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4: No Lone Rangers

     When I first heard and believed the good news, I was at a ranch in Colorado surrounded by other earnest believers. When I returned home and tried to continue my newfound Christian walk, I was alone and faltered. Over the next five years I responded again to two invitations to follow Jesus. The first time was at a high school retreat and the second after a Christian movie in college. But in both instances my resolve was short lived as I sought to follow Jesus by myself.

     After my junior year in college I read The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and recommitted my life to Jesus and sought to seek first his kingdom. This time my faith stuck, and the difference was the presence of other believers. Four of them to be exact. When I returned to campus I found four earnest believers in my fraternity. And we are still good friends and true brothers, to this day. By God’s grace and with the encouragement of other believers, I have been following Jesus for over a third of a century.

     Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him “a threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 ESV

     One of the main reasons Christian fellowship is such a source of life and grace is that Jesus is with gatherings of believers in a special way. He was with the three in the furnace in Babylon and he promises to be with two or three wherever they are gathered in his name.

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Matthew 18:20 KJV

I am currently reading and studying Leadership Coaching by Tony Stoltzfus. The following paragraph speaks to this concept so well I wanted to share it with you.

     I believe the biggest reason Christians in general experience so little transformation in their lives is that they ignore the Bible’s relational mandate for how to effect change. We were never meant to live the Christian life alone. Christianity is an interdependent, community-oriented faith. And yet when we set out to improve our prayer life, or deal with our anger problem, or increase our income, or become a better father; most of the time we work on it completely alone. You cannot live the life you were born to live without relationships. May God grant that you have people of like precious faith in your life.

     And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25 ESV

 

Have a Blessed Week,

Steve