Day 17
Chapter Seventeen: A Place to Belong
Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connected and dependent on each other. -Rick Warren
I think that this statement is important because it acknowledges the fact that believers are not perfect, and are in need of one another for support.
It may seem easier to be holy when no one else is around to frustrate your preferences, but that is a false untested holiness. Isolation breeds deceitfulness; it is easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are mature if there is no one to challenge us. Real maturity shows up in relationships. -Rick Warren
This is so true. I am challenged all the time. Most of the people who I spend my time with are not believers, and so in being questioned all the time regarding my beliefs surprisingly strengthen my beliefs-because I have to research all the time to ensure that I am not leading myself or them astray. However, it would be nice to be among a group of people who were also believers so that I could learn from them as well.
Why is it important to join a local church family? Because it proves you are committed to your spiritual brothers and sisters in reality not just in theory. God wants you to love real people, not ideal people. You can spend a lifetime searching for the perfect chruch, but you will never find it. You are called to love imperfect sinners, just as God does. -Rick Warren
This statement strikes me deeply as recently my husband and I have stopped going to the church we were married in. We still wrestle with that decision...and perhaps it is time to revisit our reasoning...since we were essentially asking for perfection.
Point to Ponder: I am called to belong, not just believe.
Verse to Remember: Romans 12:5 In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Question to Consider: Does my level of involvement in my local church demonstrate that I love and am committed to God's family?
Not at all. I know that in this area, I need to be more diligent. Right now, since we have left our old church, we have not yet become members of the church we have been attending. Our involvement in the church is probably less than what it used to be, even though the reasons for us leaving is the distance in which our old church was located barring us from taking part in many of the activities. Closer doesn't necessitate more motivation in this regard. Something that I need to talk to my husband about.
Only in regular contact with ordinary, imperfect believers can we learn real fellowship and experience the New Testament truth of being connected and dependent on each other. -Rick Warren
I think that this statement is important because it acknowledges the fact that believers are not perfect, and are in need of one another for support.
It may seem easier to be holy when no one else is around to frustrate your preferences, but that is a false untested holiness. Isolation breeds deceitfulness; it is easy to fool ourselves into thinking we are mature if there is no one to challenge us. Real maturity shows up in relationships. -Rick Warren
This is so true. I am challenged all the time. Most of the people who I spend my time with are not believers, and so in being questioned all the time regarding my beliefs surprisingly strengthen my beliefs-because I have to research all the time to ensure that I am not leading myself or them astray. However, it would be nice to be among a group of people who were also believers so that I could learn from them as well.
Why is it important to join a local church family? Because it proves you are committed to your spiritual brothers and sisters in reality not just in theory. God wants you to love real people, not ideal people. You can spend a lifetime searching for the perfect chruch, but you will never find it. You are called to love imperfect sinners, just as God does. -Rick Warren
This statement strikes me deeply as recently my husband and I have stopped going to the church we were married in. We still wrestle with that decision...and perhaps it is time to revisit our reasoning...since we were essentially asking for perfection.
Point to Ponder: I am called to belong, not just believe.
Verse to Remember: Romans 12:5 In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Question to Consider: Does my level of involvement in my local church demonstrate that I love and am committed to God's family?
Not at all. I know that in this area, I need to be more diligent. Right now, since we have left our old church, we have not yet become members of the church we have been attending. Our involvement in the church is probably less than what it used to be, even though the reasons for us leaving is the distance in which our old church was located barring us from taking part in many of the activities. Closer doesn't necessitate more motivation in this regard. Something that I need to talk to my husband about.
posted by Kassi Gilbert | 9:27 PM
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