Friday August 31, 2012

Pick one missionary that your church supports and write them a letter of encouragement.

 

Read Hebrews 10

 

What is it that makes for good friendship? The world would say things like acceptance, unconditional love and perhaps even having fun together. What would you say? What makes for good friendship?

 

God’s Word puts our relationship with God as the basis of our friendships and fellowship within the house of God. It’s because we have been saved and because we have Jesus as our high priest that we can draw near to God and experience all that he has for us. The more we experience and appropriate the love of God into our lives, the more we can share that sacrificial love with others around us. Put simply, we can only love to the degree that we have been loved by someone else. As we draw strength from God’s unending love we can be more loving, more sacrificial and more giving to others. That makes for great fellowship.

 

Notice carefully the structure of Hebrews 10. We have in the first part of the chapter the work that Christ has done for us and the covenant he has made with us.  We are told about the High Priest we have in the heavenlies and our freedom to draw near to Him. Then and only then do we have talk of our fellowship. Out of our love for God and our relationship with Him can we spur each other to love and good deeds. Watch any group of people and over time they will always start to spur and egg each other on, sometimes for good, but mostly for bad. Christians, out of their love for God, are to spur each other to love and good deeds.

 

Added to that, we are not to stop or give up meeting together. The Hebrew recipients of this letter were facing persecution or potential persecution and found missing fellowship the easier option. They are encouraged to make the ‘Church’ fellowship a priority, even above their own lives. You and I have no risk of persecution and often make fellowship our lowest priority. Let’s change for the better and put church fellowship as our number one priority because God has loved us with His undying love.

Prayer:

Spend time in adoration, confession and praise around the idea of fellowship.

 

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¨ Ask the Lord to raise up a spirit of generosity in your church so that it is financially viable and able to meet the needs of the poor and needy. Pray that each person would be tithing and offering their free will giving with joy and gladness in their heart.

¨ Pray that the fellowship at your church would be rich and sweet and flowing out of the love of Christ Jesus. Pray that the world would see your church as Jesus disciples as you love each other.