2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Jeremiah 4:19-6:15 ESV Colossians 1 ESV, 18-2:7 ESV, Psalm 77:1-20 ESV, Proverbs 24:23-25 ESV
Daily Verse: “And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:18 ESV)
EKKLESIA (1577): “This word stresses a group of people called out for a special purpose. It designated the new society of which Jesus was the founder, being as it was a society knit together by the closest spiritual bonds and altogether independent of space.”[1]
Society knit together.
Christ knits us together into a society called out for a particular purpose. Belonging to Jesus’ church means becoming His disciple and collectively trying to pursue Christ. Not a building, but a group of people all striving for the same goal, to love God and others.
Ron and I visited Heart Cry Christian Fellowship in Naples, NY, while on vacation. Pastor Price delivered an incredible message describing the difference between Godly and worldly grief, encouraging, uplifting, and challenging us. At the service’s end, two different people prayed for us during corporate prayer.
Spiritual bonds.
Over 500 miles from home, we experienced life in Christ’s church with strangers, yet spiritually Jesus bonds us together. When the group discovered our vacation centered around our 10th wedding anniversary, they prayed for our marriage.
Tears choked my throat when I prayed for the church, asking God to bless them and help them transform the world around them through His love. Afterward, I connected with the pastor’s wife as we shared our Jesus stories.
Christ has one church, filled with people who intentionally pursue life with Him. In America, different denominations exist, but Jesus remains the head of His church.
Experience the beauty of life in the church as you pursue relationships with Jesus and those who follow Him. Transformation happens when we gather with other believers and submit our lives to Christ.
[1] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 81) Thomas Nelson
