"And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything with each other, selling their possessions and dividing with those in need. They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to them all who were being saved." (Acts 2:44-47 TLB)
We would be hard-pressed to find this biblical paradigm of the Church existing anywhere in the world, although, it should. What changed? Where once there was common-ism, there is now individualism; where once there was humanitarianism, there is now materialism. Where once there was continual fellowship, there is now denominational partisanship; where once there was interdependence, there is now dysfunctional co-dependence. It, therefore, should come as no surprise that church attendance, participation, and interest has decreased. Yet, God remains faithful to His Church! So then, the real question for us is not "What changed" but, "What Needs to Change?" Easy answer. . . . US!
PRAYER: Lord, how far we've strayed from your original plan and have engrafted our own agendas. Help us, Lord, to be the church you designed us to be. Amen!
Eph 4:1-6. . . . .As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (from New International Version)
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