Sunshine Miller

Q1. (Ephesians 5:21-24) What does "submission" mean in regards to the Church's relationship to Christ? What does your own submission to Christ mean in practical experience? What would a congregation look like that actually took seriously submitting its corporate life to Christ? We talk about Christ being the Head of the Church. What does this mean in actual practice, if anything? I being the Temple, the church being the Body; submission is to be of Service... willingly and obedient to the Lord, with a loving responsiveness. Submit ourselves to one another as if we are serving the Lord whether they be born again or not. My submission is not letting go of my will, for my will chooses. My will is based upon my understanding " the Will of My Lord"... my Master. My willingness to submit is due to Discerning of the Spirit to which I may or may not choose to submit to. I can be of Service to the Body; in submission to the Lord, without submission to the things of the Flesh. Submitting it's corporate life to Christ; the Head of the Body (church). Oh wouldn't this be a joyous site to see!!!? To actually see each one of us practicing every area of our lives to Glorifying Him. From the one who Rules us (Jesus; chosen King) down to the toes. Since He sees us No Respector of Persons... how wonderful for each one of us ... no matter what position we held them to; who would be of loving service to each other... Humbly. I can see this happening, but we must be willing. I would not be able to stop Rejoicing!!!

A Healthy Congregation; a healthy mind and Body. Anxiety can kill a healthy mind and body. Come to me all ye who are weary and heavy laden for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. As the Diciples lived each day working closely with Jesus... they were watching, listening, learning side by side. Mistakes were made and corrected. Iron sharpens iron. Eventually they parted and they were sent into different parts of the World; yet on the same Journey. All had one purpose... to serve; the will of God. Their main Focus was as the Holy Spirit directed. The foundation was laid and they built upon it. Each one of us has been given direction also to follow as the Holy Spirit leads and when we and others are not hindering the leading of the Holy Spirit people are taught, and others are lead to follow His example. The gifts of the Holy Spirit work in Unity in and through us when we are not hindering Him. He balances our lives and we work in the order of which the gifts are to be used. We actually are not winning souls... the Holy Spirit prompts the Heart of a man or woman to come to the Knowledge of Him and through us we can lead them to repentence and salvation... for He bought and paid the Cost already. One can see and feel the Lightness of His burdens when we are all together and the Balance and order of the Gifts seem to fall into place. This is a Healthy Mind... a Healthy Body... Balanced and Orderly. We really do need to grow up and loose ourselves of the Fleshly hinderances.

Since the Pastor is who many will look up to I would hope his concern for the flock would be guidance: pointing them the way. We all have the ability to help one another in their preparation to be equipped. The Lord gave to the Diciples the equipping of the word, used by faith, followed by example, and with much prayer. He gave them the Authority by which was given unto Him by His (Abba) Father. I did notice that even Jesus had the Holy Spirit come upon Him... this was to empower Him. Therefore; by the use of the word, through faith, with much prayer and authority... the Holy Spirit empowered them. Getting paid to do the will of God just does not fair well with me. I do believe we should bring into the House our tithes and offerings and if we are able support those who are willing to leave it all for the wide open mission field out there. People did help to support the Diciples and Jesus... they were given at times a place of Hospitality, but Jesus said He had no place to lay His head. Some of them mentioned in the word of how others would sell their land and anything in excess to support those in need. I do however lack in understanding to those who minister and pay with tithes; $5000 for a dog, 4.5 million for a home with security and men who are considered the Bouncers for God's annointed. Did God and His followers ever need a bouncer? The Lord would have Rebuked this. The best part of learning to be equipped was asking God questions and Him sending others to me to help me understand what actually equipping meant. The Book of Acts and Ephesians really helped me also.

