The Body of Christ

This has been a long time coming! It's been a tough road the last few months since I last wrote. My family and I have been in and out of a few churches and you'll never believe it. There's no perfect church!!!! : ) I laugh because I think in some way shape or form, we as Christians desire that and seek that. I do believe, however, that there are different seasons within our lives where the Lord calls us to different communities, sometimes long-term, sometimes short-term. And sometimes, it takes some searching to get there.

A while back, we were attending a church we loved for about six months. We made some great friends there, especially a long-lasting friendship with one particular family. They were called out of the church to start their own housechurch, which was completely Holy Spirit driven. We left around the same time to pursue another church closer to where we lived. Loved the teaching, but it was missing something. For our family, it lacked community, it lacked relationships. To us, it was just a Sunday morning gathering with some good expository teaching. Don't think I'm here to criticize churches, just understand that this is my journey, my walk. So, moving forward, we ended up in another church close by. That was great for a while too, wonderful for our children, but it was still lacking some community; it wasn't personal enough. Plus, the teaching was getting weak, perhaps more seeker-sensitive. To make a long story short, we ended up at our friend's housechurch. I had dreams, I had visions of what the church could be and should be. Call me a free spirit, call me crazy, but based on what I've read in Scripture and how I've envisioned the church, I just felt like there was more out there than what some of my past has offered. With that being said, I needed to be in those places to get me to here.

So anyways, we end up at this housechurch. Before attending the first Sunday, the "overseer" had given us some information about the church and its vision. Let's just say, he took the words right out of my mouth. What if we could have real community again? What would that look like? There was a point in time when I thought this world is too far gone from community. This society is too individualistic. But, I was wrong. What I've been desiring to happen, someone made happen. We could all make this happen!!!!

This leads me into my talk on fellowship. I encountered a question on a message board, "what is fellowship?" In this conversation, I found myself writing and writing and writing. Fellowship is the gathering of the Saints sharing life together. There is so much energy I get from that! Notice I said, "sharing life together." It isn't just sharing donuts together after church, it isn't just having a monthly dinner together. Don't get me wrong, that's all part of it, but there's more!

One facet is prayer. I just know the Lord has been drawing me in, calling me closer and deeper into prayer. We should be praying over everything. We need to be praying over all of the things that our tripping us up and hindering our walk. We should be praying for God's will in anything and everything. We should be opening up our lives to eachother so that we can be praying for eachother. We need that! It is our only direct communication with God. Matthew 7:7,8 says, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Paul is constantly asking the Saints to pray and is always praying for the Saints. 2 Corinthians 1:11, "you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 13:7 "Now we pray to God that you do no wrong; not that we ourselves may appear approved, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear unapproved." Gosh, we, as Chrisitians, need this prayer all of the time. It's hard to do what is right. We fall short, there is temptation, there is warfare, but all can be overcome by our faith in prayer if we just ask in God's will. Here are just a few more. Philippians 1:3,4 "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all..." In Ephesians 6:18 after Paul talks about the armor of God, he says, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." See, not only do we just pray for ourselves, but we are to be praying for eachother. In the story of the Upper Room in Acts 1:14 "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers." There is Scripture everywhere about prayer. It's what we should be doing constantly.

Another facet is carrying eachother's burdens. Galatians 6:2 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." We need to be there for eachother. It's easy to be tempted, it's easy to fall short. We must be humble and open to the rebuke of another and ready to pray. Galatians 6:1 says, "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trepass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted." Then is vs 10 it says, "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, "Therfore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing."

Being the church is being the body of Christ. Paul talks about the spiritual gifts within the body. 1 Corinthians 12:11-20 says, "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, through they are many, are one body, so also is Christ...For the body is not one member, but many...But now God has placed the member, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now there are many members, but one body." We all have something to contribute to the body, whether it be wisdom, healing, teaching, prophecy, discernment, etc. When we center ourselves in Christ, as the Body, Christ being the Head, He uses us in a powerful way.

Church/fellowship is also community. Acts 2:42-47, "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellwoship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (there's that prayer again). Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who believed were together and had all things in common; adn 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." You see, community is life, and that is fellowship! What a blessing when the Lord brings people into our lives.

I love my church, I love the community, the relationships, the prayer, and just the energy that it brings. There is also the community in my family and within the household we live in. When we are in line with Christ, community just becomes real. It's that energy that encourages and challenges me to get up off that pew/chair/floor and start doing it, to go out! What we do in church, helps prepare us to go out. It's in the going out and preaching the Gospel that we can bring more Saints in.

My thoughts have been racing for weeks about this stuff. I think there are just some things I haven't been able to put in words.

Let me know your thoughts!