July 3

Philemon 6 (NIV84)
6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

There is a key here if you can see it. You have more understanding of every good thing you have in Christ IF you actively share your faith. This is not talking about witnessing to others who don’t know Christ, the word here is “koinonia”, which if you were around in the 70’s you are familiar with. Koinonia means “an association involving close mutual relations and involvement”. There is something great about being closely involved with a group of people who share with each other about their faith in Christ. It spurs us on, it challenges us, it takes us to new heights and it develops a greater understanding of every good thing that we have in Christ!

Lest you think that it is talking about church and it ends there, let me say NOT! You can go to church and NEVER have a close mutual relationship with people. It is easy to be swayed by the large or mega church, because if it’s grand flowing services and all the wonderful things they offer (many of them really do), to attend on Sunday and think that you are fulfilling your role as a believer in fellowship – you are not. It is time that we as the people of Christ look into the face of what church has become and decide that we will not be “attenders” of a service, but partners with each other as we share our faith with one another and develop a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Then we can become fruitful and knowledgeable partners to take the message of the gospel to the world with great effectiveness!