"Last Days" Christians

March 8

(A Mini-Study of the Early Church)

Read: Acts 2:17, 42-47

“Last Days” Christians

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares…” (v.17)

Have you ever felt like you were living in the “last days”? Or maybe it is something you have heard people clamor on about throughout your life… “We are in the last days. The world is coming to an end!” Normally the people who claim this cite one atrocity or another as the reason why we should think this; that - or a certain politician that they don’t like got voted into office! Whatever the cause, we have an odd attraction to apocalyptic themes. Have you ever thought to ask yourself what living in the “last days” should actually look like? Do we have a biblical example of how we should carry on?

The wild truth is that WE ARE INDEED LIVING IN THE “LAST DAYS”… in fact we have been since the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. (cf. Joel 2:28-32, Acts 2:17) Hebrews 1 tells us that “in these last days (God) has spoken to us by his Son”. The last days actually started with the arrival of Jesus, the Son of God. The entire existence of the Christian Church has been in “the last days”. The only “problem” is that it has stretched on so far that we have lost site of the power of this truth. We have stopped functioning as “last days” sorts of people. I think that part of the power of the acts 2:42 and following church was that they thought they were living during the final culmination of God’s grand plan. This motivated and shaped how they lived… it transformed their expectations… it fueled their actions in community with each other and the rest of the world. What of part of the real “power” and vitality of the church comes from our realization that we are indeed living in the “last days”. I don’t mean this in some sort of macabre, rubber-necker, “gawk at an accident on the highway”, fear mongering, apocalypse junkie sort of way… but in a grounded, biblical, faith-filled, following Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, dependent on the Father sort of way. I think that would result in something that looked like the early C/church in Acts 2.

So our question over the next few Devos is: how should we live in these “last days” as the people of God? We are going to look at Acts 2:42-47 to help us answer that question. The starting point for today is this phrase: “They devoted themselves to…” You see, the “last days” are a time that requires devotion. The “last days” are not a casual time… nor are they aimless. So, what are you “devoted” to? These are the days that will draw genuine followers of God into deep and sincere action… but we may be surprised at what that action looks like.

Take some time today to consider / ask these questions of yourself:

1.) Have I lost site of the “last days”? Do I really think Jesus is coming back / could come back at any moment?

2.) Do I avoid the fact that this world is coming to end?

3.) Do I live with any intentionality or urgency? If so, towards what end?

4.) What would my friends / family / kids say I am “devoted” to?

Love you guys and excited to look at this passage together. More tomorrow. - JDP