FELLOWSHIP FRIDAY!

Fellowship is defined as friendly association especially with people who gather to share one's interest.

Art Lovers Gather.

Book Lovers Gather.

Sometimes the two coincide @ Germantown Library with chess lovers added to the mix.

Runners Gather.

Jesus Followers Gather. 

Christian fellowship denotes participative sharing and mutual encouragement towards Christ. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42)

COLLECTIVE NOUNS INTRIGUE!

At a recent fish-fry with friends at the Tackers, my on-going intrigue with collective nouns surfaced. 

Sometimes a topic of discussion can take its own turn as that night I shared a term I had read in a detective story. Pam's phone helped jog my memory when I could only come up with the first letter. 

M-- for a group of crows. 

A "murder" of crows. 

Today I saw said group of raucous crows at GAC---so large they could fit right in with Poe's ravens. 

That sighting had me pondering other collective nouns as my thoughts returned to that time with Lynn, Connie and Pam.

What is an all encompassing noun for believers in fellowship? (Acts 2:42)

Is there a collective noun for faith folks?

Bevy of Believers. 

Calm of Christians.

Choir of Christians.

Congregation of Worshippers.

Folks of faith. 

Grace-forged friends = fellowship.* (1 John 1:7)

How about, "All the Above?"

*Scotty

walk....Walk.....WALK!!

So-o-o many different words for walk.

walk, all lower case..... amble. dawdle. mosey. perambulate.saunter. stroll. wander.

Think meandering.

Walk with a capital W.....Glide. Hike. Pace. Patrol. Sashay. Stride.Tiptoe. Tread.

Think Variety.

WALK WITH ALL CAPS.....CLOMP. MARCH. PLOD. SLOG. STOMP. TRUDGE.

THINK EMOTIONAL PURPOSE!!

To me, some "walk" words connote "darkness." Prowl. Stalk. Swagger. Strut.

How are Christians to walk, Walk or WALK in their lives?

In Scripture walking = living out one's beliefs.

By the Spirit---Galatians 5:16

Humbly with God---Micah 6:8

In Christ---Colossians 2:8

In the light---1 John 1:7

In truth---Psalm 86:11

Uprightly---Isaiah 57:2

Worthy---Ephesians 4:1

How will you walk today? Will each step you take represent your faith in Jesus?

commUNITY

Community is a word that has been bantered around a lot in 2020. 

For believers, the fellowship of believers takes community up a notch. A commUNITY of devotion. (Acts 2:42) Fellowship enjoyed by "walking in the light" together. (1 John 1:7)

Abundant love shared because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) Such love within commUNITY pleases God and blesses those of us together on the same side of our struggles. (Hebrews 13:16) 

May our commUNITY continue to thrive in 2021!

*A big thanks to all in "my" commUNITY who prayed for my older brother today. He had a heart attack and his quick arrival at the hospital was life-saving. He had 2 stents put in and will probably be in the hospital for a week, because surgeon said he is "not quite out of the woods, yet,"

FELLOWS' FELLOWSHIP

Gals have friends. Childhood friends, college friends, garden club friends, Bible study friends & neighbors.

Guys, not so much.
Unless you are Larry Liles and Charlie Mazzone.

Larry and Charlie in their Starsky and Hutch years in the 70s.
From lots of hair, even facial hair, to "glow in the dark" white hair and less hair!

Friends from the "get-go." From the competitiveness in sports at arch-enemy high schools---to ping- pong and cork ball duels at Memphis State/UM. Games of fervor!
Fellow coaches from the university supporting each other's chosen sport. Handball & Racquetball-- even being doubles partners in senior racquetball tourneys. Traveling to Las Vegas, Colorado, Houston and to Jacksonville or just across town to Redbird's stadium to "be there" for encouragement as well as celebrating awards. UM Silver M Club. Memphis Amateur Sports Hall of Fame.
So many stories. Heartwarming to hilarious!

"Ranger Years" at Shelby Farms. "Ranger Down. Ranger Down!" Oh the stories they tell! (Most not appropriate for this public blog.) From the saddle of a horse to the cold, wet seats of a fishing boat, or under water with their scuba gear at Lake Ouachita & breakfast around a campfire--a terrific twosome having fun.
Sharing the winnings on the floor at Circus Circus, in the earlier years, to sharing the load of care when each has had turns in the hospital in more recent years. They are there for each other.

A comic duo of sorts.  Think, Laurel and Hardy. "And what will you have Stanley? I'll have Tutti-Fruiti!" Being in the car with them as one tells the other how to drive is also a "road rage event" with Charlie threatening to get out of the car.

A friendship that has spanned the decades---and matured from friendship to fellowship, "walking in the light as He is the light." (1 John 1:7)
A friend loveth at all times (Proverbs 17:17) and the friendship/fellowship of these two exemplifies just that!!
All genders could learn the value of friendship topped off with true fellowship from this dynamic duo!

