House Church Talk - House church or simply church wherever people are

[Bruce Woodford]

Brothers and Sisters,

When Christians from various backgrounds, who have various convictions, 
different perspectives, different personalities and different gifts 
encounter others in their fellowship who have different opinions....how may 
interpersonal relationships be maintained, protected and nurtured without 
the need for fighting, splitting and going our separate ways?

When a man and a woman get married, all of these features are brought 
forceably into play and there are many variables that can contribute to 
their separation and divorce.

In a marriage, what basic understandings will make such choices totally 
unacceptable options?

What kinds of attitudes and actions need to be exercised on a daily basis to 
make that marriage work?

So too, in Christ, all of these features are brought into play whenever 2 or 
more Christians interact in any meanigful way.

So may I ask: -What basic understandings will make choices to fight with or 
split from other believers totally unacceptable options?

What kinds of attitudes and actions need to be exercised on a daily basis to 
make fellowship with other saints work out practically where the rubber 
meets the road?

Is such a prospect just an illusive "pipe dream"  or is it the reality to 
which we have been called by our God?

Is it not by this very means that God has given the world the right to judge 
the reality of our profession to be disciples of Christ (John 13:34,35)?

Is it not by our very practical submission to God and His Word, and our 
submission one to another when the whole church in a city comes together 
into one place that will cause unbelievers who come in to fall down on their 
faces and confess that God is in us of a truth? I Cor.14:23-25

Is it not the goal by which God has determined to manifest His wisdom to 
principlalities and powers in heavenly places (Eph.3:8-10)?

If these things are true, what lessons should we be learning when we 
experience "bumps in the road" like we have the last few days?   When we 
experience disagreements, aggravations and problems of many kinds in our 
home church fellowships, do we "waste" those problems by simply trying to 
avoid them in the future, or do we ask the Lord, "What do you want us to 
learn?"  "What lessons do you want to teach us?"  "How do we need to depend 
more fully on You?

Personally, I'm convinced that God allows, yes even sends us such 
difficulties! If we learn from them, we graduate from first into second 
grade. But if we won't learn, He'll continue to send the same kinds of 
problems UNTIL WE DO!  But once we learn what He wanted to teach us in first 
grade, He sends along a different set of problems by which we eventually 
learn that His ways are best and graduate from the second grade.

Since He is determined to conform us to the image of Christ, how can we 
co-operate with Him with that end in view?

One with you in Christ who has a long way yet to go,
Bruce

_________________________________________________________________
Scan and help eliminate destructive viruses from your inbound and outbound 
e-mail and attachments. 
 
  Start enjoying all the benefits of MSN® Premium right now and get the 
first two months FREE*.