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Archive for prayer

May
18

If Prayer Works, Why Am I Hurting?

by newhope

by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Many people feel that prayer had failed them when life brings disappointment and difficulty.

I have had this question addressed to me by believers time and time again, in one form or another: “If prayer really works, then why did this hard, disappointing experience happen to me?”

Let me remind you of the purpose of prayer: Prayer is the conduit through which the power and provision of God flow into the circumstances of earth. Prayer is not a mantra or a set of magic words that will transform all of life into a fairy tale that you author.

Prayer is bigger and better than that. Through prayer, God is working in your life to accomplish all of His purpose for you and for others in your life and for generations to follow. Some of that purpose is accomplished through difficulty. What you can be sure of is this: God will not allow any circumstance into your life that has purpose other than for your benefit. All of His plans for you are good, and all of His plans for you are designed to give you a future and a hope.

From Vessel to Vessel

Explore this thought with me as we look at a statement the Lord made about the country of Moab.

“Moab has been at ease since his youth;
He has also been undisturbed, like wine on its dregs,
And he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore he retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.”
—Jeremiah 48:11 (NASB)

The Scripture is the living Word of God, so even those passages addressed to a particular audience in a specific time regarding a unique event have layers of meaning. Even those passages that are spoken within the context of time echo into eternity, speaking fresh truth to God’s people in any given moment.

This passage is describing the nation of Moab, regarding a situation that is framed in time. But it speaks to me through the present voice of the Living God.

God says that Moab has been left undisturbed. He is describing what a person is like who has never been challenged and forced to face disappointment or disruption of his life. He is like wine on its dregs. Wine left to sit on its dregs becomes bitter and harsh. It is unpalatable. It is useless.

The art of winemaking involves stages. A wine must be moved from vessel to vessel along the way. Each stage of wine making requires a vessel of different size, shape, and construction. Each stage accomplishes something different for the final product—the wine that is becoming. At each stage, the dregs have settled to the bottom and must be strained out to prevent the ruin of the wine. The stage at which a wine must be emptied from one vessel to another is not a static and predictable period. Only the winemaker can tell.

Let the Winemaker Work

God, the Great Winemaker, is fermenting a rich and perfect wine in you. Do you feel yourself being emptied from vessel to vessel? You get used to the shape and the feel of your life, and then find yourself being emptied out. During part of the process, you have been poured out, but not poured in yet. You know that your old vessel has been emptied out, but you do not feel yourself having arrived in a new vessel yet. There is a transition period, a pouring. It is disorienting and uncertain.

Then you find yourself poured into a life of a completely different shape and size and made up of new materials. It is new to you and it doesn’t feel like it fits.

Learn the ways of the Winemaker. Don’t be discouraged or frightened when the shape of your life and the construction of your days seem to be changing. God will not let you sit on your dregs. Unlike Moab, you will not stay in the same place. You will not be locked into your immaturity, retaining the same aroma as in your youth. He is ripening you, fermenting you, enriching you.

Rejoice! You are being emptied from vessel to vessel.

Adapted from Fueled by Faith.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. She is an internationally recognized teacher and author. Among her latest releases are The Power of Small, Life Unhindered!, and Altar’d.

Free mobile app at http://www.techrepublic.com/software/praying-life-live-10-mobile/2497525.

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Jennifer Kennedy Dean

May
3

Prayer: God’s Heart Expressed Through Your Words

by newhope

by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

True prayer is when God’s heart is expressed through your words. True prayer is when God’s words are in your mouth.

How do God’s words get in your mouth? First, God’s desires must be in your heart. “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34 NIV1984). “A wise man’s heart guides his mouth” (Proverbs 16:23 NIV1984).

Powerful praying is not a matter of knowing the right words to say, rather it is having a heart that is at God’s disposal—open to hear His every sigh and whisper and to echo it in prayer. As God molds your heart so that it matches His, your heart overflows in prayer. What God has spoken in your innermost being guides your lips in prayer.

He is your Prayer Teacher. He is transforming your life, shaping your heart. The end result of this intense training is what the Scripture calls “an instructed tongue.” “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue” (Isaiah 50:4 NIV1984).

