OUR DAILY BREAD 2ND SEPTEMBER 2024 DEVOTIONAL, MONDAY ODB MESSAGE
Our Daily Bread 2nd September 2024 Devotional TOPIC: Humbly Asking for Help
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:42-47
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13
KEY VERSE: All the believers were together and had everything in common. – Acts 2:44
TODAY’S INSIGHT
Acts 2:44 pictures the unity and interdependence of the church: “All the believers were together and had everything in common.” This same idea comes into view again in chapter 4: “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had” (v. 32). The
English words common (2:44) and shared (4:32) are translations of the Greek word koinos, which means “common,” “ordinary,” “belonging to generality.” In addition, it can refer to things that are ceremonially unclean. In Acts 4:32, we also find a word with the opposite meaning, idios, which is translated “their own”: “No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own.” The early church snapshots in these chapters reveal a dynamic, Spirit-formed unity and humility that led believers to selflessly give and receive.
OUR DAILY BREAD 2ND SEPTEMBER 2024 DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
As our party approached, my wife and I started planning. With many people coming, should we pay a caterer to cook? If we do the cooking ourselves, should we buy a barbeque? With a small chance of rain on the day, should we buy a tent too? Soon our party was getting expensive, and even a little antisocial. By trying to provide everything ourselves, we were missing an opportunity to receive the help of others.
The Bible’s vision of community is one of both giving and receiving. Even before the fall, Adam needed help (Genesis 2:18), and we’re called to seek others’ advice (Proverbs 15:22) and share our burdens (Galatians 6:2). The early church held “everything in common,” benefiting from each other’s “property and possessions” (Acts 2:44-45). Instead of living independently, they shared, borrowed, gave, and received in beautiful interdependence.
We ended up asking guests to bring a salad or dessert to our party. Our neighbors brought their barbeque, and a friend brought his tent. Asking for help enabled us to forge closer relationships, and the food people made brought variety and delight. In an age like ours, being self-sufficient can be a source of pride. But God gives His grace “to the humble” (James 4:6), including those who humbly ask for help.
REFLECT & PRAY
What stops you from asking for help? What do you currently need that you could borrow instead of buy?
Dear God, thank You for making us relational creatures. Please help me to live humbly, sharing both my wealth and needs with others.
Our Daily Bread 2nd September 2024 Devotional, Sunday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.