A S P E C T S - a monthly devotional journal For subscription information on receiving Aspects every month via e-mail, or the laser-printed edition by mail, see NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION near the end of this file. Aspects is written by David S. Lampel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #31, June 1993 (Internet Edition) O N E B O D Y , O N E L O R D ----------------------------------------------------------------- In this issue: Perspective 1 - Following Hard After God As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. -Psalm 42:1 Perspective 2 - A Costly Investment I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts. -Psalm 119-63 Perspective 3 - Until It Hurts Just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. -2 Corinthians 1:7b ----------------------------------------------------------------- In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. -Ephesians 2:21-22 __________________________ Opening night had been a solid performance. Linda and I, playing Peter and his wife Rachel, worked together with a confident rhythm and the characters were believable. But during the week between the first and second performances, I went about my business pretty much ignoring God, and basically approached the Friday night performance with the attitude of "well, I can just check in with Him the night of the performance and everything will be squared up." Well, when I went into that evening and did check in with Him, I came away feeling as if the Father was saying to me: "You spent the week taking advantage of My grace--and now, at the last minute, you come to Me?" So I felt that I was on my own that night--that it would have to be acting that carried the performance, and not the power of the Spirit working within me. During that second performance I did my job and acted well, but I could not feel the Spirit working through me. God had caught me trying to do it on my own, and so He had determined to let me complete the journey on my own. And all night I knew I would be having a real "woodshed" session with the Lord when it was over. Driving home alone that evening, I sobbed my confession, ashamed that I had treated the Lord so shabbily. And I wept for the lost blessings, expecting that my work in the second performance had been wasted and would be of no account in the Kingdom. Because it had been done without the hand of God, surely it would be burned up with the rest of the chaff, counting for nothing in the eyes of the Lord.(1) Then on Sunday morning, as I was packing up the light poles and the rest of the equipment, a member of the church stepped backstage and touched me with the gracious hand of God. He shared with me that he had brought an unsaved friend to the second performance, that this friend would not consider showing up for a Sunday morning service, but had agreed to attend the musical for Easter. And for maybe the first time in his life, this friend saw the plaster saints of the Bible come to life before his eyes. He could see and hear this person Peter and--more importantly--see that even though Peter was just as weak and flawed as himself, God loved him anyway. To learn that someone was impacted in a positive way by that second performance was like the hand of God coming down out of heaven. It was as if He placed His arms around me and said: "It's all right. I forgive you. Don't worry, even in your weakness I can use you." The message this dear brother unwittingly brought to me was that our failings are never larger than God's grace. The lesson for this month's Aspects, however, is not God's forgiving grace, but how wonderfully He weaves together those of us who populate His body--how He works in us and through us to communicate His love, to encourage, to support, to be His hands in a world that yearns for His touch. How desperately alone we would be were it not for our brothers and sisters in the faith! And how intricately and precisely our heavenly Father weaves us together, touching and nudging each other toward holiness. What this describes is true Christian fellowship: koinonia.(2) Not sipping punch and eating sheet cake on folding chairs in the Fellowship Hall; true fellowship is the mysterious bond we share with other believers through the blood of Christ. As we join with Christ, we join with His people--and we live the rest of our lives touching each other. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 1: F O L L O W I N G H A R D A F T E R G O D ------------- "The impulse to pursue God originates with God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him. God is a person and, as such, can be cultivated as any person can. It is inherent in personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter. It is only after long and loving mental intercourse that the full possibilities of both can be explored. Being made in [God's] image we have within us the capacity to know Him."(3) __________________________ It is our relationship with God, through the blood of Christ, that permits us to enjoy true fellowship with other believers. Without that mutual point of focus, we would have nothing in common. Yes, plumbers would meet other plumbers and have the basis for conversation; mothers would chat with mothers; and clergy would seek out other clergy for meaningful dialogue. But that would not be koinonia--that would be socializing. What binds us together in a relationship of true dependancy--what drew my brother backstage to speak words of encouragement to me--is our mutual worship of the same God. Years ago, while flying from California to the Midwest on an airline that changed planes in Las Vegas, I stepped off the plane and into a terminal that was a smoke-fogged den of poor souls feeding their dollars into mechanical thieves. I suddenly felt very much alone and alienated from the real world, and sought refuge in an out-of-the-way corner. I stood there, huddling and feeling miserable, until I spied a young black man in the crowd. He wore a satin warm-up jacket, the back of which was emblazoned with "King Jesus." I didn't speak to this young man and I know nothing about him, but just the presence of a kindred soul in the same room brought comfort to me. We may have had nothing else in common, but for the moment I had found a brother. There was only one link between the stranger and me: Jesus Christ. Without Him, that stranger would have been just another ignored face in the crowd; but with