July 3 – What We Long For

“…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and (the) fellowship of his sufferings becoming increasingly conformed to his death if only I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” – Philippians 3:10-11* 

We’re staying with the promises found in Philippians 3:10-11. All who have accepted by faith the righteousness of Christ imputed to our account will experience a longing to know Him, to know God who has made us righteous in Christ. That desire is a reason we have been given the faith and gift of Christ’s work on the cross. Paul says that he longs for an ever-increasing supply of the power that proceeds from the risen and exalted Savior. When the Father raised the Son he thereby proved his acceptance of the ransom paid by Christ as full satisfaction for our sin. Yet we want more. More of the power which comes only from Christ’s resurrection. Like Paul we long to know and participate more and more fully in even the reproaches and afflictions of his Lord and Savior. Paul confesses that sharing in Christ sufferings results in us increasingly conforming to Christ’s death (see Romans 6:4-11). Paul stresses a longing and a striving to be raised completely above sin and selfishness, so that he can be a most effective representative for the salvation of men to the glory of God. But there is more in verses 12-14 next.

*(Translation from: William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of Philippians, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 5:169.)

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July 25 – Here We’re To Walk

“…but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin..” -  1 John 1:7 (NASB)

Today we have a promise that is wondrously great! Yesterday our verse and blog focused on David’s plea for forgiveness and cleansing from God after his sins of adultery and murder. But we know from the record in the Bible that David was one who walked in the Light of God – which our verse talks about today. God knows perfectly well that during our time on earth and until we depart this world and go to heaven, we will face temptations. We will actually commit sins for which we need forgiveness and cleansing. Any person who has by faith from God, believed in Jesus, is a genuine Christian, (a faith believer) and does not walk in darkness but only in the Light, and cleansing from sin continually occurs. As genuine Christians we walk in the Light (truth and holiness); we do not walk in darkness (falsehood and sin). To habitually walk in the Light means we share in the character of God because we permanently abide in Him and He in us. We will be consistently characterized by His holiness (3 John 11), revealing our true fellowship with God.

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February 25 – United in True Unity

“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” – Philippians 2:1-2 (NASB)

Our passage today from the letter to the Philippians, written by Paul the Apostle continues an appeal he made in chapter one. (Let’s remember that chapter divisions and verse markings were applied 1150 and 1500 years later.)  

In Philippians 1:27, Paul wrote about living our Christian life in harmony with the message on which it is based. He followed that message with a call to show spiritual unity. This unity is possible because of the reality of the four qualities mentioned in 2:1. The “if” clauses speak of certainties, about realities, not questionable things. So in this passage “if” may be translated “since.” Paul appealed on the basis of any encouragement from being united in Christ; any comfort from His love; any fellowship with the Spirit; and any tenderness and compassion. We are exhorted furthermore to demonstrate unity in practical ways. This unity is ours in Christ. Our expression of spiritual unity results in complete joy for all. Matching the four realities are four specific ways in which our spiritual unity will be understood. We will find ourselves being like-minded, sharing and showing the same love; united together as one in spirit; and focused on one common purpose.

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December 23 – Close In Fellowship

“…what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3 (NASB)

These words from the Apostle John's first letter are good for us to read this season as we are thinking these days the coming of Jesus as a newborn baby in Bethlehem. This is speaking of the Christmas event we celebrate each December. Tomorrow is the eve of Christmas which we often consider the night of Jesus’ birth in a stable. It was a night of marvelous fulfillment of the promised redeemer. In the verse before (1 John 1:2), The Apostle John wrote that the life was manifested and they had seen it – they were eyewitnesses. God had revealed His life through His Son Jesus and you and I have received new life by believing in Jesus as our Savior. We also read in our verse that this life is a fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus the Son. We are in a close relationship, a fellowship, in which God shares His blessings with us. And that is all because of Jesus. God’s gift of faith enables our acceptance of Him. We trust that you, friend, will experience this Christmas the blessings of this fellowship that has been promised to all who believe.

