“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Mat 18:20 (KJV)
There are times we agree to participate in “prayer” meetings, which are usually Bible studies in disguise. Sometimes it’s actual Bible study groups. Other times, we agree to meet up with a “partner” or “teacher” to facilitate our Growth.
We need to look at these events, not as just meetings with our fellow humans but also as meetings with Christ, Himself! “For where two or three are gathered together in [His] name, there [He is] in the midst of them.”
This is not a suggestion, this is not a possibility, this is an explicit promise. Christ is meeting with us, whether the participants are in the same physical location or online via some telecommunication service.
Now. When the things of this world start to pile up on our plates, what is the first event we shift off our calendar? Are we accustomed to counting Bible study as not that important? Are we accustomed to saving our personal Bible reading to the very last thing of the day? Are we used to skipping the group study because we have to do “something”?
Do we let people and things that are “urgent” deter us from our meeting with Christ? Have we become comfortable with neglecting our Savior, day by day? Are we used to prioritizing the cares of this world over Him?
Let us not become the people in this verse.
“And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”
Luk 8:14 (KJV)
Let us listen to another warning from Christ.
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Luk 21:34-36 (KJV)
I implore you, brethren and sisters, we need to watch ourselves. We need to see when the enemy is creeping in to take us away from our meetings with Christ.
Trust isn’t built on “wedding day”, it is built in a lifetime of consistent communication, devotion, and acts of service. So, too, our relationship with Christ doesn’t grow just because we said, “I surrender”. It is the day by day connection that fosters Christian growth.
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” Joh 15:5 (KJV)
It’s those meetings with Christ that can be considered abiding in Him. It is the day by day choice to prioritize the One who created you that will keep you from choosing the devil over and over again. Each time we sin, we have chosen the devil. We have taken from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The only way we will choose Christ when the time of testing comes is to choose Christ in the little things. When we choose to drop other things from our busy schedules instead of dropping Christ, then we will foster sincere growth.