that holy connection in place, that was all that was needed. We were related. We instantly had a bond more personal and substantial than if we shared the same occupation. There is a mental picture that always illustrates this relationship for me--the relationship we have with each other because of the relationship we each share with Christ. The image takes the form of a pyramid--or the way an artist would paint a road in proper perspective: wide near the front of the painting, then gradually moving toward a point in the distance. At the point of the pyramid, or at the point where the road meets the horizon, is God sitting on His throne. Forming the body of the pyramid, or the pavement of the road, are people bowed in worship. Now notice the people: Near the base of the pyramid, or the beginning of the road, where there is a broad expanse, the people are all doing the same thing--worshipping their God--but there is space between them. They aren't touching each other. But as they all draw closer to God, they are drawn inexorably closer to each other, as the pyramid narrows toward the capstone or the road narrows toward the horizon, until their shoulders are rubbing and their bodies compacted against each other. The closer we get to God--in worship, in study, in prayer--the closer we will be to His people who are doing the same. And that is true fellowship. Into the Word ------------- For this is what the high and lofty One says--he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite." -Isaiah 57:15 Exodus 33:15-17 __________________________________ Eccl 4:9-12 __________________________________ Isaiah 57:15 __________________________________ Amos 3:3 __________________________________ Matthew 12:48-50 __________________________________ Luke 8:21 __________________________________ John 14:20-23 __________________________________ John 15:1-8 __________________________________ Romans 8:9, 17 __________________________________ 1 Cor 1:9 __________________________________ 1 Cor 3:16 __________________________________ 1 Cor 6:15-17 __________________________________ 1 Cor 10:16 __________________________________ 2 Cor 6:14-16 __________________________________ 2 Cor 11:2 __________________________________ 2 Cor 13:14 __________________________________ Eph 5:29-32 __________________________________ Col 3:3 __________________________________ Hebrews 2:11 __________________________________ 1 John 1:3 __________________________________ 1 John 3:24 __________________________________ 1 John 4:13 __________________________________ 1 John 5:20 __________________________________ Rev 21:3-4 __________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ----------------------------- Draw Me Nearer I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told Thy love to me; But I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to Thee. Chorus: Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where Thou hast died; Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to Thy precious, bleeding side. Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine; Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in Thine. Oh, the pure delight of a single hour that before Thy throne I spend, When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God, I commune as friend to friend! There are depths of love that I cannot know till I cross the narrow sea; There are heights of joy that I may not reach till I rest in peace with Thee.(4) Making it Personal ------------------ Are you in the process of drawing closer to God? Could you be doing a better job of it? How? Are you trying to draw closer to God while trying to draw away from people? How's it going? Do you find yourself drawing closer to one member of the Trinity more than the other two (for example, Jesus more than God the Father or the Holy Spirit)? Is this a healthy idea? Is this how God planned it, or should we be distributing our devotion and attention more evenly? Use Scripture to back up your thoughts. __________________________ "At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push in to conscious awareness of His presence. The type of Christianity which happens now to be the vogue knows this Presence only in theory. It fails to stress the Christian's privilege of present realization. According to its teachings we are in the presence of God positionally, and nothing is said about the need to experience that Presence actually. Ignoble contentment takes the place of burning zeal. We are satisfied to rest in our judicial possessions and, for the most part, we bother ourselves very little about the absence of personal experience."(5) Into the Word ------------- In the gospel of John we are given a vivid illustration of how we are connected first to Christ, then to each. "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." -John 15:1-8 Picture this in your mind, seeing the strong supporting vine that shoots up from out of the ground as Jesus; then see the smaller branches shooting off from the main vine as you and me and all those who call Jesus Lord. Notice how if the smaller branches were not connected to the vine, they would very soon die. Notice how the gardener tends the vine, regularly pruning the good branches to improve the quality of their fruit. Notice how the gardener discards and burns those branches that wither and die from a lack of sustenance. What does the word "prune" mean to you? If you are one of the branches, what is your fruit? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 2: A C O S T L Y I N V E S T M E N T ------------- The late Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, met his earthly end in a Nazi camp at the age of 39. A few years before his capture and imprisonment, he wrote of the difference between "cheap grace" and "costly grace": "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. "Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son; above all it is grace because God did not reckon His Son too dear a price a price to pay for our life, but delivered Him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God."