"He … exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord" (Acts
11:23).

Let me try to give a few suggestions to young believers. In the first place, give the Word of God
its proper place in your heart. Do not let a day go by in which you do not spend some time over
your Bible. You cannot grow in grace without that. You are newborn babes and you need to be
fed, and the Word is not only for our food but for our enlightenment. We cannot find our way
through this world without the instructions we get from the Word of God. Not only should you
be careful to meditate upon the Word of God each day, but see that you spend some time daily
waiting upon God in prayer. Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath. A believer who is not given to
prayer will never really count for God in this scene. We are told to be instant in prayer, to pray
without ceasing.

Next, if we are going to cleave to the Lord, we should cultivate Christian fellowship_seek the
association of those of like precious faith. None of us is strong in himself, and we need one
another. We are to exhort one another, to be helpers of one another in the faith. Then let us be
unsparing in self-judgment. We need to keep account with God. When conscious of failure, or of
sin, or when we have yielded in any sense to temptation, let us not go on getting deeper and
deeper into things that are wrong, drifting farther and farther from God; but turn at once to the
Lord, face the matter in His presence; and remember, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This is what is meant by
cleaving to the Lord with purpose of heart, recognizing His authority over our lives and His
ownership of all we have and are.

(From Lectures on the Book of Acts.)