Love one another with brotherly affection ... ESV
In love of the brethern be tenderly affectioned one to another ... ASV
Love each other as brothers and sisters ... CEV
Loving one another with the charity of brotherhood ... DRB
Be warmly affectionate to one another with brotherly love ... EMTV
Love one another warmly as Christians .... GNB
Be devoted to each other with mutual affection ... ISV
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In English we might not see much difference between 12:9 where we are told to love without hypocrisy and 12:10 where we are told to love one another. But in the Greek you have two different words used. Romans 12:9 is talking about our "agape" which is an affection not based on performance and which indicates a calculated love based on making something the highest priority of our lives. It can be and most of the time is highly emotional, but it is emotion based on personal commitment. Agape love is not superior to other type of loves. It simply is a different type of love.
In this light one could understand Romans 12:9 as "Don't pretend to have the love God and others as your highest priority when it really isn't."
Now in Romans 12:10 we have two other Greek work used for love. One is philostorgos which is which is an old compound word used only here in the New Testament and philidelphia. Paul is now focusing on the idea that we are to not only agape God and others but now to give to Christians both philos and storgos type of love.
What is storgos? It is a love and loyalty based on a relationship outside of our control. It is the unconditional and long lasting love of family members for one another regardless of personality differences or performance. It is an affection that is given because of a unity we have with people that was simply destined to be by the providence of God alone. In this context Paul is saying we should feel affection for other Christians because God has chosen them to be our spiritual family. We are to give them loyalty, care, and warmth as we would family members.
Philadelphia is a word that strengthens this. It is when we actively pursue having deep and intimate family relationships. Storgos is the foundation for such a pursuit. But philos is opening our hearts to feel love towards our family members and seeking intimate friendship with them. Here is a commitment to emotional intimacy.
Now context always rules the varies shades of meaning these words may have. Here we have a call by Paul for Christians to recognize that the gospel of grace has made us a spiritual family and to love without hypocrisy we must open ourselves up to this new set of relationships found in the church and embrace other believers as relatives. This spiritual family is to have as much loyalty given to it as we would give to our physical families.
It also means that we must be seeking to make those in our local church those with whom we would have emotionally intimate friendships. Ultimately, these verses can only be experienced in the local church. We are to be ready to embrace any Christian at any time as a family member "storgos" and have a general "philos" attitude towards them, but it is in the company of believers we worship with that these words will take on concrete and real meaning.
The gospel calls us to make our local church the center of our social life. We are to be a company of friends who have faith in Messiah Jesus in common. Our love for HIM is to create love for one another.
At the present moment 39% of Americans attend church once a week. It would seem that weekly attendence at church would be the minimum effort people would have to make the local church the center of their social lives. We know that many who attend weekly have not done that. If we use the normal 80/20 rule we could speculate that in reality only about 8% of Christians in America have most likely made the relationships at church the central and most important relationships in their lives. Only 8% are experiencing to some degree the reality of what the Apostle Paul wants us to experience in our local church.
How can we open ourselves up to such intimate spiritual friendships? Many times we have been hurt in church and been disappointed by "hypocritical love" (see vs 9). It is God's will we give ourselves to this spiritual family and yet it is hard to do and hard to experience. May God grant each of us the grace to seek to deepen our love for one another.
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Doing Church Well - Part four
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10 ESV)
We must love one another as we really are and not as we would ideally like others to be. We must honor each other in our imperfect state and not in some ideal state in which we have no faults. We are called to love and honor real broken people and not some "ideal" Christians who do not exist in the real world.
The love we are to have for other Christians is unconditional. It is not based on their performance. The honor we are to give them is also unconditional. It is not based on their performance. Only unconditional love and honor last since everyone we love and honor is a sinner. Because those we love and honor sin we will eventually find fault with them if we look for it. If our love and honor is conditional upon their performance then we will find reason not to love and honor them.
This is entirely different than the way the unbelieving world system operates. Love and honor are earned by good performance. Here in the kingdom of Christ they are given as a gift to all who call upon the name of the Lord Messiah Jesus. Doing Church well means that we strive to feel love and honor for every Christian seeing in them God's image and God's child. We see in them the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. We embrace them as God's child and our spiritual sibling. This is all done as a gift even as we have been accepted by God in Messiah Jesus as a gift.
Only a focus on grace can allow us to do church well.
We must love one another as we really are and not as we would ideally like others to be. We must honor each other in our imperfect state and not in some ideal state in which we have no faults. We are called to love and honor real broken people and not some "ideal" Christians who do not exist in the real world.
The love we are to have for other Christians is unconditional. It is not based on their performance. The honor we are to give them is also unconditional. It is not based on their performance. Only unconditional love and honor last since everyone we love and honor is a sinner. Because those we love and honor sin we will eventually find fault with them if we look for it. If our love and honor is conditional upon their performance then we will find reason not to love and honor them.
