Holding on to the brethren

Imagine you were one of the fortunate ones to hear the Lord’s apostle, Peter, speak to the crowd, you being in the midst of that crowd. You’re interested in hearing what is said because you, too, saw what others did on that early Pentecost morning (Acts 2:1-13). “What is that all about?”

As you hear what is being said, it is not anything like what you expect. Peter speaks of the community of which you are a part as having killed an innocent man, not just any innocent man, but the Son of Man (Dan. 7), the Messiah so many of the Jewish looked to receive and redeem Israel from the political bondage.

As you listen, you can see yourself persuaded by the message coming from Peter’s mouth. As the persuasion becomes stronger, you hear the “this is what you must do” and with that, you do it. You’re not the only one, upwards of 3,000 have done the same. Not long after that, perhaps another 2,000 followed suit (4:4).

Knowing this from Scripture, have you wondered about how the apostles kept this “horde”, this large number of people together? There may be many contributors to help the brethren stay together, but I want to mention two. First, the pure, unadulterated Word of God was preached and taught. Second, within the many, there were a number who wanted to serve, they just needed to be identified and given guidance about what needs to be done.

In our present context, it is the same.

Can the Lord count on you?