Just a quick thought about spending time with other Christians...then back to "Fasting on a Full Stomach." Luke
spoke about the first Christians in Acts chapter two. I want to begin by
highlighting several phrases that he used, which indicate a strong bond of
fellowship between those followers of Christ.
“43 And they devoted themselves to … the fellowship… 44 Now all who
believed were together…breaking bread from house to house” (Acts 2:42-47). The closeness and unity exhibited by those
early Christians has always stood out to me.
They shared the bond of Christ in joy, faith, and love even though they
stood a very real chance of being woefully persecuted or killed for the cause
of Christ.
One
aspect of fellowship is spending time together.
The early church did this at times of worship AND day by day…doing good
works together and growing together. Can you imagine what kind of church we
would have if we all did those things as often as possible. What problems could
we help one another through? What temptations could we keep one another
accountable for? How many more lost souls could we encourage?
Physical
families usually spend a lot of time together.
Fellowship brings strength to each member and the group collectively. Neglecting
to spend time together can cause the family to suffer. Children need daddy and
mama. Mama needs daddy & daddy needs mama. Families suffer when one member
is not dedicated to spending time with the others.
Spiritual
family health only improves the more time we spend together. It just makes
sense that a Christian would want to be around people who will help them get to
heaven. If a person is REALLY convinced that God, heaven, and hell are real,
what kind of people will they want to spend time with? If your spiritual health
were gauged by the amount of time you spend with your church family, how
healthy would you be? If every Christian viewed or practiced fellowship in
exactly the same way you do, what kind of church would there be? Honor God, and
do yourself a priceless favor by basking in the joys and benefits of Christian
fellowship.
I agree 100%. I love the encouragement I receive from my sisters/brothers. We are to "bear one another's burdens..." We spend time together outside the services. That's the ONLY way to get to know one another. Besides, we will be spending eternity with them!
ReplyDeleteI would also like to add that our children need to spend their free time with other Christians as well. The Bible is clear about keeping company with those of "the world." "Evil companions corrupt good morals." I have learned that the hard way in my own life. If they (or we) are not taking advantage of the opportunity to teach a worldly friend the truth, they are are on dangerous ground, for they are putting themselves in a situation where they will be tempted to do things the world does. Thanks for the reminder!