here translated fellowship. It is the word koinonia which means a shar er, partner, or companion. This word occurs in a first-century in scription of a doctor regarding' his wife in which he said, “ as with you alone I shared my life.” We use the word frequently, but are strangers to “ sharing our life” with other be lievers. Fellowship means an inti mate bond, a quality of togetherness and a sharing of spiritual experi ence. Busy home routines have large ly eliminated fellowship in the fam ily c ir c le ; activity schedules of churches and worship hours militate against fellowship. We are surround ed by Christian people, but many of them are as lonely as though a stranger in New York City. G. Camp bell Morgan said, “ It has become very difficult for Christian people to talk of the things o f Christ to each other. They meet together in ordi nary life, and they talk of every thing except the deepest things of their spiritual life; and that not be cause they have not deep experience . . . but because they have never learned how to help each other in mutual converse concerning them.” The modem cell-group movement and neighborhood Bible club pro gram is eloquent testimony to the hunger of people for deeper and more meaningful relationships with be lievers than afforded in the local church program. This fellowship ex isted among Christians in the book of Acts and must be restored today through prayer cells, home Bible discussion groups, scheduled meet ings of two or three persons for Bible study and prayer. Many local churches are sponsoring this pro gram with marked success. Notice that fellowship is listed in Acts 2 :42 before breaking of bread and before prayers. Apparently C h r is tia n s ’ sharing their lives deeply with each other is more important than group prayers. At least the textual order would so indicate. We may doubt the effectiveness of one’s prayers for others if he is a spiritual “ loner.” The “ breaking of bread” refers primarily to the Lord’s Supper but also to the Love Feast which was a full meal preceding the Lord’s Sup per and furnished a fellowship op portunity. Disorders at the Lord’s Table (I Corinthians 11:17-22) led to the discontinuance of the Love Feast, but the purpose achieved thereby is as important as ever. The Lord’s Supper was fellowship ex pressed in a special way for, “ the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion (fellowship, shar ing) of the blood of Christ?” (I Co- cont. on page UU
n M E M O R I E S !
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F - ME* J æ
R ich a rd W . D e H a a n Te a c h e r R ad io B ible Class
MEMORIES
T he sons of Jacob had abducted Joseph their brother and cruelly soldthe boy Into slavery. To cover their crime they lied abouthimtotheir father, probablyimagining that this would be theendofthetale.How ever, yearslater they were tormented by their guilty conscienc s. For as they sto d beforeJoseph(unrecognized bythem), MEM ORY awakened all the lurid evil of their former ded. They recalled the anguish of their litle brother as he pleade withthem to spare him; for the record of that event was still imbedded in their minds. As a moving picture film— stored away foryears -— can be brought out and cause oneto recall past incidents, so too, a guilty con science can drag outsome carefully stored memories and bring us face to face with unpleasant facts we havetried to forget. This is what happened withthebrothersof Joseph.
Since all our thoughts, words anddeeds are also recorded, what can we do to erase them? There is only One who can "forget themFOR YOU,” even though you yourself may remember. Failure to go to Him for the blotting out of all the past is a fatal mistake, for the unsaved can only anticipate that their evil memorieswil torment them forevr. Abraham said to the rich manin Hades, “Son, remember!" Whatever else the fires of eternal doom may mean,the worst wil be the never-ending remorse overthe past— the memory that it could have been differnt,if one had only fledtotheSaviour who promisesto forgiveone’s pastsins and remember them“no moreforever.”
THOT: By nature it is so much easier to remember the bad, and forget the good — but grace can change all of this!
The above is selected from Our Daily Bread, the devotional guide published monthly by Radio Bible Class. This booklet contains interesting meditations, Scripture portions, poems, and a thought for every day of the month— as written by Richard DeHaan, Henry Bosch, Herbert Vander Lugt, and the late Dr. M. R. DeHaan. Your copy is waiting for you, free and postpaid.
This Bible-teaching ministry in cludes printing and distribution of devotional and study ma terials, the production of daily and weekly radio programs and TV series. Literature samples and time-station listings are FREE upon request.
COM ING NEXT MON TH . . . Vacation Bible School will highlight the February issue of THE KING’S BUSINESS. Practical helps and direction will be given along with re views of available V.B.S. materials. A special feature will provide answers to questions that children most often ask. Extra copies are available at ten for $1.50. Orders must be received by January 14. Every V.B.S. worker should have this special issue. Write to THE KING’S BUSINESS Magazine, 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, California 90638.
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JANUARY, 1969
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