WINSLOW'S WARRIORS!

What is a warrior? Warriors in the faith come along side each other to encourage and build one another up. (1 Thessalonians 5:11) Maybe being a warrior entails pushing that wheelchair so that she can sit outside the "facility" for the first time since July 2.

Warriors are there day and night, either physically or spiritually or sometimes both.
Warriors are the watchmen, appointed by God, to pray day and night and to take no rest for themselves & continually cry out to God until God makes wherever his people minister a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:6-7), ie a place of sanctuary, a happy place, of sorts.
With dear high school, Winslow, the call to be her warrior has brought us all together again on her behalf.

Since we love one another as God has loved us (John 13:34), and are called to prayer, fellowship & breaking bread together, even if it was benedictine on a cracker,  (Acts 1:14 & Acts 2:42).  There was "light" from the fellowship (1 John 1:7), & speaking aloud in psalms & hymns, making melody with with our heart unto the Lord, in oneness inside room 111.

From ICU to rehab to the hospital and back again there has been a cadre of folks, armed with "Winslow Will Win" purple bracelets ready to pitch in on her behalf!!! Note Dotsy's right wrist.

Now you know what a warrior is in the deepest sense of the words. Among believers, it's the ones who stand on your side---lift you when your down, kneel in prayer when you can't, and some times "bust you out" of a "facility" so that you can see the outside world again and even do a little shopping!!!

What a thrill to end the day encircling her chair, holding hands and praising the Lord who had "strengthened (Winslow's) weak hands" and answered prayers from "His Word which help the tottering to stand and to have strengthened her feeble (left) knee." Job 4:4)

CHOOSE: TO PASS THE "LOVE" TEST

Most all of us know the answers to the "love' test......but it takes enact of the will to live them.

Spiritual telepathy from Katherine Abraham----the perfect LOVE card to be a title for the "test."

Deuteronomy 13:3 says that "God gives us tests." 

The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.

LOVE TEST--Pray and proceed.

1. Do you know Jesus? The answer can be found in John 3:16 & 1 John 5:1.
2. How is your walk? Does it reflect your love of the LORD?The answer can be found in Galatians 5:16 & & Ephesians 5:8.
3. Do you worship Him and Him only?The answer can be found in Deuteronomy 5:7, Psalm 16:2 & Psalm 27:4.
4. Do you have fellowship with other believers? The answer can be found in Psalm 55:14, Acts 4:42, 1 John 1:7 & Hebrews 10:25.
5. Is all your joy in Him? The answer can be found in Nehemiah 8:10 & Psalm 16:11 & John 15:11.
6. Is the LORD your refuge? The answer can be found in Psalm 46:1, Psalm 62:8 & Psalm 91:2.
7. Is the LORD your hope? The answer can be found in  & Romans 15:13 .

Why 7 questions you ask. See what God's word says the number 7 represents.

I choose to pass the test and hope that's your choice as well.

CHOOSE: LIGHT

Friend and BSF teacher, Sally J., chooses to put on the armor of God everyday!

She uses Ephesians 6:13-18 as her head-to-toe guide: helmet of salvation (guard the mind); breastplate of righteousness (cover and protect the heart);  belt of truth (buckled at the waist w/ God's truth) and feet shod with the gospel of peace. She then takes up the shield of faith (to ward off attacks) and the sword of the Spirit (word of God) as she steps out to begin the day. What a great beginning!

I had never considered "light" as part of armor unit until reading Jesus Always (2/21)

Metaphorically, light is a necessary covering to "put on." Believers receive the light at salvation. Yet, sometimes in our lives we forget to clothe ourselves with His light. The light which dispels darkness.

Darkness is prevalent in our world. It can blind us or at least dim our vision so that we no longer see clearly. How easy it is to fall into the "worldliness" that surrounds us. His light is our protection from said world. (John 17:17)

God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:7)

Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:5)

I choose the One who is Life and gives light.
I choose the "Light of the World" as my armor of defense for today. (John 8:12)

"reciproci-TEA" : a Re-Brew

but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another,...(1 John 1:7)

"At every turn in life, we are reminded of the importance of friendship," Donna T. included in the Taylors' monthly newsletter.

Donna said it well. "Friendship holds out 2 hands---one is the giving hand and the other is the receiving hand--both of which are important. One stands in the gap and offers help to another, while the other is filled with love and support from another."

Reciprocal Friendship---shared, felt, or shown by both sides. For me the best example of a faith relationship begins and ends with reciproci-TEA. It's a 2-sided friendship.

Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Not sure who said that, but I get the idea. For me, friends in the faith have the added dimension of fellowship. Reciproci-TEA at its finest. It's a lot like sharing a cuppa---intimacy over a cup of tea.

Friendship with fellowship is the real superglue of the Christian faith.

I'll sip that cuppa reciproci-TEA anytime.