If you are a son, you are part of a new family; the family of God. You have brothers and sisters in this family. This family is here on this earth to help each other with God's purpose for everyone in the family and the family as a unit. The family helps each other learn and grow in their relationship with God.

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"And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42)

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The family of brothers and sisters help to persevere in the teaching of the apostles, the first believers in Jesus who spent time with Jesus and witnessed what he said and everything he did. The family also provides fellowship and communion because in Christ, everyone has the same purpose, to glorify the Lord and do his Will. Everyone in the family has this same purpose. Everyone in God's family is in the process of growing in the Lord. Everyone in God's family has been through what you are going through or have gone through. Together and united we achieve the will of God and His purposes in our personal life, in our new family, and in the natural family in this world or in the area of influence.

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John speaks of the breaking of bread. This is something that the family of God does. It is something that we do in remembrance of what Jesus did. Jesus broke bread with his disciples. It is also a symbol of the sacrifice of Jesus. When Jesus broke bread at the last supper with His apostles, He said, "This is my body." The bread did not become the body of Jesus but He said that as we eat bread, we eat of Him. We accept Him, His sacrifice and what He did for us. He is the Living Bread for us. Bread nourishes us physically. Jesus, the Living Bread nourishes us spiritually, soul and body with His life that He gave for us. And we break bread remembering His sacrifice and His constant life in us. Matthew and Mark, the two apostles wrote about this event. In the gathering of the family, church services, this is know as the Lord's Supper or Communion.

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"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;" (Matthew 26:26-27)

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"And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, 'Take, eat: this is My body.' And He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And He said unto them, This is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many." (Mark 14:22-24)

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He took a cup and said it was His blood. Literally it was not, but He said that drinking represented that they accepted the blood that He was going to shed for the forgiveness of sin.
Where it says the word “is”, in the original, the word means so with the same intention of eating bread and drinking, they eat and drink figuratively from Me. In other words, they accept the sacrifice of My body by My death and forgiveness for their sin by the shedding of My blood.  And the children of God remember the sacrifice of Jesus and the shedding of His Holy Blood for the forgiveness of sin when we partake of the Lord's Supper.

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And so continuing with what it says in Acts 2:42, being an active part of this family keeps us firm in prayer.  By participating with brothers and sisters in the family, one learns how to pray. One sees that God has order in how to pray and when to pray. It is important to be involved with your new family which is one of God's commandments. Scripture tells us not to neglect meeting together because life is hard and will get harder as the end nears.

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"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25)

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There is so much more to share about the family of God. If you have received Jesus, you are a part of the family of God. You need to grow in Jesus and you need the support of your new family. I will share more about the family of God next time.

In the meantime, continue with your daily devotional. It may seem cumbersome, awkward or time consuming, but this is only because it is new. Go to the links for more devotional Scriptures and memorization Scriptures. Soon I will cover how to intercede for others and what it means. But for now let's concentrate on getting established in our daily devotions.