Tag Archives: fellowship

“There Is No C-H-U-R-C-H Without U”

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Church congregation singing hymns in church

(Disclaimer: The truths and concepts in this article is directed toward those who have professed a belief in Jesus because, biblically speaking, there are no “real” Christians who are not a part of the church.) 

I think that one of the major faults of “American Christianity” is the fact that most American Christians are more “American” than they are “Christian!” Let me show you what I’m talking about:

 

First of all, in the American spirit, there is a strong sense of individualism. Inbreeded in all Americans is a strong independent bent that favors the individual over the group. However, in the Bible, the emphasis is not on the individual, but rather the group. In ancient biblical cultures, the individual’s identity was found in his or her relationship to the group, the family, the clan, the tribe, the nation!

 

When Jesus called individuals to follow him, he always called them to be in community with one another. In Matthew 16:18, we read of Jesus saying: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” (NKJ) The word that is translated as “church” in that verse, is a Greek word that carries the meaning of; a gathering of citizens, called out of their homes into some public place, an assembly, a congregation. I’ve heard people say that they have the “church in their hearts” but according to the Lord’s definition of church, that’s an impossibility! The church is never just one person; the church is always a group of people! There must always be more than one to have a church!

 

Now, I understand that there are many people who are just fed up with the politics and hypocrisy of the institutionalized church. Well, they are not alone, so was and so is Jesus! In many churches, Jesus is on the outside looking in! By the way, that Bible verse that is often used in an evangelistic effort to get sinners to come to Christ is really a misapplication. Revelation 3:14, says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” (ESV) In the context of the passage, this is not a picture of Jesus; knocking on the door of a sinner’s heart. No! This is a picture of Jesus; knocking on the door of His church!

 

But, to leave or quit the church because of the imperfections of the people within it is like trying to travel without going anywhere! It’s like trying to leave yourself because you don’t like yourself! The bottom line is this: You need the church and the church needs you! The church is a community of believers and disciples of Christ! And it is within the context of community that God reveals Himself to the world! In his prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed to the Father: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (Jn. 17:20-23 ESV) Jesus prayed that all believers (the church) might be one in unity! Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 5:16 to let their light so shine that men might see their good works and glorify the Father in Heaven. It is interesting to note that in the Greek text, the “your” is plural (he wasn’t addressing them as individuals, but as a group) while the “light” is singular! It is a picture of the group (the church) working together to let one light shine!

 

The Apostle Paul likened the church to the human body, with each separate member as a part with a distinct role that fits and works together for the benefit of the whole body. (1 Corinthians 12:11-27) The church needs you and you need the church because none of us are complete by ourselves! You have something I need and I have something you need! In fact, not only is that true for the church, it is also true with life in general! That’s why when people are killed or die prematurely, it is such a tragedy! It’s tragic because they will never get the chance to contribute the gift they came to give and because of that; we all suffer! That is also another reason why it is so important that people really know or come into a right-relationship with God! Because when people are “lost” it’s not just a matter of them going to Hell when they die! When people are lost, they are also lost from their destiny and purpose, which ultimately were designed to glorify God and benefit humanity! When people are lost, they cannot make the contribution they were born to make! And when they don’t make that contribution, the rest of humanity suffers!

 

That’s another reason there is no church without you! The mission of the church is to “make disciples” of all ethnic groups. (Matthew 28:18-20) Why? Not just so that they might be saved, but also that they might collectively demonstrate the glory and love of God to the world! The task is too big for individuals! It can only be done with people who are committed to God and each other!

 

You also need the church to keep you in check! No matter how much you read the Bible and how much “alone time” you have with God, it is also important that you have communion and fellowship with people who share your aspirations, beliefs, dreams, ideals, goals, and convictions! You were not designed to function alone! According to the Bible, there is no such thing as a “Lone Ranger” or “Solo-Christian.” It is God’s will that we all live out our Christian faith in a community setting! In fact, you need that setting to authenticate your faith!

 

I could go on and on, but let me just conclude by saying that without “u” even the word; “church” doesn’t make sense! There is no “c-h-u-r-c-h” with you because “u-r” right in the middle of it!

Get Jonah Off Your Ship!

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jonahThe story of Jonah in the Bible is an interesting story. The sailors that Jonah was sailing with found themselves in a storm only because Jonah was on board! They were caught up in the middle of a bad situation that they really had nothing to do with! The Bible indicates that the only reason they were going through the storm was because Jonah was on board!

Could it be that some of the turmoil in our lives might be caused by the Jonah’s we’ve allowed to be on board our ships (Friendships, relationships, and fellowships)? Now, this is by no means an attempt to legitimize blaming other people for the situations in our lives. But it is merely to point out the fact that many of those situations exist only because of the presence of certain people in our lives. We can’t legitimately blame other people for the situations in our lives because we allow their presence in our lives! We are the ones who gave them the boarding pass (permission) to be in our lives!

So, if there is turmoil in your life, it might be a good idea to take inventory of the people you have allowed in your life to see if they are Jonah. How can you tell if they are Jonah? Let’s go back to the biblical story and see if there are some hints.

Note the biblical text reveals that the ship was going in the opposite direction from which Jonah was supposed to be going. The Jonah’s in your life are the people who didn’t really intend to go in your direction; but they are just with you for the ride. They make no real contribution and before you allowed them on board, they weren’t even going in your direction! The Jonah’s in your life are the people who don’t quite fit, but they make superficial adjustments just to be on board.