A Pastor is a Leader: just as the Teacher a leader. Main position in the Body is to Watch over the Flock... speak the word revealed to him/her and set a Godly example within the gathering and outside of the gathering. He/she should know their position within the Body and allow the rest of the Body to function in an orderly way so that he/she is not overly-burdened. Being at the neck of the Body (for God is the Head), he/she operates by the Word and leading of the Holy Spirit. A stiff neck causes much Division within the Body and can give the Head a Head ache... unless the rest of the Body is in agreeance with the neck and that creates a Snub to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in time leaves the neck... leaves the body and the Empty Bobble Head leads the Flock to Destruction. Both Teacher and Pastor speak the Word... one will speak in Sermons and the other will break the word down with questions and answers... giving special attention to those who may not understand. I say if you don't understand the Preacher in the sermons given go to the pastor and discuss what you don't understand. The teacher may have not been listening... or even if he/she was listening and if he/she is in agreement with the Pastor you may get an answer based upon what they know. Seek out the word of God with prayer; and God being the head will reveal to you what Truth is. Finally: although Pastors are to build up one another in the Body... they are to also ... remind the Body of repentence and order within the Body. We also in the Body ( who are not Pastors ) are also considered Teachers... each one has a responsibility to set an example for others. People are watching you so therefore you are Teaching others by your words, behavior, attitude... actions. Please remember all within the Body are of Flesh...so even if you admire them and think they are the Greatest person you have ever met... they are of Flesh and can make mistakes... keep your eyes on God; not any man or woman. One can appoint him or her self to be your keeper, but they can also set a net for you. Good Intentions can lead to Generous Trouble. Ordained or not... if they truly be called by God and minister the Truth of God's Word... you will know them by their Fruit. Use Discernment and examine the spirits to which speak. I would rather you not be ignorant of the Word of God. He loves you too much.

The question was asked for an opinion... so here goes. Jesus (cornerstone) the foundation; the apostles built upon the foundation. Notice: all Apostles who stood by God's word never ended up hanging themselves. All Apostles and Prophets called by God would edify, encourage, lead, keep in order the Body. They came to and spoke, and wrote to the Body with words of encouragement; yet also speaking with Discipline and Correction in Love. They Glorified God and not themselves... they never just spoke of " the one sided" love of God, but through love they spoke the Truth and that meant to Examine; and when needed to correct the errors within the Body, and through Truth bring them into Repentence. God's love has two sides to it: Edification and Dicipline... otherwise He would not be known as the God of Just Judgement. When the power of the Holy Spirit speaks words through us those words will not hold anyone in Bondage; in Truth those words will bring about Liberty in Him. Lv, Sunshine

Only from experience: all Evangelists look the same... with only one difference... they seem to light up while sharing the word, and speaking to others about Jesus. But every Evangelist I have ever run into... whether they knew it or not, would come and say something to me that God put on their heart and they were always on target. They get up to share something the Lord reveals to them: whether it be to Edify or whether it be to draw people to repentence. They seem to have courage and a boldness and are not drawn to do anything other than to speak the Gospel. They seem to witness with ease and can preach the word strongly. Evangelists are seemingly drawn to places where they are able to give a word... they go where the Holy Spirit takes them. They have a Gifted Ability to Teach and I have seen young Evangelists who have the gift of Wisdom beyond their years. The Church should always encourage the Evangelist and pray for them... too many today have called themselves to be Prophets... when they are actually Evangelists... too many have called themselves to Pastor when they are actually Evangelists. There is a difference.

By His wonderful grace He gives to us so Freely. Each one in the Body has received a gift; and as one matures they will find more than one gifting. Now as one matures the giftings of the Holy Spirit work well together if we ourselves are not being hindered. Just as the Body being made up of more than one part... all parts function together. When one part of the Body is not functioning the body seems not balanced and it takes greater effort to bring the body into balance. If one body had 4 arms and 6 legs and only half a brain there would be continual chaos, disorder, and confusion. But each part of the body has it's function and works well together in an orderly functional way. Using gifts or even esteeming or envying of one's gifts can also cause an imbalance; if used for Ambition and not for the glory of God. All giftings are given freely and are to be used in an orderly, balance to Glorify Him; the giver of all gifts. I don't think I could add any more to this: I read what each person wrote and found that some were so on target... and really enjoyed reading.

