Times of Fellowship

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:16,17

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This week I had the opportunity to sit down with a young mom who is just beginning her homeschooling journey. She came to talk and learn more about our support group, curriculum - that sort of thing. We covered all of that, but something even more beneficial came of our time. We spent time in fellowship. Our unity in the faith drew us together until we were no longer talking about methods and learning styles, but rather we began to share what the Lord had done and was doing in our lives.

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What does fellowship look like? The dictionary says that fellowship is "the condition or relation of being a fellow." The definition of fellow is "belonging to the same class or group; united by the same occupation, interests, etc.; being in the same condition." My new friend and I are in the same condition; we were once lost but now are found. The commonality between us is that our hearts have been transformed by Christ.

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Do you have times of real fellowship with your Christian friends? Are your times filled with encouragement and sharing what the Lord is teaching you or are they focused only on where you shop, what you buy or what classes your kids are taking? This is not to say that you can not talk about other things with friends, but a portion of your visiting time should be dedicated to the Lord. As a matter of fact, as you begin to share what the Lord is doing in your life you will find that more and more of your time will be filled with testifying to His goodness and encouraging one another. You might find yourself hard pressed to talk of anything else!

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Encouraging one another in the Lord is addictive. Once you begin to share on that level with your friends you will find that everything else seems a little less exciting without "God talk"!

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Prayer:

Father, I want to honor You in my words each day. One way I can do that is by sharing what You are doing in my life and encouraging my friends in our conversations. Help me to always be mindful of opportunities to turn the conversation towards You. Amen.

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Challenge:

This week be purposeful in bringing the Lord into your extended conversations with friends. Use each opportunity to share the goodness of God and encourage other women to look for what the Lord is doing in their lives. It might feel odd at first, but I promise, you will sense a greater depth in your times of true fellowship.

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Jen Gorton 2009