“You haven’t always lived here,” I said to Stan one morning. “Is that right?”
“That’s right,” he replied. “A few years ago, we had the sense if was time to move from where we were and we started looking around for the right spot. After looking into a lot of different places we decided to move here.”
“Then what?” I said. “What was the first thing you did to get settled here?”
“We did the same thing the apostle Paul did when he got to Tyre,” Stan replied.
“Tyre?” I said. “What’s that?”
“It was, and I think still is, a town in what is now the country of Lebanon,” Stan said.
“And what does that have to do with your moving here?” I asked.
“The Book of Acts,” Stan said, “records that the apostle Paul went to Tyre and the first thing he did when he got there was to find some disciples, fellow believers. And that is the first thing we did when we got here. We wanted to find fellow believers and disciples with whom we could fellowship.”
“So,” I replied, “would it be fair to say that you think that’s the most important thing Christians should do when they are in a new place?”
“I do,” Stan said. “I think the apostle Paul is a good example I should follow, whether I am moving to a new place on a permanent basis or whether I am just passing through, such as when I’m traveling on vacation, business, or whatever. The first thing I want to do is to find a church of fellow believers with whom I can spend time.”
“Are you always successful in finding fellow believers and disciples?” I asked.
“If I look closely enough,” Stan replied. “Always!”
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Bible verses to consider:
And when we had come in sight of Cyprus, leaving it on the left, we kept sailing to Syria and landed at Tyre; for there the ship was to unload its cargo. And after looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days. Acts of the Apostles 21:3-4.
And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Acts of the Apostles 11:26.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the fellow-believers you bring into my life. I confess that too often I do not seek them out so I can spend time with them and have myself opened to what you have for them to bring into my life. Please help me in following your lead to seek out and find fellow-believers and disciples wherever you may have for me to be. Help me to seek and to find them in exact accordance with your will. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Have you come to faith so that you are a believer that others might seek to find? If you have not come to faith, why? What’s in the way of accepting by faith all that God has for you in being a believer that others may seek? If you do have the assurance of salvation for when your time here is completed, do you seek out fellow-believers and disciples wherever you might be? If yes, what has been your experience? If no, why? If you sense the need to change and to seek other believers and disciples, how is that going to happen? Is that what you want to do? Why or why not?
Waiting for the Train 