Today is the first day of 2019, a new beginning!\u00a0 I wish everyone a blessed new year.\u00a0 May you walk daily with the Lord and rejoice in Him always.\u00a0\u00a0 From the beginning of the year until the end of the year, may you live in the abundant grace of God!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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You crown the year with your bounty, Our church theme this year is\u00a0Koinonia<\/em>.\u00a0 This is a Greek word that comes from the Bible.\u00a0 It means \u201ccommon being\u201d, a word that depicts \u201ca group of believers sharing life together in Christ\u201d.\u00a0 Based on this theme, I will send out a devotional five days a week from Monday to Friday until January 31st<\/sup>, for a total of 24 devotionals.\u00a0 I would like to especially thank Mrs. Amanda Hsiao for proofreading the articles, and sister I-Shen Lai for the English translations.\u00a0 My hope is that these articles will be beneficial to my brothers and sisters in Christ.\u00a0 You are welcome to share them with others.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The basic definition of\u00a0Koinonia<\/em>\u00a0is \u201ccommon being\u201d:\u00a0 the many joined together as one body, connected to the head, that is Christ, and from him the whole body is joined and held together by every supporting ligament (Eph 4:15-16), having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind (Php 2:2), striving together as one for the faith of the gospel (Php 1:27).\u00a0 There are two necessary conditions for\u00a0koinonia<\/em>: the first is to be \u201cin Christ\u201d, and the second is to have \u201clife together\u201d.\u00a0 Without Christ, even a group of people living under the same roof may, on the surface, seem to share life together, when in reality, they walk separate ways, are not like-minded, and are not connected to Christ the head.\u00a0 This is not\u00a0koinonia<\/em>.\u00a0 On the flip side, a group of people may be in Christ, even belong to the same church and greet each other every Sunday, yet never have real interactions nor truly know or care about one another.\u00a0 There is no life together.\u00a0 This is also not\u00a0koinonia<\/em>.\u00a0 In order for\u00a0koinonia\u00a0<\/em>to happen, both of the criteria, \u201cin Christ\u201d and \u201clife together\u201d, must be present.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Koinonia<\/em>\u00a0is the work of God.\u00a0 It is the best cure for a broken humanity, and the best testimony to a dark world.\u00a0 It has love as its content, and the gospel (sharing Christ) as its purpose.\u00a0 Those who live in\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u00a0accept each other, affirm each other, and walk together as one.\u00a0 It has amazing healing powers, allowing broken hearts to be mended, weary hearts to be rested, and lonely hearts to be comforted.\u00a0 Everyone yearns for love, meaning, acceptance, affirmation, and friendship, and when such rare and precious qualities are found in a group of people, others will be amazed and desire to be part of that community.\u00a0 And so\u00a0koinonia\u00a0<\/em>becomes the most effective testimony, drawing others towards Christ.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Cor 5:17)<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The starting point of\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u00a0is \u201cin Christ\u201d.\u00a0 Those who are in Christ are new creations.\u00a0 New creations in Christ can live life together with each other.\u00a0 Thanks be to God, because being \u201cin Christ\u201d is only possible by the grace of God.\u00a0 We ourselves are unable to be in Christ, but it is God who has given us his righteousness, \u201cthrough faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe\u201d (Rom 3:22), so that we may \u201cshare in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light\u201d, rescuing us from the dominion of darkness and bringing us into the \u201ckingdom of the Son he loves\u201d (Col 1:12-13).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Praise God for his grace, a person is in Christ the moment he admits he is a sinner, repents of his sin, and believes and trusts in the lordship of Christ.\u00a0 On the other hand, if someone has never repented of his sin and has not trusted in Christ, even if he says \u201cI believe in Christianity\u201d, he is not in Christ.\u00a0 Being \u201cin Christ\u201d and being \u201cin Christianity\u201d are very different:\u00a0 those who are in Christ believe in Christ and have received salvation from Jesus; those who are in Christianity believe in a religion and have not received salvation from Jesus.\u00a0 One has a relationship with the eternal true God, and the other has a relationship with a human religion.\u00a0 God can save people, religion cannot.\u00a0 Those who believe in Jesus have been brought by God into the kingdom of the Son he loves, but those who believe in religion still dwell in the dominion of darkness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1:13-14)<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If people are living in different kingdoms (one in the kingdom of God, the other in the dominion of darkness), there can be no\u00a0koinonia<\/em>.\u00a0 For example, there may be many people who attend a fellowship meeting, of whom there are believers and seekers, as well as those who claim to be Christians but have not believed in Christ.\u00a0 The believers have\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u00a0among themselves, but those who are not believers do not, because they are not in Christ.