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Nov.10.06: Light for the Day - "Walking Together"
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-- Ephesians 4:5
One Lord, One Faith,
One Baptism.
-- 1 Corinthians 1:9-10
9 God, who has called you into fellowship with
His Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree with one another so that there may be
no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united
in mind and thought.
-- Matthew 18:19-20
19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning
anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in
heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My Name,
I am there in the midst of
them.
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How much do you think about that miracle that happens when you reach over, click on the lamp by your bed, and the room fills with light? You probably don’t give it much thought at all. But what if one part of that lamp were missing? Without a switch no electricity would travel to the bulb. Without a bulb, the electricity has nothing to illuminate. If there were no lampshade, the light would be blinding. If there were no stand or base, the lamp would fall over and might even burn a hole in your mattress. To work effectively and provide you with just the right amount of light, each part of the lamp must be present and operational. In the same way, light comes to the world as unique individuals come together in fellowship.
Jesus and His disciples knew the value of fellowship. When He was preparing for His ministry, Jesus chose twelve individuals to travel with Him and share in all His experiences. Twelve very different men – with different personalities, lifestyles, professions, temperaments, social status – united in love and devotion to Jesus and the heavenly Father He came to tell them about. Together, they traveled through the countryside changing lives in every place that they visited.
The early church came together in order to receive encouragement and strength during a time of persecution and severe hardship. The members were weak and vulnerable on their own, but together they were strong. Together they were able. Together they brought hope to those who were without hope. Together they ushered in the age of the Holy Spirit, demonstrating His power through miracles, and His nature through their selflessness.
The principle of fellowship is one that still works today. As you come together with other believers, you help to bring the light of God’s love to those around you.
The lone range only diminished the influence your life can have in the world. Make an effort to come together with others in true godly fellowship. That will require you to make a commitment – not only to God, but also to other believers. You must be committed to spending time together, to listening to one another, to working together for the common good. It requires a commitment to lay aside petty disagreements and let God use you to help bring light to a darkened world.
-- Checklist4Life
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-- Psalms 34:3
Glorify the LORD with me;
Let us exalt His Name together.
-- Ephesians 4:3-7
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the
bond of peace.
4 There is One body and One Spirit -- just as you were called to
One Hope when you were called --
5 One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism;
6 One God and Father of all, Who is over all and
through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ
apportioned it.
-- Ephesians 2:18-22
18 For through Christ we both have access to the Father by
One Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens,
but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of
God’s household,
20 Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus Himself as the Chief Cornerstone.
21 In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to
become a Holy Temple in the Lord.
22 And in Him you too are being built together to become a
dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit
-- Acts 2:41-44
41 Those who accepted his message
were baptized, and about
three thousand were added to their number
that day.
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to
the
fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and
miraculous
signs were done by the apostles.
44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as
any had need.
46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple
courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together
with glad and sincere hearts,
47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.
And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved.
-- 1 Corinthians 12
1 And now, dear brothers and sisters, I will write about the
special abilities the Holy Spirit gives to each of us,
for I must correct your misunderstandings about them.
2 You know that when you were still pagans you were led astray
and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.
3 So I want you to know how to discern what is truly from God:
No one speaking by the Spirit of God can curse Jesus, and no
one is able to say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works
all in all..
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for
the common good.
8 To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom,
to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by
that One Spirit,
10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another
distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different
kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit,
and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though
all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
13 For we were all baptized by One Spirit into One body --
whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free --
and we were all given the One Spirit to drink.
14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong
to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body.
16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not
belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be
part of the body.
17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of
hearing be? If the whole body were an ear,
where would the
sense of smell be?
18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body,
every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.
19 If they were all one part, where would the body be?
20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don’t need you!" And
the head cannot say to the feet, "I don’t need you!"
22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be
weaker are indispensable,
23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with
special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are
treated with special modesty,
24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
But God has combined the members of the body and has
given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,
25 so that there should be no division in the body,
but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it;
if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27 Now you are the Body of Christ,
and each one of you is a part of it.
28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles,
second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles,
also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others,
those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in
different kinds of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?
Do all work miracles?
30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues?
Do all interpret?
31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
-- Hebrews 10:22-25
22 Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full
assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to
cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having
our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for He who promised is faithful.
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another
on toward love and good deeds.
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in
the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another --
and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
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