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Gather – Together Is Always Better

Devotion:

Throughout the Bible, the people of God gathered for many reasons. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel gathered for an incredible variety of festivals and feasts. They assembled to remember their past and to make and renew covenants. Their gathering regularly for times of worship was often documented throughout the Psalms.

In the New Testament, Jesus took the gathering to a whole new level. It seemed that wherever He went people flocked to Him to listen to His teaching; receive a miracle or because they were hungry and hoped He might feed them with a small boy’s packed lunch.,  He healed a man lowered through the roof by his friends and created the first floating pulpit by using a fishing boat. When Jesus preached, crowds gathered expecting something extraordinary, and they were often not disappointed. What a day out for an ancient Jewish family…

After Jesus ascended in Acts 1, the first thing that His followers did was gather together in the Upper Room. They were unsure of their next steps, but they knew that it was important to be together and wait for the ‘helper’ that Jesus promised them. They assembled for many days, until maybe they got a bit bored and held an impromptu election to replace Judas, before the Holy Spirit got bored of their time-wasting antics and transformed this gathered community to become what would be known as the Early Church. 

This group of people gathered daily for community, to experience the miracles of God, to break bread, eat together and receive the Apostles' teaching (Acts 5:16).

A biblical church requires an attendance where two or three are gathered (Matthew 18:20) - the local church consists of believers coming together in the same space. To gather and to worship. If you are not gathering in some form, you are not a church.

Does it matter if it is online or in person? I don’t believe so. For some, the only way they can connect with other people is via the internet. A real gift to someone who is housebound or physically unable to travel far.

The most important thing is that we gather to respond to God's invitation to be part of His family. Our thoughts should never be ‘shall I attend?’ or ‘can I be bothered?’, or even get sidetracked by how we congregate! 

But that we would declare ‘we need to gather or we may miss an opportunity to enter the presence of God.’