\u00a0 Although they sing the same hymns and study from the same Bible, and it seems that everyone is part of the fellowship, but the real\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u00a0happens only among the believers, and those who are not believers can have no part of it.\u00a0 Those who are seekers and later come to Christ will then join in the\u00a0koinonia<\/em>, because once they believe in Christ, they are brought by God into the kingdom of the Son he loves.\u00a0 But for those who believe in religion but not in Christ, those who only want religious Christian living but do not want the Christ who gives life, no matter how seasoned they are in religious language and actions, they will always be outsiders of\u00a0koinonia<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Brothers and sisters, the issue here is not about rules, but about life.\u00a0 God did not set a rule in stone that said \u201cOnly those who are in Christ are permitted\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u201d, rather, the truth is \u201conly those who are in Christ can have a life of\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Koinonia<\/em>\u00a0is the \u201cfellowship of renewed lives\u201d.\u00a0 Those in Christ have repented of their sins, are aware of their limited lives on earth, and have a hope and hunger for eternal life.\u00a0 They have trusted and submitted to the lordship of Christ, their bodies bear the marks of Jesus (Gal 6:17), and before their very eyes Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified (Gal 3:1).\u00a0 They are now alike in their purpose in life, and in their perspectives about life.\u00a0 They are like-minded in their common obedience to Christ, and like-minded in their shared reverence and hunger for God\u2019s word.\u00a0 These people have adopted a common value system, a common outlook on life, and a common worldview, not by coercion or persuasion, but by a recalibration that is a result of a focus on Christ.\u00a0\u00a0In their life together, they may find that they still need to adapt and adjust to each other in some minor aspects of life, but there is no longer a need for a complete overturn of intrinsic values and worldviews.\u00a0 For example, some believers may be at the stage where they can \u201cconsider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things\u201d (Php 3:8), while others, even though they may not have reached this stage, can wholeheartedly agree that Christ should be their most precious treasure, and that Christ far surpasses what the world has to offer.\u00a0 Those who are not born again are unable to identify with this new worldview\u2014their minds are still worldly, and their hearts continue to pursue fame, fortune, and health.\u00a0 Those who are in Christ and those who are not have vastly different ways of thinking, different ways of speaking, and different ways of doing things.\u00a0 It is impossible for\u00a0koinonia\u00a0<\/em>to happen in such situations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The main reason that\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u00a0is not in the church is intermingling.\u00a0 Many so-called \u201cChristians\u201d are merely people who believe in a religion.\u00a0 They know this of themselves, but others who feel ill-at-ease to call them out on it, continue to treat them as one of their own.\u00a0 The result of this is an intermingling of Christ-believers and Christianity-adherents.\u00a0 Believers and unbelievers are yoked together, righteousness and wickedness are in partnership, and light and darkness have fellowship (2 Cor 6:14).\u00a0 God\u2019s truth is mixed with secular worldviews.\u00a0 What can be done?\u00a0 First, do not be affected by the presence of intermingling.\u00a0 True believers should still maintain\u00a0koinonia<\/em>, and have life together in Christ.\u00a0 Secondly, preach the true and correct gospel, looking to God\u2019s grace to convert those who were merely religious into true believers of Christ.\u00a0 Do not push them away, but hope that one day they may also enter into Christ.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord bless you, that you may experience the goodness of\u00a0koinonia<\/em>\u00a0in the new year!\u00a0 Be in Christ:\u00a0 If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!\u00a0 Put on the new self:\u00a0 Since we have \u201cheard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus\u201d, so we must put off our old self, with regard to our former way of life, and put on the new self, to be made new in the attitude of our minds.\u00a0 This new self is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:21-24).\u00a0<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today is the first day of 2019, a new beginning!\u00a0 I wish everyone a blessed new year.\u00a0 May you walk daily with the Lord and rejoice in Him always.\u00a0\u00a0 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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and your carts overflow with abundance.
<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/sup><\/strong>The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the hills are clothed with gladness.
The meadows are covered with flocks
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and the valleys are mantled with grain;
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0they shout for joy and sing.\u00a0\u00a0 (Psalm 65:11-13)<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nKoinonia:\u00a0 Life Together in Christ<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In Christ<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n