April 29

“Discipleship is personally transferring the full dimensions of your relationship with Christ to the person you are walking with.  It is not the imparting of spiritual disciplines as much as it is acquainting another with a Person you love.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-By-Day, 4/29

This is what a church is to be.  Actually, it begins in the family--this living out Christ’s life in your relationships.  You have to be in a close relationship in order for this to happen.  So, if this is what a church is to be also, then those in the church must have opportunities to “live” together.  This can’t happen on Sunday mornings.  It can only happen in small group settings--regular and ongoing gatherings.  To try to have an intimate relationship with others requires the same ingredients you find in a family:  team work, respect, acceptance, caring and concern, and it goes without saying, love.  Church is more than just a place to be taught spiritual disciplines.  It is a place to practice them in the confines of community.  It is only in community that we can see if we’ve learned those disciplines.  And it is in community that we experience God’s love for us.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”  Hebrews 10:24, 25