This is entirely different than the way the unbelieving world system operates. Love and honor are earned by good performance. Here in the kingdom of Christ they are given as a gift to all who call upon the name of the Lord Messiah Jesus. Doing Church well means that we strive to feel love and honor for every Christian seeing in them God's image and God's child. We see in them the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit. We embrace them as God's child and our spiritual sibling. This is all done as a gift even as we have been accepted by God in Messiah Jesus as a gift.
Only a focus on grace can allow us to do church well.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Doing Church Well - Part Three
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34,35 ESV)
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The hard thing about doing church is that it is a group activity. From the time of the desert monks it was seen by many people that it was easier to at least feel holy if you did not have to interact with other people. It is easy to love human kind and not be able to stand people.
It is in that dynamic fellowship of different personalities, cultures, genders, philosophies, options, tastes, outlooks, and experiences that we are tested to have healthy, caring, compassionate, honest, encouraging, and challenging relationships. This is what makes up the fellowship of the church. A group of diverse strangers striving to live as the family of Messiah Jesus.
The only thing we have in common is our Messiah Jesus. That connection to Him is suppose to be enough to allow us to connect to each other in caring, compassionate, gentle, and healthy ways so that we can help, encourage, and nurture each other towards becoming more like Messiah Jesus and doing His will on earth together. Being "in Messiah Jesus" is to make us united and one.
Any reading of the New Testament points out how hard this was. The Jews did not respect the Gentiles. The Gentiles could hate the Jews. Women were seen as inferior to men in the Roman empire and women could want to disrespect men in the new freedom offered in Christ. Rich Christians could fear that the poor Christians were trying to take advantage of their relationship with Christ and the poor Christians could judge the rich Christians as lacking in compassion when they did not respond to their needs.
The Apostles themselves struggled to find a practical answer on how to overcome the culture wars between Jew and Gentile in the church (see Acts 15). At the very least many of the followers of James and Paul saw the two men having different solutions to the "Gentile problem." Paul will have friends and co-workers such as Hymeneus and Alexander (1Ti_1:19, 1Ti_1:20) and Demas (2Ti_4:10) who will have their faith ship wrecked. Peter and Paul will have conflict as well because Peter will act in a hypocritical manner. (Gal 2).
Christians in the New Testament struggled with still practicing sexual sins, gossip, self righteous judgement, taking each other to court, splitting up into cliques, forming personality cults, bringing pagan ideas into the church, forsaking sound doctrine, getting involved in strange views of prophecy, misuse of spiritual gifts, rebellion against leadership, and leaders abusing those who followed. These problems which are all recorded in the New Testament we see continue after the age of the Apostles and repeated all during church history. The continued moral brokenness of Christians manifest itself in the practical fellowship of believers making it hard to show love for each other.
The Messiah Jesus actually makes success in loving each other the mark by which the unbelieving world is suppose to be able to tell if people are disciples of the Messiah. When the world sees sacrificial love within a fellowship of people who claim to follow Messiah Jesus then they can know they have found the "real"thing. Messiah Jesus makes real love the way people can know the genuine disciples from those who only claim discipleship. This raises loving each other to the top priority for the church.
But how to practically do that when each of us is so broken and has so much baggage is a hard problem to solve. Many Christians do not know how to have healthy human relationships in any aspect of their lives and so there is little likelihood they will succeed in "loving" Christians at church where they have less connection to than their family and friends. So the failure of the church to be a community of love is easier to understand than when it succeeds.
Now, by the grace of God the church has shown Christ like love to each other. The New Testament believers took care of widows and orphans, made sure that no poor Christian went without food and shelter, overcame the cultural differences between Jew and Gentile with wisdom, and gathered together in a communion of truth and good works (Acts 2:41-47). This would lead to the ancient world commenting on the early church "We are amazed at how they love one another." Therefore, at a practical level, with all the imperfections, the early church did demonstrate substantial love that was recognized by the world. We must always remember to look at the glass half empty and half full when we strive to understand the church. Never perfection only direction.
In my life I have seen Christians love each other in profound ways. I have seen people sacrifice time, money, and life to help others. I have seen the body of
Christ demonstrate real and amazing love towards others and myself. Such times fill my heart with joy even now.
However, it seems that over long periods of time it is hard for Christians to remain in a fellowship or church without this love breaking down. Social politics, personalities, failed dreams, desire for power and control, different opinions, cliques, gossip, judging each other, lack of respect, poor communication, unresolved conflicts, envy, competition, and desire to dominate; all begin to surface more and more, eventually breaking up friendships and fellowships; sometimes in some very ugly ways. It seems hard to establish long term healthy and committed relationships in the body of Christ.
It is hard to do church well. What can we do? We must become aware of how hard it is to really practice love. We need to look for ways we can increase in our love for each other. How are my actions hurting other Christians? In what way am I falling short of loving others as Messiah Jesus loved me? How can we maintain and increase unity with each other? How can we show respect for leaders? How can we give encouragement to followers? How can we do the church well and really love one another? That is one of the greatest challenges of our lives.