What act could I practice over the next two weeks... regarding Unity. Not to devulge in Me at all. Listen... just listen. Encourage with a smile, or hug or touch. Listening to others... and praying on what was heard. It causes one to be more sensitive... and teaches us how to Discern. It causes one to be more Sensitive to the Spirit of the Lord and His leading. Not by what my heart desires, but by what He desires of me. Not doing things the best way I think I know how to do them, but to do them as lead by God. Just Listen and learn would be the best for me. Area of Repentence? I allowed a few people I care about to put a stumbling block before me and it seeded Doubt. I felt Condemnation and fell into a depressed state for a few days... emotions (only because I love them) stirred up a feeling that caused me to think Twice about what God is doing in my life. The area of Unity could not have come at a better time in my life... for it only Confirmed for me what is truly in the heart of man/woman and God proved to me "cursed is he who puts his trust in man... for no good thing comes out of the heart of man" I want to believe everyone is good... I want to believe all people have good in them... but I now know that the Only Good that Truly comes from a Heart is having a Heart of God. My repentence is for: allowing the Doubt, believing in man, getting angry and allowing myself to withdraw. But I rejoice in Him because He picked me up out of this SELF PITYING state and again proved to me HE IS THE VICTOR IN VICTORY... I AM ONLY VICTORIOUS THROUGH HIM THAT MAKES EVERYTHING PERFECT IN ME. FOR MY WORKS DEAL WITH FLESH AND HIS WORKS DEAL WITH POWERS AND PRINCIPALITIES. HE HAS VICTORY OVER DEATH AND AS MY CREATOR HE WILL PROVIDE HIS VICTORY THROUGH ME. Victory in Jesus... my Savior forever.

One Baptism, unite Us rather than to Divide? Maintain Unity of the Spirit? May or may not Disagree of the Administration of the Baptism?. Unity blur our Faithfulness to the Biblical Understanding? Finding a Balance. I believe in only what the Word says to us; I would say According to scripture there is a Baptism in water and a Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us an example on how He was to be Baptised; therefore Uniting us in His example... likemindedness. The Division is termed: to divide, cut, slice, separate. In essence we are Divided by a separation of the Word. Example: telling only part of a message and one would have many questions due to only revealing bits and pieces of the message. The Administration of the Baptism was set forth by the example of Jesus for us to follow. Unity to the Spirit is following in His ways. Unity to man can only Blur our faithfulness to Biblical Understanding; while all understanding of the Word is revealed to us by the One who calls Himself the Word. Jesus said that we not know of these things by way of our own understanding, but through the Knowledge of Him. Finding Balance in it all is to know that all Babes and Mature in Christ are growing and learning. Our path is the same, but the Focus is to look straight ahead; not to the right nor to the left or we lose sight of Him who is in the Lead. Once the focus is on man/woman we follow in their paths and not His one and only path. Lv, Sunshine

ONE GOD/LORD/MASTER/KING ONE SPIRIT/BAPTISM ONE FAITH/HOPE ONE BODY/MIND/HEART ONE CALLING MOST COMPELLING... ONE GOD/LORD/MASTER/KING/SPIRIT/BODY/MIND/HEART AND HOPE. KNOWING THAT EACH ONE OF US ARE BEING MADE PERFECT BY HIM and not by our own efforts; except one, which is Willingness... I hope for the things He desires for us; to die of the flesh and be manifested Whole in Him. Lv, sunshine