In Destined for the Throne, Paul Billheimer writes, “The content of all true prayer originates in the heart of God.” When we are truly praying, we are speaking out the heart of God. Prayer in its highest form occurs when the words I articulate, with my mouth or in mind, are merely the containers for God’s thoughts and desires. When, like Elijah, the word of the Lord from my mouth is truth, then I am truly praying.

In your praying experience, how much time have you devoted to making yourself open for God to express Himself to you? Are you willing to give as much passion to hearing God as you give to trying to win God over? Are you willing to let Him share your prayers?

This article is excerpted from Live a Praying Life! by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.

Today, May 3, 2012, is the National Day of Prayer. NewHopeDigital.com encourages our audience to take time to pray for the US, its leaders, and its people.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Her book, Heart’s Cry: Principles of Prayer, is a National Day of Prayer selection.

Among her latest releases are Life Unhindered!, Altar’d, and The Power of Small.

Free mobile app at http://www.techrepublic.com/software/praying-life-live-10-mobile/2497525.

0 Categories : Articles

May
2

Do You Find Pleasure in Prayer?

by newhope

by Elaine Helms

When you think of prayer, do you associate it with pleasure?

Too often we pray when we are in trouble, in pain, or when we need something. A sign that you are maturing in your faith is when you desire to be in the presence of the Lord just to be with Him, to ask what is on His heart, or just to rest in His arms in peace and delight.

Isaiah 56:6–7 says, “Every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath and holds fast My covenant, even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer.”

When we obey God, He gives us the pure joy of being in His presence. God created us for fellowship with Him, and the more we get to know Him and grow in our relationship with Him, the more we will spend time with Him just for the pleasure of His company and the joy of working with Him. It is good for us to seek His face to adore Him, not just use prayer to ask for what we want.

God is so loving and generous, though, that we cannot imagine all that He intends to give us (see Ephesians 3:20). “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights” (Psalm 36:7–8).

This article was adapted from Prayer 101: What Every Intercessor Needs to Know by Elaine Helms. NewHopeDigital.com encourages our audience to set aside time tomorrow, May 3, 2012, to pray, particularly for the US and its leaders.

Elaine Helms served Southern Baptists for 10 years as the national prayer coordinator at the North American Mission Board. She continues in retirement to facilitate the annual meeting of SBC national and state convention prayer leaders.

She is a member of the National Prayer Committee. Her books on prayer and church prayer ministry are being used in churches across the US, Canada, and Australia. She continues to speak in retreats, conferences, and state convention meetings, as well as consulting with individual churches. www.ChurchPrayerMinistries.org

0 Categories : Articles

Apr
18

Prayer Convinces God to Bless Us (Misconception #4)

by newhope

by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Misconception #4: Prayer is the means of cajoling God into releasing His carefully hoarded riches.

What makes prayer work the way God says it will work? How can we experience the power in prayer that Scripture promises?

In this series, we have been exploring the myths that have crept into our prayer theology, robbing prayer of its full potential to release the power and provision of God in our lives. We have looked at 3 myths: (1) Some pray as if prayer is the way to get “things” from God; (2) Some pray as if prayer will give God new information or inspire in Him new ideas; and (3) Some pray as if God sometimes forgets or tries to renege on His promises and is depending on pray-ers to remind Him of them. Today we add a fourth. Some pray as if prayer is the means of cajoling God into releasing His carefully hoarded riches.

“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of God’s willingness” (Martin Luther). God offers us His resources. He invites us to take His gifts. He does not have to be convinced to let go of His blessings. His Word says that He lavishes on us the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:8) and that He lavishes His love on us (1 John 3:1). He is extravagant in His gifts. He pours them out. He showers us with them. He doesn’t trickle them out or sprinkle them on us. Scripture never uses language that would portray God as stingy or hesitant to give. Instead we read that He “richly blesses all who call on him” (Romans 10:12 NIV1984)*.

When we pray as if we are trying to wrestle goodness from God’s grasp, we expend spiritual energy needlessly trying to convince God of something of which He is already convinced. Giving you every good thing gives Him joy; it delights Him. Jesus assures us with these words: “‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom’” (Luke 12:32; author’s emphasis). He has set His heart on you.

