Scripture I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. 2 Corinthians 7:3

Observation One of the reasons us Christians are squeezed together into church is to explore all that it means for us to be Christ’s family. If we make the most of community life we can discover that church family will mean more to us than our parents or immediate family.

That’s not to be unkind to our own kinfolk. It’s just saying what Jesus said. The family were within earshot when Jesus spoke.

Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” Matthew 12:47-50

Few experience family through the church. They touch the frame but they are not in the family picture. They shake the hands of strangers after the singing is finished. They hug a Bible for comfort on their lap during a small group. They nibble spaghetti of a sagging paper plate at the church pot luck. They they are in the wading pool of relationships. Few have plunged into the deep end of family.

Just as we modern Christians have processed the lavish communion meal into thimble goblets and bird feed bread, so we’ve dehydrated the family of God. We need a new generation who will walk heart-first into every predictable activity and fill it with meaning. It is a choice to open an inner sitting room of our heart where only blood relatives have entered and let God’s people in there. It is a holy courage not to let any event be perfunctory but family.

Application I’m thankful that for 25 years of living thousands of miles from my family that I came to love brothers and sisters in Christ’s family as my own. They became our grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles. That experience has ruined me for life. I can’t attend church for long without turning it into my own family reunion. I want to be part of a body where everyone does that too.

Prayer   Father, teach us to be family again. Amen.

Scripture
It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” Acts 19:1-2

Observation
If I could attend any New Testament church, I think Ephesus would be the congregation I would like to visit. Why not Jerusalem Church? Ephesus was a different animal. Revival in Jerusalem was to be expected, but not in Ephesus. Ephesus was a place of idol-worshipping pagans. But there, the biggest church outside of Jerusalem was born. It was a life giving church not just to a city, but to an entire state. How did it happen? Here are some things I see.

1. Timing. Paul didn’t rush to start the church. In fact, he put it off for several years. It gave time for Apollos to plant and then Paul to water. We are often in a rush, but God is not. Seeds must be planted and then waited for to grow.

2. The whole package. The miracle started with 12 leaders totally open, without any misgivings, to receiving the Holy Spirit. They had received the box in baptism, but it had never been opened. There was no theological hopscotch over nuances of words and questions of timing. They heard. They opened. They received.

3. Daily reasoning sessions. Like the church at Jerusalem, they met daily. There is something about increasing face-to-face time that speeds up the process. These were not lectures, they were dialogues of the reality of Jesus as Messiah.

4. Prayer for the sick. Miracles happened because they asked for them. In these daily meetings there must have been regular times of prayer. Out of these came the miracles that made Jesus famous.

5. Dealing with hidden things. Why did the people leave books of witchcraft on their shelves so long? Better yet, why did God bless people who had ouija boards in their closets? Such is God’s grace. Yet even more remarkable is what happened after they burned millions of dollars worth of black magic books. The fear of Jesus fell on the whole city.

Application
In a age of slick methods, Acts 19 offers something that tingles with life. Have there ever been any Christians in the past 2,000 years more successful at overturning such a pagan region in so short a time? The Bible has the story of experts. It should be the first book we consult.

Prayer
Father, take me back to Bible principles. You have shown me some mighty works over my lifetime. I’ve been part of churches that have shaken cities. Those days are past. Do something new in me today Lord. Let me stumble into an Ephesus. Amen.

Scripture
O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls;
they will pray day and night, continually.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,
until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. Isaiah 62:6-7

Observation
Heaven was bankrupted for it. The only son was killed for it. The local church is the centre of God’s attention. The Lord is looking for those who are as obsessed with the church as he is.

God is looking for those who will pray about the church as much as he thinks about it. He wants to be bothered. He wants prayer to ascend in the night as much as in the morning.

Application
Few hear this heartbeat of the Father for the local church. For most the local church only gets one morning a week worth of thought. But there are watchmen appointed by the Lord who can think of nothing else.

Prayer
Wake me up Father whenever you need someone to talk to about your church. Remind me in my waking hours that little else matters. Give me a heart like David who would not let rest come to his eyes until he found a resting place for your presence in Jerusalem. Your city and the people in it are all that matters. Keep me awake, Father, for what matters most to you. Amen.

Press the arrow to listen to Mercy Me sing “You Reign” while reading today’s devotion about living with imperfections.

Scripture
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes in it will not be disturbed. Isaiah 26:16

Observation
There are many disturbing things in the city of God. The church is not a perfect place because people are in it. The local church is an odd blend of high ideals and broken lives. We are right to have high expectations because God has given us a grand vision and the power to accomplish it. But we are nothing more than clay models made from the dust of the ground and so we don’t live up to expectations.

When we are disturbed about problems in Zion, it is tempting to take matters into our own hands. In some broken down part of the city we begin to throw up a speedy wall to shore up the city. But our haste and lack of planning is visible by how out of place our human efforts look in the overall city plan.

Application
Instead, we are to build on the cornerstone. When a mason lays a new wall he first puts in a starting block. Every block and course emanates from that first brick. A new section cannot be thrown up on its own. Instead it must start with the cornerstone. Jesus is building is church and what looks right and lasts is built on him. In panic or good intentions, we are not to throw up temporary solutions. Instead, we are to find where Jesus is building and align everything we do with that.

Prayer
Father, today, show me where Jesus is building his church and let all I add on be right on the string line of his purposes. Amen.