Gather in the Name
Gather in the Name
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20
The magnetic attraction of Christian community is not the songs you sing, the car you drive, or the color of your skin. What makes Christian community supernatural, is the fact that the singular source of our unity is the Name.
At the culmination of one of Jesus' most potent teaching sessions with his disciples, Jesus boiled down the simplicity of true Christian community, “for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Notice the presence of the Name guarantees the community, and the glue of the community is the manifest presence of Christ.
When Jesus said, “there am I among them,” he was obviously referring to his manifest presence, not his everywhere, or omnipresence. You can gather in the Name of Vladimir Putun or Lady Gaga and the everywhere presence will be there. But when Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them,” he was certainly talking about his manifest presence.
The Name brings the Presence, and the Presence is the power cell of the community of faith. When the Name is elevated, the differences between people disappear. When division, discord, and factions develop within the fellowship, it is because you have devalued the Name.
The Name calls you today to repent of elevating anything above the Name. The Name is the Presence, and the Presence is your source of unity.
Loving Father, search me now and expose anything in my heart and in my church life that is of greater value than the Name. I now bow any vested interest or hidden agenda to the Name.
YEAR ON FIRE
© Fred A. Hartley, III
All rights reserved
The English Standard Bible (ESV) is normally used, unless otherwise indicated.
This daily Christ-encountering, fire-starter is not intended to replace your daily Bible reading and prayer time, but rather to motivate you to spend extended time in His presence.
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20
The magnetic attraction of Christian community is not the songs you sing, the car you drive, or the color of your skin. What makes Christian community supernatural, is the fact that the singular source of our unity is the Name.
At the culmination of one of Jesus' most potent teaching sessions with his disciples, Jesus boiled down the simplicity of true Christian community, “for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Notice the presence of the Name guarantees the community, and the glue of the community is the manifest presence of Christ.
When Jesus said, “there am I among them,” he was obviously referring to his manifest presence, not his everywhere, or omnipresence. You can gather in the Name of Vladimir Putun or Lady Gaga and the everywhere presence will be there. But when Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them,” he was certainly talking about his manifest presence.
The Name brings the Presence, and the Presence is the power cell of the community of faith. When the Name is elevated, the differences between people disappear. When division, discord, and factions develop within the fellowship, it is because you have devalued the Name.
The Name calls you today to repent of elevating anything above the Name. The Name is the Presence, and the Presence is your source of unity.
Loving Father, search me now and expose anything in my heart and in my church life that is of greater value than the Name. I now bow any vested interest or hidden agenda to the Name.
YEAR ON FIRE
© Fred A. Hartley, III
All rights reserved
The English Standard Bible (ESV) is normally used, unless otherwise indicated.
This daily Christ-encountering, fire-starter is not intended to replace your daily Bible reading and prayer time, but rather to motivate you to spend extended time in His presence.
Posted in Year on Fire
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