What in the world is Koinonia??

It's NOT a distant land in the new Star Wars movie, I can tell you that much. LOL

In the fall or so last year at my work, Pastor Butch made some changes in the kitchen. One of them was that he started calling their Wednesday night dinner time Koinonia Cafe'. That's the first time I'd ever heard the word. My boss said it was a Greek word. I honestly never looked it up.

In my homework for the "Your church experiencing God together", it goes into get detail about Koinonia. It's pronounced, "Coin ah knee ah".

Koinonia is usually translated as "fellowship", "partnership", "sharing" or even "stewardship", but it takes on a much greater meaning when you think about the relationship between God and us.

Koinonia is the release of everything in us to the one with whom we are sharing. It's doing life together, with people and God. My book says, "In a real sense koinonia is the essence of God's great salvation."

Here are 5 things my book says that I think are awesome:

1. We fellowship with God intimately.

2. We partner with God in His activity.

3. We share in God's nature.

4. We are given stewardship of that which is divine.

5. We come to know God experientially.

"True koinonia, in its fullest expression, can only be found in one place - the local church."

1 John 1: 2-3 says, "The apostle John said, "We testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us - what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship (koinonia) along with us; and indeed our fellowship (koinonia) is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ."

The disciples shared the truth of what they had seen and experienced with Jesus in order for others to believe.

In that same way, that's what we should be doing. We aren't physically face to face walking with God, but we are living life with Him daily through prayer, Bible reading, studying, etc. We can have true koinonia with others when we tell them what God has done for us.

"Koinonia receives the grace of God with a grateful heart and lets the resources of God flow through your life into the rest of God's family, Paul said, "Working together with Him, we also appeal to you: "Don't receive God's grace in vain." (2 Corinthians 6:1)"

Have you received God's grace? Are you letting that flow from you out onto other's?

Why or why not?

I have a friend who is going through something difficult. She's working on her, which is great, but I mentioned God to her because only He can heal and make lasting changes in us. Another friend said, "That's why some people don't like talking to you. You always bring God up." 

My response, "OH WELL."

I can't sit back and not tell someone that God is the ultimate healer of their soul. Because that's the truth. I've received it. I know what it's like to be broken, to not like yourself, and to be miserable. I'm not that person anymore.

It would be wrong of me NOT to share it.

I want to live a life of koinonia with God and others. I hope you do too.

God bless you today and always.