In prayer we are cooperating with God. We are not working to try to persuade Him. God does not need to be cajoled into wanting the best for you and for the ones you love. Rather, we are yielding to Him, letting our hearts be pliable and moldable so that He can recreate His own desires in us.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). The word translated “delight” in this statement is a Hebrew word that means soft or pliable. To delight in the Lord means to be molded by Him. To be compliant to His desires. To be open and available to His transforming presence. When He has access to your malleable heart, He can shape it to match His. He can imprint His desires on your yielded heart. When you pray the desires of your heart, your prayer is the expression of His desires.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14–15).

The primary focus of prayer is God’s heart. His heart’s desires are all for your benefit and for your good. He does not need to be convinced to love you and will the best for you.

So, turn your attention from trying to persuade Him and, instead, allow yourself to be persuaded by Him. Move from working to get Him to yield to your requests and, instead, yield your heart to Him. Allow Him to make your heart the repository of His desires.

This is the fourth in an occasional series on misconceptions about prayer. Adapted from Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. A Live a Praying Life journal and trade book are also available, as well as a leader’s kit (DVD).

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Among her latest releases are Altar’d and The Power of Small.

Free mobile app at http://www.techrepublic.com/software/praying-life-live-10-mobile/2497525.

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Mar
29

Friend to Friend

by newhope

Enriching Friendships Through a Shared Study of Philippians

Edna Ellison

In this revision of the classic study on Philippians, teacher, speaker, mentor, and women’s leader Edna Ellison provides a warm, enriching, biblical, detailed, intricate, thorough, exciting, joyful, profoundly encouraging, and purposeful opportunity for women to study, share, and apply God’s truth.

• 50 chunks of digestible text in 10 units of 5 sets of verses for weekday study (line-on-line Scripture reading and meditation) with practical ideas for relevant response and application

• Customized to individual or group size, type, age, and schedule

• Focused, with easy-to-get-in-get-out sections for practical use and completion. And easy to facilitate.

• Peppered with interactive questions that allow for self-exploration of one’s calling.

Looks at service, community, prayer, spiritual warfare, transformation, faith, obedience, conflict, contentment, communication, peace, joy, power, and fruitfulness.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • ChristianBook.com • WMUStore.com

Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $8.99

EAN: 9781596693098

ISBN: 1596693096

Item #: N114143

Publisher: New Hope Publishers

Imprint: New Hope Publishers

Pub Date: June 5, 2012

Category: Bible Studies for Women, Bible Studies

Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)

Language: English

Size: 6 X 9 Inches

Page Count: 144

Pack Qty: 36

0 Categories : Bible Study, Books, Grow

Mar
21

Special Delivery: Book Club Discussion Guide

by newhope

Special Delivery is the second novel in the 3-novel “Freedom” series from Kathi Macias. Broad in scope and riveting in plot, the series explores the modern-day scourge of human trafficking through the perspectives of a variety of characters—victims, rescuers, traffickers, and more. Available in paperback and in ebook format.

Deliver Me from Evil, book 1 in the “Freedom” series, is also available in paperback and in ebook format. A book club discussion guide is available for Deliver Me from Evil.

The Deliverer, the third and final novel in the “Freedom” series, is scheduled for release later in 2012.

Special Delivery book summary

In book 2 of the “Freedom” series, readers find Mara fighting against her attraction to Bible college student Jonathan Flannery. Mara also wrestles with risking her own precarious safety to become involved in the rescue of another girl who is pregnant and desperately wants to escape her captors and save her own life as well as her child’s.

Halfway around the world in a brothel in Thailand, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States, friends of Jonathan’s family. Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle, who held her as a sex slave in his brothel in San Diego for years—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

Will his underworld connections be successful in kidnapping and killing the girl who believes she has finally won her freedom?

These questions, developed by Kathi Macias, are intended to be used as the basis of a book club discussion. Read the novel and then come together to discuss these important issues. (Allow 1 to 2 hours to discuss all the questions and for prayer. You could take extra time to view and/or read the additional resources listed at the bottom of this guide.)

