Acts 2 :: We Have Liftoff

Acts 2, The Message and TNIV translations

Acts 2 is one of the pivotal chapters in all of Scripture.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed for the first time (and in dramatic fashion!).  Due to God's strategic timing, representatives of 15 countries (by my count) hear about Jesus and respond. Important side note: at this point, Christianity is still an exclusively Jewish faith.

Then we get the first, and perhaps to this day the most important description of the life and activity of the very first Christian church, the Church at Jerusalem.  The portion of the three thousand new believers who lived in Jerusalem began to live in community with each other in a way no one had ever seen before.  While much is made of the miracles and spiritual authority of the apostles, I strongly believe the first Christians' radical commitment to the life together was the more powerful proof of Christianity.  Jesus said that his disciples would be known by the love they had for each other, and the first believers fulfilled that by embracing each other, growing together, serving one another sacrificially, and enjoying each other's company on a daily basis.  And while they were devoted to each other, the community was not internally focused or closed off.  They lived this life together in a rather public way, in full view.  More and more people wanted to be a part of it and embrace the Savior who had transformed them.

I've read this passage dozens of times, maybe even hundreds (like I said, it's a really important passage), and the same question always seems to pop up for me: how did we start with Acts 2:42-47 and end up with what we experience as "church" today?  When you read this passage, what aspects of early church life do you long for?  What parts are you experiencing today, and what parts do you think are sorely lacking?

Core Practice::Giving Away My Time

We give away our time to fulfill God's purposes.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:17 (TNIV)

Here again is another example where context makes all the difference. The author of Colossians is the Apostle Paul. He has been forced to refute the doctrinal and practical errors of the false teachers that have made there way into the believing community at Colossae. While he does this, he makes a very compelling case for the significance of Jesus Christ in their lives. This is not a compartmentalized significance where Jesus is only significant on the days worship, but a holistic look at following this man actually makes a difference in your life. Paul recognizes that the life of a Christ-follower is a life "hidden with Christ in God," but this hiddenness should not prevent us from allowing this inward experience to prompt our outward relationships with each other. How we treat each other on a daily basis is more important than how we appear one day a week.

Here is the section (Colossians 3:10-17) where we get our core verse, written in The Message:

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

You see, I can show up for church once a week and never have to show proof of any of this, but there is no way that I can go about my daily life without being tested here. Paul is pointing us to an everyday relationship with the Living God. A relationship that effects "every detail" in our lives - Our work, our play, our vacations, our parties, our relaxing, our disciplining children, our coming home tired from work, our relationships, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our secrets, our celebrations, our churches, our groups, our everything. Following Jesus is about surrendering our time to him. We recognize that our time is not ours to do with what we please, but rather it's been loaned to us by the Creator of Time, so we might participate in accomplishing His purposes where we live.

I can't imagine stepping up to the altar and saying, "I take you Rhonda to be my lawfully wedded wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner and my love on Thursdays, and only Thursdays, as long as we both shall live." That sounds ridiculous, but it's the way many of us live out our lives as Christ-followers. When you start seeing Christianity as a relationship rather than a religion, it only makes sense that we would give away our time to fulfill God's purposes.

This is not a call for volunteers at the Springs. This is the clarion call for all Christ-followers, no matter the church attended. We recognize that our time is valuable for more than just our pleasure. There is a purpose.

Related Core Beliefs: Stewardship, Compassion, Church

Resources: Years ago, I read a book called "In His Presence" by Ray & Anne Ortlund that helped me move along in this path in my life. It's a short read, but very helpful. For a bit of a deeper read, try "Practicing the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence.

Kids Q&A

Kids Kreed: I love my neighbor by taking time to know them

Memory Tool: right hand points to left wrist, like it's a watch

How do you get to be a friend with someone? Friendship is built over time. The more time spent with someone, the better friends we become. It's important for our kids to watch us do this too.

Why do you think it's important to get to know the people around us? Geographical neighbors are important for simple reasons like safety and assistance, but also for more meaningful reasons. We may be able to help them and some day we may also need their help. Our time must be managed to allow for these kinds of relationships.

