Battle for Fellowship with Christ

Don't underestimate the battle we must go through on a daily basis to ensure our fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus stated there is nothing that matters more than that, and even said to Martha when confronting Jesus about Mary not helping her, that Mary chose the one thing only matters, and He wasn't going to take that away from her.

But the battle we face every day is in not only continuing to believe what Jesus said, but to continue living it in the midst of endless pressures, interruptions and needs.

Jesus also said in Matthew 6:25: "Take no thought for your life." If we are to take no thought for our lives, how much thought for our lives does that leave us? That's right - zero.

Let's not get flaky with what Jesus said, He didn't mean we don't focus on what we need to do in the moment, he's talking, again, how people worry and so choke off the value and fruit of what fellowship with Jesus Christ brings about in us; assuming we maintain our focus on Him and not on the outward circumstances around us.

Usually distractions come from pressures from needs; things like paying bills, money, food, clothing, and a host of other things that fight to be kept in our thoughts and vision.

Deceitfulness of riches, cares of this world; Jesus says to be anxious for nothing. I believe Him, and so should all of us. The reason is there will always be some type of need or circumstance we're worried about at any one time if we allow ourselves to look at it.

That's why Jesus said "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." In other words, there's enough to take care of in the day you face, don't add to it by looking ahead to the future which is in God's hands.

Think of all these things like a dessert always trying to slowly expand and claim fertile land, making land basically useless for anything.

This is what happens when we take thought of the future which isn't even here yet, and takes us away from the simplicity of devotion to Christ, which was what the original temptation was all about.

Jesus said that worry changes nothing, and so when we look toward the future in the sense of things that will, could, or might happen, there is absolutely nothing we can do to change it. And if we attempt to, usually we'll make matters worse, and still be taken off of our fellowship with Christ.

One temptation to watch in all of this, especially when we attempt to apply reasoning, common sense and logic to this, is to start to think Jesus can't relate to us in this way. The truth is we're taught that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, and yet He said He only did what He saw the Father doing or would only speak what the Father was speaking. That means He refused to allow what was unknown ahead distract Him from that which only mattered.

Even more, He knew He had come into the world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins in order to bring us back into relationship with the Godhead, yet He didn't sit there dwelling on that inevitable reality until the time when He needed to, and the Father told Him to.

Don't let the desert of worries and concerns move you off of the very purpose Jesus created us: to be in constant fellowship with Him through faith in Him. Anything else truly doesn't matter.