Where Does God's Power Work? In us, through us... every Believer. How much Power is at work? More than we can Comprehend. We " simply" must Believe Why it is not more evident? I don't believe that is Not Evident. I will give a few examples. People are coming to Christ. God still Heals and every time I go through something He restores me. I have been delivered from some things of the Flesh and look forward to being delivered from something I have struggled with from before I came to Christ. I have been healed in 7 different ways and look forward to God's healing in other ways. I have witnessed a Boldness in me... the passive princess I thought I was... is no longer there. I see the changes in people whom I pray for. God is very near... nearer and the Power of His work can be seen not only in the Big things, but the little things; to which are just as Mighty. Excersing His Power is by Faith and using His Word with Believing. Putting it to work. Allowing Him to move in you... and giving Him all the Praise and Glory for it. Praise His Name and Tell Somebody what He has done for you dears... He loves us when we praise Him and give Him the Glory. Amen. Sunshine

Unity... who brings it about... who maitains it... bond of peace... and is Unity a Primary or Secondary Goal? Unity: to unite, to be in One's Likeness, never waivering. God brings us to Unity in Him as His Likeness developes within each one. We seek God to maintain the Unity in Him. A "Bond of Peace" relates to me "Walking in The Gospel of Peace"... held in Bondage to the Word. No waivering or Compromising of the Word. Jesus was consumed by the word, therefore we must also be consumed by the Word. This question of Primary or Secondary hit hard. For me the Unity of Him is Primary. The Unity of Us is secondary. I will try to explain. God has told us in the last part of Revelation not to take from or add to the Word of God. We should uphold His Truth at all cost. This however Divides many. Our fears in upholding the Word at all cost (especially in a World that Compromises so easily) will hold us back from risking the freindship of another. We are afraid of Offending if we Speak what the Truth says. But if we are to Truly Love as God so loves us... then we must uphold the Truth of His Word and Speak it. Those of us who uphold the Word and speak the Pure Truth of His Word will find Unity in others, because this Unity is only Found in Him. Our Focus should always be upon The Lord. When our Focus is out of place and upon others we fail... because we focus more on the Flesh and this brings about our own Flesh. As we concentrate on Him and allow Him to guide our path there is a peace within us; knowing He is truly is in control of all things. I would rather stand along side of a few who did not Compromise the word of God than to stand with a multitude of Compromise. The Few would be in Unity of Him and the Multitude would be in Unity to Compromise... compromise is sin.

I have been visiting the Joyful Heart Bible Studies and just now realized one could post a Wecome! I am a late comer... even in birth I was 3 weeks late. I have enjoyed the Bible Studies and enjoy reading what each person posts. It is Diverse and I would recommend it to anyone interested. I welcome and pray that each person will open their hearts and understand that each one of us in our own unique, God given way express in our posts what the word brings to us and how it manifests in our own lives. I will be understanding also... for I am consumed with always praying for Understanding. I have been a rededicated, born again believer for about 4yrs now and have been disciplined in the word for about 2 1/2 yrs now. I am always eager to learn, but can be resistant to change. One area is being Stubborn... but thank God He can use this stubborness to His good. I realized this when I thought Curiousity was bad... I have found that He uses my curiousity to His Benefit and my benefit. Curiousity led me to this Bible Study; now is that for the Benefit of both God and myself? YES SSSIIIRRREEEE BOB!!! I also have 3 dogs and 5 cats... whoah! New Members... don't be afraid... just get in there and post away. I enjoy reading from the babes in Christ to the more mature in Christ... and I even enjoy reading what those have to say who are searching. Love in Christ, Sunshine

Eating of His Flesh and Drinking of His Blood... Radical? Only because I know the Metaphor I have to giggle. But seriously... think about what the Diciples must have thought when Jesus spoke about this. "He cannot be serious can He?" He (Jesus) is the Bread of Life. His blood is the washing away of the filth of sin. Each time we partake of His bread and His blood we are recognizing who He is, who we are, and what we are made of... Flesh; which should bring about repentance before we partake of the bread and blood. Radical... some may say with their own understanding "how radical could this be... to partake of Flesh and Blood?" But with each chew or grinding on the bread in my mouth I think of the Crushing of His body/flesh... and as I drink of the juice I think upon the blood flow from His crown downward. I am thankful this is Spiritually done. Isn't that how we feel sometimes when our flesh desires something that is not good for us and when we sacrifice what the Flesh desires it crushes us? And then as we shower the dirt off our bodies we see the residue in the bottom of the tub? I believe the Bread of Life is the Word and the Word is Jesus. The Word penetrates and rids us of our Flesh... it literally Crushes the Desires of the Flesh. His blood washed over me when I came to Him in repentence and His blood washes the residue of my sins.

