A Punch In The Face
Hebrews 4:12 (NIV)—
‘For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.’
Have you ever been punched in the face by the Bible? I don’t mean physically. (Although I did once get concussion from a collision with the Book of Common Prayer.) I mean emotionally and spiritually punched in the face by the word of God. This happens to me from time to time. I’m going about my business, living my best life, thinking I’ve got this ‘following Jesus’ thing nailed, and BAM! the Lord stops me in my tracks.
The writer of Hebrews says that the word of God is sharper than any double-edged sword. A little more poetic than a punch in the face but I think the sentiment holds.
This week we’re looking at a passage in Acts which gave me a black eye a few years back and completely and utterly changed my perspective on and attitude to the church. I must have read it a thousand times before without so much as a scratch. But for some reason, the Holy Spirit chose the thousand and first time to crack out the double-edged sword.
So …brace yourselves! My prayer for you is that as you read the passage below, you get 'poleaxed' by this beautiful picture of the early church. We're going to see what we can learn from those brothers and sisters regarding what it means to be church:
Acts 2:42-47
'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 favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.'
Activity- Read the passage above and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through it. What do you think we can learn from this passage about what it means to be church?