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The hard thing about doing church is that it is a group activity. From the time of the desert monks it was seen by many people that it was easier to at least feel holy if you did not have to interact with other people. It is easy to love human kind and not be able to stand people.
It is in that dynamic fellowship of different personalities, cultures, genders, philosophies, options, tastes, outlooks, and experiences that we are tested to have healthy, caring, compassionate, honest, encouraging, and challenging relationships. This is what makes up the fellowship of the church. A group of diverse strangers striving to live as the family of Messiah Jesus.
The only thing we have in common is our Messiah Jesus. That connection to Him is suppose to be enough to allow us to connect to each other in caring, compassionate, gentle, and healthy ways so that we can help, encourage, and nurture each other towards becoming more like Messiah Jesus and doing His will on earth together. Being "in Messiah Jesus" is to make us united and one.
Any reading of the New Testament points out how hard this was. The Jews did not respect the Gentiles. The Gentiles could hate the Jews. Women were seen as inferior to men in the Roman empire and women could want to disrespect men in the new freedom offered in Christ. Rich Christians could fear that the poor Christians were trying to take advantage of their relationship with Christ and the poor Christians could judge the rich Christians as lacking in compassion when they did not respond to their needs.
The Apostles themselves struggled to find a practical answer on how to overcome the culture wars between Jew and Gentile in the church (see Acts 15). At the very least many of the followers of James and Paul saw the two men having different solutions to the "Gentile problem." Paul will have friends and co-workers such as Hymeneus and Alexander (1Ti_1:19, 1Ti_1:20) and Demas (2Ti_4:10) who will have their faith ship wrecked. Peter and Paul will have conflict as well because Peter will act in a hypocritical manner. (Gal 2).
Christians in the New Testament struggled with still practicing sexual sins, gossip, self righteous judgement, taking each other to court, splitting up into cliques, forming personality cults, bringing pagan ideas into the church, forsaking sound doctrine, getting involved in strange views of prophecy, misuse of spiritual gifts, rebellion against leadership, and leaders abusing those who followed. These problems which are all recorded in the New Testament we see continue after the age of the Apostles and repeated all during church history. The continued moral brokenness of Christians manifest itself in the practical fellowship of believers making it hard to show love for each other.
The Messiah Jesus actually makes success in loving each other the mark by which the unbelieving world is suppose to be able to tell if people are disciples of the Messiah. When the world sees sacrificial love within a fellowship of people who claim to follow Messiah Jesus then they can know they have found the "real"thing. Messiah Jesus makes real love the way people can know the genuine disciples from those who only claim discipleship. This raises loving each other to the top priority for the church.
But how to practically do that when each of us is so broken and has so much baggage is a hard problem to solve. Many Christians do not know how to have healthy human relationships in any aspect of their lives and so there is little likelihood they will succeed in "loving" Christians at church where they have less connection to than their family and friends. So the failure of the church to be a community of love is easier to understand than when it succeeds.
Now, by the grace of God the church has shown Christ like love to each other. The New Testament believers took care of widows and orphans, made sure that no poor Christian went without food and shelter, overcame the cultural differences between Jew and Gentile with wisdom, and gathered together in a communion of truth and good works (Acts 2:41-47). This would lead to the ancient world commenting on the early church "We are amazed at how they love one another." Therefore, at a practical level, with all the imperfections, the early church did demonstrate substantial love that was recognized by the world. We must always remember to look at the glass half empty and half full when we strive to understand the church. Never perfection only direction.
In my life I have seen Christians love each other in profound ways. I have seen people sacrifice time, money, and life to help others. I have seen the body of
Christ demonstrate real and amazing love towards others and myself. Such times fill my heart with joy even now.
However, it seems that over long periods of time it is hard for Christians to remain in a fellowship or church without this love breaking down. Social politics, personalities, failed dreams, desire for power and control, different opinions, cliques, gossip, judging each other, lack of respect, poor communication, unresolved conflicts, envy, competition, and desire to dominate; all begin to surface more and more, eventually breaking up friendships and fellowships; sometimes in some very ugly ways. It seems hard to establish long term healthy and committed relationships in the body of Christ.
It is hard to do church well. What can we do? We must become aware of how hard it is to really practice love. We need to look for ways we can increase in our love for each other. How are my actions hurting other Christians? In what way am I falling short of loving others as Messiah Jesus loved me? How can we maintain and increase unity with each other? How can we show respect for leaders? How can we give encouragement to followers? How can we do the church well and really love one another? That is one of the greatest challenges of our lives.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Doing Church Well - Part Two
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18 ESV)
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The Messiah Jesus is building His Church. The Church is the building project of our Lord Messiah Jesus. It is built upon the confession that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God which the Apostle Peter has just proclaimed.
