Daily Devotional for Thursday, July 17

The Fellowship with God

“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils,” 1 Corinthians 10:21.

Sitting around the table and enjoying a meal together is a good time of fellowship for God’s people. That is why Baptists are known for potlucks! Sure, we love our food but most of all, we love good fellowship together. The relationship between sharing a meal and fellowship has been around for centuries. Jesus Himself enjoyed partaking of food in sweet fellowship with His disciples. But nothing was quite as special as the first Lord’s Supper observed the evening before His death on the cross. He communed with His disciples as He gave them the bread and the cup, to represent His body and blood which would be offered in sacrifice. He commanded them to observe the Supper in remembrance of Him (Luke 22:19, 20).

 The Lord’s Supper is such a special time for the local New Testament church. It is a time of remembering the great sacrifice of our Savior together, as one body. We must be unified, with a heart of love and gratitude for all that our Lord endured as He took upon Himself the punishment for our sin. The communion we have with God and one another is broken when we engage in fellowship with the world, as some in the Corinthian church were doing. James gave a strong admonition, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

Too many of God’s people are living double lives today. Let’s not mince words, this is spiritual adultery. Our Lord is calling us to a place of right fellowship with Him. Do not be conformed to the world, give your whole heart to the Lord and serve Him faithfully.

REFLECTION

Do you set aside time to commune with the Lord each day?

Darla Goodrum