September 21st
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete. This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:3-7 NIV
This passage highlights the concept of having fellowship with God. The Greek word John used for fellowship is Koinonia (Strong’s #2842), which means:
1. fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse
a. the share which one has in anything, participation
b. intercourse, fellowship, intimacy
2. the right hand as a sign and pledge of fellowship (in fulfilling the apostolic office)
a. a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship
(reference: Crosswalk.com Lexicon)
John pointed out that as Christians we cannot have fellowship with both light and darkness. God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom are incompatible, because God has no darkness in him. When we pursue fellowship exclusively with God, we can find “complete joy.”
The world often offers us a dazzling array of temptations to follow the path of darkness. If we can see such temptations as the “fellowship breakers” that they are, we’ll be less likely to be duped by them. Too often people think they can have their sin and keep their fellowship with God. In essence, they deceive themselves into believing that the two are compatible, when in fact they are not.
Living in the light is the important foundation to fellowship with God (and his people). One of the ways we live in the light is by guarding our eyes and ears from evil. For example, Jesus said, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23 NKJV) If we’ve filled our eyes with porn, or violence or other sin depictions, it shouldn’t surprise us that our thoughts are filled with the same material.
If we can shut off the sources of evil that are bombarding our eyes and ears, we’ll be better able to walk in God’s light and enjoy fellowship with him. Some obvious sources include television, movies and porn. While we may not have to stop watching all television and movies, we will have to exercise wisdom and discretion in what we do watch. This may not be an easy task, but God will help us carry it out through the Holy Spirit, who helps us put the sinful deeds of the flesh to death (Romans 8:11-13). The Spirit will also help us regain control over our eyes and ears and use them as instruments of righteousness and not for sin.
Questions for further thought:
Does what we watch test who is lord over our eyes?
What does it mean to live in the light?
When we’re not living in the light, how might we respond to it? (John 3:19-21)
Take a moment to evaluate the fellowship you have with God. What areas are lacking?
Prayer:
“Father God, I confess that I have sinned against you by filling myself with darkness in the following ways: _____________ (specify). Please forgive me and cleanse me from my sin with your glorious blood. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins and raising him from the dead, so that I too might walk in the light. Please teach me how to do this and enjoy deep fellowship with you. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”