Community of the early church

"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. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them."
Acts 4:32-34

Community is one of the most important traits we as believers have, yet in today's culture, it has been diminished, if not forgotten. Independence is seen as a positive thing, while having to ask for help is seen as a sign of weakness. How contrary this is to the gospel! yet it is so dominant even in the church today! Giving is seen not as a sign of surrender, but as a sign of power, because the giver is "beyond self-sufficient" to the point of having excess to give away to the "less fortunate." Most of my life, I've been a part of different communities that did not live out the faith the way it is portrayed for us in Acts. Consequentially, in that time, I didn't see much fruit, and had a very difficult time following the Lord with all of my heart. It wasn't until recently that I became a part of a community that truly takes the model given in Acts and lives it out. And this community has become viral. For all that we as individuals try to do on our own, we as a community can do exponentially more, and as we do, more people join us and turn their lives completely around.

For a personal story, last night, as our guy's accountability group met, one of us had a need. My initial reaction would be to keep him anonymous, but that would be under the mindset that asking for help is a sign of weakness, when it's actually the one of the strongest things I've seen anyone do. Toby came to us humbly with a debt that he could not pay. It was due the next day and it was for $900, and if it was not payed the next day, it would be raised to $3000. As he was telling us about it, my heart leapt and I felt a desire to help him out. Sitting next to me was my cousin Nick (Also known as Herby), who wrote down that he was selling his car today for $900 and showed me quietly to see what I thought. At that same moment, Camden jumped out of his chair and said to Herby, "It's your car isn't it!" Then he read us the passage in Acts 4. The spirit was clearly prompting the three of us to pool our resources together and help our brother out. Interestingly, the other three guys at the table were silent and it was apparent that as they wanted to help, they didn't have the means to do so, and didn't feel the spirit compelling them to do so either. The three of us that God spoke to are the three that are moving to Belize on mission in a month and don't have any money to spare. It became apparent to me that God was teaching the three of us to rely on His provision and not to trust in our own understanding before we go. And I can't describe the peace I felt after handing over the money, because, I knew that we would no longer have financial worries, because God will always provide. And besides, What's $900 to an infinite God?!

So today, Toby sends me a message saying that he found favor with the one collecting his debt and it was reduced to only a tenth of the original amount!!! All glory to God!!
As we set Isaac on the altar, the lord spared him! or at least most of him LOL.
I say all of this not to boast in myself or my brothers, but to boast in God and to bring glory to him. I hope that you too will be inspired to follow the model of the early church and dare to put your life as you know it on the line to see God transform it into something beautiful.