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November 16 – Called by God

“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

The main statement of this verse is that God is faithful. The special significance of this statement here is based on the project that God is working on. Did you notice what it is that God has done and has planned for us? We read that He has called us into fellowship with His own Son, Jesus Christ.  First we know that God is the one that calls us. We cannot find our own way in.  He calls those he chooses to call.  That is how any of  the believers become members of His family. So what does that mean – to have fellowship with Jesus? It means a relationship of sharing. We enter the family of God by accepting what Jesus did for us on the cross. Once we accept with the faith God has given to us, we are full heirs with Jesus Christ. Now in His family, God calls us to a continual sharing relationship with Jesus – a daily and hourly fellowship with Him. And God will be faithful to make this fellowship real.

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July 3 - Blameless

“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, … - 1 Corinthians 1:4 (NASB)
…who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:8–9 (NASB)

The Apostle Paul used very long and compounded sentence in his letters. Our promises today come from one of those sentences. The passage of verses in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9. The promises are rich and many. Paul knew that believers in his time were under extreme persecution.  Living under Rome which generally allowed the practice of many religions as long as they did not disrupt the peace, Christianity became a focus of those who hated Christ and the Gospel of Jesus. In these verses the first promise is the gift of grace given to all who by faith believe in Christ Jesus. First given on the Day of Pentecost, every person who believes in Jesus receives the Holy Spirit of God indwelling them.  This is a gift of grace promised to us. The promises include enrichment in speech, all knowledge, confirmation of Christ in us, and the promise we are not lacking in any gift. Our confirmation by Jesus Christ is permanent and will last to the end.  We are promised that we will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of God’s faithfulness in calling us into fellowship with, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

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May 12 – Complete Joy Is…

“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”  - Philippians 2:1-2 (NASB)

Let’s right off look at what is promised in these verses.  It is not delivered directly but it is here. It’s a promise of completed joy.  Paul appeals to the Philippians to maintain unity by being of the same mind – that means no division in what they believe in Jesus Christ. And again Paul calls for “the same love” to be maintained in the body.  If they all have the same understanding of their obligation to love one another it would cause a spirit of unity purpose. The first verse establishes the motivation for them to desire and make the effort to have this unity. Paul wants a promise that the joy he has from and for this church to be a complete joy.  Incomplete joy is not really joy, is it?  If we have joy half the time, what do we have the other half.  Do we have a 60/40 split?  If so, it is not a complete joy.  So if our churches have unity, and going the same direction to the same goal and helping all, their success at rejoicing is found in Christ Jesus.  

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April 28 - If He Calls, He Keeps

“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  - 1 Corinthians 1:8–9 (NIV)

Here is one reason we believe it is vitally important to understand that every believer who is saved by faith in Jesus has done nothing themselves to earn or attain that salvation.  We are tempted to think that we somehow had something to do in securing our position God’s Family.  It is appealing to believe that God’s invitation to us happened because we qualified by the good we do to be called.  If that is how we think about receiving the gift of eternal life, we are in jeopardy of losing the same gift by not maintaining our good works.  Because we are saved by faith and not by works, none can boast about having any part in their salvation. We have nothing to contribute and we can trust the promise God has given that it is He who called us, and it is God who reckoned us righteous in Christ Jesus. It is a great and wonderful truth of Scripture that God is faithful and will keep forever those whom he has called.  God will make certain we will keep trusting.  He will do whatever is necessary to keep us trusting.

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March 17 – Amazing Grace, Love, Fellowship

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.”   2 Corinthians 13:14 -  (NASB)

The Apostle Paul who wrote several of the epistles to Churches ended them with now familiar doxologies. Often used as benedictions, we get a promise today from the last verse of this letter.  Given as a blessing by Paul to the church in Corinth, Greece, it is also as a promise prayer.  Paul is praying that the grace, love, and fellowship of God be something that is ours every day.  In this we find again the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are One in God.  It is the way Paul delivers this that reveals the truth of our one and only God in three persons.  The grace is of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The love is of God the Father. The fellowship is of the Holy Spirit.  Each of these reveal to us the special ministry of the Son, the Father and the Spirit all being one God. It is a beautiful prayer and from The Message, a paraphrase version, we have this, “The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.”

