CALLED TO FELLOWSHIP

We are called to fellowship with one another. The Greek word koinonia means “having in common” or “sharing” [--  sharing possessions, sharing experiences, sharing life, sharing one’s self with another.] It is the word used for the marital relationship, the most intimate between human beings. Our fellowship is with God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – 1 John 1:3; 2 Corinthians 13:14) and with one another (1 John 1:7). Christian fellowship cuts across race, color, education, background, and every other cultural barrier. There is a level of friendship in the church that I have certainly never experienced outside the church.

John Wesley said, “The New Testament knows nothing of solitary religion.” We are called to fellowship with one another. It is not an optional extra. There are two things we simply cannot do alone. We cannot marry alone and we cannot be a Christian alone. Professor C.E.B. Cranfield put it like this: “The freelance Christian… is simply a contradiction in terms.”

The writer of Hebrews urges his readers, “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another…” (Hebrews 10:24-25a NIV). Often Christians lose their love for the Lord and their enthusiasm for their faith because they neglect [biblical] fellowship. 

– Adapted from Nicky Gumbel in Alpha’s “Questions of Life: A Practical Introduction to the Christian Faith”

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PRAYER IS A RELATIONSHIP

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”  (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV)

Prayer is not a one-way conversation where you simply recite everything you want God to do for you. It is a two-way fellowship and communication. You speak to God, and He speaks to you. Prayer also includes listening. In fact, what God says to you in prayer is far more important than what you say to Him. After all, God already knows what you’re going to tell Him, but He has amazing things to reveal that you don’t know.

Prayer is a relationship, not a religious activity. Through prayer, you adjust to God; God doesn’t adjust to you. He wants you to pray, but He doesn’t need you to. You, however, need to pray because of what God wants to do in your life during your prayer time.

When the Holy Spirit reveals a truth to you in prayer, He is present and actively working in your life. This kind of prayer is a divine encounter.

-- Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King in “Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God”


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LISTENING TO THE SHEPHERD

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them and My sheep follow Me.”  (John 10:27)

I believe God talks to us. Have I heard God speak to me in an audible voice? No.

Sometimes He speaks to me through Scripture. Sometimes He speaks to me through the words of a song, through reading or a sermon, through a quote of advice or admonition, through the honesty of a child, from a billboard or a bumper sticker, through a conversation with a family member or friend.

He always tells me things that are in line with His Holy Word. He does not always give me all the details. His information is always correct. When I follow His directions I will make no mistakes. He brings to pass everything He says.

I am amazed and humbled to realize that an awesome, omnipotent, sovereign God would want to communicate with me. But that’s one of the reasons He created us: He wants us to have fellowship with Him. People have tried to explain how to hear the voice of God. In my opinion, nobody has been able to describe it fully. I believe God’s sheep know the Shepherd’s voice by faith.

-- Thelma Wells, quoted in “In this Quiet Place: Discovering the Pleasures of Prayer"

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A NEW THING

"See, I am doing a new thing..." -- Isaiah 43:19, NIV

God likes to do new things. After all, He's the master artist, the source of all human creativity.

Some of the new things God creates, such as planets or galaxies, are pretty mind boggling. But there are also a lot of other things God creates every day that sometimes go unnoticed -- new babies, new insights into the Word, and even things like opportunities... God creates opportunities for each of us every day...

Is God looking to do a "new thing" in your life? Is there an opportunity that's suddenly available to you? My guess is that if you look around, you'll see that God has opened up doors in your life that promise to draw you into deeper fellowship with Him.

God never seems to put down His paintbrush.

-- Matt Donnelly, Christianity Online


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A PEACE THAT ENDURES

“Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!”
(“Great Is Thy Faithfulness” by Thomas Obediah Chisholm)

Peace comes when there is no cloud between us and God.  Peace is the consequence of forgiveness, God's removal of that which obscures His face and so breaks union with Him.  The happy sequence culminating in fellowship with God is repentance, pardon, and peace -- the first we offer, the second we accept, the third we inherit.

-- Charles H. Brent

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DAILY FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD

One of the blessings of living in daily fellowship with God is developing a settled heart. You realize your salvation is accomplished and complete. You recognize how many things are beyond your control. And you begin to understand that trusting Him is a lot more effective than fretting and losing sleep. He takes care of you either way. So why waste the nervous energy?

Inner peace is not a formula. It's not treating God like a good-luck charm. It's about spending time reading His Word. Praying when you could be listening to sports radio. Talking to Him instead of talking to yourself. Relationship, not ritual. Try it consistently for a month, and you'll look back a few weeks from now amazed at the amount of perspective and security He's given you. You'll be more like a [person] who has "no fear of bad news," whose "heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord" (Psalm 112:7).

-- Joe Gibbs in his blog Game Plan for Life: Two-Minute Drills, 12/10/12

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