We Were Never Meant To Fight Alone

Hello everyone!! I am writing this blog post in response to a wonderful night of fellowship and dinner at bible study on Wednesday.  We have been journeying through 1 Corinthians this past few weeks on Sunday and have been focusing in on what God has designed for His church.  And by His church, I do not mean the building, but the people who gather and journey together in their path towards Christ.  This past week we have focused specifically on the topic of church accountability.  In this broken and empty world we live in, following Christ can be a daunting task.  We are surrounded by stress, distractions, and temptations that draw us away from the closeness of God.  A life truly sold out for Him, should be challenging and uncomfortable, and full of difficult decisions

Left to our own devices, we certainly have an impossible task in understanding and carrying out God's will to our fullest.  At times, we need to rely on each other as believers to ensure we make proper decisions and to help each other break out of our broken habits to mature into stronger Christians.  Sometimes all we need is encouragement, or friendly advice.  Other times when we're really struggling, especially with sin, we really need a friend to rebuke us (with love).  I love Christ's example He laid down for his disciples, the first church,  when they began their ministry so long ago.  He sent them out in twos.  He knew that alone they would falter, become afraid, and ultimately fail.  But together they could better accomplish the mission He had given them.  We we never meant to fight alone.  

This week in bible study we divided up the group into men and women.  Us men began by opening up about the areas in our lives that we find it hard to remain close to God.  Then thought of practical ways we can help one another achieve success in it.  We committed to a communication system via texting to check in with one another throughout the week.  I really loved this idea, in that I have others not far away I can rely on life gets hard.  I am blessed to have such a great group of guys that aren't too proud to ask for help or too admit that they need help either.   I pray God surrounds you with others like this as well.   Until next time.   --James