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December 12 – Sustainable Fellowship

“[He] will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  - 1 Corinthians 1:8–9  (ESV)

Do we struggle with our inability to live the way Christ has called us?  We know what we are called to do or not do but we fail, so how does that affect us?  There is much that we could say but today we look at one promise in this passage. We are called by God to live according to His will.  When we fail, we confess and God forgives again and again.  But the promise here is that our faith and our position in our Lord Jesus Christ is sustained by Him and will continue to be sustained throughout our lives right up to the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  That is the day that Jesus comes for His church.  We can trust this promise because God is faithful and He has called us into this union which cannot be broken and from which we cannot be separated. God is the one who sustains us in our fellowship with Him. That is something to think  about today, isn't it?

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July 8 – Real True Fellowship

“...what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”   1 John 1:3 (NASB)

In this verse, the writer of this letter, John the disciple of Jesus, says that he wanted to share with his readers the blessings which he had received from knowing Jesus and from knowing his heavenly Father.  The writer of our verse speaks of having fellowship with God in heaven and with His Son, Jesus Christ.  This, of course is specifically about the promised wonderful relationship that is open to all of us here today as well.  And, when we experience this relationship with God and with His Son Jesus, we become aware that God has much more to share with us.  This promise is true every day and through every hour of each day or night.  Let's be sure to be open to experience this blessing by faith in Jesus and His Word given to us. And, let's help those whom we have fellowship with  to know the fellowship they have is with God our Father and Jesus Christ our Savior. 

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May 19 – Faithful Calling

“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:9  (NIV)

Do the words of this verse remind you of the great love of our God in heaven?  We realize that God, who created this world and us has a purpose and plan for His human creatures since the beginning of things.  He has promised to keep us in Him and to make us blameless before God.  He gave us His Son to live here in this word and a part of His plan was to draw His us closer to Himself.  First that we may receive salvation and eternal life and also that we will have a fellowship with Him.  That is what God is calling us to and wanting us to experience.  As we believe in Jesus as our Savior we enter a close relationship with Him and through Him with God our Father in  heaven.  Let's be sure that, by faith, we experience this closeness in our relationship with Jesus our Lord.  He will share Himself with us as we share our needs and desires with Him.  He will faithfully meet all our needs each day as we stay close to Him, our Savior.

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April 15 – Faithfully Called, Faithfully Follow

“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”   1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

Over the past few days we have considered how God desires a relationship with us, His created people. We learn what he has done to provide a way and to draw us closer to Him because He wants us close and in service to His purpose.  We have a wonderful God in heaven.  He created people in this world who then rebelled against His will and separated themselves from God.  So, He sent His Son to become a Savior by providing a way to the Father.  All who choose to believe through faith in Him enter a relationship of fellowship with Jesus.  We become a part of God's family with a close relationship to His Son.  The Christian life is living in fellowship with Jesus who is living in us.  We become a part of God's purpose of reaching others about this calling.  Each day our fellowship deepens and makes our relationship closer and more precious.  One day, it will be fulfilled and made perfect with God in heaven – we can count on that because God is faithful to His word and promises. 

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January 14 – Called to Where We Are

“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”   1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior we should be aware that we have responded to a call given by the great and only God of the universe.   Our verse today reminds us that God has called us into a fellowship with His Son, Jesus.   Therefore we need to keep in mind that when Jesus died for us by taking our place and punishment, that was just the beginning of His involvement in our lives.  As we believe in  Him He becomes a definite part of our experience of faith and this goes on day after day without end.  Let's remember that Jesus is involved each day, He is there as we turn to Him in faith and He is faithful as His Father is also faithful.  Let's take advantage of this and be sure we experience His involvement through this day, and tomorrow, and each day from now on.  

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December 4 – Sharing Together

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”  1 John 1:3 (NIV)

The Apostle John who was one of the twelve disciples of our Lord Jesus, wrote not only the Gospel of John but also three letters to those who believed in Jesus.  As we think now at Christmas time, of the coming of Jesus we need to appreciate what His coming means to us.  In our verse today, John reminds us that Jesus offers us His fellowship.  The word fellowship really speaks to a relationship of sharing and of having things in common with each other. Jesus came from heaven to share with human creatures things of eternal value.  He has brought us the prospect and the assurance of eternal life.  We have received the promise of fellowship with Jesus forever in heaven and also the promise of His presence with us each day we live on this earth until then.  Fellowship is what we can enjoy with each believer and with Him, our Savior.  

