« Stewardship Devotional
Day Nineteen – Community of Care
Acts 2:44-47 “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Read
Acts 2:42-47
Apply
The first Christians instinctively knew that their possessions needed to be shared with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Why? They had seen Jesus live in the same way. This radical unselfishness stood out as much to the people of their time as it would to modern people. Such an astounding display of generosity and mutual care, mixed with the wonders of the Holy Spirit, pierced the hearts of many.
Giving changes the world. There is no more powerful evidence of the transformation of the gospel than radical generosity.
- Most people feel that modern Christians could never share their possessions like the Christians in Acts 2. Is that true? Why not?
- In a world where some philanthropists give away millions to charitable causes (often for the fame and recognition it receives), how generous would ‘ordinary’ Christians have to be to catch the attention of the world?
- How could our giving bring attention to Jesus instead of ourselves?
Pray
For a renewed church that is so generous that the whole city would notice.
Do
As you read biographies of Christians, notice how generous they were (or weren’t). Try to explain how their use of money fit into their life as a whole.
Copyright 1997. Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New York City