Tag Archives: Christian fellowship

Making Sense Out of the Christian Life

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If Christians weren’t bombarded with the sins of the world and with all kinds of false messages, the Christian life would be relatively easy and a joy. But the way things are, we have plenty to confuse us and get us off-track.

After thinking on this, I think we may see the Christian life in two parts: 1) Christian living in relationship with God and in the family of God, and 2) Christian living in relationship with God but also in contact with the world.

1 The Christian in Relationship with God and in the Family of God

This is where the Christian life starts. We learn that we have a loving Father and a loving Savior—Jesus Christ. And we also learn that we have the Holy Spirit to guide us. And along the way we learn the value of prayer and God’s word. And we learn of God’s forgiveness: that there is positional forgiveness, which means that our sins from the start of our life are forgiven, covered by the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7-8); and there is also practical or conditional forgiveness, meaning that if we confess our sins every time we sin, God will cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1Jn. 1:9). And that means that we no longer have to carry any quilt of sin with us.

The more we study the word and pray, and the more we keep confessing our sins, with a view to please and obey God, the more we will grow in our relationship with Him and with His Son.

Another aspect of living in the family of God is learning the value of fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is so important to know how to encourage each other with love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25). And all of us who are true believers have been given spiritual gifts and talents from God for the purpose of building up one another: gifts of service, encouragement, teaching, preaching, etc. (Romans 12:6-8). It is so important to discover your gifts and to be involved in some ministry that God has called you to. It is sad that many neglect this and miss out on a great blessing that God has for you. Remember, it is more blessed to give than to receive.

2 The Christian in the World

It is unfortunate that every Christian must live in a sinful world, a world full of evil and where demons hide in the darkness, waiting to attack us, and where sinful things constantly tempt us. I am not trying to be over-dramatic. I am putting it like it is. This world is the devil’s and full of evil and lusts. But as 1John 2: 15-16 tells us,

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

But good news! Colossians 1:3 tells us that God has rescued us from the domain of darkness and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Now since we are not of the world but are living in the world, we must…

Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world (Phil: 2:14-15).

Again, as Matthew’s gospel tells us, “You are the light of the world…  16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:14, 16).

Besides our being lights in the world, you may have the special gift of evangelism, or you may have the calling of church planting, or any similar service. We all can share our testimony of how we came to Christ, and we all can share a few verses of Scripture to a lost one as to how they can be saved. This seems very hard to do for some. And that is because Satan is coming against you. Therefore, you must be diligent to pray every day for God to make you victorious in this area, and that Satan will not hinder you. You can pray for me as well. It is hard for all of us, but I know that He will help us.

After Vietnam: Camp Lejeune and Church Bells

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A protestant church at Camp Lejeune.

During the day, every day we would be training for war. Even though I just got back from Vietnam and only had six months left of my enlistment, they kept us fit and ready for combat. Because you never know, they told us, when we would be called back again. After all, we were Marines, and a Marine is always ready, “always faithful.”

But after every day of training, my mind was focused on higher things—on what God had in store for me after my enlistment. I remember wanting so badly to saturate my mind with the word of God. I wrote down all the verses that I knew from memory, like John 3:16-17, 1 John 1:9, Matthew 7:7, and a few others. I had about ten verses on my list. I would start with those. It was my plan to review them daily and then to add to them.

I also had a growing desire to meet God in prayer. After it was dark, I went for walks. I found a place way back behind our barracks, through some trees and by a water bay. It was a secret place that only I knew about. There I sought the Lord. I didn’t ask Him much, I just wanted to be in His presence. Now that I think about it, I think He was seeking me more than I was seeking Him. And every day was the same. He kept drawing me to Himself and wanting me to come to Him.

One day, it must have been a Saturday or Sunday, I decided to go for a walk around the Marine base. My mind was on seeking the Lord for Christian fellowship. I thought it would be good to meet some Christians that I could have fellowship with. As I walked, I quoted Matthew 7:7: “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

From that verse I ask Him to show me a church where I would find Christians to fellowship with. I continued to walk, and then I heard what sounded like church bells. So, I said to myself, I’ve got to check this out. I walked toward where I thought the sound was coming from, and then I saw the church. I came up to the doors. They were open so I cautiously entered. The pews were all empty, but then I saw a few guys gathered around in front by the church altar. I boldly walked toward them. An older man, about in his 30’s, was reading to the guys from a little booklet. Soon I recognized that it was a gospel track. He was presenting the gospel to these guys, which I assumed were Marines.

After his presentation the leader approached me with a smile and a handshake. He told me that he knew I was a Christian by my smile. God had answered my prayers according to His word. I asked Him to directed me to Christian fellowship and He did. I sought for it and I found the church. I came to the door of the church and it was open and I walked in—I didn’t even have to knock.

I found out later that the man who was sharing the gospel with the Marines in the church was a representative of a group called the Navigators. I would soon be a part of that group.