Thursday, February 9 - The Call to Spiritual Formation

   

^"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved."

--Acts 2:42-47

          I love this image of the early Church. They were a ragtag group of people who were united in their belief that Jesus had been raised from the dead and would come again to turn this world into God’s peaceful and perfect kingdom. They spoke different languages, came from different towns, and practiced different cultural traditions – and yet God unified them into a community that generously demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone and invited others to follow Jesus.

          In these verses from Scripture we are given a picture of the sorts of things Christians are called to do together. From the beginning of the Church, Christians have “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” These practices are what we often describe as Spiritual Formation practices. In Acts 2, these practices helped to form the early church into a mission-oriented community who gave generously to people in need and who demonstrated God’s goodness through their words and actions.
          This week as you reflect on how you can express your love for God through your generous commitments of time, energy, service, and money, I encourage you to consider committing to a Spiritual Formation group. Join a Bible Study, attend Sunday School, participate in Youth Group or Children’s Christian Fellowship. The practices that we engage in together during these group meetings reflect the practices that the early Church celebrated – the study of Scripture and theology, prayer, and fellowship. As we engage in these practices, God makes us into people that are more loving, more generous, more mission-oriented, and more like Jesus. May God bless you as you devote yourself to these things, and may God work through us to demonstrate God’s goodness to everyone we meet.

Peace,
Laura