24. October 2009 by Annette Colon-Alvarenga.

I just got back from my son’s soccer game. Unfortunately, they experienced their first loss and they are devastated. Their team has, like all sports teams, an MVP; a player who is completely committed to the goal of winning and does all he has to do to reach the goal.  All of the other teams have come to recognize this key player. So today, that other team was all over our MVP. They did not hold back. They played a dirty game fouling our boy every chance they had. After this happened a few times, the other boys (especially mine) began to hold back in their game. Their fear of getting hit or being thrown down absolutely paralyzed them. The end result was that they lost the game.

My husband told our son, “that’s just the way the game is; you gotta stay in the game; you have to stay alert; you have to be ready because the only thing guaranteed is that you will get fouled, especially when you’re a good player.”  This, of course, is no consolation for Ricky who is only 9 years old. The only thing he knows today is that as long as he keeps his distance from the ball, they won’t come after him.

As Christians we run the same risk of getting fouled by the enemy. Satan’s goal is, after all, to destroy us completely. Peter tells us that we need to be aware of his workings: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8.)  Satan is real and he works diligently to attempt to separate us from God especially those who serve the Lord with all of their hearts and all of their strength. That’s why Peter warns us, “Be . . . alert.”

From personal experience I can tell you that when I have committed to serving in ministry, when I have given all that I have in terms of my heart and strength to the work of the Lord, that is when I have found myself in the most difficult and distressful situations. I’m am barely feeling relief from one problem and here comes the next one.  In the past, in my immaturity, this has led me to isolate myself from the ministry and friends until I find relief. When I have done this, the enemy has fulfilled his purpose because he has completely paralyzed me and stopped me in my tracks. I became apathetic and ineffective.

Now, when this has happened, unfortunately, I have been asked about whether there was any unforgiveness I had to take care of, whether there was any unconfessed sin in my life, whether I have been praying enough, etc.  And isn’t that the way many Christians see things when a brother or sister in Christ is really struggling? They don’t believe in oppression, that this could be the enemy’s doing. They confidently say, “I’m a Christian. I don’t have any struggles. My finances are in order, my marriage is strong, I have my health and my kids are doing well.” I’ll tell you, if this is you, if you have no opposition from the enemy, I don’t question your salvation but wonder if perhaps your lack of struggle is because you are not a threat to Satan. See it’s like the boys in the soccer game, the opposition oppressed and fouled only the MVP; the other players (my son included) where already paralyzed.

One thing I have learned is that Satan doesn’t care if your in church every single Sunday dressed in your Sunday best. He doesn’t care that you sing the songs and clap your hands. He doesn’t care that you carry your Bible wherever you go and drop some money in the offering plate. He doesn’t even care if you volunteer to serve here and there. But if you are truly committed to the Lord; if you serve Him with all of your soul and strength; if you truly love Him and praise Him and recognize the potential that God has placed in you and that He has an incredible plan for your life; if you are this person, you are a sure target of the enemy and you need to be alert because he will try to paralyze you.

Where do you find yourself today? Are you an MVP on God’s team keeping alert so that the enemy doesn’t foul you or are you not a cause for concern to the enemy?

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”  1 Corinthians 15:57-58.

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24. October 2009 by Annette Colon-Alvarenga.

Koinōnia is the Greek word for fellowship. It is based on the Greek noun koinos which means “common.” It has reference to the things one shares with others.  When we talk about fellowship or koinōnia of the church we are referring to what we hold in common with each other.  And so, even though Christian fellowship includes many things, at its heart is a common experience of God’s grace through Christ Jesus.

Throughout God’s word we find many verses of scripture that use the words “one another” to teach us what our Christian fellowship, what our relationship to others should be like.

We are called to love one another. In John 13:34-35, Jesus gave His new commandment: “³⁴A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This is repeated two more times, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (15:12);   “This I command you, to love one another” (15:17).  Paul reminds us of this commandment in Romans 13:8: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” In 1 Thessalonians 3:12, Paul prays, “. . . abound in love to one another and to all men. . .” He wrote, “You yourselves have been taught by God to love one another” (1 Thessalonians 4:9). The “love one another” command appears 5 times in 1 John (verses 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11-12) and it appears again in 2 John 5.  The ability to love one another as Jesus commanded can only come through being born of the Spirit and an understanding of God’s love for us all.

We are called to serve one another. Jesus is our example in this area. He demonstrated the true nature of the servant character of love when he washed the feet of his disciples. He said in John 13:15, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”  The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Galatia, “You my brothers were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather serve one another in love.”  We are called to be servants in all ways.

We are called to bear one another’s burdens. “Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2.) We show our love for one another and serve each other by helping shoulder the burdens that are wearing down our brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, this can only happen when we engage with one another; when we build relationships of trust and confidence with each other to a point where we are not afraid to share with one another honestly.

We are called to forgive one another. The early church did have difficult times and this caused on many occasions bitterness and anger within the church. Paul wrote to the churches in Ephesus and Colosse about the absolute need of forgiveness within the body of Christ. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32.) “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:12-13.)

We are called to confess our sins to one another. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16.) While this may not be something we as Christians do as a matter of practice or even want to do, James tells us that such confessions are linked to prayer and promised power to overcome the sin in our lives.

We are called to instruct one another. Paul said to the Christians at Rome: “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14.) “Complete in knowledge and competent” requires that we have a close relationship with God and we know the scriptures. Our specific life experiences, coupled with God’s word and how He has impacted our lives make incredible tools for instruction.

Finally, we are called to comfort one another. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 that in the same we have been comforted by God in our times of trial and tribulation, we are to comfort one another. “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.”

I have recently joined a women’s Bible study group. From my first day in the group, I could see there was a special something between the women in the group. In the last four weeks attending the weekly study, that “something special” has become even more apparent. As a group, they exhibit each of the “one another” principles listed here. There is definitely something intense about how they relate to one another. Now, for me, this is something new and will take some getting used to. I do have a natural reluctance to allowing others to get too close. And each of these principles requires an incredible degree of trust in others, something I do not easily do. But I understand that if I want to experience true koinōnia as a member of the body of Christ, if I truly desire to grow into spiritual maturity, instead of following my first instinct which was to turn and run fast and far, the barriers have to come down.

“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16.

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