Do two or more have to gather before God attends? When Jesus offered guidance to His disciples about decision making, especially in regards to addressing a believer whose sins are obvious to all except them, He shared “I am there with you”. He implied that because the group’s intentions are focused on respecting and honouring God through their love for the falling friends, He will be present. Jesus shares that because we are weak and He is strong, He will be with us when we have those uncomfortable conversations with our friends who are slipping and need a helping hand. After all, that is what friends do; they have each others back. We may be in a position to guide a friend back and it is good to know God is with us.
When we choose to become a follower of Christ we are empowered with the Holy Spirit who, amongst other things, acts as our moral guide and encourager. Jesus is always with those who believe but He also wants us to be aware that when we work with other believers, we experience a different type of power. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT) shares: “a person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken”. When we face the world with others, we can find comfort and strength when walking with people of the same mind set.
We are designed to be in relationship with others and so we should not discount the value of gathering together. We connect quickly when we can relate to another’s experiences, especially when they faced adversarial situations and overcame them. Our gift as the Military Christian Fellowship of Canada is that we have common experiences that we share with many serving and retired military personnel and their families who do not know Jesus. We have stories about our everyday victories that can bring them hope. A good story is of no value when locked up inside the mind of a believer who does not know how to share it. It needs to be released and shared with others. If not already part of a group, seek out some military brothers and sisters and talk how you can share Jesus to others. Share how you can make your story part of someone else story. Since Jesus will be with you, ask for His wisdom, discernment and power so together you can become someone else’s backup. There is power in groups.
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To help you in forming good habits, this month we have been sending out a list with different variation of God’s names which we encouraged you to pray through, we want you to continue in prayer as we cover more of God’s names through the bible. From October 17 to 23 the prayers will continue to be posted daily on FACEBOOK, however for those who are not on FACEBOOK, you can go to the MCF Praying through God Names webpage and follow along as prayers are posted every week. The idea would be to read the description, reflect on it and then offer the prayer. Hopefully, you will keep God’s name and meaning in your mind all day and as you go about your life, God may reveal Himself to you using that trait.