You are not your own... you were bought with a price and how should effect our living? I was never my own even before I dedicated my life to Christ. He created me... therefore I was His. Even those who may not believe in Him will fully understand some day that they belong to God. We may at times believe in the "Free Spirit" which says to me this is of Flesh and Selfishness, but whether we choose Him or Self, one way or another we are going to witness who we really belong to. In His own way, knowing how we are He chose to pay the cost of our sins... simply put: He paid the cost of what our own sins would have cost us... Death Eternal; but whoah He only died in the Flesh, but Lives in Spirit. This is the same example He desires for us... to die of the Flesh and Live in Spirit with Him. It is not easy, but it is worth it. I pray for God to redirect our Desires so that they may be more of His Desires. Sunshine

Free From Slavery/Sin and keeping our Salvation? He (Jesus) took all of the sins of the World... all of them and that weight was upon Him while on the cross. He still asks us to give Him our sins... repentence and laying at His feet the struggles we deal with day in and day out. He tells us He has come to set the Captive Free... free from the bondage of sin. There are sins we may feel we are never going to be freed of... but I believe in His Word. The Holy Spirit helps us, motivates us, and encourages us to turn from our old ways and become the new person we are in Him. He leads us each and every day and gently nudges us to do as we are Commanded to do by God's Word. When we spiritually lack in some area the Holy Spirit directs us in the path where a need may be attended to. Not every thought or encouraging feeling within the pit of your abdomen is from you... the Spirit of the Lord is always trying to direct you. And at times the feeling is to run... get away from there because it is a Temptation and you may not be strong enough to say no. But gradually the Spirit of the Lord will strengthen you in these areas to RESIST the TEMPTATIONs that come your way. We need to be more sensitive the Holy Spirit and be less Resistant. I know this from experience. I am growing too. Love in Christ, Sunshine

I read in John where after Jesus had met the woman at the well and she ran into the city to tell of what she saw and heard... the diciples had asked Jesus to eat. He summed it all up for me when He speaks of the food they did not know of. Jesus lived and was consumed by the Word... lived and was consumed by all He knew to do and to accomplish. He came on a mission to be Victorious... I wondered how He could have fasted for 40 days... He fed upon what Consumes Him; the Word. He lived before us consumed by the Word, and lived in the Flesh consumed by the Word and He now lives consumed by His Word. The Word is Life, and the Word is Jesus and being that Jesus is also the Father; all that the Father spoke He knew was going to be accomplished and nothing else that this World had to offer Him would replace it. From the Begining Jesus knew the Mission, and How Great Thou Art for priveledging us to Partake in it all. I desire to be consumed by God... I pray you will too. Love, Sunshine.

Animal Sacrifice an Expression of God's Mercy. I can only say that if I were to sacrifice an animal each time I sinned... I would hate sin as much as God does. I see the death of each animal in sacrifice as a way to put to death the sin committed. Each time we sin we actually inflict upon ourselves a Death Penalty. This Death Penalty is what leads the way to Damnation. For this very reason He calls us to repentence. Therefore, each sacrifice of an amimal was to atone the Death Penalty for sin. Because this way of repentence did not bring about what God desired, He became the Ultimate Sacrifice; due to the foreseeing of the multitude of sins. God's Mercy is greater than my mind can comprehend... I know that for me I would have said "oh my, I just gave my word to Abraham that his seed would be like the sands of the beaches and the stars of the heavens... oh my... the sins, the sacrifices... there would not be any animals left"... but He knew the better Way. Thank You Jesus!!!

