By the Way: What are your core values?
By Medicine Hat News on February 3, 2018.
Have you ever asked your self what your values are? I don’t mean monetary value, like a good sale on shoes or 50 per cent off at the shopping mall. I’m talking about your core values. Those things that are at the heart of your being, the reasons you believe you exist. Those things that excite you, that move you, that keep you going from day to day. Do you know what they are? The very first Christians had values. These deep convictions encouraged them to see every day as a blessing and a gift from God and to live each day in a relationship with Him. Acts 2:42 says, “and they [the believers] continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching, fellowship, break of bread, and prayers.” The four main values that are here are: Truth, Unity, Community and Spirituality. The early believers valued truth for two reasons. One, because Jesus Himself said that He was the “way, the truth, and the life,” and two, because He told them that true worshippers “worship Him in spirit and in truth.” These people wanted to love God with all their heart, mind, and soul and they believed that it was through worshipping Jesus and following His teachings that this took place. They also valued Unity. The concept of unity comes from the english word fellowship. It conveys the meaning of people with various backgrounds, cultures, and ideas agreeing on some basic principles. The ideal they had was to be of one mind and one purpose. Now, this did not mean that they all had to think the same way and do the same things in every area of life, but the overall purpose of bringing glory to God was the same amongst all believers (v46). Another value they held was that of Community. The text literally says “the reaking of bread” from which also means eating meals together. Eating meals together is not just a biological function for the body’s health, but it is also a social function for families, friends, and all people to interact in a personal way by sharing a necessity that every human being must do as a basic need. When eating together the believers shared their experiences of the day, allowing the opportunity to form bonding relationships with help them grow. They did this together, they valued relationships and each other. They weren’t on their own. The final value that is found here in Acts 2:42 is that of Spirituality. Translated as prayer, it conveys the intimacy of deep personal connection with God. Prayer is not meant to be set of words that is repeated over and over when you are in trouble or feeling down. Prayer is meant to be the living experience of knowing the nearness of God in your life each and every moment. I want to encourage you today, as you read this article. Grab your Bible, turn to Acts chapter 2 and read verses 40-46. Read the values of the early church. Ask yourself, do you share these same values? Pastor Tyler Rosengren is from Seventh-Day Adventist Church. 10-9
