“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” Acts 2:44 (NLT)
CHALLENGE
Why am I holding on to material things? How can I let go and trust God to meet my needs? Does my neighbour know God is my friend?
PREPARATION
- Praise God for who He is
- Confess your sinfulness and need for cleansing
- Allow His Spirit to draw you near
- Listen as He speaks to you
REQUESTS
- Pray God brings something into your life you must give away.
- Pray for a willingness to be led to do something kind, gentle and unexpected for a stranger. Failure will happen; let God use it to change you and pray for another opportunity.
THANKSGIVING
- Thank God for hearing you.
- Trust that God is at work to accomplish His will.
OPTIONAL READINGS
- Luke 10:30-37 (Good Samaritan)
QUOTATION
“We are in community each time we find a place where we belong .” – Peter F. Block
LIFE STORY
Years ago, Steven & I belonged to a church that had a vision to grow. An opportunity came along for us to move to a larger house in another town. We enjoyed entertaining and thought we would be able to share our home with all our family and friends. Little did we know that we weren’t the only people that had been directed to do the same thing.
The pastor approached us, along with eight other families, to pray about starting up a “daughter” work. Daughter work is a funny word as most of the families had boys. Anyway, no one was opposed to the idea and so we all met – at our house. It was the first of many evenings of sharing and planning and of course praying. As time passed, we did indeed share everything we had. Some needed clothes, food, house cleaning, chicken soup, tea bags & toilet paper, house repairs, some car-pooled to work and a lot more. It was a time of intense prayer, giving everything we had because we loved Him and wanted to be obedient to His word. We met daily, weekly and our community saw us doing things that made them notice – we were different. We had a picnic and baptised some in the lake. People gathered to watch; some clapped. Our neighbour couldn’t believe how we lived our lives and we saw her become a Christian and also her children. Sue now leads home-schooling group and ladies bible study groups. Steven & I had to move away, but look on those years as growing years. Not only was it quite a life-stretching experience, but a tool that God used to make us more like Him. And we shared everything we had.
Contributed by: Denise Vanderwielen