(6) What is common in most churches today might be called "cheap fellowship." Far from the concept of New Testament koinonia, it is confrontation without discomfort, conversation without dialogue, friendliness without love; it is socializing with no personal investment of time, energy or pain. It is true fellowship--only up to the point where it becomes inconvenient. A friend of mine once told me about his having lunch with the Chairman of the Deacons. Over their repast, he casually asked the elder what he thought should be the priority of the church; in other words, why do we meet together? At this point in the narrative, my friend paused to ask me what I thought might have been the deacon's reply. Being someone who believes that worship should be the church's priority, I tried to think of something far removed, that might have been the most important thing to the deacon. I answered that my guess would be evangelism, for the Chairman's reply. My friend said, with a satisfied grin, that the deacon's reply had been fellowship--an answer even more removed from what I considered the priority than I would have dared guess. As I replay that scene now, I wonder if maybe that Chairman of the Deacons didn't have it right after all. Oh, I'm convinced that the concept of fellowship he had in mind would be far removed from true koinonia, but maybe he chose the correct word, anyway. True koinonia fellowship can only take place when one has first connected solidly with God; more than that, it requires even a steady, on-going pursuit of the Master. Given that, fellowship could easily be considered the priority of the church. If the necessary worship is assumed by the very definition of the process, then out of that worship would flow the edification, the equipping, the encouragement so necessary to a healthy body of Christ. Into the Word ------------- I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. -John 17:22-23 Psalm 119:63 __________________________________ Malachi 3:16 __________________________________ Matthew 20:25-28 __________________________________ Luke 22:32 __________________________________ John 17:20-23 __________________________________ Acts 1:14 __________________________________ Acts 2:41-47 __________________________________ Acts 20:35 __________________________________ Romans 12:5 __________________________________ Romans 14:1-21 __________________________________ Romans 15:1-7, 26 __________________________________ 1 Cor 1:10 __________________________________ 1 Cor 12:12-13, 27 __________________________________ 1 Cor 16:20 __________________________________ 2 Cor 8:4 __________________________________ 2 Cor 9:7-15 __________________________________ Gal 2:9 __________________________________ Gal 6:10 __________________________________ Eph 2:14-22 __________________________________ Eph 5:19, 30 __________________________________ Phil 1:4-8 __________________________________ Phil 2:1-2 __________________________________ Col 3:16 __________________________________ 1 Thes 4:18 __________________________________ 1 Thes 5:11-14 __________________________________ Phm 1:6 __________________________________ Hebrews 3:13 __________________________________ Hebrews 10:24-25 __________________________________ Hebrews 13:16 __________________________________ 1 Peter 2:17 __________________________________ 1 Peter 3:8-9 __________________________________ 1 John 1:3 __________________________________ 1 John 4:7-11 __________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ----------------------------- Blest Be the Tie Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Before our Father's throne we pour our ardent prayers; Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares. We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear; And often for each other flows the sympathizing tear. When we asunder part, it gives us inward pain; But we shall still be joined in heart, and hope to meet again.(7) Making it Personal ------------------ How have you been demonstrating fellowship to others in the body? Are there any adjustments you might make to bring it more in line with real koinonia? Is there a time and place for socializing within the body that is not fellowship? Imagine a typical social gathering of church members (say, over punch and sheetcake in the fellowship hall) and imagine a typical conversation you might be having with a friend. Now, what would you do to change a socializing conversation to a fellowship dialogue? At what point in the conversation would the difference be heard? Find a story in the Bible that demonstrates true fellowship between two or more people and retell the story in your own words. Who is involved? What is the setting, the situation? What are these people doing or saying that shows true koinonia? Into the Word ------------- The most beautiful example of real church fellowship is found in the second chapter of Acts. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. -Acts 2:41-47 Translate this scene into modern terms. What can we learn from this example of the early church? Do any of their practices specifically not apply to us, or are they all applicable? What methods of fellowship illustrated by this passage are taking place in your local church body? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Perspective 3: U N T I L I T H U R T S ------------- An old Sixties episode of Star Trek tells the story of a young woman encountered by our heroes Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Bones the Ship Surgeon. A strange, beautiful, yet curiously silent woman, she was called "the empath," and had the ability to receive into herself all the pain being experienced by another. She not only shared the other person's pain, but actually relieved him of it--even taking into her own body the flesh wounds received by others. The empath performed this service in an utterly generous and compassionate manner, to the point of risking her own life. This is, for me, a perfect parable for true koinonia, because it is the perfect picture of the compassionate fellowship demonstrated for us by our Savior. Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.(8) How many times in each day do we hear repeated this age's creed: "But what's in it for me?" We are not to live by that. We are sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters with Christ. We have chosen His name as our title: "Christ-ians;" so we are called to live our lives by His rules and not by the rules of this age. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.