A dear brother asked, “How can we as believers stay in fellowship with the Lord?”
My response:
“Daily I ask myself what’s the best way to stay in fellowship with the Lord. The answer is always the same. (1) Read God’s word – Ps. 119:9-11(2) Pray – Jeremiah 33:3; 1 Theselonians 5:17(3) Apply God’s word – James 1:22-26(4) Worship – Romans 12:2 (private) and Hebrews 10:25 (public) (5) Witness – Acts 1:8I don’t practice these as legalistic formal rituals, as I did when I was Catholic. They don’t make me righteous because God has already done that through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). They don’t necessarily make me spiritual, but I must allow God to use them as He works in my life and I “work out” of my life what God has worked or accomplished in my life (Philipians 1:6; 2:12-13). This is where 2 Timothy 2:3-6 about the soldier, the athlete, and the farmer connects with me. I must be willing to “Suffer hardship with…as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the (worldly) affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him (that’s loyalty). And if someone likewise competes as an athlete, he is not crowned as victor unless he competes according to the rules (that’s obedience). The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops” (that’s commitment). See 2 Timothy 2:3-6. I’ve literally been an athlete and a soldier but only a farmer in a spiritual sense. Thank you for bearing with my lengthy “sermon.” Blessings!
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