“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”  (Psalm 122)

“Likewise greet the church that is in their house.”  (Romans 16)

 

Reader,
What happens when a piece of charcoal is removed from a burning grill?  It cools down.

What happens when you put a tea bag into hot water?  The flavour comes out.

What happens when a Christ-ian is removed or keeps away from other Christ-ians?   S/he cools down.

What happens when a Christ-ian is among other Christ-ians?  That Christ-ians is strengthened, encouraged, renewed, revived, refreshed.

 

Christ-ian reader,
The above is true and the above is they way God intended things to be.  In the Old Testament God said it was not good for man to be alone.  In the O.T. God’s people were in tribes.  These tribes made up God’s chosen nation.  In the New Testament, we are many members of One Body with Christ as the Head. In the N.T. we are many members of the Church and the Church makes up the Bride of Christ.

We are told the Holy Spirit desended and took up residency in the Temple of God, who is the individual Christ-ian believer. When He did this He brought certain gifts to certain persons. The Spirit of God gave gifts, “severally as [H]e will.  The purpose of these gifts is to benefit the church.  The Christ-ian, you, reader, have been given a gift and God intends you to use it for the benefit of the Church.  You cannot simply receive this gift(s) and keep it to yourself.

Example: Let’s say there are five (5) persons and these five (5) persons have widgets and these widgets need batteries.  You, Reader, have all the batteries for these widgets.  Without your batteries these widgets will not work.  Therefore these five (5) persons with five (5) widgets can do nothing but sit and waste time all because you have the batteries but you will not show up and do your part, you will not show up and BE your part.

When I talk about church, I’m using it very broadly.  Church can be the traditional Sunday services at the local church building: Sunday School, Sunday morning service, Sunday evening service, with a mid week service and possibly a youth group.

There is also the small group meetings during the week and then all the small groups meet together for Sunday services.  Some churches have a church building and satellite locations where believers meet and watch and listen to the head-pastor via video screen. In these satellite locations there are associate pastors.

The home church or the house church or the para church is a growing segment in the body of Christ. The Bible references this church, methinks, nine (9) times. When the church began it began in the homes of Christ-ian believers. It seems the church has come full circle in this way.  The church began in homes and it seems that for many the church is going back to homes.

The point of this article is not to rate these churches or to say which one is better. The point of this article is to demonstrate to Christ-ian believers that there is a place for everyone there is a place that should appeal to everyone.

This writer is a preacher, teacher, pastor that ministers out of his home.  That is not to say we have broken from the local N.T. Churches.  NO! Not at all.  We are so happy to be known and loved by pastors and their church’s in our area. We are happy to love these pastors and their churches, as well. The pastors of these local churches and this writer share our thoughts with each other.  This writers gifts are being used on Sundays and whenever we meet with pastors or others from these churches. Our gifts are being used when God puts us into the path of another or another into the path of this writer.

Reader, You are meant to be part of a local church in whatever form it might take.  To be absent from the church is to withold your blessings from them and to miss out on their blessings for you.  Reader, the Church is to be a world unto itself.  The Church is the world whereunto God sent His only begotten Son.

The church is full of persons that are meant to help one another. Preachers, teachers, mechanics, nurses, doctors, landscapers, contruction workers, bankers, accountants, lawyers, chefs, administrators, psychiatrists, psychologists, engineers, etc. etc. etc.  Within the church there are persons that can help each other…we do not take these persons for granted, but we know to Whom they answer and therefore we know we are getting a good deal and the best service available as they do their work as unto the Lord.

We are fully aware that the church, in general, is not healthy, this we know.  We know there is a mixed multitude in the church.  We know that sound doctrine is not being taught in every church.  All this is known, but we also know there are bastions of truth as well. God promises to leave Himself a witness in this world.

Reader, you must tap into a source somewhere, somehow.  There are places on FB that will help you keep warm like a piece of charcoal. But that is not enough…it is not good that man should be alone. The moment one becomes a Christ-ian that Christ-ian becomes a target of (s)atan and his minion.  Look at our Lord Jesus,  As soon as He was baptized, where was He led? Why was He led there?

The Lord Jesus, after His baptizm, was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil for forty (40) days.  Christ-ian, Are you to be different?  I say nea.  When you became a Christ-ian, you became an enemy and a focal point of the enemy.  You need back up and that is found in the church, whatever form it takes.

There be no, “Yeah, Buts”  Tap into the power of Christ’s body and make it stronger and greater.