(9) That's what fellowship is: sharing things in common. We take on each other's sorrows and each other's joys; we share in tragedies and celebration; we feel with the person next to us in the pew--we are not strangers, but mates. We are joined at the hip. We are twins and triplets and quadruplets, sharing the same parent and with the same blood running through our veins: Christ's blood. Christ's brand of fellowship is reflected in the nursery volunteer; the one who visits those in the hospital and those trapped in their homes; the one who holds a hand to comfort when not even knowing the person's name, who lends a shoulder to the weeping mate left by the side of a grave. Fellowship is seen in unabashed joy and unembarrassed tears; in listening without speaking; in caring when not even asked. Fellowship is sharing from your bounty with those whose purse has run dry. __________________________ "What the circulation of the blood is to the human body, that the Holy Spirit is to the body of Christ--which is the church. By virtue of the one life-blood, every limb of the body holds fellowship with every other, and as long as life lasts that fellowship is inevitable. It is even thus in the body of Christ. The pulse of living fellowship sends a wave through the whole mystical frame. God has made us one, one Spirit quickens us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus. To deny any believer in Jesus is to refuse what you must of necessity give, and to deny in symbol what you must inevitably render in reality."(10) Into the Word ------------- My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. -John 15:12 Psalm 55:12-14 __________________________________ Amos 3:3 __________________________________ John 13:34 __________________________________ John 15:12 __________________________________ Romans 1:11-12 __________________________________ Gal 6:1-2 __________________________________ Eph 4:1-6 __________________________________ Phil 3:10-11 __________________________________ Col 3:12-17 __________________________________ 1 Thes 5:14-15 __________________________________ Phm 1:1-25 __________________________________ James 5:9-20 __________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- Digging Deeper--Moving Higher ----------------------------- Our God Has Made Us One Our God has made us one--in Him our hearts unite. When we His children share His love, our joy is His delight. Our God has made us one--His glory is displayed. For as we build each other up our love becomes His praise. Our God has made us one--In sorrow and in joy; We share the cross of Christ, our Lord, in Him we now rejoice. Our God has made us one--one church to bear His name; One body and one Bride of Christ, and with Him we shall reign.(11) Making it Personal ------------------ How many different and distinct methods can you come up with for you, personally, to demonstrate real fellowship to those in your local body? _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Very often, true Christian fellowship is displayed in the relationship between two, close friends. Do you have someone like this? Do you have someone so close they can finish your sentences? Do you have someone so close you can read their feelings at a glance? What can you do to enrich this relationship? What can the other person do to enrich this relationship? If you don't have a relationship like this, what could you do to establish or encourage it? Into the Word ------------- While it is sometimes overlooked because of its brevity, the book of Philemon offers a rich, multi-faceted viewport into the workings of the body of Christ. Read the book of Philemon and note everything--whether explicit or implied--that illustrates true Christian fellowship. ======================================================================== NOTES, COPYRIGHT & SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Notes ----- 1 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. 2 koinonia: (a) communion, fellowship, sharing in common (from koinos, common), is translated "communion" in 1 Corinthians 10:16; Philemon 6, R.V., "fellowship," for A.V., "communication;" it is most frequently translated "fellowship;" (b) that which is the outcome of fellowship, a contribution, e.g., Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 8:4. [from Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words] "Everything in life is an expression of our mystical but real participation in all that Jesus is. This mystical union is what overflows into our relationship with other believers. Recognizing that others are also in Christ, we extend to them the right hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:9), sensing a partnership in the gospel (Philippians 1:5). Even Christian giving must be understood in the context of fellowship. In this context, financial gifts become sharing, not "giving" (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 8:4; 9: 13; Hebrews 13:16)." [from Lawrence O. Richards, Expository Dictionary of Bible Words (Zondervan, 1985), p.276.] 3 A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Christian Publications, 1982), p.12ff. 4 Fanny J. Crosby (1820 - 1915). 5 A.W. Tozer The Pursuit of God (Christian Publications, 1982), p.37. 6 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (Collier Books, c.1963), p.47f. 7 John Fawcett (1740 - 1817). 8 Matthew 27:26-31, 46; Acts 3:18. 9 2 Cor 1:3-7. 10 Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon (Shaw, 1990), p.272. 11 Niles Borop, Copyright 1984 WORD MUSIC/Meadowgreen Music Co. Copyright Information --------------------- All original material in Aspects is Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel. This data file is the sole property of David S. Lampel. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 1995 David S. Lampel."). This data file may not be used without the permission of David S. Lampel for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content. Brief quotations not to exceed more than 500 words may be used, with the appropriate copyright notice, to enhance or supplement personal or church devotions, newsletters, journals, or spoken messages. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is from the New International Version. NIV quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version, Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission. NASB quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Subscription Information ------------------------ Aspects is published monthly. There are two preferred methods of receiving it on a regular basis: 1) You may subscribe to the laser-printed (hard copy) edition, which is sent out via regular mail. 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