Acts 2:40-47 New King James Version (NKJV)
A Vital Church Grows
“40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this [a]perverse generation.” 41 Then those who [b]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ [c]doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and [d]sold their possessions and goods, and divided[e] them among all, as anyone had need.46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added [f]to the church daily those who were being saved.”

I encourage you to take the time to read this verse a few times and circle or underline the key things that the people in the book of Acts did in response to the hearing the Gospel.  I personally believe passages like these reveal the key differences between the church today vs the community of believers then.    My own heart’s prayer is to see the church as it was in the book of Acts here and now.   

This week we were blessed to hear a testimony of the transformative power and the life altering effects of purposefully leaving the daily grind before and walking a new and different road.  I have been chewing on the lessons learned on that road and I am even more fired up to follow Jesus down the road He reveals in His Word.  

My ponderings regarding our time together and  the verses that it brought to mind:

 

Some Potential Benefits of Walking as the Disciples and/or Pilgrims Walk

1.  Freedom from stuff is well, freeing:

James 5 KJV “² Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.  ³ Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.”

Confession:  The stuff in our home demands far too much of time, my thinking and my energy.  This verse in James takes it a step further and warns us that the things that we take on as stewards but don’t care for actually accuse us before God.   This reminds me to make sure that I recognize that whatever comes into my home (my jurisdiction) is really me saying “yes, I will care for this child, this relationship, this item etc.  Less stuff often means more freedom.   Some verses below that came to my heart as I was thinking of the power that stuff can have in my own life.

Luke 9:2-5 King James Version (KJV)  “2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.  3 And he said unto them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staves, nor scrip, neither bread, neither money; neither have two coats apiece.  4 And whatsoever house ye enter into, there abide, and thence depart.  5 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”

Matthew 4:18-20 King James Version (KJV) “18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”

Exodus 23:29-31 King James Version (KJV) “29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.  30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.  31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.”

Genesis 1:28 King James Version (KJV) “28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”

James 5:12 English Standard Version (ESV) “12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

Matthew 6:33 King James Version (KJV) “”33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

2. Walking in the spirit of Acceptance

Romans 14:10-18 King James Version (KJV)
“10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.  12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.  13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.  14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.   15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.  16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:  17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.   18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.”

One thing that stood out to me was the acceptance that people experienced while walking in this way.  Now I have never walked 20-30 km per day, but I am guessing that it comes with several temptations and challenges and clearly demands a huge portion of ones time and energy for that day.   What a blessing it must be to look at those walking next to you, near you, ahead of you and behind  you, knowing that in some measure they are all facing the same trials, the same challenges and yet in their minds and bodies are processing and experiencing this same road uniquely.    I think I will learn much just chewing on this one piece of the puzzle.  The narrow road is a hard road.  Each one walking it deserves my love, my encouragement, my respect and as needed, whatever help I can offer.   For whatever reason, walking this type of road alone and yet together seems to breed camaraderie on a whole other level

3.Inability to turn back

Luke 9:61-62 King James Version (KJV)  “61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.  62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

There are somethings in life, some roads we walk that are so impactful that our hearts and minds, our priorities etc are forever shifted.  Being born again is only the beginning.  Many are born again and yet go right back to their old lives.   In some cases, the outward evidence of the change is imperceptible.    But that is not all we are called to.   Jesus said “Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).   Once we start sincerely following Jesus and walking as He walked, going back is almost impossible.    Jesus wasn’t so much walking to arrive at a physical destination, but He was walking with Kingdom Destination in His mind always.  A pilgrim’s walk is purposeful, set on accomplishing or visiting certain things along the way.  There is a greater destination but the journey itself is equal in value to reaching the end point.

So interesting that many who do this find that when they return to their “old life” they no longer feel comfortable or like they fit there and how deeply etched the desire to be back on the road is.

Ephesians 2:18-22 King James Version (KJV)
“18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.  19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:  22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

1 Peter 2 [Amplified]”9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people [at all], but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges [those dishonorable desires] that wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the [unsaved] Gentiles [conduct yourself honorably, with graciousness and integrity], so that [c]for whatever reason they may slander you as evildoers, yet by observing your good deeds they may [instead come to] glorify God [d]in the day of visitation [when He looks upon them with mercy].”

Hebrews 11 KJV”13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.  15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.  16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.”

