Blessings on our small group

Last night we had the joy of being in fellowship with some former members of the Shepherd's Church. Larry and Becky were our hosts and as usual everything was first class! Becky knows how to cook and Larry knows how to eat so you can see that is a wonderful combination. The evening was filled with catching up about family, life in general and of course church. It seems that we have all scattered to various places in Charlotte but still very much excited about the Lord Jesus. We sang, prayed and I was thrilled to share a short devotion from my time this week in Joshua. I am reminded there is no "perfect" church on planet earth but one day there will be! However leaving the presence of those last night it felt like we had a worship service. I heard Buck Hatch once teach on a verse like 2:14 "Do all things without grumbling or disputing." As he ended the class the challenge was to live out this verse literally for one week. Then he adds the next week that within 20 minutes after the class he had violated that very verse. My point is that our sin nature is still tainting, impacting and causing problems especially in the church. Therefore we need lots and lots of grace. Each of the people last night are very grace based in their walk.

I probably at some time or another had hard conversations or tense conversations with each one of the people I saw last night. Still they were able to remain committed to a friendship and fellowship within the body of our small church. A small church is not easy and becomes even harder when the leadership decides to shut it down. If you were to make a list of the number of ways a person can get upset with church leadership, and then decide to leave a church we could write a book. But how wonderful when people decide to stay members of the body when it becomes difficult and even better offer grace upon grace. This is no way as meant as a condemnation to those who left but rather a compliment for those who in fact stayed!

Again for those who came last night it was a time of sweet fellowship, memories and a time to exhort each of us to continue running the race, fighting the good fight and keeping the faith. Blessings on our small group!