“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2013/01/05/time-out/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  

http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

Philippians 2:1-2… Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ² fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  (NKJV)

Isn’t it amazing how we as humans tend to gravitate toward others with the same likes ??  Animal lovers can really relate to other animal lovers, as they speak about the joy and comfort they get from their pet…  Grandparents see total strangers with young kids in strollers, and can say something about these kids that will immediately strike up a conversation, like they were best of friends…

The idea of gathering together as Christians, to be part of the body of Christ, with the common goal of glorifying the Lord…is something I am suggesting for each and every reader…  There are three things we can do, when it comes to going to church…  We can skip it all together, like I did when I was first married… We can go to church to fulfill our weekly obligation, like so many church goers do (I did this for a number of years)…  Or we can go to church to praise and worship the Lord, with singing and psalms and a fullness of joy, and peace in our hearts that only God can provide, when we are Spirit filled…  (see Ephesians 5:18-20)…

The Apostle Paul writes this, in…Romans 15:13… Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  (NKJV)

It is indeed, the “fullness of God”, which will fill the Christian’s heart with the love of Christ, which just can’t be expressed with mere words on this page…  This love goes beyond our mental understanding; and has to be experienced to be believed…  The Apostle Paul writes about this love, that Christians should be experiencing, in the following scripture…

Ephesians 3:16-19… that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, ¹⁷ that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— ¹⁹ to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  (NKJV)

I wrote yesterday, about rekindling the joy and the peace that being filled with the Holy Spirit will bring…to those Christians that have strayed from the path the Lord wants all of His children to follow…  I wrote about 3 things I believe will help the wayward Christian to get back on God’s track; and finding the right church is a big part of that step to get back in sweet fellowship with the Lord and His body… Here is the link for yesterday’s writing… https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2013/01/04/gods-group-thoughts-for-1042013-rekindle-the-joy/

I make these suggestions on the best way I know to change a life around…because these suggestions are exactly what has helped me with my personal relationship and walk with the Lord…  My suggestion for finding the right church starts by finding a church with the right doctrine… In my humble opinion, the church must believe the Holy Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, are the inspired, inerrant Word of God…  That they were written by men, guided by the Holy Spirit, and every word is truth that God wanted us to follow…

Major points in church doctrine should be the belief in the Trinity…God the Father…God the Son…And God the Holy Spirit…  That becoming a Christian is the work of God; where salvation is offered through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all men…but is accomplished by God’s grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)…  This gift of grace is given by God to man, apart from any works or human merit…  Sins are cleansed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross; as Christ’s perfect righteousness in implanted into the new believer, along with the Holy Spirit…

Here is a link for this most important days writing about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes, through obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…   https://godsmanforever.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/gods-group-thoughts-for-7112013-the-truth-about-sin/

I might also suggest finding out if the church offers prayer night…Bible studies sponsored by the church…a youth group to help educate our children in the Word of God…do they support baptism by immersion after a person becomes a child of God…and does the church sponsor people in the missions’ field ??  These are all a good indication that the church offers an individual with the basics to be able to grow with a body of believers that have a common goal of glorifying our Father in heaven… “being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”

Heavenly Father, I pray that every reader take seriously, the importance of finding the right church to worship and praise You…  Urge readers Lord, to consider finding a church with doctrine based on Your Word, if they are not now attending a Bible believing, Bible teaching church… I pray for Your guidance in helping all of us find the right church body, that we can become joined and knitted together with (Ephesians 4:16)…  I pray for this unity with believers for all of us, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills