Worthy Devotions – Daily Christian Devotion » Fellowship

Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.

We are big Casting Crowns fans around here; And they have a song called “Stained Glass Masquerade”. Ever heard it? The lyrics are so good… here are a few lines.

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

This song talks about the struggles many of us face deep down but can never show it in the church. How sad is it that we can’t be real with one another among brothers and sisters in the Lord!? Church should be the one place that we CAN show what’s inside!

As many of you know, one of our ministries in Israel is hospitality — having a “church” of sorts in our home. People flock here from all over and our family rarely gets time alone. So among other things, when we have a disagreement, we have succumb to vocalize it for all to hear. Yeah, I know that might make people feel uncomfortable at times but since our house is always full, it’s almost inevitable — we’re forced to keep it real!

God wants to tear down the barriers between our home life and our church life! He wants us to be transparent with one another. He wants us to love one another as He has loved us and receive one another as He receives us when we fail. This is how we grow individually and as a body. It might be a little uncomfortable, but it’s so necessary!

Let’s get real and keep it real, brothers and sisters! There’s so much work to be done!

Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

I heard a story about a young woman named Linda who was traveling alone up the rugged highway from Alberta to the Yukon. The first evening she found a room at a small-town Inn in the mountains and figured she’d continue her journey bright and fresh, early the next morning. But strangley, when she called down to the front desk and asked for a wakeup call at 5 AM the clerk sounded puzzled by her request.

She awoke bright and early as she intended, and suddenly realized the reason for the clerks reaction the night before. A thick fog covered the mountain tops — it was not the kind of weather in which you’d want to take a Sunday drive. Not wanting to look foolish, however, she got her things together and went to breakfast. There, she met two friendly truck drivers and who invited her to join them. “So, where are you headed?” one of the truckers asked. “Whitehorse”, Linda replied.

“You’re not planning on driving that little car are you?” he said chuckling and pointing outside at the only little car among several eighteen-wheelers in the parking lot. “This pass is dangerous in weather like this!” “Well,” said Linda, “I’m determined to try.” “Well then — I guess we’re just going to have to hug you,” the other trucker suggested. “What?!” Linda gasped, “I don’t think that would be appropriate!”

“Not like that!” the two truckdrivers laughed heartily. “We’ll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we’ll get you through the mountains.” All that foggy morning, Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains.

Just as Linda did, we often feel confident that we can get by on our own, without any help from anyone else — and before we know it, we’re lost in the thick fog of the mountain of life. Rivka and I have seen so many people leave the fellowship of believers and go off on their own, becoming bitter against a brother or sister, or pastor and believing they’ll be better off doing their own thing. Many of these have sadly never come back to the fold. But this is yet another way the enemy of our souls seeks to draw us away from the Lord. As brothers and sisters in Messiah, we need to be closely knit with one another, helping eachother and giving and receiving compassion and love. We need one another!

Let’s get back into fellowship. Let’s make it a priority to be “hugged” by our family in the Lord who know the way and can lead safely ahead of us, and strive to reach out and “hug” others by gently encouraging them along from behind!

Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Being involved in ministry, my wife and I have experienced a few hairy situations in which we were called upon, either directly or indirectly, to mediate in an unresolved conflict.

Have you ever been a mediator? I’m sure you have in some way — at home, church, work . It’s not an easy task, is it? Jesus called us to be peacemakers. We, as Christians, are to be the ones to bring peace into any situation in this world of conflict — a very high and often difficult calling.

Here’s a little anecdote that really spoke to me regarding this.

“I was once involved in a complex situation where a lawyer with many years experience was brought in as a consultant to a case. He sat back and listened carefully to get as comprehensive a picture as possible. All throughout the presentation, he kept being asked, “So what do you think so far?” ‘Well, I’m still trying to get a more complete picture,’ he would say, ‘I have no comments as of yet.’ Only when the picture became very clear did he make his comments and state his opinion. Because of his extensive experience, he knew that things are not always as they seem. Two sides in a quarrel each will have a different picture and it takes patience to get the entire picture.”

Let’s strive for humility, wisdom and patience like this. It’s important for us to learn the art of peace making. There’s so much work to be done!

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Ya know – something occurred to me this past week.

We, and I know many other brothers and sisters around the world have been praying and praying for revival to come. We’ve been seeking God for the seeds we’ve sown in prayer to be harvested in these crucial hours, when they are becoming ripe for the picking. We’ve been asking God to reveal Himself to His people and bring laborers into the harvest.

But people are dying. Ripe fruit is falling and spoiling in the fields. And still, there are few laborers to do anything about it. Why Lord?!

It became clear to me recently why. Jesus said that they will know Him by the love we have for one another. The world will know Him by the love we, believers, have for one another. Where’s the love, friends? Our body is so divided, over silly issues that don’t even matter in the big scheme of things! Our marriages and churches are being torn apart for lack of understanding of the enemy’s tactics upon us!

How can the fields be harvested? We are not prepared for them! We are not ready to minister! We’re so busy looking at ourselves and our problems! Most of us are not even aware of the critical condition we are in as a body! This is an EMERGENCY! We need to wake up and smell the desperate stench of dying souls! Not only those out there in the world but the ones who are part of us — we, and our hurting brothers and sisters in the Lord! We need to start loving one another, that the Lord may be glorified, that His Kingdom come!

Let’s start overlooking offenses today! Let’s learn the devils schemes! Let’s win the hearts of the lost by our love for one another! There’s soooooooooooooo much work to be done!

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ 1 dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace 2 in your hearts to God.

A disgruntled church-goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained: “I’ve gone to church for thirty years now, and in that time I have heard something like three-thousand sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. I think I’m wasting my time and the Pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This began a major controversy which went on for weeks until someone wrote in this reply:

“I’ve been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked some three thousand meals. For the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this … they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work…”

Hmmm. So true. We need our spiritual nourishment to be able to do the work of the Lord effectively! Corporate worship, fellowship with our brothers and sisters and Godly counsel are a great means to get it!

God does not want us to isolate ourselves! He wants us to be in consistent fellowship with like minded believers, teaching and exhorting one another, singing psalms and spiritual hymns together! Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb.10-25)! There’s so much work to be done!