A Year 4 Transformation: Day 310-A Community of Faith

Passage of the Day:

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. ³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet, Acts 4:32-37.

Reflection:

I recently had a Christian tell me that they didn’t need a church. This person went on to share their rationale for coming to this conclusion. Unfortunately, like many beliefs that individuals develop over this course of their own life, this isn’t biblical. Sometimes you have to find out the hard way like Moses in Exodus 18 who attempted to be a spiritual leader all by himself. Perhaps, one of Jesus’ disciples came to this conclusion in 1 Peter 5:8. I heard a sermon years ago on this verse where the pastor made our community aware of the Devil’s schemes. When Christians isolate themselves from their church or Christian community, the Devil will pounce by placing doubts, lies and ungodly beliefs into their thought life and mind. If this believer doesn’t immediately reach out to someone in their community of faith, this slow fade will continue until souls are ravaged or faith is lost.

Prayerful Action:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common, Acts 2:42-44.

Fueling Your Faith this Spiritual Season:

I didn’t know what a community of faith was until my junior year of college. When a mutual friend was speaking at a church that met in a local high school, David and I decided to visit. There was about 20 people gathered together on that day, sitting in folding chairs. On the surface, this was an infant church plant, but deep inside my heart I felt a special connection with the leaders. This became my home church, where I was baptized, served and taught a college and career Bible Study. Like the spiritual blueprint in today’s prayerful action, this body of believers introduced me to and convinced me of the importance of having your own community of faith.

Song of the Day:

Final Thoughts:

While today’s song doesn’t use the term community of faith, Group One Crew highlights that Jesus is the cornerstone of faith. May today’s lyrics inspire you to become an active member of your community of faith.

by Jay Mankus