Priority of Time v. Time Management

Yesterday, my message was entitled Marginal Time :: Creating Space in a Crowded Schedule.  As I was planning out the message over the past couple of weeks, one thing that struck me is not that we need to learn how to manage our time better, but how to prioritize our time better.  All of the tools to help us manage our time better will do us absolutely no good, unless we are better "prioritizers" of the time we've been given.  If I tell you I don't have time to go to the mall this afternoon, then it's because going to the mall is not high enough on my priority list to go.  If I come to your birthday party, then I discerned that your birthday party ranked higher during the hours of 5-8 on that day than anything else in my world at that time.

I once heard a teacher say, "If Satan can't make you bad, he'll make you busy."  I'm not sure Satan is the one making me busy all the time, but I can allow busyness to consume me if I'm not careful, thus ruining my effectiveness for kingdom purposes.  If I practice the core Christian practice of "giving away my time" then I must have time to give, and if I really belief that "everything I am or own belongs to God" then that includes my time as well.  These priorities ought to shape my calendar.

If you came yesterday looking for a quick fix solution to your calendar problems, I am sorry if you walked away disappointed.  My intention was to go beyond the surface quick fixes (that don't seem to really work anyway) and get to the root issue of managing time - How did God set up our time and why does it matter that we pay attention to it?

If you weren't at the Y for the message, I encourage you to stop reading and listen here.  When you are finished come back and join the discussion.

The ancient Hebrews constructed their days according to a divine day-timer.  Their days began at sundown, not sun up.  They placed significance on what you and I might call the "end of the day."  For them it was the first part of the day, and for the Hebrews, "first" always carried a sense of sacredness to it.  In the evenings they would share a meal together with family and friends and enjoy good conversation over the course of the evening.  Their bodies were adjusted to the natural light patterns and they would begin to "shut down" after the sun set.  Did you know we actually have a light-sensitive gland in our brain that tells our bodies when it's time to shut down?  After a good nights rest, they would wake up ready to finish the day strong.

You may be asking what the big deal is about this, so let's dig a little.  Why I believe it's so important to understand this is because we either believe that the time between our work and our sleep is sacred or left-overs.  If you view it asleft-overs then it's easy to check out on your family or waste it away everyday going from event to event.  If you view it as sacred, then you will protect that time rigorously and save it for family and friends.  It's a priority issue not a management issue.

Our goal as Christ-followers is to replace our priorities with God's priorities over the course of time.  Our journey on this earth is full of small priority shifts that slowly transform us into His likeness.  When our priorities are right, then our "time management" begins to take care of itself.

So, if you buy into what I'm saying about the sacredness of the after-work hours, primarily between sundown and bedtime, what will look different about your schedule?  You tell me?  I have some ideas, but I'd really like to hear from some of you that have made the transition and are seeing positive strides in your scheduling as a family.  Here is one big one to get you started, though:

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released a study in 2005 indicating benefits of family dinners.  Here are 10 benefits they found in kids regarding family dinners.

The survey notes 10 positive trends for teens who eat dinner often with their families:

• Less likely to smoke cigarettes
• Less likely to drink alcohol
• Less likely to try marijuana
• Less likely to have friends who use illicit drugs
• Less likely to have friends who abuse prescription drugs
• More likely to get mostly A's and B's at school
• More likely to say they would confide in one or both parents about a serious problem
• More likely to report that their parents are very proud of them
• More likely to report lower levels of stress and tension at home
• More likely to talk to their families during dinner and have the TV off during the meal

Those findings come from comparing teens who have five or more family dinners per week with those who have three or fewer weekly family dinners. (In the 2006 release, findings weren't any different.)

Because of our belief in the sacredness of evenings, coupled with our learnings from this report and others like it, we have set aside our evening for family dinners.  It's easy for us right now, but we are setting precedent for years to come that our family table is central.  Now we may share family meals with friends and/or family, but it's very high on our priority list.

So...let's hear some of your opinions and thoughts on the sacredness of our after-work, after-school times?  How do you demonstrate this in your family.