It will be the Apostle Peter's preaching of this gospel which will smash the the gates of hell which kept the Jews from believing and thousands will come pouring into the Church through his words. The Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles all will have the Apostle Peter and his message about Messiah Jesus smash the spiritual walls which have kept them in darkness. The paganism of Rome will fall after 300 years and the message of Messiah Jesus will rule supreme over the old empire. The gates of hell will not prevail against the message of the Church. That message is the gospel of Messiah Jesus.
To do the church well the gospel must be the foundation of the Church. When we lose the gospel we lose the heart and power of God. Without the gospel we cannot build the church.
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The Messiah Jesus is building His Church. The Church is the building project of our Lord Messiah Jesus. It is built upon the confession that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God which the Apostle Peter has just proclaimed.
It will be the Apostle Peter's preaching of this gospel which will smash the the gates of hell which kept the Jews from believing and thousands will come pouring into the Church through his words. The Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles all will have the Apostle Peter and his message about Messiah Jesus smash the spiritual walls which have kept them in darkness. The paganism of Rome will fall after 300 years and the message of Messiah Jesus will rule supreme over the old empire. The gates of hell will not prevail against the message of the Church. That message is the gospel of Messiah Jesus.
To do the church well the gospel must be the foundation of the Church. When we lose the gospel we lose the heart and power of God. Without the gospel we cannot build the church.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Doing Church Well - Part One
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV)
It is not easy to do church well. In 1972 part of the dream of the "Jesus Movement" was to try to do church much better than we saw it being done. We were a reforming movement wanting the church to become more real and relevant. We were also young, naive, and proud. It never occurred to us that others before us had tried to do church well but had found it a hard thing to do. There have been people in the history of the church who have prayed more than we pray, studied more than we studied, and loved more than we loved; that failed to be able to do church very well.
To do church well is a very hard thing to do in the practicality of this fallen world and with the attacks of the world, flesh, and devil aimed above all else to keep the church divided, weak, naked, and blind (Revelation 3:17-18). Only by God's grace will we in some small measure to the church well. We must understand here especially that it will be direction and not perfection. If we demand perfection we will become condemning of the real church as we compare it to an "ideal" church that only exists in our minds.
Part of doing church well is avoiding unnecessary division. From the very beginning this has been hard for the Church to do (1 Corinthians 1:11ff). Christians easily divide over personalities and form parties. The politics of the Church can easily become as ugly as the politics of the government (James 4:1-10).
The church is to be the community of the King Messiah. It is a "beta test" example of the kingdom on earth that is to demonstrate the manifold wisdom of God before the watching angels. Some division is necessary due to people departing from a critical aspect of the revealed gospel truth or living lawless lifestyles (1 Corinthians 11:19). However, even in this division the church is called to speak the truth in love and avoid self righteousness (Galatians 6:1). The hope is that out of loving conflict those in error will be restored and unity maintained. Our aim should always be redemptive.
Another problem is when groups or cliques form in the body who see themselves as "the righteous ones" and who stand in judgment of the rest of the body (Galatians 5:20). One can tell that this has occurred when gossip, criticism, and complaining become the main focus of "fellowship" between believers (Exodus 16:2; Mark 14:4).
How we feel about our local church is based on the stories we tell about our local church. If those stories are positive and optimistic we feel good about our local church and love it. If our stories are sarcastic, judgmental, condemning, and cynical then we feel angry, depressed, disillusioned, and pessimistic.
In the same congregation there will be people who feel both of these things at the same time. The circumstances of the people in the congregation will be largely the same but their experience will be vastly different. One person will leave a worship service filled with faith, hope, and love; feeling really blessed by the worship; while the other person will complain about the music, how people are dressed, and the failure of the sermon to motivate or teach. Objectively both people experienced the same events but the impact was very different.
To maintain unity we must be able to see the glass half full even as we work to raise the level of the water. We need to look for "God events" in our congregation and catch God at work. We need to be ready to confess our sins and forgive the sins of others. Guided by the "judgement of charity" we should strive to grant the benefit of the doubt to everyone else and presuppose the best possible intentions for the hurtful actions or words. We need to be slow to judge others and resist every temptation to gossip. Gossip kills trust and healthy fellowship.
Will you pray that God can teach us all to do church well. A healthy church is one of the main reasons why people believe in Jesus the Messiah. Unhealthy churches become a temptation to blaspheme God and reject the gospel. We have been called by God to demonstrate His manifold wisdom before a watching world and even the angels. Yet, a study of church history makes clear that to actually have a healthy church is hard. Let us pray that God will show us a way to do church better and represent his sanity, stability, and spirituality on the earth.
It is not easy to do church well. In 1972 part of the dream of the "Jesus Movement" was to try to do church much better than we saw it being done. We were a reforming movement wanting the church to become more real and relevant. We were also young, naive, and proud. It never occurred to us that others before us had tried to do church well but had found it a hard thing to do. There have been people in the history of the church who have prayed more than we pray, studied more than we studied, and loved more than we loved; that failed to be able to do church very well.
