FELLOWSHIP

...you too may have fellowship with us & indeed our fellowship is with the Father & with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3

I remember when I started serving with the Church. I was terrified. I so longed to help but really struggled relationally. Being a loner most of the time had become a safe place. Little did I know that the walls I had built to protect myself inside of had become my own prison & fear had kept me there. Fear of failure, of getting hurt. Which are natural feelings but how I was dealing with them was not healthy.

Genesis 2:18 The Lord said, "It is not good for man to be alone." Studies have found that to be true. It is scientifically proven that loneliness is bad for your health. It distorts your thinking & makes you vulnerable to addiction. No wonder the Lord says it is not good to be alone.

So how do we push through the fears & embrace fellowship with others? Pray and ask the Lord to guide you where to go.  Join a Church & home group & begin to share with others how they can pray for you. I tried a few Churches before I ended up where I knew the Lord wanted me to be. Boy, was there room to grow in fellowship there!

The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, meaning, partnership, participation & communication all of which involves other people. Learning to work with others will get messy because of human nature. Maybe that's why forgiveness is so important. Choosing not to get offended & do the hard work of getting along with one another produces good results. (James 3:18) It provides the perfect place to grow as individuals & learn more about ourselves & others in the process. Only then can we experience the kind of joy God wants us to have that comes from being in fellowship with one another. John continues in verse 4. ...and we are writing these things that our joy may be complete. The joy of knowing you are loved & forgiven by God & man through Jesus Christ. That’s what real joy is all about!

Training for Discovery Time volunteers who want to teach Bible lessons to children is coming up! Email Laura at llawrence@cefmanitoba.org to attend or to maybe have one at your Church too = )

Laura Lawrence,
Discovery Time Director