Special Delivery is the second book in the Freedom series, picking up 2 years after Deliver Me From Evil, which introduced readers to the sordid topic of human trafficking, as well as to the primary characters in the book/series. Book 2 opens with the main character from book 1, Mara. What differences do you immediately notice in the prologue regarding Mara? How do these differences affect the way you view her as this new episode of her journey begins?
Jonathan and Leah are older now, more mature than in the previous book. How might you expect their maturity to affect their perception and involvement in their fight against human trafficking, and how might that play into their future or ongoing relationship with human trafficking victims?
Another returning character in the series is Lawan, now 10 years old and having lived in the Thai brothel for 2 years. As you read about her struggle between yielding to hopelessness and despair or clinging to her Christian faith and praying for deliverance, how does that affect the way you deal with your own trials?
The Johnsons’ “rainbow” family lends a light spot to an otherwise dark subject. Yet, in the middle of their loving home, they have a serious commitment to Christ, which translates into an outreach that extends across the seas. How does that challenge you in your own home life and ministry?
The moment we see Jefe reintroduced into the story, we know that trouble is coming. What sort of emotions does this man, who so epitomizes evil, stir up in you as you read his ongoing story, now taking place behind bars?
Barbara Whiting is the type of person we’d all like to know, isn’t she? Can you think of someone in your own life who positively influenced you in a similar way? Conversely, has God used you to bless or guide someone else in the way Barbara did for Mara? If not, would you consider asking God to let you be that type of person for someone else?
What were your first impressions of Klahan when you met him? Did those impressions or feelings change as the story went on? If so, in what way and why?
Francesca’s story is a heartbreaking one. She came from a loving family who agonized over her disappearance. The young teen’s entrance into Mara’s life challenges the older girl at the very heart of her tenuous safety and sanity. Describe the emotional wrestling that must have gone on in Mara’s heart from the moment she first saw Francesca and began to suspect what was going on in her life.
Describe the emotions that ran through Jonathan and Mara when they connected again in person after not having seen one another in awhile. Did you find yourself leaning toward a certain outcome for them? Why do you suppose you felt that way?
Alley Cat was nearly as evil as Jefe himself, and he was willing to do most anything for the right price. And yet it wasn’t so much money that motivated him as it was a desire to help his brother. Why do you suppose he had such conflicting personality traits—a willingness to torture or kill someone on the one hand, and yet an overwhelming love and dedication to his brother on the other? How can the 2 be reconciled in the same person?
Though several young sex slaves are liberated in the course of this book, so many are still left behind—not just in the story, but in real life. How does that make you feel? What steps, both practical and spiritual, can you take on a personal level to make a difference for those still enslaved and longing for freedom?

Pray

Close your time together in prayer for those involved in human trafficking.

Markers for prayer include:

Physical and spiritual freedom for victims of sex trafficking in the US and abroad
Wisdom, courage, and compassion for those working with victims of sex trafficking (law enforcement, social services, Christian nonprofits, churches, shelters, and others)
Spiritual awakening around the world to end demand for sexual exploitation (prostitution, pornography, strip clubs, sex tourism)
Stricter enforcement of existing laws and the development of new legal protections (politicians, lawyers, police, and citizens worldwide)
More Christ followers to become involved in the battles against trafficking and poverty, both physical and spiritual
Ask God to change the hearts of traffickers, leading them to repent and turn to Christ

You also may find the Set1Free Prayer Guide helpful; this is a free resource from WorldCrafts.

WorldCrafts develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. Their vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth. The Set1Free campaign focuses specifically on artisan groups working with those at risk of or leaving sexual exploitation.

The Release and Restore CD includes a prayerwalking experience and other resources.

You may also benefit from free prayer and fasting resources on this topic from The Salvation Army.

Additional resources

“Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery.” Features an extensive list of New Hope Digital articles, podcasts, and a few videos related to the subject of human trafficking. Also includes a list of action steps and other resources. Consider reading Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery, a nonfiction account of these horrors that also includes encouraging stories of hope and change.

Kathi Macias recently interviwed Lisa Thompson, Liaison for the Abolition of Sexual Trafficking, Salvation Army National Headquarters. Read her 2 posts: “Cultural Attitudes Toward Sexual Exploitation” and “Get Educated Then Get Involved in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.”

“Kathi Macias Discusses Human Trafficking on the Harvest Show.” Video from Kathi’s appearance in October 2011.

“Shining God’s Light in the Darkest Corners of the World.” Article in which Kathi Macias answers the question: “Why do you write about such dark subjects?” Also includes a video from the CNN Freedom Project on slavery inAmerica.

“Chong Kim: A Trafficking Survivor’s Dramatic Story.” A New Hope Digital podcast.

