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“Where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” Matthew 18:20 NLT

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Colossians 3.12-13 NLT

“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.” Exodus 3:5 NLT

Day 18 of 40: Our earliest human family is our first experience of “life together.”

For some of us, our birth families have helped us reach the “stars;” for others, our first experience with family has left us with deep “scars.”

No family is perfect, but there are huge differences in our early family experiences. And these differences shape our inclinations for/against trying out “life together” in the church.

Robert Schuller said: “God wants to turn our scars into stars.” That’s true… and small fellowship groups with Jesus at the center are one of the primary vehicles that God uses.

In the Bible, the word fellowship refers to sharing common life with others… “Communion” (The Lord’s Supper) is its deepest expression. Continue reading “PDL 18 – Experiencing Life Together” →

“The household of God… is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.”
1 Timothy 3:15 NLT

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” Ephesians 2:19 NLT

Day 17 of 40: “Believing and belonging” make perfect sense to me, but like most aspects of life in Christ… the practice is much more difficult than the theory.

I think it’s the “imperfection” of it all that makes it so hard. And my own imperfections only add to the difficulty.
Which reminds me of Groucho Marx:

“I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.”

(BTW – I almost ran over Groucho in a cross-walk in Beverly Hills many years ago… that would have been a “game changer”… for both of us.)

Believing: The Church is the repository and arbitrator of the Truth and Mysteries of God. The Bible, as we know it, has come to us through the Church. The essentials of Christian doctrine have been hammered out through the Councils of the Church.

That’s why Evangelicals and Mormons, for example, are sometimes on different wavelengths. Evangelicals have a 2000 year history traced back through the Apostles of working through difficult theological issues starting with the Apostles Creed. Joseph Smith decided he knew better, added a new “revelation,” and Mormons have been trying to harmonize it all ever since (160+ years.) Personally, I’m sticking with the Church of “Former-Day” Saints. Continue reading “PDL 17 – A Place to Belong” →

“Let love be your highest goal!”
1 Corinthians 14.1 NLT

“Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone — especially to those in the family of faith.” Galatians 6:10 NLT

Day 16 of 40: Loving one another is our primary responsibility in the family of God… and it isn’t easy.

For me, it’s challenge enough to love the people that I like. We all have our quirks and peculiarities that require some kindness and accommodation. And with people I like, it’s worth the effort… and, truthfully, it’s not that hard because I want to make the relationship work.

But with the ones I don’t like – the people I try to avoid when I see them headed my way – that’s another story. Continue reading “PDL 16 – What Matters Most” →

“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5 NLT

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.” 1 Peter 1.3-5 NLT

“Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT

Day 15 of 40: God has given me a family with a history and a heritage. As an adopted child who never knew his birth parents and therefore had no family history or heritage… this has been a big deal for me.

Prior to being “born again” I had taken as my own the history and heritage of my adopted family… that’s what they wanted and it worked okay for me – to a point. I always knew it was make-believe… so I never really felt connected in any kind of organic way… but it was all I had – a kind of emotional “go-along-to-get-along.”

But the surrender of my life to Christ changed all that. Continue reading “PDL 15 – Formed for God’s Family” →

“I will wait for the Lord, who has hidden his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in God.” Isaiah 8:17 CEB

“Why do you stand so far away, Lord, hiding yourself in troubling times?” Psalm 10:1 CEB

[God] has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13.5b ESV

Day 14 of 40: “God is real, no matter how I feel.”

That makes perfect sense to me since, personality-wise, I am high on the thinking side of the “think/feel” scale. It’s not that I am unfeeling… in fact, my feelings can go all over the place… and sometimes they seem to have a mind of their own. But usually, when push comes to shove, I rely on my rational side to make decisions.

I am trying to think back to some “Dark Nights of the Soul”… but I’m not having much success. I can remember some very difficult times in the past… but they all seem very “long ago and far away” and I wouldn’t describe them as times of feeling like God had abandoned me. They seem more like just something I had to go through… sometimes I brought them on myself… and sometimes I didn’t.

But, once I surrendered my life to God, I never doubted He loved me and would never leave me or forsake me – whether I felt His nearness or not. I take God at His Word… and a promise is a promise.

When I don’t feel particularly close to God, I find that music soothes and heals my soul… and reminds me that “He loves us” – and that includes me.