Right Place, Right Time

Okay – have you had the experience of being in the right place at the right time? Today I had that experience. I was on my way home from drill so I was still in uniform. As I neared my exit on I-24, a pick-up truck in front of me blew a tire and crossed 4 lanes of traffic and slammed into the divider wall flipping over several times. More than one miracle occurred in that moment. First, no other car was involved despite a fair amount of traffic. Second, no one was killed or seriously hurt. The passengers were hurt and shook up but that is not the right time, right place part.

As I said, I was on my home from drill and still in my uniform. The driver of the pick-up was a Soldier who recently returned from Afghanistan. This was the start of a vacation with his wife and dog (not a good start). A nurse stopped to help and while she was in nurse mode, this Soldier was in Soldier mode and neither was listening to the other. I show up in uniform and the Soldier begins to listen to me which allowed the nurse to assess the Soldier while we are waiting for help.

I wonder how things would have turned out but then God was right there through the entire thing. Amazing.

Devoted and Passionate about the Church

This week, I have been looking at the disciples and the early church. It is interesting to see how in a few short years they went from a small group of fearful fools to an incredibly passionate group of people. I still believe there are so many lessons we can learn from the actions of the disciples within the early Church – especially in light of Easter and the resurrection.

The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. A sense of awe came over everyone. God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles. All the believers were united and shared everything. They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. -Acts 2:42-45 (CEB)

This was the description of the early church in the book of Acts.  The church was an exciting place to be.  They were growing and reaching their world with the Gospel of Christ despite danger and fear.  The secret was their devotion to Christ in a number of ways – one of which was the fellowship.

It all come down to what devotion means.  The Greek word for devotion literally means “strong, steadfast, and enduring toward.”  Believers would probably all agree that we need to be strong and enduring toward reading the Bible.  We must continue steadfastly in prayer.  What we have a problem in is the fellowship.

When it comes to meeting together with the body of Christ, many act like it is only a good idea if there is nothing better to do.  Parties, sports activities, and playtime come first in the lives of many Christians.  Then we wonder why the church in America seems to be very ineffective in reaching our culture.

It’s time for us to return to the values that propelled the early church forward.  We must embrace the same spirit of fellowship.  Be a part of what God is doing in these last days.  Devote yourself to the fellowship of believers that God has called you to.  Let this work in you as it did in those who first received the Gospel.