It's All about the Benjamins Baby!

As a kid growing up, the hip/hop culture was a huge influence in my life. I believed everything Tupac or Biggie Smalls said. My moral code was shaped by the likes of Chuck D (Public Enemy), Nas, and Wu-Tang Clan. Somewhere between 15 and 17 I truly believed life was about being gansta, gettin' girls and making money. I can laugh at myself now, but when you really think about it... nothing is humorous about completely missing out on the purpose of life.

As an adult I have had the hardest time grasping the idea of handing my resources and finances over to God. I was so programed to live my life to gain that it seemed so foreign to give. When I look back at my life, hip/hop wasn't the only "evil" that shaped my ideas of money. My parents, my friends parents, living in houses and buying cars they couldn't afford, changing jobs and moving just to get another step up the ladder of success. Our culture is all about self-preservation and self-gain and little to do with sharing; and the truth is, it has little to do with what Dr. Dre or Snoop said.

From the beginning of our existence, our creation by God, man has been selfish and desired control. It is evident in the Eden through the first century church. Then something happened in Acts 2 that threw a wrinkle in the status quo. Immediately after 3,000 men responded to a message from Peter and repented and turned to Christ, they began living in community and the evidence of life change became obvious. In a culture of gain and self-preservation a group of people changed by the power of God acted in contrast to others around them...they shared.

Read Acts 2:42-47

-What did the group devote themselves to?

-In a world where we are taught to stand out, make a name, be different and grab the moment of fame look at vs 44. How does that compare?

-In society where we are all about juggling our wants look at vs. 45. People knew the "needs" of others and gave to meet them.

-How often did they meet?-How often did people come and join the movement of God?