Since I believe that the Dwelling Place of God is in Us... each one of us... this contributes to every believer in Christ being a part of the Congregation. Whether you live across the states of America or live abroad; in Israel, France, India, Germany, etc. Each one of us holds a responsibility to keep God's partaking of us when we are in prayer, reading of His Word, Praising and Worship. We partake of Him and He partakes of us. This reflects in and through us our becoming in His Likeness and this reflects how we are toward one another. I must say that when I visit some places of meeting; gathering at different churches... the presence of God is not as strong as in other places. You see while God is in you... everywhere you go He is... so He is always in our Midst, but when people gather and there is more of the Flesh present than His Spirit the heaviness is evident in the Church. And this is anywhere you meet. Now when the Spirit of the Lord is not Hindered by the Flesh... one sees and actually feels a Strong Presence of God. He truly delights in us when we are giving over to Him and forgetting about what it is we are in need of... He already knows the need before you even speak it... so why not spend the time with Him and allow Him to lead you in every way and then speak up... He is there... so ask and know it be given unto you. Believe me, I am learning also. Sunshine

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." (4:2) I find the most important part of anything Jesus did was out of Love. Our ideas of Love are somewhat similiar, yet different. These days I see more and more people who give in and say it is because they Love them. Well spare the rod and spoil the child. Even God will Discipline His children out of Love. In the worldly sense... the congregation; that is the people who gather together every Sunday seem to choose to ignore the Disciplinary part of Love. They forget that Jesus Rebuked when necessary... they forget that Jesus turned over tables... forget He told a woman to be still. He was always straight forward with His words. It could be offensive, debateable, challenging, and even somewhat Rebellious sounding. But every time He spoke, He spoke Truth and it was because He loved and still loves us so much that He chooses to tell the Truth. And at times the Truth causes us to squirm a bit. I believe it takes the power of God to keep anyone Humble... and patient... and forebearing. I used to think I could do this without any problems... I am used to this part... but have found it has taken the Strength of God to keep me in the way of being Humble; able to forebear... and on occasion I have been known to lose Patience. We can never follow any particular person who we may think is Sooooooo christianly... because you will find they are of the Flesh every time. We can however follow the Example Jesus led.

Since the Temple is each one of us and since every one who is Abiding in Him make up the Kingdom of God... the way to live is in His Righteousness by His Standards. Unity comes to those who are living as He directs for us to live. This to me means in His Likeness... of One Mind... of One Spirit. Unfortunately we do not always live with One Mind, One Spirit and of His Likeness. So much division, going this way and that way... we set ourselves up for a Fall. We are worthy by His Standards if we are Living by His Standards. We are called unto Him, to follow Him, to Abide in Him... Unity is Uniting... and the only way we are able to Unite is to be of a Like Mind. This does not mean that no one ever disagrees... but we need to be of a Like Mind when it comes to God... and His Word. Worthy of this Unity I believe comes from dying of anything that the Fesh may desire and only desiring what God desires for them and everyone else. God is the most important part of it all... and even as we come together (Unite) we are there because of Him... to do as He Chooses, as He directs, as He leads.

