Survival Skills: Fellowship

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. -Acts 2:42-47

You can't survive as a Christian without your Bible, prayer, and fellowship. It's hard to tell the difference between friendship and fellowship. Here's how you know when friendship has become fellowship:

1. You're both devoted to Jesus.
2. You share a love for God's word and talk about what you're learning.
3. You pray with and for each other.
4. You sacrificially share your time, money and stuff for each other.
5. You're more joyful about God because of time spent with each other.
6. You can be honest and sincere with each other.

Here's how you know your friendship is not fellowship:

1. One or the other of you are less than devoted to Jesus.
2. You don't talk about God's word together.
3. You don't pray with or for each other.
4. You make no sacrifices for each other's needs and you don't share your stuff.
5. You're distracted from God when spending time with each other.
6. You're not honest and sincere with each other. There are secrets.

Do you have any friends with whom you have fellowship? If not, you won't survive the Christian life long. Pray for God to develop fellowship relationships in your life, look for them, and cultivate them by spending time with fellow Christians.