“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” — Acts 2:42-47
Serious athletes are devoted to their sport. Serious fans are devoted to their team. We see this in the time, effort and money they put into them.
God desires that we are devoted to His team, the community of believers. The early Church modeled what this devotion looks like. They gathered for worship, ate meals together, provided for one another’s needs, and prayed together. Doing so was not an obligatory once-a-week occurrence. They did it regularly. Spending time together was essential to them.
The individuals in the community were quite diverse. There were Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, males and females, educated and uneducated. Yet, regardless of their differences, their shared faith in Christ kept them committed to one another. As a result, they experienced God’s presence in amazing ways. Others knew they were Christians by their love, and many came to know Christ.
In today’s society, we often neglect consistent Christian fellowship. We allow our differences to become barriers to worshipping, praying and fellowshipping together. We find it difficult to set aside even an hour a week to be with other believers. And we suffer for it. We miss out on the many blessings of relationships and the encouragement we receive when we are with other believers. We miss the opportunity to make Christ known through our love for one another.
— Karen Zando, NWSL’s Orlando Pride chaplain
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to
devotionals@sportsspectrum.com.
