Getting serious about God
Hi
Our cell should be a real cell, rather than a time to meet and talk, which is a totally different thing. I think we realise that meeting each week just to talk in general is playing religion. We all have no time to play religion.
Some ground rules to make our cell a real cell:
a. no talking about house, car or other material goods, unless it is a huge decision that requires corporate prayer;
b. no talking about job, good or bad, unless it will clearly edify the group or requires corporate prayer; and
c. no talking about children or other family stuff unless, again, it will clearly edify the group or requires corporate prayer.
Well, what else is there to talk about if we don't talk about these things? Going by our past experience, not much, because that's often all we talk about. That can't be right.
Why do I say we should stop talking about house, car, job, children? Because they are all inherently selfish things. Why haven't we been talking about other people instead? Isn't that the whole purpose of the cell? Other people!
Related to this point is that talking about these things makes us think more about those things, which should not be the case. Worse it makes another member of the group think about the same (ultimately irrelevant) thing you are thinking about e.g. Member A has a great job, member B starts thinking why shouldn't I have a great job too? Or Member C has very clever children, then Member D starts thinking what about me? This sidetracks all members from the real issue. Again - other people.
The reason why we never grow is because we keep talking about ourselves. Think about that.
Will that make cell more challenging, less comfortable? Of course - that's why we meet and that's why we need to encourage each other to keep meeting (Heb 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur (or challenge) one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching). Would we rather look back 5 years from now and see all we did was mumble about our own little lives and pretend that we attended cell like good Christians?
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
At the same time, let's not be discouraged by our state now. All of us have experienced the power and work of God in our lives at some point in the past. Bringing people to Christ, being totally on fire for Him, seeing signs and wonders. God is able to to renew that! Are we ready? It's never too soon to start (or in our case, re-start) something so challenging, no, impossible! But with God, all things are possible!
Our cell should be a real cell, rather than a time to meet and talk, which is a totally different thing. I think we realise that meeting each week just to talk in general is playing religion. We all have no time to play religion.
Some ground rules to make our cell a real cell:
a. no talking about house, car or other material goods, unless it is a huge decision that requires corporate prayer;
b. no talking about job, good or bad, unless it will clearly edify the group or requires corporate prayer; and
c. no talking about children or other family stuff unless, again, it will clearly edify the group or requires corporate prayer.
Well, what else is there to talk about if we don't talk about these things? Going by our past experience, not much, because that's often all we talk about. That can't be right.
Why do I say we should stop talking about house, car, job, children? Because they are all inherently selfish things. Why haven't we been talking about other people instead? Isn't that the whole purpose of the cell? Other people!
Related to this point is that talking about these things makes us think more about those things, which should not be the case. Worse it makes another member of the group think about the same (ultimately irrelevant) thing you are thinking about e.g. Member A has a great job, member B starts thinking why shouldn't I have a great job too? Or Member C has very clever children, then Member D starts thinking what about me? This sidetracks all members from the real issue. Again - other people.
The reason why we never grow is because we keep talking about ourselves. Think about that.
Will that make cell more challenging, less comfortable? Of course - that's why we meet and that's why we need to encourage each other to keep meeting (Heb 10:24-25 And let us consider how we may spur (or challenge) one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching). Would we rather look back 5 years from now and see all we did was mumble about our own little lives and pretend that we attended cell like good Christians?
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
At the same time, let's not be discouraged by our state now. All of us have experienced the power and work of God in our lives at some point in the past. Bringing people to Christ, being totally on fire for Him, seeing signs and wonders. God is able to to renew that! Are we ready? It's never too soon to start (or in our case, re-start) something so challenging, no, impossible! But with God, all things are possible!
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