The Challenge
Spend a few minutes reading, praying, and meditating on the following verses:
Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Challenge: In your journal (or here https://www.quiettime.today/journal) write down the names of 3 Christians whom you would like to encourage towards love and good works. Pray for each of them and ask God that you could have a positive influence on them. Then ask them to do the Quiet Time Abundant Life Challenge by sending them the text of the Introduction which you received before the Day 1 challenge (which can also be found here: https://www.quiettime.today/blog/abundant-life-challenge)
Bonus verse:
1 John 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
More information: https://www.quiettime.today/blog/challenge-7
More Information
The topic for day 7 is fellowship, our relationships with other Christians. Fellowship is a bunch of fellows in the same ship. We are on a journey and we are in the same boat with other Christians in our life, on our way to the same destination. We have to work together, and do it well, in order to reach that destination. If we all row in different directions, we will get nowhere. But if we row in sync, with the power of the Holy Spirit, nothing can stop us from reaching our goal.
Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
The bible places significant emphasis on our relationships with other Christians. A study into the commands of the New Testament revealed that the second largest category of NT commands deal with how we Christians treat each other (the largest category is discernment about what we believe). When Jesus sent out the disciples, He sent them two by two. When Paul went on missionary journeys, he did not travel alone, and from his letters it is clear that he always worked with a team of other Christians.
Why is that? Why did God place so much emphasis on the relationships we have among each other as Christians? Some of the reasons are:
For his glory. Whenever we do things that make God look good in the eyes of others, we give Him glory. And harmonious relationships amongst Christians (and Christian families for sure) make God look good. Bad relationships amongst Christians and broken Christian families make God look bad.
John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
To encourage each other. The Christian life is not easy. Jesus calls it a narrow gate and a difficult way. When we travel it all alone, we can get discouraged and may give up. But having our Christian friends encourage us when we struggle, helps us enormously to stay on track.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
To keep each other accountable. We all stumble at times and we all face a relentless enemy who will never stop trying to get us off track. So we need good Christians friends who will warn us when we’re about to wander from the narrow and difficult way that leads to life. We need to remain humble and value the input that our brothers and sisters give us lovingly. And we need to love others enough to confront them when needed.
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
Matthew 18:15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
In addition to spending time with other Christians for all the above reasons, we should also be careful to not make intimate friendships with unbelievers. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. When we spend more time with unbelievers than with Christians, we will expose ourselves to a lot of peer pressure that will try to pull us in the wrong direction.
Proverbs 12:26 The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.
One model of Christian friendships is that we should strive to have a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy in our lives. A Paul is a mentor, a more mature Christian from whom we can learn. A Barnabas is a good Christian friend who is at our own maturity level, and who runs the Christian race with us. They will challenge us and help us, and they are very much part of the abundant life. And finally, we need a Timothy, a younger believer who we can help in their spiritual growth.
One way in which we can encourage other Christians is to do the Abundant Life Challenge with them.
Comments
Respond to this Post