ballzy

The congregation; A group of believers that form a body. If we do not come together, then how can we form a body. Since each of us is gifted with different gifts and abilities, we need to congregate together in order to achieve a harmonious body. What is a body if it doen not posess the hand or the foot? What good can the hand be if it is seperate from the body? I believe that this is one of the reasons why it is so important to be a part of a congregation of believers. We NEED each other. If God has stated that we are to be a dwelling place for Him when we come together, that is huge. By our refusal to come together, we are hindering the total experience that God has chosen for us. We can not be the complete dwelling if parts are missing. I have chosen to be a part of a congregation of believers, to use my gifts and talents to glorify Christ. To do my best to be obedient to His calling by accepting joyfully whatever it is that He asks me to do. I have seen Matthew 18:20 used here a couple of times to illustrate the point of a gathering of believers and it is my opinion that this verse has been used out of context by many people as a justification for not being part of a church congregation. Matt 18 was written specifically abut church discipline and that "by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed". If the Holy Spirit, hence God dwells in each believer than Christ is in their midst when they are alone. This verse was never intended to show that a church congregation was not what God wanted for us. Without our church family we do not belong, we just believe. How can we be a part of the Body of Christ, if we are not part of a body?

Q2. (Ephesians 1:18c) If you knew that in a few years you would inherit $10 million, would it affect your life now? How should our expectation of an inheritance in God's presence temper our present-day concerns? Since this inheritance will be shared with "the saints" -- our Christian family -- how should that affect our fellowship with them? Wow......at first glance, one would imagine that the answer to this question would have something to do with money, but that is not the case for me. When you are aware of a large inheritance in your future, you would need to prepare yourself to accept that inheritance. It would place a responsibility upon yourself to do what was neccesary to make those preparations. This is what should happen to us as believers when we become aware of our inheritance in God. Speaking for myself, this is the reason why I work on my relationship with the Lord by reading the Bible, doing studies such as this one, ministry work, etc. My greatest concern in life is to deepen my relationship with the Lord. As for affecting our fellowship with our Christian family, those ties shopuld also deepen. Growing together with our family, sharing our lives...good and bad, our concerns and our prayers can only deepen those relationships and make them more productive.

Q1. (Ephesians 1:18b) What do we Christians have to look forward to? One word....HEAVEN!! How should this hope be a major motivation in our present-day lives? Since we know God's promses are true, we need not fear the evil that surrounds us in this world. How should this hope effect our decisions and our lifestyle? We must be motivated to live our lives here and now with the realization that it is only a temporary resting place. How does our great hope differ from the hope of the average non-believer? Non believers live with the fear that this world is all there is, what a horrifying thought. We do not have to let this world bring us down because we know that everything here will be used for God's glory.