobby throughout the day. School and work isn't your main concern but that new hobby is. When you're training for a sport, you do other things but your priortity is getting better at the sport. When someone decides to try and make it big in the acting or singing buisiness, they work at Starbucks or as a waiter in some restaurant but that is not their main concern. They are an actor or musician, not a waiter. They are concerned with getting better at acting and music and take every advantage to do so and think on it throughout the day.
This is what Christ wants from us and maybe a bit more. He wants full devotion, not 30 minutes a day. He wants our thoughts on Him continuously and He wants us to follow Him day by day. He wants our lives and has a particular plan for each one (1 Cor 7:17) and we need to always be asking for guidance from Him and let Him be the navigator for our lives.
I know this is something that is talked about a lot, but I hope this gives you a new perspective or a new insight or impartation in some way. It was a new way for me to think about it, but I know you may have seen this long ago. Just something to chew on for a few days
