Posts

Showing posts with the label Fellowship

Pray for others

Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. (Colossians 1:9-11) It is good to hear that someone is praying for us, isn't it? If we are struggling with even the simplest of things, we want that support behind us. We also want someone to be lifting us before the throne of God when it comes to our spiritual growth. We want to know that no matter how much the trials and temptations come against us, we have an advocate lifting us up over and over again, don't we? God listens for those pray...

No two pots alike

In the field of medicine, we often use the phrase, "See one. Do one. Teach one." It describes the process of not only being told "how" to do something, but demonstrating you are going to do it with consistency each time. The other night, I made mom a pot of soup as she had been saying she fancied homemade soup. I had lots of ingredients for the vegetable dense soup, complete with 97% fat free ground beef with which I created a multitude of tiny meatballs to add the mix. She loved it. After it was all gone, she asked if I'd make another pot, but if you know how I make soups, you will quickly know that no two pots turn out exactly the same! I add a little of this, that, and the next thing until I reach the taste I am looking for with whatever ingredients are available at the time. Needless to say, she ate it and enjoyed it very much, but as she said, "It wasn't quite the same." The consistency was not there between the two pots of soup because there ...

Arms, feet, and warm hugs galore

Unless you were living under a rock back in 2001 when the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon were made the targets of terrorist attacks, you know how this attack on U.S. soil brought a nation together unlike anything else we had seen in days preceding the events and/or what we have seen afterward.  Those affected by the terrorist attacks lost countless lives - moms, dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles - all in a moment's time, all without warning.  The senselessness of the attacks sent many wondering if the beginning of something as catastrophic as World War III was about to begin.  One of the trends which was observed in the after-math of these attacks was the sudden "up-surge" in church attendance.  Across America, in large cities and small townships, people flocked to churches - people who hadn't been to church in years, or ever at all. The events caused some to examine their personal commitment to values they had been raised with, while others were seeking ...

A culture of love

We encounter Jesus in all different ways, but the "easiest" way to encounter him is through the life of another.  Whenever we see and feel Jesus "lived out" through the life of a human being, we connect to him in a manner which we can really wrap our heads around.  One of the hopes Jesus had when he left his disciples on this earth to go back to living with his Father in heaven was the idea of close, intimate fellowship with other believers.  He knew the power of this closeness - the strength in the "numbers", so to speak.  For this fellowship to be really, really good, we need to remember it involves a couple of things like unity, partnership, and participation.  Try to get anything done where there is a lack of unity, a working in silos, or a simple lack of disregard for another and you don't get very far.  In the most literal sense, Jesus showed his disciples the cycle of believing and belonging.  There is something which stems from our beliefs - i...

Come into fellowship

We saw it, we heard it, and now we're telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. (I John 1:3) We have been considering the various invitations in scripture this week.  Today, we examine the invitation into fellowship with a holy and righteous God.  Fellowship is more than an acquaintance with someone.  It is a closeness of relationship that involves companionship - that type of relationship that is comfortable.  For many people, fellowship with a holy God is a scary and overwhelming thing.  There is a fear of entering into fellowship, getting too close to God, because God is good and we are not. Communion, or fellowship, speaks of a degree of intimacy that is not easily "faked".  It must be genuine - developing over perhaps years - and is not easily broken.  Our communion with God is the same.  There are no short-cuts into fellowship with God.  Later in this sa...