Most weeks I get a short devotional from one of the area leaders of Assemblies of God and I always enjoy them. This week I was particularly inspired by a piece written by Aaron Partington, who is our north area leader.
Aaron is a keen football fan and he tells how he was impacted by the crowd at a recent game. He recalls:
It was a generational kaleidoscope of people from different backgrounds, races, financial situations, but with one aim: to cheer on their team… I started to make a list of the things that made this crowd unique and what I, and my church, could learn from football fans.
They arrive before the start of the game.
They come with excitement and anticipation.
They wear the shirt with pride.
They invest in their team.
They celebrate the wins.
They share in the defeats.
They are faithful through the barren times.
They passionately defend the name.
They honour the manager.
They buy into the philosophy.
They support the players.
They sing the songs with passion.
They don’t complain about the sameness of the songs.
They are united in achieving the same outcome.
They verbalise their love for the team in the workplace.In Acts 2:42 it says, ‘All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing meals and to prayer.’ The word ‘devotion’ means to be loyal, steadfast and dedicated. If we want to go for all that 2017 has in store for us, then I believe that we need to be ‘devoted’.
I think there are some great challenges there for all of us. Have a wonderful week!