0 Categories : Articles, downloads

Feb
24

Janet Thompson: When God Seems Silent

by newhope

Author and speaker Janet Thompson discusses 3 biblical women who pleaded with God: Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah. Learn more about them and how they responded to seemingly unanswered prayer. Discover how we should respond when we think God has gone silent.

Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah is intended to help women learn to rest in God’s sovereignty and waiting on His timing. The Old Testament records that Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah each struggled with infertility. They thought God should provide a child and pleaded with Him to honor their heart’s desire. In different ways, each woman took matters into her own hands when God’s timing didn’t match her timetable.

Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian.

Janet discovered her purpose when God called her to “Feed My sheep.” Janet answered that call by developing the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Janet served as a lay minister for 12 years leading Saddleback’s Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry.

She and her husband Dave have 4 married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 amazing grandchildren. They make their home in rural Idaho.

You also may be interested in her new release Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice: Nurturing Faith in Your Family. Her recent articles for New Hope Digital include: 5 Ways to Spiritually Nurture Your Grandchildren and What to Do in God’s Waiting Room.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

0 Categories : Podcast

Feb
20

Adoption in Process: A Prayerful Wait (Denise Morton)

by newhope

Watch as Denise Morton discusses how she handled the waiting process in the adoption of her children. Rick and Denise Morton have adopted 3 children from the Ukraine.

The Mortons played an integral role in the cofounding of Promise 139, an international orphan-hosting ministry. Rick, coauthor of Orphanology, is now associate pastor for discipleship and equipping at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, Tennessee.

Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care by Tony Merida and Rick Morton is available as a paperback and an ebook.

0 Categories : Videos

Feb
17

Deliver Me from Evil: Book Club Discussion Guide on Human Trafficking Novel

by newhope

Deliver Me from Evil is the first novel in the 3-novel “Freedom” series from Kathi Macias. Broad in scope and riveting in plot, the series explores the modern-day scourge of human trafficking through the perspectives of a variety of characters—victims, rescuers, traffickers, and more. Available in paperback and in ebook format.

Special Delivery, book 2 in the “Freedom” series, is also now available in paperback and in ebook format. A book club discussion guide is scheduled for release on NewHopeDigital.com next month.

The Deliverer, the third and final novel in the “Freedom” series, is scheduled for release later in 2012.

Deliver Me from Evil book summary

Mara, sold by her parents in Mexico and then smuggled across the border in San Diego, has been forced into sexual slavery. Bible-college-bound Jonathan and his sister, Leah, whose paths cross Mara’s, become involved in her dramatic rescue.

Interwoven is the heartbreaking story of another young woman in captivity in the Golden Triangle of Thailand. Her past mysteriously connects to the young people in California.

Book club questions

When you first met Mara and realized the horrific situation she was in and how she got there, what was your initial reaction? What feelings were stirred up, and which of those feelings surprised you?
Most people who are even slightly aware of human trafficking tend to think it takes place only in faraway places, such as Thailand. Deliver Me from Evil clearly shows that is not the case. How does that fact change the way you view the magnitude and seriousness of the situation?
Jonathan and Leah’s home situation stands out in stark contrast to the dark life led by Mara and the others at the compound. In what ways was it easier for you to relate to Jonathan and Leah’s life than Mara’s? Do you suppose Jesus would relate equally with both?
Though Jonathan had been born and raised in a loving, Christian home, he had his own spiritual battle to wage, as do we all. Describe his journey to personal faith as he walked through the discovery of the reality of human trafficking?
In what ways did Mara and the other girls depict the typical view of hardened sex workers? In what ways did they break the stereotype and open your eyes to their position as victim?
Chanthra’s life was a tragedy from nearly every standpoint. Though she better fits the stereotype of a sex slave than someone like Jasmine, what traits did they have in common?
Consider Jefe and his 2 henchmen. Could you find any redeeming qualities in any of them? If not and you knew there truly were people like that, could you find it in your heart to pray for them?
“The Reeds” is not a fictional place; it actually existed in the San Diego area, and young girls and women suffered horribly there. How does that knowledge spur you on to discover if any such places might exist in your own city or state?
Huge numbers of young girls (and even some boys), particularly teenagers, disappear annually. If they are never found, often they are classified as runaways, despite the fact that their families are certain that’s not the case. How does that change the way you view the problem of sex trafficking?
If you were to sum up the way this book has challenged/changed you, what would you say—to yourself, to others, and, most important, to God?