To do church well is a very hard thing to do in the practicality of this fallen world and with the attacks of the world, flesh, and devil aimed above all else to keep the church divided, weak, naked, and blind (Revelation 3:17-18). Only by God's grace will we in some small measure to the church well. We must understand here especially that it will be direction and not perfection. If we demand perfection we will become condemning of the real church as we compare it to an "ideal" church that only exists in our minds.
Part of doing church well is avoiding unnecessary division. From the very beginning this has been hard for the Church to do (1 Corinthians 1:11ff). Christians easily divide over personalities and form parties. The politics of the Church can easily become as ugly as the politics of the government (James 4:1-10).
The church is to be the community of the King Messiah. It is a "beta test" example of the kingdom on earth that is to demonstrate the manifold wisdom of God before the watching angels. Some division is necessary due to people departing from a critical aspect of the revealed gospel truth or living lawless lifestyles (1 Corinthians 11:19). However, even in this division the church is called to speak the truth in love and avoid self righteousness (Galatians 6:1). The hope is that out of loving conflict those in error will be restored and unity maintained. Our aim should always be redemptive.
Another problem is when groups or cliques form in the body who see themselves as "the righteous ones" and who stand in judgment of the rest of the body (Galatians 5:20). One can tell that this has occurred when gossip, criticism, and complaining become the main focus of "fellowship" between believers (Exodus 16:2; Mark 14:4).
How we feel about our local church is based on the stories we tell about our local church. If those stories are positive and optimistic we feel good about our local church and love it. If our stories are sarcastic, judgmental, condemning, and cynical then we feel angry, depressed, disillusioned, and pessimistic.
In the same congregation there will be people who feel both of these things at the same time. The circumstances of the people in the congregation will be largely the same but their experience will be vastly different. One person will leave a worship service filled with faith, hope, and love; feeling really blessed by the worship; while the other person will complain about the music, how people are dressed, and the failure of the sermon to motivate or teach. Objectively both people experienced the same events but the impact was very different.
To maintain unity we must be able to see the glass half full even as we work to raise the level of the water. We need to look for "God events" in our congregation and catch God at work. We need to be ready to confess our sins and forgive the sins of others. Guided by the "judgement of charity" we should strive to grant the benefit of the doubt to everyone else and presuppose the best possible intentions for the hurtful actions or words. We need to be slow to judge others and resist every temptation to gossip. Gossip kills trust and healthy fellowship.
Will you pray that God can teach us all to do church well. A healthy church is one of the main reasons why people believe in Jesus the Messiah. Unhealthy churches become a temptation to blaspheme God and reject the gospel. We have been called by God to demonstrate His manifold wisdom before a watching world and even the angels. Yet, a study of church history makes clear that to actually have a healthy church is hard. Let us pray that God will show us a way to do church better and represent his sanity, stability, and spirituality on the earth.
Friday, October 24, 2008
The Almost Daily Devotional
Almost Daily Devotional
Reading
NLT 1 Thessalonians 1:1 This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. It is written to the church in Thessalonica, you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May his grace and peace be yours. 2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We know that God loves you, dear brothers and sisters, and that he chose you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message. 6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you yourselves became an example to all the Christians in Greece. 8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, 9 for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven-- Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.
Meditation
Thessalonica is a seaport in northeastern Greece on an inlet of the Aegean Sea The original name of this city was Therma; and that part of the Macedonian shore on which it was situated retained through the Roman period the designation of the Thermaic Gulf. Cassander the son of Antipater rebuilt and enlarged Therma, and named it after his wife Thessalonica, the sister of Alexander the Great. St. Paul visited Thessalonica (with Silas and Timothy) during his second missionary journey, and introduced Christianity there. The first scene of the apostle's work at Thessalonica was the synagogue. (Acts 17:2,3) It is stated that the ministrations among the Jews continued for three weeks. Not that we are obliged to limit to this time the whole stay of the apostle at Thessalonica. A flourishing church was certainly formed there; and the epistles show that its elements were more Gentile than Jewish.
Paul seems to have two attitudes that dominate in his relationship with other believers. One he thanks God for them being believers and what they bring to the kingdom of God through their gifts and talents and second he constantly prays for God to help them become more like Christ.
Paul specifically thanks God for the believers in Thessalonica for their activities inspired by their faith, their labors of joyful love, and their patient hope in the return of Christ. Here we see that Paul defines what God is doing in them as a matter of faith, hope, and love. Paul is able to see God at work in the lives of the imperfect believers in Thessalonica. He is able to see the glass half full as well as to call them to fill it more. His optimism is not based on his faith in the believers of Thessalonica but in God who is at work in them.
Paul also affirms his faith that they are truly the objects of God’s eternal love in Jesus Christ. He remembers as he preached to them that there was a true movement of God’s Spirit among them and that they gave a clear profession of faith. The Thessalonians had seen God’s power in miracles performed by the Holy Spirit but also in the lives of love demonstrated by the apostolic missionary team that had brought them the message. This team had become an incarnation of the gospel and its power.
