Struggle

I find myself struggling to see the forest for the trees!  I am wondering (without much wandering) why people say they want to body to grow but do not do much to bring that growth about.  To me that is like saying I want a child and then not spending time with you spouse or doing the paper work (and funding) to adopt! 

I see the church being willing to reach out to Samaria and the ends of the earth; at least funding the out reach to these places. Judea again if I can pay some one to do it OK!  Now Jerusalem, where we should be doing the out reach on a daily basis and helping our fellow missionaries reach folks well does God really want me to do that?  Yes, Virginia God does and God may desire that you go instead of another who is aware of the need but for whatever reason is not equipped to meet that need or maybe you (or another) are the ones God desires to meet the need!  I think the idea of a team approach to most out reach is a wise idea!  I also think that at times a person who is outside the team may see a need that the outreach team can meet.  Also  a team member may see the need and not be the one to meet the need for many reasons; none of which has to do with giftedness of said team member.  I see the need for a team as many fold; the first is then it is the church doing the outreach not one individual.  I am not sure how to put this into words; but here I go in an attempt to try; there is  person or family with the need.  This person/family has no relationship to the church except the one member of the church who is aware of the need.  If the person/family with the need receives ministry from the person (church member)who is aware of their need ; what is the person/family with the need going to think?  I know what I would think ---  thank you "john" for meeting my need; I am happy YOU CARED ENOUGH to help in my time of need!  Now, had some other(s) of the church gone to the person/family (especially if a number does so/had done so) would that not reflect more on the church caring than just the one person who is aware of the need --- even if both said that it was a church base ministry? 

The need I speak of was a death in a family that is not part of the church except that a child in the family comes to the children's ministry programing.  I think that we lost an opportunity because some felt that the person who was already connected to the family through bring the child who is a nieghbor to the person's grandchild should have just taken care of the need.  While I am sure that the person could have done so; we the body of Christ had an opportunity to show the love of Jesus to a family in stress and grief and that just might have brought a person/family into the kingdom; forget they may have come into the church and enriched it as well!!  [rant off]

Can't We Just Get Along?

Ephesians 4:31 - 5: 2  (TMSG) ³¹Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk.  ³²Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.  ¹Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents.  ²Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. (The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language Copyright © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)


When I read this part of the passage "Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you" as part of a devotional from the Church at which I am a member; I asked myself (and I may have said it out loud) "Is this possible?  To forgive in this way.  All the time?"  The Wednesday November 16th, I ask the men's group as we looked at the devotions  of the November 6th through 13th; those same questions.  I said that I felt it was nearly impossible!  While yes Philippians 4:13 does make it clear I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH  CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME; I also know that most of us are not living that verse out daily like we ought!

Having looked at the verse before the one I reacted to does help me a bit.  If we were to follow the words in verse 31; others would need to do a whole lot less forgiving like God forgave us!! If the rest of the church would also engage in the Don't and Nevers; we need to do less forgiving like God forgive us!

What would my church or your church look like if we Simply followed verse 31 & 31 above?  Paul is asking a lot there but then Paul goes and tells us "We should watch God and then DO what GOD DOES!!  Other versions say to imitate God like children.  As a father I know the good and the bad of a child's imitating my behavior; and we will not go there today!!  We have all had the experience of one of the teachers at the school where my mother was a paraeducator.  The teacher  chose to speak to the parent of a child who could color his sentences with words that an elementary age child should not know let allow speak.  When it was point out that Johnny could make a sailor blush; the parent was reported to have colored their remark equally as well!  Unlike this parent; God shows us how to speak, to make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk;  to be gentle with one another, sensitive and to forgive one another quickly and thoroughly!  God is the prefect parent and shows us the way to perfection as His children!  I echo Paul's statement in Philippians 3:12

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. (New Living Translation)

Here is the challenge.  Look at God's behavior toward you in Christ and then behave that way toward those around you!  I will guarantee that we will bless a lot of people we meet!!