Daily Reading for Sunday, Mar. 2: Community

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22

There are so many people in the world who are hungering and thirsting to be loved and cared for. There are so many people who are alienated, frustrated, irritated, and decimated. They want to be a part of the house of God but have settled for a shack in the wilderness. How thankful we are that we are no longer in those situations. Jesus has set us free from those things and has brought us into Him. And as He does, He builds us together to be a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. And the most wonderful part of all? This dwelling is not exclusive--but inviting and open. All those who are hungering may come. All those who are thirsting may drink. All those who are oppressed by this world and the enemy of our souls may come and find shelter. We gather in a building as the church—and our gatherings propel us into the world to find those hungering and thirsting souls.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 Let us be determined to gather together in one heart and one mind with one purpose—to glorify God and to proclaim Christ. Let us remember that the reason we gather is to celebrate the life that Christ has given us, to purposely take time with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, to worship the Lord and enjoy His fellowship, to grow in the knowledge of the Word, and to gain understanding through the gifts of the Spirit that the Lord placed in us to spur us on to greater works. Then, let us scatter (for a time) so that after we have been filled, we can pour into the lives of those we are in relationship with. And in so doing, those who are living in the shack of despair can enter into and dwell within the house of hope.

Daily Reading for Saturday, Mar. 1: Community

“What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life-- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us--what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.” 1 John 1:1-4 NIV

This is missional living. What we have heard, what we have seen, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, we proclaim to those we are in relationship to. We preach our faith every day that we breathe. From when we arise in the morning to when we go to bed at night, we preach our faith. As we engage others in authentic relationships—loving others with the love of Christ—we proclaim Him. Why? So that our joy can be made complete. We experience joy as a Christian by being saved. But that joy in completed when we have enabled others to join us in our faith.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

This is why we build relationships. Because the Father did all He could to build one with us. This is why we join together in faith and fellowship, because God chose to join together with us—to extend faith and fellowship to us. This is why we build community within our church and build relationships with those in our community—so that those who are trapped, who are in distress, who are in debt to sin and self can come and not be judged but be set free. We are those agents of freedom as we build our relationships with those around us—showing them our love for them just as the Father showed His love for us.

Daily Reading for Friday, Feb. 29: Community

“But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.’” Ruth 1:16

Ruth was married to an Israelite who, along with his father, mother, and other brother, had gone to Moab to find relief from a famine that had taken place in the land of Israel. Ruth was a Moabite—not an Israelite. She didn’t have the promises of God that the Israelites had. In fact, she didn’t even know the God of the Israelites. Yet, somehow, in her interactions with this family of the chosen people of promise, she found herself so drawn to Naomi (her mother-in-law), that even when Ruth’s husband was dead, and they seemed to be in a hopeless situation, Ruth was determined to forsake her old way of life, her identity, even her own family to follow Naomi and to take Naomi’s God as her own.
What compelled Ruth to take such a drastic step? Her relationship with this family did. There was something in them that the gods of Moab could never offer Ruth. There was something in them that drew her. Day after day, year after year, Ruth interacted with this family—learning their traditions, experiencing their lives, being impacted by their example. And when the time of decision came for Ruth, she decided (like Mary did when she sat at Jesus’ feet) to take the better part. She chose to follow Naomi, and to serve the God of Israel.
This is our goal of community building with those outside the family of faith. We want them to experience Jesus and to see the difference He makes in our lives. We want them to be drawn by the Holy Spirit and our example of Christ-likeness so that when the day of decision comes for those in our “sphere of influence” they will choose the better part. And then, we can welcome them into the greatest community of all—the community of faith.

Daily Reading for Thursday, Feb. 28: Community

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Col 1:17

Here is one definition of community that is particularly insightful: Community means: [A] group of people sharing a common understanding who reveal themselves by using the same language, manners, tradition and law.
Think of the local community you live in. Your town is comprised of even smaller communities or neighborhoods. And these neighborhoods are comprised of even smaller communities of families. And to break it out further, each family is comprised of individuals. For even a small town, that is a lot of people. But even though all the individuals of a town are unique and one-of-a-kind, they still have the commonality of understanding about who they are and why they are there. They reveal themselves in their language, in their manners, in their traditions, and in their laws.
But what about the community of faith? Or, more precisely, the community of faith that you are associated with—your church? What defines and describes this community? You see, a church is just like any other community in many ways. There are all kinds of individuals who make up the church with all kinds of personalities and gifts. And yet, we come together in Christ with one common understanding—that our ultimate purpose is to make Jesus known. People have poked fun at the “Christian-eze” (that church-talk that we often use when talking with one another), and rightfully so in many cases. However, we do have a common language, common manners and traditions, and a common law written on our hearts. As this verse says, in Him (Jesus) all things are held together. Jesus holds us together in our individuality so that we can accomplish His purposes for us—as a community and as individuals.

