Tag Archives: cooperation

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Benefiting the Body | Bible Gleanings – November 4-5, 2023

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Underestimating always gets me into trouble. I purchased a drum kit a while back with the impression that learning to play would be simple. Swinging sticks up and down can’t be too difficult, right? Well, I can tell you, it ain’t as easy as it sounds. And the difficulty stems from the hand-and-foot coordination, since you must strike the snare, toms, and cymbals with your hands while simultaneously stomping the kick pedal with your foot.

And that’s the only way to do it right. The hands can’t do all the work, and neither can the feet. Therefore, every good rhythm depends on the cooperation, coordination, and individual contributions of the hands and feet. And this is how the Lord designed the local church to function as well. All believers in Christ have been spiritually united to the universal body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12), and they are commanded to manifest this reality by uniting with a local church, where they can produce a God-pleasing rhythm with other members who do their part.

According to the apostle Paul, some believers are like the feet of the church, while others are like the hands, ears, and eyes (1 Cor. 12:14-30). Just as different parts of the human body have distinct functions, each believer possesses God-given spiritual gifts for the betterment of the local church. As Paul said, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:4-7). The work of ministry is too great for any one person to handle alone, but each of us can contribute in some way, and together we can fulfill the mission God has given us.

All believers have a job to do and a spiritual vacancy to fill. Just as the members of our physical body depend on each other for surviving and thriving, believers are also dependent on other believers and their spiritual gifts, and vice versa. And, contrary to popular belief, the church is not a country club where you pay your dues so that others can serve you—the church is the place where you serve others. Thus, we should never ask, “Should I serve my church?” Instead, the right question is always, “How can I best serve my church?”

Furthermore, the Lord always rewards such faithful service. The writer of Hebrews promised, “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Heb. 6:10). Additionally, He will grant you all the grace that you need for service (1 Peter 4:10-11). How are you benefiting the body of Christ? How are you serving your church?

Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.

Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).

For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:

Bible Gleanings, devotions

Training Together | Bible Gleanings – March 27-28, 2021

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Training Together

“It’s hard to be by yourself,” said Kyra Christmas, a 23-year-old athlete who plays on Canada’s national water polo team. Like most professional sports players, she was devastated by the emergency lockdowns last year which upended team sports and stifled training for competitions. Water polo is a game that requires team effort and cooperation, just like baseball, football, or any other mainstream sport. She shared her griefs in a New York Times article titled, How to Train for Team Sports Alone, and made the case that there is no substitute for being together. When it comes to team sports, you simply have to train as a collective body.

Individual training is crucial but it is no replacement for conditioning together as a group. She recalled training alone and watching videos of past games—imagining competing in the water alongside her teammates—but it wasn’t sufficient. Finally, in mid-August of last year, her team was able to resume training. “It felt so good to be together again,” she remarked.

Likewise, you must train together with other believers in order to win in the Christian life. To be sure, Christian living is not a game—it is warfare—but it is meant to be lived in the community of faith. In order to live a life of godliness, you must be surrounded by other godly people in the local church. There is no substitute for church membership and participation. When it comes to walking on the straight and narrow, you cannot train yourself or train by yourself—it’s a team effort. As you run the Christian race with endurance, nothing is more beneficial than running that race with other believers.

It is within the local body of assembled believers that you discover and use your spiritual gifts—the abilities God gave you to be an efficient teammate (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11). It is only by cooperation with other Christians that you may fulfill your chief goal of making disciples—remember, it is called the Great Co-Mission for a reason (Matt. 28:16-20). You need a faithful congregation to lift you up when you fall and support you when your burdens are too heavy to bear (Gal. 6:1-2). True Christian love is expressed exclusively within the gathered body of Christ—loving “one another” requires that you know and interact with “another” to love (1 John 3:11-24). It is solely within the family of God that gratitude and praise reach their highest levels of expression (Col. 3:16). The Bible even says that you are prevented from being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin through the encouragement and reproof of the church (Hebrews 3:13).

Friend, it’s hard to be by yourself. Find and join a faithful church where you can train for the Christian life with other “teammates” who are aiming at the goal of God’s glory. 

Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.

Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).