In light of the power of the Holy Spirit in deeds of wonder and in the lives of the missionaries that brought them the gospel of Jesus they had joyfully believed even though it had brought upon them persecution and hardships. Here we see pain and joy combined. There is an ability of human beings to have sorrow and holy glee at the same time. They became like Jesus and the missionaries who had both been blessed by being allowed to suffer persecution for righteousness sake.
Now, the Thessalonians were an example of faith under fire and were providing an example to believers throughout Greece and around the world. Because they were a center of trade and travel, what happened in Thessalonica traveled around the world through the travelers and traders that went through the city.
Their faith is one in which they have not just added Jesus into their religious lives but have allowed the Lord Jesus Christ to totally dominate their thinking. They were willing to turn against the ultimate concerns of their lives before Jesus in order to make the Lord Jesus the ultimate concern of their lives. This reality, lived out in their daily existence, had become the talk of the world and a demonstration of the truth of the gospel.
Christocentric - Christ must become our operating system and not just another program we add into our lives. Our true loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ is measured to the degree we abandon our “idols” that is whatever we value or trust in more than we do the person of Messiah Jesus. Christians who do not abandon their idols lose the opportunity to become world changers because they are worldly.
Moral - Faith determines what tasks we find important enough to do, inspires in us a working faith, and allows our actions to endure disappointments because we optimistically believe that history is governed by Christ. We are called to have faith, love, and hope be the dominate attitudes of our actions.
Eternal - For Christians death and the end of the world do not hold fear. We know that at these great moments in our personal and world history we will be embraced by God and fully accepted in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have joyful anticipation of what the future holds for us in the eternal kingdom of God.
Prayer
Lord Jesus help me to abandon my idols in the way the believers in Thessalonica did when they heard the good news. Let me break my allegiance with the world system of unbelief and give to me a stronger and more fruitful faith.
Contemplation
Abandon all and follow me
Action
Today let me thank God for my brothers and sisters in Christ and take note of their virtues instead of their vices. If I find myself complaining or gossiping about others let me stop and make a compliment about the person. Let me look for and specifically define how God is working in the lives of those around me and praise God for them in this light.
Reading
NLT 1 Thessalonians 1:1 This letter is from Paul, Silas, and Timothy. It is written to the church in Thessalonica, you who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May his grace and peace be yours. 2 We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly. 3 As we talk to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and your continual anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 We know that God loves you, dear brothers and sisters, and that he chose you to be his own people. 5 For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know that the way we lived among you was further proof of the truth of our message. 6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. 7 As a result, you yourselves became an example to all the Christians in Greece. 8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Greece, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don't need to tell them about it, 9 for they themselves keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. 10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven-- Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.
Meditation
Thessalonica is a seaport in northeastern Greece on an inlet of the Aegean Sea The original name of this city was Therma; and that part of the Macedonian shore on which it was situated retained through the Roman period the designation of the Thermaic Gulf. Cassander the son of Antipater rebuilt and enlarged Therma, and named it after his wife Thessalonica, the sister of Alexander the Great. St. Paul visited Thessalonica (with Silas and Timothy) during his second missionary journey, and introduced Christianity there. The first scene of the apostle's work at Thessalonica was the synagogue. (Acts 17:2,3) It is stated that the ministrations among the Jews continued for three weeks. Not that we are obliged to limit to this time the whole stay of the apostle at Thessalonica. A flourishing church was certainly formed there; and the epistles show that its elements were more Gentile than Jewish.
Paul seems to have two attitudes that dominate in his relationship with other believers. One he thanks God for them being believers and what they bring to the kingdom of God through their gifts and talents and second he constantly prays for God to help them become more like Christ.
Paul specifically thanks God for the believers in Thessalonica for their activities inspired by their faith, their labors of joyful love, and their patient hope in the return of Christ. Here we see that Paul defines what God is doing in them as a matter of faith, hope, and love. Paul is able to see God at work in the lives of the imperfect believers in Thessalonica. He is able to see the glass half full as well as to call them to fill it more. His optimism is not based on his faith in the believers of Thessalonica but in God who is at work in them.
Paul also affirms his faith that they are truly the objects of God’s eternal love in Jesus Christ. He remembers as he preached to them that there was a true movement of God’s Spirit among them and that they gave a clear profession of faith. The Thessalonians had seen God’s power in miracles performed by the Holy Spirit but also in the lives of love demonstrated by the apostolic missionary team that had brought them the message. This team had become an incarnation of the gospel and its power.
In light of the power of the Holy Spirit in deeds of wonder and in the lives of the missionaries that brought them the gospel of Jesus they had joyfully believed even though it had brought upon them persecution and hardships. Here we see pain and joy combined. There is an ability of human beings to have sorrow and holy glee at the same time. They became like Jesus and the missionaries who had both been blessed by being allowed to suffer persecution for righteousness sake.
