A while ago I had stopped going to Christian churches and when I finally decided to go back I found a Messianic Jewish fellowship to attend. Through different circumstances I had to stop attending that one also. So for a long while I attended internet “fellowships” and started following various teachers.
But let’s be honest. After a while you start to crave fellowship with other people. I spend a lot of my time taking care of children and was in need of adult stimulation. So I began to pray about it. Almost immediately an answer to my prayers showed up at my front door.
The Jehovah Witnesses knocked on my door and soon we were meeting weekly to study the Word of God. They were faithful in coming, which I was happy about. Did we agree on everything – absolutely not, but I don’t agree with anyone 100% of the time and I don’t think you do either. I let them know from the jump street that I would not attend their Kingdom Hall nor would I become a Jehovah Witness. Nor was I trying to convert them. However, I was willing to have an open mind and asked that they would also.
Well we finally came to a head when one of the ladies refused to study anything other than her the book we were reading from. We got on the subject to the Sabbath and Mary (named changed to protect privacy) told me she did a study on that subject and can bring me the information back the following week. It will explain why she doesn’t keep it.
When I got it I studied one part of it and began to take notes as to why her interpretation was wrong. I photocopied my notes to give to the ladies. Martha (the other assumed named lady) said, “Oh, you read the information. Well, you’ll be okay if we don’t change our minds after reading your notes, right?”
I said, “Of course.” But then I had to wonder just how open minded she was really. I even translated one of the verses to give a better understanding of what was really being said. So when Martha began to pray, like we do every time we start the study, she says (something to this effect), “We come before you Jehovah God and we thank you because you make the word simple to understand. We don’t have to know Hebrew or Greek to understand it…”
After all of the comments and some other incidents I realized we had come to the end of a beautiful fellowship. So the following week we discussed the matter and all of agreed they would be better off spending their time with someone who doesn’t study the Word like I do.
Home Fellowship
I began to pray to God for a home fellowship. Soon I felt an urge to go back to my Messianic fellowship. Then I received a confirmation. So I went back. After going for a couple of weeks, I decided to sit with some ladies I didn’t know and a few older ones I did know. After listening to their conversation I realized the one older lady I knew had a home fellowship once a month and it was happening that week. Can you believe God! He hears our prayers and if we obey His voice we will see the answer.
They continued faithfully in the teaching of the emissaries, in fellowship, in breaking bread and in the prayers. (Acts 2:42 CJB)
So I have been going for two months now and I am so happy about it. I’ve met good people and everyone contributes to the songs, discussion, encouragement, testimony and food. It’s great. I won’t stop going to my regular fellowship, but it is nice to be able to open up and engage with people who are genuinely trying to follow God. We don’t all believe the same but we do believe the basics. And that’s good enough for me. I just enjoy being surrounded by love.
More Home Fellowshipping
Because of this act of obedience God has led me to my heart’s desire. But it doesn’t stop there because I continued to pray for more fellowshipping in the month. I am a little greedy. Please forgive me of that fault, which has gotten me in plenty of trouble.
At the last fellowship I’m listening to one of the couples talk about a fellowship in their home. I don’t say anything there. On the next day, I call the lady from my church to ask her about the couples’ meeting and she told me that night was for a specific purpose and I wouldn’t fit in there. So I didn’t think anything about.
Continuing faithfully and with singleness of purpose to meet in the Temple courts daily, and breaking bread in their several homes, they shared their food in joy and simplicity of heart, 47praising God and having the respect of all the people. And day after day the Lord kept adding to them those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47 CJB)
A few days later the husband calls me. I answered the phone even though I didn’t know who was calling. He said his wife would have called but she was working. He wanted to clear up a misunderstanding that was told to me. We cleared it up and he invited me to their regular home fellowship which happens twice a month.
Well, you can only guess how excited I am about fellowshipping with other believers, meeting new people who love God and His son and be able to learn from a variety of people instead of just one person. It reminds me of the book of Acts.