Thank God for Encouragers in the Faith! | John 13:20

[00:00:00] Real Truth Daily. This is Daily Truths with Dave Ahlman. Hi everybody, welcome back to Daily Truths. There are five or six men in my life who've made an incredible difference in the way I see things, in the way I interact with other people, in the way I perceive my relationship with God.

[00:00:22] And when I get together with them, we talk about politics and we talk about current events, of course we talk about sports, talk about movies, but eventually the conversation leads into our relationship with God and what God means to us and how he's blessed us and what it means to have a relationship with him and to experience his comfort and love and acceptance and approval and pardon.

[00:00:44] And when I'm done with that conversation, I oftentimes leave there just thanking God, not only for that relationship and that bond that I have with that brother in Christ, but thanking God for the relationship I have with him and how that's been brought out in our conversation. In the book of John, chapter 13, Jesus says these words,

[00:01:08] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. This is talking about receiving someone with personal approval, hospitality or respect. It means receiving the message or the messenger and accepting them with love.

[00:01:35] What Jesus is saying here is when I send you out and they receive you, they're receiving me and in the process receiving the father. He's talking about a mutual bond, a community, a fellowship, a relationship that we have with one another and we have with God that is brought out in our conversations with other brothers or sisters in Christ. He's talking about the community of believers.

[00:02:01] He's talking about the community of believers, the fellowship of believers and how when we accept one another in that bond, in that relationship, we're actually accepting the bond that we have with Jesus. And in the process, the bond that we have with God, the father. This bond is unlike any other entity or institution in the world today.

[00:02:22] You can't find it in a Kiwanis group or a, you know, a civic group of some kind, a library group, a recreation center group, a sports group, an athletic group or whatever. It goes much deeper than that. Why? Because we have an intimate connection with each other through faith in Jesus Christ and that binds us together with the Lord Jesus Christ and with God, the father. Here's the thing.

[00:02:49] If you have that in your life, if you have a few people in your life that you can go deep with into a relationship with God and you can talk about the things of God in a powerful, significant, special, experiential way. Oh my goodness. You are blessed. And the bottom line of this devotion today is thank God for those relationships.

[00:03:14] Thank God for those people in your life that point you to Jesus and reflect his love to you. That is a special bond. Unlike any other bond, any other friendship, any other relationship on this side of heaven. I think of that hymn. Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to thee above. How true that is.

[00:03:45] So today, thank God ultimately for the church. And if you're not a part of a church, if you're watching DT, but you're kind of a separate entity and you don't have any relationships with any other Christians, you need it in your life. Because it will point you to Jesus. And you'll see the love of Jesus in an experiential way in your relationship with other people. Now, I've got to say this. Christians aren't perfect.

[00:04:12] And I've had relationships with other Christians. And you know what? Sometimes they let me down. And sometimes I let them down. And sometimes they sin against me. And sometimes I sin against them. Why? Because we have foibles and faults and sins. We're broken people. But in the midst of all that, this fellowship that I have with my brothers in Christ and sisters in Christ too, obviously, as I'm a pastor, right, it strengthens my faith.

[00:04:42] It grows my faith. It strengthens my cords with the Lord Jesus Christ and with other people. And I need it in my life. And so do you. And if you're not a part of a Christian fellowship anywhere, anyhow, get connected. It's the greatest, the greatest, I love this. I used to go to Coors Field and they say this about Disneyland too. The greatest place on earth, it's not.

[00:05:10] The greatest place on earth is a Christian congregation where mutual love and respect and caring and kindness and encouragement is exponential in how it blesses you in life. Find a church where you find those kinds of relationships. And if you already have that, just say a prayer of thanksgiving to God today for it. Have a great day in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is today's Daily Truth.

[00:05:38] Thank you for tuning in to Daily Truths with Dave Allman. Pastor Dave Allman is the pastor of Mount Hope Church in Boulder, Colorado. If this ministry is blessing you, please consider supporting us by sharing this channel with a friend. You can also like, comment, subscribe, or leave a review. This helps us tremendously. Come back tomorrow for your next Daily Truth.