Devotional For the Week 16 August 2004

The More We Get Together
Reference - Matthew 18:19-20

Our lives now are not much different from those of early believers. Christians are always at risk of being caught up in life’s busy-ness and neglecting to be more active in our spiritual lives. We are in danger of dropping out of the race altogether.

The good news is that Christ has given us His body - the Church to strengthen each other.

In 1 John 3:18-20, it is written, “Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us.”

For that to happen, we need to look at 2 points: The Power of Relationships and The Power of Agreement

Point 1: The power of relationships: They make life easier to bear
Without relationships, in this fast paced world, when the burdens get heavy, and our footsteps get weary, we will never make it to the finishing line. We need to build relationships with believers that will hold even through the pains. We need relationships with other believers so that when we cannot bear our burdens anymore, we can share our load with others in the same race, so that all of us can complete the race together.

Point 2: The power of agreement.
For relationships to be strong and effective for God, they have to be relationships that agree on the major things in spiritual beliefs, and agree to differ on minor things that are not critical in ourChristian faith. However we must guard against being distracted by the Devil on disagreement over trivial issues.

Matthew 18:19 says: "If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together gather together in my name I am there among them."

Therefore, we are to gather in His Name in small groups, i.e. cell groups, giving that time to Him, in worship, study, and service of His purposes. And through these small groups, that gather consistently to pray, study the Word and seek after each member’s spiritual health, we WILL rebuild a community that is strong in its relationships with one another, that cares and shares and is so cohesive that when it agrees, it shakes all the gates of hell!

Reflections
Are you ready to gather in His name, in small groups?
Is your salvation important enough for you to want to preserve it?
Is the salvation of your neighbor, important enough for you to encourage him or her to preserve it?

- Pastor Joel Yong