They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
- Acts 2:42
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
- 2 Timothy 4:1-5
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
- Hebrews 10:23-25
How many of us have done something the hard way and have felt pretty foolish later when we realized later there was a simple way of doing it? Say, for example, waiting till the end of the semester to start studying for an exam when you could have made it so much easier on yourself If you would have been studying the whole time; Something I was all too familiar with! Or, how about, something else I’ve developed a bad habit doing, spending money on things you don’t need, and then when you get a bill, you don’t have enough to pay it off?
The same concept of doing something the hard way can be seen in our Christian life if we are not careful! The first-century church was built upon the foundation laid by the apostles’ through the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Church is who the true Christians identify as. It is what Jesus is coming back for. But too many times we want to play “church” our way. We want to set the rules. We want to say what is important and what is not. We make it harder to come to Christ than what Christ Himself originally intended! Or, for others, they want to get by with doing as little as possible, like a student who is trying to do the least amount of work and still graduate.
Which mentality are you? Are you banging your head up against the wall trying to do more or trying to do less?
Either way, do yourself a favor and step to either side of the door frame you are constantly running into walk do the doorway Jesus has provided for you! Life is already difficult. Don’t make it more difficult than it has to be. God allowed his Son to die for your sins! I think that gives Him the right to set the standard on how to run His church! He does not need your help! You need His!
Come out to West Walnut Church of Christ this Sunday at 10:00 as Gil begins a three-week study on Acts 2:42 and what it says the early church did when they met together. Four things were never left out: The apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. This Sunday, find out the significance of the apostles doctrine and fellowship. What exactly did the apostles teach, and what is so significant about fellowship? All I know right now is, with the world crumbling around before us, we could stand to be in the right company as often as we can! We’re doing ourselves a major disservice if we continue to neglect gathering together! Let’s make these last days we’re in more tolerable! Let’s do church the right way – God’s way!
by Benjie Haynie