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Please take a moment to share with friends.

August 5 – Share and Share Alike

“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:9 (NASB)

Our Bible often reminds us of the plans that God has for those He created, and what He wants to do for us.  Today we have a verse with such a reminder.  When Jesus was here on earth, He had some very close relationships with those whom He called to follow Him.  They were together with Him day after day for three years.  They walked with Him, ate with Him, and stayed where He stayed.  They shared with Him in these temporal things and He also shared with them many spiritual and eternal truths.  Well, isn't this a matter of true fellowship?   A basic meaning of the word fellowship is that of sharing, of having things in common with each other.  That is what God has called us to – a relationship where Jesus shares with us His eternal life and His eternal truth.  We know the promise that God is faithful and he is calling to us each day to share our lives with him, and His life through us.  That is a promise that will not be broken. 

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July 30 – Called to Believe

“God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9 (NASB)

Our physical life begins when we are born and for those who choose to believe, our Christian life begins when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior.  His act of love brings to us a new life, an eternal life.  We recognize that this idea did not originate with us.  Saving us was God's idea and we see this truth in today's verse.  The Christian life is not something we work out for ourselves. It has always been God idea and plan and He is calling us into it.  Our verse tells us that it is a relationship with Jesus Himself – a relationship of sharing heavenly things which we could never know or possess otherwise.  God calls us into this sharing relationship to experience fellowship with Him.   He also is the one who accomplishes it.  That's what our verse means with the words, “God is faithful,” He will make His call to become true for us today if we will let him. He promises to be faithful because He cannot be otherwise. Let's be faithful today in our belief in Jesus' promise.

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July 8 – Never Too Far Away

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20   (ESV)

It is good for us to remember that God's love for us will never cease. As we looked at in our blog entry yesterday, His love abounds toward us.  This truth is one of the lessons in the parable Jesus told called the story of the Prodigal Son.  It is recorded in the Gospel of Luke. Our verse describes the father's reaction to his son's return.  We know that Jesus told this story to remind us of the love of God our Father.  Yes, our God knows when we start turning back to Him no matter how far we have gone in our own way. When we start thinking about Him again, He knows it.  And He is ready to meet us on the way and bring us back into close fellowship again.  All this is true with every experience we have even after we become Christians. God waits for us every day to come close to Him.  When we do, He receives us with open arms and a warm heart of love.  Sometimes we may feel and think that we have drifted too far away from God but His promise is that He sees us even when we are a long way off and His compassion is abundant.  

June 2 – Seeking Earnestly

“O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1 (ESV)

David was in the dry desert when he wrote these words. He described the place as being dry and without water to drink. You and I may not be in that kind of a place physically but we might still share some of the thoughts that David had. I'm thinking of the words, “my soul thirsts for you.”  David's heart and soul longed for close fellowship with God and the reason for that is given in the first words of our verse. David could tell God “you are my God;” This he had learned by past experience and that's why he longed always for close fellowship with God. Can we say the same? If we have experienced this promise that the Lord is our God, we'll be always longing for constant fellowship with Him – it is a natural outcome for us to desire and seek the close presence of God and He has promised it to us today and forever. 

December 23 – Close In Fellowship

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3 (NIV)

These words from the Apostle John's first letter are good for us to read this season as we are thinking these days of the Christmas event, the coming of Jesus as a newborn baby in Bethlehem. In the verse before, John had written that the life was manifested and they had seen it. God had revealed His life through His Son Jesus and you and I have receive new life by believing in Jesus as our Savior. We also read in our verse that this life is a fellowship with God the Father and with Jesus. This fellowship is a close relationship in which God shares His blessings with us. And that is all a result of the coming of Jesus and our acceptance of Him. We trust that you, friend, will experience this Christmas the blessings of this fellowship that has been promised to all who believe.