January 20 - GET IN THE GAME
Paul - “I’m writing so that you’ll know how to live in the family of God. And that family is the church.” (1 Timothy 3:14-15).
Devotional Thought: The Bible says the church is a family. It is our spiritual family on earth, and will be our spiritual family forever. The church is not a building or an organization or an institution or a social club. The Bible says it’s a family. Most of the time when we use the word “church” we use it in the wrong way. We say, “I’m going to church.” But we’re not going to church. We’re going to a worship service. Church is not something we go to. Church is a family we belong to. It’s not a building, it’s not a program, it’s not a service, it’s not a campus. Church is a family we belong to because we’re a believer in Jesus Christ.
So, what steps can we take to become more immersed in and connected to our Church family? First, we must choose to belong. God wants us to identify with a Church family. He doesn’t want us to say, “This week I’ll go over here to this church family. Next week I’ll go over to that church family. Then next week I’ll go to that one.” He doesn't want us to float from one Church family to another. He wants us to be fully connected to one.
Ephesians 2:19 says, “You are members of God’s very own family and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” That verse tells us that the Christian life is not just a matter of believing. It’s also a matter of belonging. Many people in our day will say, “I’m a Christian but I just don’t want to belong to any particular church.” That’s like saying, “I want to play football in the NFL but I don’t want to belong to any particular team.” It’s like saying, “I want to be in the United States Army but I don’t want to belong to any particular platoon.” It’s like saying, “I want to play the tuba but not be in any band or orchestra.” No one would say those kinds of things. And neither should we say, “I want to be a follower of Jesus Christ but I don’t want to share life with other believers.”
Romans 12:5, “In Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others.” You see, the Bible not only calls the church “God’s family,” it calls the church “Christ’s body” and it says we’re all to be members. If the church is the body of Christ and we say, “I like Jesus, but don’t like the church.” That’d be like me saying to you, “I like you. I just can’t stand your body.” You’d probably be offended. The Bible calls the church, “the bride of Christ.” What if someone says to us, “I like you. But I just can’t stand your spouse.” We’d be offended. Jesus is offended when we talk bad about His spouse or His body. Because the body of Christ – the Church – is what He died for. So God says I want you to be a member of My family. And the way to become a member of the Celebration family is by attending our First Steps Class, and then agreeing to follow through on the steps in our Celebration Membership Agreement.
Prayer Focus: Lord, I thank You for my spiritual family. Help me to learn in the coming days how I can contribute to make it stronger. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Follow-Up Activity: If you have never been through a First Steps Class (formerly known as I Want To Know), sign up for one at your Campus by going to https://celebrationchurch.org/firststeps/ Or encourage people in your Life Group or on your Ministry Team to attend a First Steps Class in the near future.
