2007-01-26
Good Morning Cherished of God,
The Holy Spirit leads me to continue sharing about the disciple's cross-a way to look at the various ways that we worship and serve God. This is from the Avery T. Willis course MasterLife, which has surely deepened my own service to God and way of looking at Him and others. We have seen at how Christ is at the center of the two crosspieces, His word is the bottom piece from center to south (bottom) on your diagrams. Prayer is the vertical piece which runs from the center to north (top) on your diagram. Please continue drawing your diagram this week. Today, we will look at Fellowship, which is the piece which runs from center to east (right) on your diagram.
One of the most important passages of the NT is found in JN 13: 34-35. "And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are My disciples." The kind of love for one another that Christ is speaking about is our attempt to model the unconditional love that He has for us. That's easier said than done with some people in our lives, but we must remember that elsewhere, in MT 5: 44-45a, a part of His Sermon on the Mount, our Lord Jesus has given us this difficult command. "But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven..." Christ never promised us that following His commands would be easy, but He gives them to us because He knows that is our way to eventual eternal life with the Father. Let me give you an example from the NT that is forever burned in my mind. AC 16: 16-40, the story of Paul's and Silas' imprisonment in Phillippi, is well worth your review. The part of it that applies here is (27-34) where Paul and Silas' jailer first thinks he is doomed because due to the earthquake his prisoners have escaped. However, he finds that such is not the case. Instead, he finds them in the dark, remembers the sound of their singing hymns and prayers to God earlier, and asks that all important question: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved "(30)? One's jailer is certainly an enemy, but enemies can be converted to friends by the Holy Spirit. In this case, not only the jailer, but later his family all come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. This is a good argument for always considering a non-believer to be a potential believer. To further support this notion, we have Paul's assertion in RO 14: 13 amidst a discussion on judging people, "Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way."
No discussion of fellowship would be complete without saying something about the kind of fellowship God wants us to have as a part of a congregation led by the Lord Jesus. Consider Christ's amazing statement in JN 15: 13. "The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give His life for them." Praise to God, most of us won't have to go this far, but Christ has set the bar very high indeed for His expectations for us. I was once in a church where the Pastor asked his Deacons to help him with hospital visits. The answer to that request was, "No, we can't do this. We don't have any time for it." The very nature of a Deacon's job is to be care-givers for the congregation in that denomination. A shutter of disappointment must have raced through the Lord's body at that! The situation pointed out to me in a stark way just how puffed up and far away from the Lord some people are. We are not only His servants, but we are also His friends. That was hardly the behavior of a godly friend. JN 15: 14-16, "And you are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because a servant does not know what his masters is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from My Father. You did not choose Me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in My name." As for His life, we were given that on the cross to open the way to our salvation [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. That hardly makes doing some hospital calls for it a fair exchange.
My own recent very serious illness and surgery turned out to be a blessing in disguise. This is not only true medically, but emotionally and spiritually, as well. I say this because it gave me a chance to see how my friends, my fellow believers with whom I worship, serve God, and socialize, show the unconditional love Christ has taught them. I never knew so many people cared so much about me. It's exactly the way I feel about them! When another dear friend went in the hospital for surgery, she didn't know whether she would be given a diagnosis of cancer or not either. It was an honor for me to sit with her husband during her surgery and to be a small part of supporting her during her recovery. By the way, God protected her as He did with me. This friend did not come away with cancer either. Fellowship contributes to our growth to spiritual maturity. We learn from others further along in their walks with the Lord. That is why the Lord organized us into congregations and is why congregations led by Him can make a huge difference for Him in this increasingly evil world in which we live.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before You today with heads bowed in acknowledgment of the great sacrifice of Your Son on the cross when we never deserved it. We are so grateful that You supernaturally forge relationships between people, just as You reached down to us with Your invitation for us to serve You and be Your friends. RO 5: 9-11, "By His death we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will be saved by Him from God's anger! We were God's enemies, but He made us His friends through the death of His Son. Now that we are God's friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ's life! But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now made us God's friends." What an amazing God You are! You instructed Your Son to describe and act out JN 15: 13 with His own physical life. That way, we learned first-hand about unconditional [agape] love, the kind You want us to have for You and for others around us. Just as with Paul's jailer, You allow "enemies" to come into our lives, and then give us the discernment through our study of the Scriptures and prayer, to treat them as You treat us. And sometimes, Dearest Father, even if it takes some time, You instruct the Holy Spirit to "transform them inwardly by the renewal of their minds" [RO 12: 2], just as You did with us. Not every enemy will react to our kindnesses this way, and we must be patient even to the end, if that is necessary. You gift us with the presence of other believers in our lives, by establishing relationships between us which serve our mutual spiritual growth. Our lives were never meant to be lived alone without friends to sustain us, teach us by their example, and add fulfillment to our lives that wouldn't be there without them. That is because You are a loving, compassionate, caring, and patient Lord, One Who by example teaches us to love You and others. We offer You our praise, thanks, adoration, and loyalty forever. In the loving and mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our disciple's cross is still missing the arm that goes from center to west (left), witness , and that will be the subject of next week's devotion. Every person who reads these messages week after week sets an example for me of how to be a true believer. I say this with no reservation, because like everyone else I come to the Body of Christ being a diamond in the rough. The metaphor of God, the Jeweler, polishing one rough surface at a time to increase the amount of His light which shines through the diamond comes to mind. His job polishing some surfaces is much harder than others. These surfaces are our hidden sins, our areas of rebellion, and inherited bad behaviors. But the patient and amazingly tolerant Jeweler refuses to stop from his work, until it is perfected. Then, He proudly brings the perfected diamond close to Him and wears it. That is the time of our glorification, our going home to his side in heaven for eternal bliss. Because of Christ's death on the cross [LK 23: 45-46], His resurrection [AC 1: 8-9], and our hope of the same [RO 8: 29], we too can know that with endurance in faith, we will one day in His perfect time and way, be at His side as "joint heirs to heaven with Jesus Christ" [RO 8: 17]. I see that as sufficient reason for us to look past the pain and suffering now necessary but which leads to something so much better for eternity [RO 8: 18; 2 COR 4: 18]. And, Dear Ones, because of His example of fellowship which we should try to approximate, we do not have to spend our time on earth alone-without Him and without friends.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn