Essentials Of The Christian Life

Acts 2:42

“And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

This verse efficiently summarizes the basics of the Christian faith. The way we grow and mature as Christians and carry out God’s plan for our lives is by practicing these essentials; learning, fellowship, and prayer. Let’s consider first the importance of learning. Once we become a Christian the Holy Spirit teaches us primarily through the study of the Bible. It is critically important that we develop the habit of daily studying God’s Word. Study is more than just reading; it includes carefully observing, accurately interpreting, and applying the lessons we learn. Our study should impact our lives as we learn more about how God wants us to live.

The second important aspect of the Christian life is that of fellowship. We need to be careful about whom we spend time with and who influences us. Spending time with others who love the Lord and desire to grow in Him will help us grow in our relationship with Him. If we are around Christians who are more interested in the things of this world, we are likely to pick up their habits.

But we need to associate with non-believers also. That is not really fellowship. Our purpose in being with non-believers should be to lead them into a relationship with Christ. Those relationships take place in school, at work, and in our neighborhood. In those situations the non-believers should recognize that, as Christians, we are different than them. We have different priorities.

An important part of fellowship is helping to meet the needs of others. We see in Acts 2:45 the Christians were “selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need”. We need to be sensitive to the needs of others and share with them as the Lord has blessed us. We are told in I Timothy 6:18 to “do good, be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” The next verse tells us that in doing that we “take hold of that which life is indeed”.

Prayer is also an integral part of the Christian life. God wants us to communicate with Him regularly and constantly. Every decision we make, every action we take should be bathed in prayer. One way we learn God’s will for us is to earnestly seek for His will in our prayer life. He has promised to respond and I can tell you from personal experience He is faithful in doing that.
I pray that you will consistently practice these essentials of the Christian faith.