Returning to Simplicity and Purity in our Devotion to Christ

It is my firm belief that God is leading us back to a place of simplicity and purity in our devotion to Christ. When people got their hands on the church they made it into something that is complicated and very much conformed to the world. Jesus and the early writers of the New Testament never intended this because Jesus was quite clear in His presentation of what His church would look like.

When we read about Jesus in the Bible we see that He saw His church as a family and He treated them accordingly. His favorite activity was not sermonizing or building something religious but simply meeting with people around a meal where He was the Guest of honor and much sharing took place. Here is a partial list of times Jesus met with others around a meal:

The wedding feast at Cana (John 2)

With Matthew and the disciples after Jesus chose Matthew (Matt 9:10, 11).

A meal with a Pharisee (Luke 7:37)

A meal with 5000 people at the miracle of loaves and fish (Matt 14)

With Mary, Martha and Lazarus (Luke 11:37)

At Passover (Matt 26:29; 1 Cor. 11:24)

With the disciples of Emmaus (Luke 24:30)

On the beach after His resurrection (John 21:12)

At His meal invitation to all Christians (Rev 3:20)

And so when the church began in Jerusalem we read this:

They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.. . Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.. . Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved (Acts 2:42,43, 46, 47).

The words translated “continually devoting themselves” is one Greek word in the original and could be translated “strongly steadfast.” It is a very strong word which shares the idea of a deep, unmovable commitment to something. When the Holy Spirit began to guide them as Jesus had promised (John 16:13) this was the life they practiced from the very beginning. The result was that “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.”

Can that wonderful experience happen again? The answer is yes if we can break free of the religious traditions that bind us to a complicated and worldly way of experiencing church life. This demands a return to God’s word, being led, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit and allowing the church to be the family of God, the pillar and foundation of truth (2 Tim 3:16; 1 Tim 3:15; John 16:`13,Acts 1:5).

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