Jonah paid the fare and immediately went down into the hull of the ship! The Jonah’s in your life are the silent, non-participating, and non-revealing people in your life. They know something about you; but you really don’t know much about them! They are the ones who are always “taking” from the relationship while never making a meaningful contribution.

Jonah went down into the ship and went to sleep! He even slept through the storm! The Jonah’s in your life are the people who sleep through your storms! When you are going through whatever you’re going through, they are mostly detached, uninterested or otherwise unavailable.

And then finally, it was Jonah himself who was the cause of the storm! Because Jonah was attempting to flee from the presence of the Lord, he put innocence people at risk because of his presence on their boat! Beware of letting people into your life and then getting caught up in their drama, which really has nothing to do with you! The cemetery is full of people who are filling an early grave because they allowed certain people into their lives and they got caught up in Jonah’s storm! Many jails are populated with people who made the mistake of letting Jonah get on board and then they got caught up in Jonah’s storm! Whoever you allow in your life; remember their baggage comes with them! Be careful that you don’t suffer the collateral damage of getting caught up in their storms!

When I was a teenager, whenever I would tell my parents about meeting a new friend, the first thing they would ask me was: “Who are their people?” Knowing their folks was a good indication of their character! Every now and then, I would meet someone and my mother would tell me that I didn’t need to associate or be friends with that person because my mother knew that person was a Jonah! We all would do well to check the passenger lists of our various ships to see if we have a Jonah on board. And if we do, it would be wise to get Jonah off the ship!

The “Real” Purpose of Prayer

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prayer bibleHave you ever wondered what God’s purpose was in instituting prayer? I mean, think about it! Surely God did not institute prayer and the practice of praying simply as a way for us to inform him of our needs! Jesus said in Matthew 5:6-7 “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (NIV)  And again in Matthew 6:31-32 “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.” (NIV)  Clearly we can see from these passages that the Lord already knows our needs, therefore, the real purpose of prayer is not just to inform him of our needs. Now you might ask at this point: If God already knows what we need before we ask, then why should we ask? Good question! I think he wants us to ask because our asking helps us to recognize and acknowledge our dependency upon him. By the way, there is so much more to prayer than just “asking” God to fulfill our needs!

So, if the real purpose of prayer is not just to ask God to supply our needs, to rescue us from trouble, to heal our bodies, or to take care of whatever is wrong in our lives, then what is the real purpose of prayer? I think the answer can be found in the model prayer Jesus taught his disciples to pray. In the prayer we know as: “The Lord’s Prayer,” the answer is found in the first words. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, saying “Our Father.” The word “father” implies relationship and the primary way to establish and sustain any relationship is with communication. And in any relationship, real communication is never just one-way! Therefore, real prayer is not just us talking to God; real prayer is also God talking to us! A real prayer is a conversation with God and no conversation is a real conversation if just one person is doing all of the talking! Have you ever been in any type of relationship in which the other person always monopolized the conversation? That relationship probably did not last because no real relationship can exist under such conditions! And there is no real relationship if the only time (or every time) you hear from the other person; they are asking you for something!

Therefore, I would like to suggest that the real purpose of prayer is communication, communion, conversation and company-keeping with God! Real prayer is God talking to us and us talking to God! By the way, I inverted the order on purpose! Real prayer is always responsive! It is God who always speaks first! God speaks to us through his word (the Bible) and we, in turn talk back to God through prayer! Therefore, real prayer cannot be done apart from the word of God. Often the failure of many in praying, in addition to a lack of faith, can be traced back to an ignorance of and an ignoring of God’s word. It is useless to ask God for an answer that he has already given in his word! Much of what many ask; God has already given an answer in his word, but people ask because they are ignorant of his word! The result is frustration because often they are waiting on God to do something he has already done, but they don’t know that he’s already done it because they don’t read and study his word! By the way, when we don’t read and study his word, we are like the rude person we use to be friends with that always monopolized the conversation!  Remember? We stopped being their friend because they were so selfish and self-centered that they only wanted us to listen to them while at the same time they wouldn’t listen to us! Well, we want God to listen to us; but do we listen to God? When we talk to God in prayer, do we get up immediately after we’ve finished and go on about our business, not allowing him to say anything?

And then, the real purpose of prayer is really not to “change things” but rather it is to change us! I’ve often heard people say: “Prayer changes things!” But when you really think about, in most cases, it is not so much a case of prayer changing things as it is of prayer changing people and changed people changing things! Neither is the real purpose of prayer to change the mind of God, but rather it is to change our minds so that we might have the mind of God.

Therefore, since the real purpose of prayer is about communication, communion, conversation and company-keeping with God, let’s stop being rude to God! Let’s quit monopolizing the conversation and listen to what God has to say! Let’s take time to read and study his word! In doing so, we will find that many of the questions we might want to ask; he has already answered and much of what we seek; he has already given! Try this: The next time you pray; don’t ask God for anything! Just thank him for what he has already done! Treat him like you should treat a good friend! Have your Bible open and just tell him: “I just wanted to say: ‘Hello, and to have a good conversation with you because I really enjoy your company! By the way; how are you doing today? Amen!”