THAT NEW BABY ENERGY
Micah Smith
Today’s Scripture: "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer." Acts 2:42, NLT
Theme: Being devoted to the Church is more than simply attending.
THE INCONVENIENT COMMITMENT
Anyone with children knows this undeniable truth: kids are expensive. They get sick at the most inconvenient times, constantly need food, clothing, and transportation, and consume endless amounts of energy and TIME. Yet many of us choose to have them anyway! My daughters, now six and nine, have rearranged my life in ways I never could have imagined – from middle-of-the-night fevers to weekend soccer games that somehow last all day.
Parenthood isn't a casual commitment. If my relationship with my children was merely dropping in when convenient or if I only engaged when I felt like it, I wouldn't really have a relationship at all. I'd just be a visitor in their lives, looking to be served rather than to serve. Instead, being their dad means I'm all in – through tantrums and triumphs, through skinned knees and spelling bees. I'm devoted to them, not because of what they give me, but because of who we become together.
THE PENTECOST PASSION
The believers described in Acts 2:42 were experiencing what I can only describe as "new baby energy" – that helpless devotion you feel when a newborn is placed in your arms and suddenly your life is divided into "before this moment" and "after this moment." The Holy Spirit had just been poured out at Pentecost, the apostles had preached with power, and people from various nations heard the message in their own languages. Thousands were converted and baptized in a single day. The Church wasn't just born – it arrived with a holy commotion!
These new believers weren't showing up out of obligation or habit. They weren't checking "religion" off their weekly to-do list. They were responding to the life-altering realization of who Jesus was (and is) and what He had done. They were all in! Their devotion manifested in four specific ways: learning from the apostles, engaging in deep fellowship, sharing meals together (including communion), and praying with and for one another. No one forced them – they couldn't help themselves. They had encountered something so profound that casual engagement wouldn’t have been an authentic response.
Make it Personal: How does your commitment to your church family compare to the devotion you have for your biological family? Are you fully invested, or more of an occasional visitor? What would it look like for you to bring "new baby energy" to your faith community – not out of obligation, but out of a response to what Jesus has done in your life? Consider one way this week you could deepen your devotion to the Body of Christ beyond simply attending.
Pray: Father, thank You for the gift of Your Church – this beautiful, messy, REAL family of believers You've called me to. Forgive me for the times I've approached Your place of worship with the idea of being served instead of seeing how I could be of service. Rekindle in me that "new baby energy" – that passionate response to Your grace that compels me to give my all. Help me prioritize not just attendance, but true devotion to learning, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayer with my brothers and sisters. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Read: Acts 2:37-47
Weekly Memory Verse: “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:25, NLT