Monday September 20, 2010

Read Colossians 2:1-5

Paul was no stranger to suffering.  He willingly put himself on the line and he willingly went to jail and suffered persecution for the sake of the church.  Paul’s whole life was geared towards serving the church.  He worked tirelessly for the benefit of those in the church. In these few verses we gain some insights into Paul's motives and heart.

Paul desperately wanted the church to grow in unity and to be encouraged. He wanted them to grow closer together and deeper in each other and deeper in the Lord. Why did he want this?  Paul wanted the church to have the full riches, the full blessedness of knowing Christ Jesus.  As we’ve said many times over, we are not talking about head knowledge or mental assent to some distant truths. When the Bible talks about knowledge, it talks about intimate and personal knowledge that includes deep relationship.

But notice the prerequisites for knowledge of Christ. We must be encouraged in heart and united in love. In community we find and learn that Christ, our God, is communal. There are no lone ranger Christians in the Bible. Fellowship - loving, deep, rich fellowship - is a vital and staple part of every serious Christian’s diet. Without fellowship, there can be little if any growth in Christian character. We may know more about Christ (in the worldly sense of ‘knowing’) but without fellowship we will never experience that knowledge of Christ. We will never receive it, nor put it into practice. And the Bible is clear.  If we cannot love our brother whom we can see, we cannot love God whom we cannot see - 1 John 4:20.

Paul was willing to struggle and suffer so the church could have deep and rich fellowship. What are you and I willing to give to ensure that the church has deep and rich fellowship? To what lengths will we go? How will we support the fellowship in our church?

Prayer:-

m Pray for the Kids Games mission this week. We have children’s activities for the first week of school holidays each day until 12:30pm. Pray that God would provide the human, non human and financial resources we need. Pray that many children would come along and hear the gospel clearly presented. Pray that they would take the good news home and that we’d see many conversions this week.

Pray for the speakers this week as they seek to share the faith with the children. Ask God for creativity, clarity and compassion as they teach the children.

Get Into It!

Why not see if you can help out in the Kids Games activities today or tomorrow.