Now, the Thessalonians were an example of faith under fire and were providing an example to believers throughout Greece and around the world. Because they were a center of trade and travel, what happened in Thessalonica traveled around the world through the travelers and traders that went through the city.
Their faith is one in which they have not just added Jesus into their religious lives but have allowed the Lord Jesus Christ to totally dominate their thinking. They were willing to turn against the ultimate concerns of their lives before Jesus in order to make the Lord Jesus the ultimate concern of their lives. This reality, lived out in their daily existence, had become the talk of the world and a demonstration of the truth of the gospel.
Christocentric - Christ must become our operating system and not just another program we add into our lives. Our true loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ is measured to the degree we abandon our “idols” that is whatever we value or trust in more than we do the person of Messiah Jesus. Christians who do not abandon their idols lose the opportunity to become world changers because they are worldly.
Moral - Faith determines what tasks we find important enough to do, inspires in us a working faith, and allows our actions to endure disappointments because we optimistically believe that history is governed by Christ. We are called to have faith, love, and hope be the dominate attitudes of our actions.
Eternal - For Christians death and the end of the world do not hold fear. We know that at these great moments in our personal and world history we will be embraced by God and fully accepted in our Lord Jesus Christ. We have joyful anticipation of what the future holds for us in the eternal kingdom of God.
Prayer
Lord Jesus help me to abandon my idols in the way the believers in Thessalonica did when they heard the good news. Let me break my allegiance with the world system of unbelief and give to me a stronger and more fruitful faith.
Contemplation
Abandon all and follow me
Action
Today let me thank God for my brothers and sisters in Christ and take note of their virtues instead of their vices. If I find myself complaining or gossiping about others let me stop and make a compliment about the person. Let me look for and specifically define how God is working in the lives of those around me and praise God for them in this light.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Don't waste your time judging!
Devotions
Friday, September 19, 2008
Reading
NLT Romans 14:1 Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't. And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. The Lord's power will help them do as they should. 5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. Each person should have a personal conviction about this matter. 6 Those who have a special day for worshiping the Lord are trying to honor him. Those who eat all kinds of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who won't eat everything also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. 8 While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he might be Lord of those who are alive and of those who have died. 10 So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say, " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow to me and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.' " 12 Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God.
Meditation:
Literal - Paul is attempting to get Christians to accept one another instead of judging each other concerning areas in which God has not provided an authoritative word. The very fact that Paul could write this seems to indicate that he was not assuming absolute divine revelation on every single aspect of Christian conduct. Paul shows his practice of this principle in that he did not use his apostolic position to bind the conscience of other Christians where God had allowed there to be freedom. Where God has clearly spoken we can clearly speak and where God has not clearly spoken we must allow freedom of personal conscience.
Christian fellowship is to be one where we accept each other even when we differ about how we should honor God in areas of eating, drinking, and what days of the calendar should be celebrated as “holy”. These issues had to do with the conflicts between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians and how they felt it was best to honor the Lord in these areas. The condemnation towards each other would quickly turn into the idea that one group was being “legalistic” and the other “lawless”. Self righteousness would be in both camps as they perceived themselves as the more enlightened or faithful.
Paul says let Christ be the one that every Christian has to answer to on such matters and just focus on accepting and loving each other. Each Christian belongs to Christ and is attempting to honor Christ in what they do on such matters. So why bother condemning and judging your brother or sister? Cannot Christ handle that? Why must every believer conform to your way of following Jesus? God is more concerned about our attitude of love and acceptance of each other than He is about our conformity to some particular cultural expression of devotion to Him.
One of the key points here is that the one thing that all Christians agree upon is that life is all about pleasing the Lord in what we do. It is all about living for His glory and in gratitude. Keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Christocentric perspective: Paul’s understanding of who we are is very simple. We have been bought by Christ’s blood and belong to Him body and soul. We are the servants of Christ and of no other person. Every action we take we take to please Christ. We will have to give an account of every action to Christ. We are lead by the Lord in discerning the best path for us to take to please and empowered to do this. Christ is our life.
Moral perspective: Stop judging other Christians. We will not be judged on how well we judged others. We will be judged for judging. So it seems wise to stop judging and condemning and strive towards loving and accepting.
Eternal perspective: The church in the eternal kingdom will finally be free of all our party spirit, divisions, self righteousness, self centeredness, politics, and condemning spirits. We will be fully in love with the LORD and with each other. We will be accepting of our different cultures and background. We will be one in Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me not judge my brothers and sisters. Free me on majoring in the minors. Show me how to show love with those who disagree with me.
Contemplation: Love one another!
Action: Who have I spent time judging and condemning in the last week? Last month? Last year? Why am I tempted to focus my condemnation on this person? How could I release my condemnation and open my heart to accept them as they are?