 

4.The Road Requires Discipline

The core of being a disciple to be disciplined… both in that one is following a teacher’s lead and in that one must be disciplined in their routines and thinking.   We have x number of years here on earth to accomplish the fullness of God’s plans and purposes for our lives.  He has plotted out a road before us and each of the stops along the way is essential in for our own walk.  I can only guess that there are things that way lay pilgrims along their way.  Whether it is lack of conditioning, injury to things like their feet, bunny trails that they hit along the way, finances etc, life happenings etc.    Preparation and prayer, both mentally and physically were the two keys mentioned on Thursday to walking the way of the pilgrim successfully.  Again, potentially much for me to learn and apply to my own walk.

5.Do not Worry…

Matthew 6:27-32 King James Version (KJV)  “27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”

It struct me that those on the walk, walked with confidence knowing that all along the route were eating establishments that catered specifically to the pilgrims, hostels and other inns to provide places to sleep, and other comforts (the ability to send one’s bags on ahead to lighten the load of the walk).   Our Heavenly Father has equally reliable sources of provision for us all along the road He has called us to walk.  If I could only walk in the same confidence these pilgrims what, how many of my own stresses/fears/worries/thoughts would be free to focus on and enjoy the journey?

6.Eating and Walking Together

Going right back to the top verse, the book of Acts Church made it a priority to do life together daily.  They gathered daily and broke bread together from house to house.  They made room for doing life but incorporating together into it often.   In life, I have been blessed with several close sister that I walk with daily.  We talk often, we meet regularly, we pray together, we do retreats together as often as our lives presently allow.  We listen for one another’s needs and help one anothere where we can.  We encourage one another.  Others, I have had the privilege of walking with only for a short season and yet my life is changed and blessed for having known them.  On the pilgrim’s road, there are some that we see more of and some less, but the feeling of community still pervades because even before they meet, they have much in common.   How extraordinary, to have such a sense of brotherly love for all who are walking in the way.   Dear Brothers and Sisters, I long for this community and hope to reach out for walks with you, for meals with you, for deeper friendships with you but also recognize that each one is walking at their own pace.  I am always thankful for the parts of my journey that I get to share with each one but also thankful that when our roads part, it is because God faithful in leading each one along the unique roads of His purposes and callings on their lives.

I am so thankful for your grace, mercy, generosity, encouragement and forbearance each week.   This week what stood out to me was that one or even two windows of time each week is simply not enough time to do all that these verses call us to together.    As I listened on Thursday, it struct me that having time to talk with other believers is potentially a far more essential element of the christian walk than perhaps we realize.   I am so thankful for this glimpse.    

I would like to add the caveats of if,  when, however this looks like to you, in whatever measure you feel personally called (from none to much more)…  I would like to encourage you as our sense of community and family grows to reach out to one another, to plan to eat meals together, take up activities together, and invest in one another.   We are all walking in different shoes, with different demands on our lives and we are in different seasons so nothing in this post is intended to communicate you MUST do such and such etc.  This is a hopefully an encouragement to tune your heart, head and potential time to see and respond to God’s call to deeper community (whatever that looks like in your life) when it comes.   Seek to find out what others needs are and if you have the means to meet these godly needs, do what you can to meet them.  

I sincerely take delight to see you all connecting with one another and realized that this too is an essential part of the gathering of the saints.  I was thinking perhaps we should have some more social gatherings, perhaps one at the end of each session for people to have the opportunity to chat with one another.   As I do need to keep us focussed during our meeting times on the materials AND I also realize the necessity of life together daily.    Perhaps one thing that would be easy to do would be to encourage anyone who really wants this fellowship time to come half an hour before our start time.  The course description can be changed to incorporate this.   

6:30 to 7 pm Optional Tea/Coffee and snacks social time

7 to 8:30pm Verse study time

8:35 to 9pm Going Deeper study time

9 to 9:15 clean up and godly connection time (if someone says something and you feel you would like to connect with them further on that topic, please take this window to ask if they are willing and if so, exchange contact information to make the appropriate arrangements)

 

Here is how we try to incorporate life together daily in our home.   We delight in inviting dear ones to join us for a meal…  This is a time of day where we hit the pause button and sit down and have the time to really connect with one another.   It is always more fun to prep a meal with another and definitely more enjoyable to clean up after one with help.   I have felt intimidated to invite people into our “not quiet” and “real” home (remember 4 kids) which is clean up impossible to keep tidy.    I need to be more transparent about the realities of my days.   We cannot sincerely help one another if we don’t know one anothers needs.  This impedes the sharing in all things portion of the verse above.  So many have the capacity or giftings to fill the needs we each have.   

I was reminded on Tuesday by the voice of wisdom (hopefully you know who you are) that we need one another to measure up to the fullness of Christ.

I will take some time here to share what I have been chewing on and the scriptures that have come to my mind thanks to our discussions this week.