Fellowship

Have you ever had one of those mornings that just seem to start off a bit different?  I arose today thinking about the word “fellowship.”  As I got dressed I contemplated the different places in the New Testament where that particular term is used.  Then I was completely taken off track as I walked barefoot into the darkened kitchen and felt a cold crunch under my left foot.   At first I thought it was a leaf since they are falling from the multitude of trees all around our community, but then I stopped and thought with a slight chuckle, “Oh no!  That wasn’t just a cricket I stepped on was it?”

Since we had moved in we have had our share of pretty good sized red and black crickets scampering across the floor and occasionally the walls of our apartment and Mandie and I have done our best to remove them from our humble abode!  Mandie has become the best early radar system that I know of when it comes to the insects.  She will sniff them out and then chase them until I arrive with shoe or magazine in hand! 

She learned fairly early to not try and eat them as the first one she snatched up was immediately rejected while she shook her head and foamed at the mouth.   That compelled me to do a little research on the crickets in order to discern if they were harmful to the dog or not.  And as it turns out, they do emit a non-poisonous liquid (or other unmentionable items – I had enlisted the aid of my bug expert Granddaughter and she read the disgusting information from her bug encyclopedia to me!) to deter their attackers.

On a few occasions the pooch has actually alerted me to the presence of the critters a day or two before they make their presence known in an open area.  That is what made me pause this morning as she was sniffing like crazy around the piano a couple of days ago!  Well… you guessed it!  When I turned the light on I discovered a slightly flat black cricket and detected some cold liquid on the bottom of my foot!

What was even more interesting to me was my reaction to the incident.  It did not cause me to skip a breath or even freak out.  I simply laughed, wiped my foot on a nearby area rug and called out to the snoozing dog that “I found it!”  Then I almost immediately recalled Jesus’ commission to us in Mark 16:18 where He said that “they will take up serpents (or step on black scary crickets); and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (KJV)

That verse brought me right back to my thoughts of fellowship and its benefits.  When I sat down at my computer I performed a search on the word “fellowship” and discovered a multitude of usages of it in the New Testament.   I focused in on I Corinthians 1:9 and used it as the foundation for my morning study.  In this scripture the Apostle Paul is telling his readers as well as to us today that “God is ever true to His promises, and it was by Him that you were, one and all, called into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.” (1912 Weymouth New Testament)

Adam Clarke infers that this type of fellowship is having a real, active and intimate participation with the grace, peace, love and life of God.  So it does not describe a casual friendship but one that goes much deeper and touches the very heart and soul of Papa God.  It is an intimate relationship and union that affects every part of our life and extends into every relationship we have with the people in our daily lives.  As Christians it should be the number one and most important relationship in our life!

Like I have mentioned before, I am always amazed and perplexed when I first explain what is going on with my wife to some mature Christians and their initial response is the negative report on the disease that is held by medical science instead of that which is proclaimed by the Great Physician!  I found myself celebrating last night even after I turned off the Word Series with my Giants behind 7-2, when I was helping my wife get ready for bed and explained a few thoughts on her healing according to the Word of God and then paused and asked Piper if she understood and she boldly proclaimed, “Yes, I do!”

You have to understand that she hasn’t really spoken any intelligible words for quite some time and then her first clear sentence is exclaiming her agreement to God’s diagnosis to her condition and NOT that of what the natural senses declare!  That to me showcases an individual who is in close and intimate fellowship with Papa God!  Is that the type of fellowship that you enjoy with your heavenly Father?  I hope so!

I can only imagine the confusion that is filling my wife’s thoughts, but in the midst of it she finds the clarity to agree with God because of the close relationship or fellowship she has developed since she was eight years old and gave her life to the Lord.  Is it time for you to shore up and or improve your relationship or fellowship with the Lord?  I know that there are areas in my life that could use some closer ties in fellowship with Papa God!  I plan on working on those places starting TODAY… What do you say that you join me in that endeavor?  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What or WHOM am I expecting to grow closer to today?