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 6.
Fellowship -- Flutter by Butterfly
Pray about where you should fellowship.
Make sure the place you are going to call your church
home calls sin what it is -- sin. Do they believe the
promises of God? Are they loving? Does the pastor treat
his wife with respect? Is he a man of the Word? Does he
have a humble heart, and a gentle spirit? Listen closely
to his teaching. It should glorify God, magnify Jesus,
and edify the believer. One evidence that you have been
truly saved is that you will have a love for other Christians
(1 John 3:14). You will want to fellowship with them.
The old saying that "birds of a feather flock together"
is true of Christians. You gather together for the breaking
of bread (communion), for teaching from the Word, and
for fellowship. You share the same inspirations, illuminations,
inclinations, temptations, aspirations, motivations, and
perspirations -- you are working together for the same
thing, for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God on earth.
This is why you attend church -- not because you have
to, but because you want to.
Don't become a "spiritual butterfly."
Send your roots down. If you are moving from church
to church, how will your pastor know what type of food
you are digesting? The Bible says that your shepherd
will have to give an account to Him that has entrusted
you to him (Hebrews 13:17), so make yourself known to
your pastor. Pray for him regularly. Pray also for his
wife, his family, and the elders. Being a pastor is
no easy task. Most people don't realize how many hours
it takes to gather a fresh sermon each week. They don't
appreciate the time spent in prayer and in the study
of the Word. If the pastor makes the same joke twice,
or shares something he has shared before, remember,
he's human. So give him a great deal of grace, and double
honor. Never murmur about him. If you don't like something
he has said, pray about it, then leave the issue with
God. If that doesn't satisfy you, leave the church,
rather than divide it through murmuring and complaining.
A woman once spread some hot gossip
about a local pastor. What he had supposedly done became
common knowledge around town. Then she found that what
she had heard wasn't true. She gallantly went to the
pastor, and asked for his forgiveness. The pastor forgave
her, but then told her to take a pillow full of tiny
feathers to a corner of the town, and in high winds,
shake the feather out. Then he told her to try and pick
up every feather. He explained that the damage had already
been done. She had destroyed his good reputation, and
trying to repair the damage was like trying to pick
up feathers in high winds.
The Bible says that there is life and
death in the power of the tongue. We can kill or make
something alive with our words. The Scriptures also
reveal that God hates those who cause division among
the brethren (Proverbs 6:16). Pray with the psalmist,
"Set a guard O Lord, over my mouth; keep the door
of my lips."
Remember the old saying, "He that
gossips to you, will gossip about you."
 The
next section is:
Thanksgiving -- Do the right thing.
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