Daily Reading for Wednesday, Feb. 27: Community

“They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47

This passage depicts the very infancy of the church as it began to form after the day of Pentecost. We see that the believers devoted themselves to several things: the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, to prayer. They devoted themselves to the teaching so that they would know the truth and learn how to live as Christ followers. They devoted themselves to fellowship so that they could not only hear the teaching but see it in action. They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread, to building relationships with one another as they grew together in faith. Finally, they devoted themselves to prayer which covered all their other activities and promoted fellowship with the Father.
This is picture of the church is what we desire to be as a faith community. Although we do not have a 1st century Christian lifestyle (as far as culture and society is concerned), we can still behave like they did. We can devote ourselves to the Word of God, both in our private devotions and in its public proclamation and teaching. We can devote ourselves to fellowship—to spending time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. That time will result in our personal faith being strengthened, our determination to press on being lengthened, and our desire to press in being deepened. As we devote ourselves to building relationships with one another, we become more able and ready to build relationships with others outside the community of faith. And, as we devote ourselves to prayer, we keep everything before God, so that our fellowship is not only with one another, but it is with one another in Him. If we behave in such a manner, the result of this will be that day after day, the Lord will bring more souls into the kingdom of God.

Daily Reading for Tuesday, Feb. 26: Community

“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13 NIV

Have you ever heard someone say, “I don’t need church. I have my own faith. God knows I believe in Him, and I don’t need to go to church to prove that.” I feel sorry for those people. They genuinely believe that they have the best that faith can offer, and there is no way that being a church attender can be any better. While I do agree that simply attending church is not necessarily going to make your life in Christ any richer or fuller, when we examine this verse, we see some interesting things that promote being involved in a church as a viable means of growing in faith.

First of all, we see Paul explaining that God planned for there to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. God desired for these gifts to be in operation in His church. Why? 1) So that the people would be prepared for their works of service that God had planned for them. 2) So that as people performed their works of service that God had gifted and planned for them to do—they themselves would be strengthened thereby strengthening the whole body. 3) So that all in the body would reach unity in the faith—not just what we believe but how we believe (with our whole hearts, minds, souls and strength). 4) So that as we belong and operate as part of this beautiful body of Christ, we would see the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. In other words, there are some things we will not see in our walk as Christians if we don’t belong to a local body.

So many people have confused the rituals and traditions of men with church. But that is not what belonging to a church is all about. It is about being connected to others of like faith, who have something to supply to you that you may not have and vice-versa. God has a plan for the local church—He gave local church leaders as gifts for a reason. He wants us to participate in a local church. He desires that we connect not only with Him as an individual, but also as a community of faith, so that we can have the full revelation of Christ in our lives.

Daily Reading for Monday, Feb. 25: Community

Core Value: Community

We are committed to building healthy and loving relationships with God and each other.

Life is lived in relationship! Our intent is to connect relationally with others and join together in a community of faith for love and support. Accountability, belonging, care, and spiritual growth happen best with relationally-connected people. People matter to God, and they matter to us – believer and unbeliever alike – we love people. We understand our relationship with Christ is personal but not private, and we are called to live life together in honesty, authenticity, and transparency.

Introduction

Last week, we discussed the very real joy we can experience in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those we come into contact with. This week, we see how that joy is made complete by coming into fellowship with one another. Our belief in Christ automatically places us in this special, one-of-a-kind organism that is called the church. As we build community with one another, we build each other up, enabling us to build real, life-affecting relationships with those who need to hear the good news we have to share.

Daily Reading for Monday, Feb. 25
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10 NIV

Belonging—–that is the essence of community. Have you ever been somewhere where you didn’t belong or where you were made to feel that you didn’t belong? You didn’t want to stay in the place, or with those people, for very long. This verse is part of a whole passage of practical exhortations for Christ-like living, but I wanted to take particular note of this phrase: “...to those who belong to the family of believers.” We belong!

First, we belong to Jesus. We belong to God. We belong to our creator who paid the dearest price that could be paid so that we could belong to Him. How incredible it is when we consider what Jesus did in order to make it possible for us to no longer belong to the enemy of our souls, to no longer be trapped by our sin-steeped selves, but to belong to one who gave up His very life so that we could live with Him eternally.

Secondly, through the blood of Jesus, we are joined together in a family that has stronger ties than any natural family could have. Jesus not only gives us a new life, He gives us a community to support that life, to help nurture it, grow it, and encourage it. And then, as we grow, we can give others that same encouragement that we have received and offer that same belonging.