I tried to post once: I made an error, but only the error appology showed up. Let us try again. How do "the apostles and prophets" contribute to your life today? congregation? In what way should Jesus Christ serve as a cornerstone to your congregation? In what sense does a congregation "grow" (KJV, NRSV) or "rise" (NIV) into a holy temple in the Lord? In what way does growth occur to bring this about? Through the inspiring of the Word spoken to the Apostles and Prophets, by the Spirit of the Lord they were led in the writings of the Word. The Word was just as Active in their lives as it should be in Our Lives today. Their life experiences... trials, fires, hardships, storms; circumstances show me the Truth of Flesh, and The Truth of Spirit. How wonderful to know they were and are still today just as Ordinary as I am. Head knowledge of the word will not reflect Renewal of the mind if the word is not active in Heart... not just knowing the Word, but Living the Word... for the Word is Life. If we as believers are One in Him, and are actively seeking in His understanding then we as One in Him will conduct in the same manner. The HOLY TEMPLE would be Us. Each one of us serve as a Temple for Christ's Dwelling. The Lord is Pure; without sin and Holy. We are only Holy through becoming as He is... Characteristics of God; Likeness of God. While each one of us are Sinners... we are washed by the Blood through Repentence; of a contrite heart. Afterward a person has the responsibility (once committed) to a daily maintenance of Discipline. The only way we are to become in His Likeness (characteristics) would to be to submit to the ONE who says it so simply "perfect that which is in you". We already have His Likeness... the Characteristics of God. He PERFECTS those characteristics which are already there in you. Trials will mold Character unto His Likeness. Now, by each believer being the Temple... and each of us make up the Body of Christ... therefore He should be the Cornerstone/Rock/Foundation to which we; the body would build upon. He being the Head... Ruler over the Body... abiding in Him and He in us. The Body then will rise to His Likeness... a Holy people. May the Lord bring continual knowledge, understanding and wisdom to every reader... and may our Trials bring us closer to God. Love in Him, Sunshine.

fellow-citizens with the Jewish believers, what are we citizens of? In what sense are we "holy" or "saints"? Any lineage along with the lineage of the Jewish people, who are Believers in Christ make up the Kingdom...we are Citizens of the Kingdom of God. I will try to brief in the second part of this question... Holiness or to be Holy would be as "Unto His Likeness"... having His Characteristics in balance as He is. For God is Holy... most Holy and for us to be as He is we must be of Him... His character. While reading of His Character we find the list is long, but balanced. The most important part of His Character is Love... and then the second most important is He is Pure... Holy... without Sin. The only way we acheive this is through repentance with a Contrite Heart. I am but clothed in rags with wrinkles and spots, but knowing I may be washed by the Blood of Him who paid the cost. For this reason I must take up daily the cross. Love in Him, Sunshine

Members of God's Household? Nature of Church and God? Fellowship, appropriate in the Congregation? Faithful to gather w/congregation? Since the Body is of Christ, then the WHOLE BODY is the Congregation/HOUSEHOLD. Fellowship is the nature of God and the nature of those who are in Christ. Each of us should come together and feed of Him, so that we may feed each other. Our Faithfulness is to the Lord, God Almighty... this comes first, and any work we are called to do in the Body should be done in Faithfulness to Him not man/woman. The word says "cursed is he who puts his trust in man". We must remember that the Body is not of one congregation within the walls of a building. Our fellowship is within the Whole Body... with all believers of the body; those within the walls of a place of meeting and outside of the walls of meeting. So when we gather at home, or a park, or any other place of meeting... we are still in Fellowship with the Congregation/Body/Household. If you are of Christ, in Christ you are of the Body, of the Household... you are my brother, my sister... a part of my Household. We are adopted in Him. May God be with you always... Sunshine.

Access Important? Diplomatic Relations? Obtain the Priveledge? And, Only One Commandment for me... all the rest of 9 seem to just come with the territory. Explaination: I would rather go directly to the One who is Providing... making the decisions... with the Control. Flesh is Flesh and going through someone else would never reveal the heart as God sees it. Access deals directly with the Source. Come reason with Him... talk it over, sit a while and enjoy His company. We are given a Golden Priveledge to Come Boldly before Him... believing, confessing, repenting, and developing; learning/growth. First commandment seems to take care of the rest... Love the Lord thy God with all of your Heart. The first lesson even before I rededicated my life to Christ was learning to forgive so that I could be forgiven. Ya know the 10 commandments really are written upon the Heart. Learning to Love God teaches us to Learn to Love others... treating them as you would desire to be treated... even while you are NOT being treated the way you desire, but knowing this does not exuse you from obeying what God has commanded of you. Sunshine