Pray

Close your time together in prayer for those involved in human trafficking.

Markers for prayer include:

Physical and spiritual freedom for victims of sex trafficking in the US and abroad
Wisdom, courage, and compassion for those working with victims of sex trafficking (law enforcement, social services, Christian nonprofits, churches, shelters, and others)
Spiritual awakening around the world to end demand for sexual exploitation (prostitution, pornography, strip clubs, sex tourism)
Stricter enforcement of existing laws and the development of new legal protections (politicians, lawyers, police, and citizens worldwide)
More Christ followers to become involved in the battles against trafficking and poverty, both physical and spiritual
Ask God to change the hearts of traffickers, leading them to repent and turn to Christ

You also may find the Set1Free Prayer Guide helpful; this is a free resource from WorldCrafts.

The Release and Restore CD includes a prayerwalking experience and other resources.

You may also benefit from free prayer and fasting resources on this topic from The Salvation Army.

Additional resources

“Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery.” Features an extensive list of New Hope Digital articles, podcasts, and a few videos related to the subject of human trafficking. Also includes a list of action steps and other resources. Consider reading Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery, a nonfiction account of these horrors that also includes encouraging stories of hope and change.

“Kathi Macias Discusses Human Trafficking on the Harvest Show.” Video from Kathi’s appearance in October 2011.

“Chong Kim: A Trafficking Survivor’s Dramatic Story.” A New Hope Digital podcast.

2 Categories : Articles, downloads

Feb
14

Is Love Missing from Your Church?

by newhope

by Tom Blackaby

Fellowship is the natural result when church members love one another. It is lost when love is absent.

The kind of fellowship (koinonia as in Acts 2:42) that the New Testament church knew was not another word for “potluck dinner” or “coffee time.” It was a deep and sacrificial commitment of loyalty toward one another based on the unifying character of the Spirit of God residing in each person.

How do you know if koinonia is missing from your church? In many ways it is like going through the motions without the meaning. The actions are there but the heart is not.

The worship may be lively. The bulletin can be full of activities and programs. The pastor will smile and shake people’s hands. The parking lot is often mostly full.

But the auditorium will empty quickly after the service, very few people will loiter in the foyer, there will be an absence of laughter, little or no hugging, and every family will go directly home or out to lunch alone. Visitors rarely come back twice. The polite social interaction in the foyer rarely gets past the surface. People feel disconnected.

The pastor wonders what is really going on in the hearts and minds of his congregation, and the congregation wonders if anyone really cares what is going on in their lives. People are reluctant to share prayer requests because it seems the prayer list is more for information or gossip than a means of lifting one another up before the throne of grace.

What breaks my hearts is to know for a fact that this is what many people feel is “normal” for church. It is not. It may be normal for some churches, but it is a far cry from what Christ expects from His people.

Walking in the Light

Koinonia is more than working together. It is more than accomplishing goals and projects together. It is a deep and abiding love for one another that includes and unreserved and immediate willingness to sacrifice for one another.

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship [koinonia] with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 NKJV). Walking in the light represents being filled with God’s Spirit; when He is living in us, we will then be able to truly fellowship with other Christians.

Koinonia was essential to the survival of the early church. It was love in action and the bond that helped church members survive in the midst of tremendous persecution. It should be the glue that holds the church together today. When all else fails, love won’t.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Experiencing God’s Love in the Church: The Missing Ingredient in Today’s Church and How to Bring It Back. The first chapter, which includes “Simple Steps to Revive Love in the Church,” is available as a free download here.

Tom Blackaby is director of international ministries for Blackaby Ministries International. In addition to Experiencing God’s Love in the Church, Tom has also written The Family God Uses with his wife, Kim, as coauthor. They and their 3 children live near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

0 Categories : Articles

Archive for prayer

If Prayer Works, Why Am I Hurting?

by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

From Vessel to Vessel

Let the Winemaker Work

Prayer: God’s Heart Expressed Through Your Words

by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Do You Find Pleasure in Prayer?

by Elaine Helms

Prayer Convinces God to Bless Us (Misconception #4)

by Jennifer Kennedy Dean

Friend to Friend

Janet Thompson: When God Seems Silent

Adoption in Process: A Prayerful Wait (Denise Morton)

Is Love Missing from Your Church?

by Tom Blackaby

Walking in the Light

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