We need each other in order to walk well and conquer all the battle we go through in our lives, like the Bible says in Ephesians 5: 18<<Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people. >>
We need to fellowship with one another and below there are five reasons why we need each other. Thought I should share the following:
LIFE TOGETHER should be a SHARED LIFE
In Psalm 133:1, the Bible tell us on how wonderful and pleasant it is when the people of God live together with harmony. God intends for us to experience life together. The Bible calls this shared experience "fellowship." Today, however, the word fellowship has lost most of its biblical meaning for example you find many Christians mistaking fellowship as: casual conversation, socializing, food, and fun. The question, "Where do you fellowship?" has been turned to "Where do you attend church?" "Stay after for fellowship" on the other hand is turned to "Wait for refreshments." Real fellowship is so much more than just showing up at services. It is experiencing life together. It includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the other "one another" commands found in the New Testament. When it comes to fellowship, size matters: smaller is better. You can worship with a crowd, but you can't fellowship with one. Because once a group becomes larger than about ten people, someone stops participating—usually the quietest person—and a few people will dominate the group.
Jesus ministered in a state of a small group of disciples. He could have chosen more, but he knew twelve is about the maximum size you can have in a small group if everyone is to participate. Every Christian needs to be involved in a small group within their church, whether is it a home fellowship group, a Sunday school class, or a Bible study. This is where real community takes place, not in the big gatherings.
LIFE TOGETHER should be LEGITIMATE / GENUINE FRIENDSHIP
In Christian fellowship people should experience legitimacy. Legitimate fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit-chat. It's genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level sharing. When people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives…they share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer. Legitimacy is the exact opposite of what you find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there is pretending, role-playing, politicking, superficial politeness, and shallow conversation. People wear masks, keep their guard up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives…these kinds of attitudes are the death of real friendship. It's only as we become open about our lives that we experience genuine fellowship. The Bible says, "If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other...If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves" (1 John 1:7-8 NCV).
The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. We tend to use darkness to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures, and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are. Of course, being legitimate requires both courage and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection, and being hurt again.
Why would anyone take such a risk? It's the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. The Bible says, "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed" (James 5:16 MSG).
LIFE TOGETHER should include MUTUAL DEPENDENCY
In mutual dependency the 2most important words is giving and receiving…depending on each other. Mutuality is the heart of fellowship: building reciprocal relationships, sharing responsibilities, and helping each other. Paul said, "I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you" (Romans 1:12 NCV). All of us are more consistent in our faith when others walk with us and encourage us. The Bible commands mutual accountability, mutual encouragement, mutual serving, and mutual honoring.
Over fifty times in the New Testament we're commanded to do different tasks for "one another" and "each other." The Bible says, "Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" (Romans 14:19 NIV). You are not responsible for everyone in the body of Christ, but you are responsible to them. God expects you to do whatever you can to help them.
DON’T BE RELUCTANT TO SHOW MERCY - "When people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won't give up in despair" (2 Corinthians 2:7 CEV).
In real fellowship people experience mercy. Fellowship is a place of grace, where mistakes aren't rubbed in but rubbed out. We all need mercy, because we all stumble and fall and require help getting back on track. We need to offer mercy to each other and be willing to receive it from each other.
You can't have fellowship without forgiveness because bitterness and resentment always destroy fellowship. Sometimes we hurt each other intentionally and sometimes unintentionally, but either way, it takes massive amounts of mercy and grace to create and maintain fellowship. "You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others" (Colossians 3:13 NLT).
The mercy God shows to us is the motivation for us to show mercy to others. Whenever you're hurt by someone, you have a ‘choice’ to make: Will I use my energy and emotions for retaliation or for resolution? There’s no way you can do them both.
Many people are hesitant to show mercy because they don't understand the difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior. Forgiveness must be immediate, whether or not a person asks for it. Trust must be rebuilt over time. If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately, and you are not expected to continue allowing them to hurt you. They must prove they have changed over time. The best place to restore trust is within the supportive context of a small group that offers both encouragement and accountability.
Taken from Daily Devotions by Rick Warren