“By ceasing to take part in the public worship of God, as it now is, you have constantly one guilt the less, and that a great one: you do not take part in treating God as a fool.” – Søren Kierkegaard
Jesus prioritizes relationship over religion. What is religion? When you’re going through the motions of doing things for God when you’ve forgotten Who you’re supposed to be in love with. It’s when you take the “work of the Lord” and make it more important than the Lord of the Work.
If God would grant you a moment by His side and allow you a fleeting glance at His Church you would at once understand what a pitiful substitute we have in Organized Religion. There is no vanity so deep as religious vanity, nothing more sickening and diametrically opposed to the heart and ultimate purpose of God.
If you primarily see fellowship as a verb, then of course you are very interested in where to meet, when to meet, how to meet… To me, those questions and concerns are all based on a viewpoint that sees fellowship as a verb – something to be done.
To be a brother or sister we have to humble ourselves and recognize that we are not the Parent in God’s Family and they are not our children. We have One Father, and He is responsible for the correction, protection, discipline, and direction of His children….
Everything you do (or do not do) as a member of the Body of Christ affects all the other members. No one is an island. The Difficult Path may be lonely at times, but we are never truly alone.
A growing number of people have come to the conclusion that the social benefits of going to church can no longer compensate for the lack of spiritual life.
Can fellowship only occur in the context of a church meeting? Once we realize that our fellowship is supposed to be based on a relationship with Jesus, not a relationship with “church”, we will discover that there are more opportunities for fellowship OUTSIDE the local church building than there are INSIDE.
Babylon “by its sorcery has deceived the people of this world” (Rev. 18:23) – and I would say it has deceived many of God’s people as well. By the mere fact that God has to call His people to “come out of her” proves that she has, through sorcery and seduction, deceived not only the world but deceived many of God’s people.
The good news is that even if the Ekklesia has been underground, it is still growing and developing. When the season is right it will burst forth and once again those who have eyes to see will indeed discern the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear.
Is there a place for fellowship? Absolutely! In fact, I know of three really good fellowships you can join today! If you are looking for fellowship with people and having a hard time making the connection, or if you are fed up and burned out with “like-minded people” who turn out to be anything but, then consider joining one, two, or all three of these fellowships. You will not be disappointed!
Obtain a genuine love for someone before you ever say anything. You should be able to pray for them and ask the Lord to soften your heart towards them. Otherwise, if you do go to them, your words may be correct, but your attitude will be wrong…
Jesus did not tolerate hypocrites. And if you are truly one with Him then you will sense His dissatisfaction with those things that claim to represent Him, but do not.