All the believers were together and had everything in common.  – Acts 2:44

As I put all the finishing touches on this Bible I plan to give away this Friday, I realize what a beautiful thing it is for the community of believers to really come together.  I received a half-dozen letters (with hopefully a few more on the way) from my request last week.  They are full of simple support and encouragement to hang on to the Lord and never let Him go.  

I look at it and think, “How many hurting believers would benefit from something like this?”  I know I’d be blown away.  Yet, it sounds like similar things happened a lot in the early church.  Numbers were added daily to the church because everyone saw how they treated each other, or maybe just simply saw how they were, and wanted to be a part of it.

How is it that nobody wants to be a part of the church now?  How is it not a main topic of all conversations?  Right now, at best, you can find maybe a few good churches in an area, but this is out of an awful lot of churches in an area.  People, even the ones who call themselves Christians, mostly look out for themselves.  So, when these same Christians form a body of believers, it makes sense that they form a “church” that mostly looks out for themselves.  Believe me, I’m not even saying I’m any different.  I just get it right sometimes and wonder why in the world I don’t get it right more often . . . it’s not like it is terribly difficult.  In truth, the reason I don’t get it right most of the time is I’m inward focused.

These last few days, I’ve poured into someone other than myself, and the peace of God is so ever present with me.  I’ve done less Bible study but had so many more conversations about God with people.  It’s like the years of Bible study just pours out of me onto others in our conversations.  Crazy enough, the more I pour out, the more God fills my cup. Something tells me this is how it is all supposed to work.

Lord, help us, Your church to get this right.  You can certainly start with me.  With all my heart and with all my life, I want to be used to lead, guide, and point others towards You!  It is amazing how close we get to feel to You when we are pouring into others.  I know a lot of people claim to love You.  If we claim to love You, we are supposed to intentionally love people as well.  What better time to start than the Christmas season?  By the power of Your Holy Spirit, lead us to truly help others and point them to You.  Amen.