Have you ever heard someone say they can worship God anywhere, so why attend church? It’s true one can do so, but the scripture above tells us God desires more than each of us having our own conversation with Him or worshiping alone. Certainly, as individuals, we have those private conversations and private times of worship; however, the Holy Spirit wants to build us together to become a holy temple for the glory and presence of God, and that requires assembling and fitting together His people.

If you’ve ever visited a business where every employee does their part to make you feel welcomed, accommodate you, and serve your needs, you’ve experienced more than the building they’re housed in and more than the company’s name. Your experience exceeds being exposed to a bunch of people gathered within that building. In fact, you’ve likely experienced the very essence of that company’s motto or business statement. You’ve experienced the product of service they desire to put forth for their customers through a unified effort by those employees.

The body of Christ is not a business by any means, but we are also not just a bunch of people gathered in a physical building called a church. We are meant to be built or fitted together to form a corporate dwelling place for the Lord. Each of us has a calling, a gift, a unique personality, a different perspective, and a purpose important to the body. We are not meant to function alone within the Body of Christ. We are to be a living stone, an intricate part of a unified effort—not in the sense of a human-engineered effort like a business, but through the Holy Spirit, who unifies and fits us into the living building called the church. We are meant to grow together into a holy temple in the Lord. Let us not just gather but assemble. The church needs all its members fitted into place. We are to be both built and to build up each other. We cannot do this without the Holy Spirit working, and we cannot do this without each other.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for the privilege of being part of a holy temple in Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, Ephesians 2:19-22). Thank you for the indwelling of your Holy Spirit, both in me individually, and also in the larger body. I confess I under-appreciate and so I often experience less of your Holy Spirit through and with other believers than Your Word says I should and could. Show me the path to being grafted in more completely to the larger body of Jesus. How can I serve? How can I receive and be encouraged by your giftings to others? How can my gifting grow and produce more good fruit? How can I take advantage of wise counsel from other believers and grow to be a source of wiser counsel to others? Be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

A core purpose of the church is to equip followers of Jesus for works of service to help us all grow in faith and maturity (Ephesians 4: 11-16). If you have not yet found your fit, start praying and asking God to show you how you can be part of the whole, with the time and talents you have to offer. Free Chapel has resources available to help and inspire you, wherever you are.

• If you missed yesterday’s message by Pastor Javon Ruff titled, “Are You Fit For The Body?”, watch it today.

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