Friday, September 19, 2008
Reading
NLT Romans 14:1 Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it is all right to eat anything. But another believer who has a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who think it is all right to eat anything must not look down on those who won't. And those who won't eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn God's servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him tell them whether they are right or wrong. The Lord's power will help them do as they should. 5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. Each person should have a personal conviction about this matter. 6 Those who have a special day for worshiping the Lord are trying to honor him. Those who eat all kinds of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who won't eat everything also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we are not our own masters when we live or when we die. 8 While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose, so that he might be Lord of those who are alive and of those who have died. 10 So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say, " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow to me and every tongue will confess allegiance to God.' " 12 Yes, each of us will have to give a personal account to God.
Meditation:
Literal - Paul is attempting to get Christians to accept one another instead of judging each other concerning areas in which God has not provided an authoritative word. The very fact that Paul could write this seems to indicate that he was not assuming absolute divine revelation on every single aspect of Christian conduct. Paul shows his practice of this principle in that he did not use his apostolic position to bind the conscience of other Christians where God had allowed there to be freedom. Where God has clearly spoken we can clearly speak and where God has not clearly spoken we must allow freedom of personal conscience.
Christian fellowship is to be one where we accept each other even when we differ about how we should honor God in areas of eating, drinking, and what days of the calendar should be celebrated as “holy”. These issues had to do with the conflicts between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians and how they felt it was best to honor the Lord in these areas. The condemnation towards each other would quickly turn into the idea that one group was being “legalistic” and the other “lawless”. Self righteousness would be in both camps as they perceived themselves as the more enlightened or faithful.
Paul says let Christ be the one that every Christian has to answer to on such matters and just focus on accepting and loving each other. Each Christian belongs to Christ and is attempting to honor Christ in what they do on such matters. So why bother condemning and judging your brother or sister? Cannot Christ handle that? Why must every believer conform to your way of following Jesus? God is more concerned about our attitude of love and acceptance of each other than He is about our conformity to some particular cultural expression of devotion to Him.
One of the key points here is that the one thing that all Christians agree upon is that life is all about pleasing the Lord in what we do. It is all about living for His glory and in gratitude. Keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Christocentric perspective: Paul’s understanding of who we are is very simple. We have been bought by Christ’s blood and belong to Him body and soul. We are the servants of Christ and of no other person. Every action we take we take to please Christ. We will have to give an account of every action to Christ. We are lead by the Lord in discerning the best path for us to take to please and empowered to do this. Christ is our life.
Moral perspective: Stop judging other Christians. We will not be judged on how well we judged others. We will be judged for judging. So it seems wise to stop judging and condemning and strive towards loving and accepting.
Eternal perspective: The church in the eternal kingdom will finally be free of all our party spirit, divisions, self righteousness, self centeredness, politics, and condemning spirits. We will be fully in love with the LORD and with each other. We will be accepting of our different cultures and background. We will be one in Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me not judge my brothers and sisters. Free me on majoring in the minors. Show me how to show love with those who disagree with me.
Contemplation: Love one another!
Action: Who have I spent time judging and condemning in the last week? Last month? Last year? Why am I tempted to focus my condemnation on this person? How could I release my condemnation and open my heart to accept them as they are?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Matthew 16 - The Darkness will lose!
Devotions
Reading: NLT Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets." 15 Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Meditation
When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., his kingdom was divided, with his son Archelaeus inheriting Judea and Samaria, Herod Antipas receiving Galilee and Perea (Transjordan), and Philip taking over Gaulanitis, the territory on the Golan, east of the Jordan River and north of the Sea of Galilee. Following the example of his father, Philip built the first city at Panias, naming it Caesarea Philippi to honor the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus and to distinguish it from Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast.
Caesarea Philippi became a center of Greek-Roman culture, a city known for its pagan worship, its prestigious status as the capital city of Herod Philip’s domain, and its significant Gentile population. References to "the district of Caesarea Philippi" (Matt 16:13) and "the villages of Caesarea Philippi" (Mark 8:27) reflect the city’s status as the power center of Philip’s territory.
These factors, together with the sheer rock cliff at the worship site, made this an ideal place for Jesus to make His historic announcements. Peter’s declaration, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," challenged the gods in the niches of the cliff and their devotees who worshiped these gods as though they actually existed. I was impressed when I was in Israel that it was here that Jesus declared that the “gates of hell” would not prevail against His church.
If Jesus were standing with His disciples in front of this sheer cliff, it would explain His use of the metaphor "rock" used in His conversation with Peter. The word He used was petra, a term that would be used to describe such a bluff. (Cf. Matt 7:24,25, ". . .who built his house upon the rock petra.") It was Jesus’ practice to teach in metaphors and parables that related to the physical context in which He was ministering, for example, "fishers of men" and "a sower went out to sow" spoken on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where fishing and sowing could readily be observed. It is likely, therefore, that on this occasion, as they stood before this rock bluff, Jesus’ choice of the metaphor, petra, reflected this practice.[1]
What is this passage teaching. First that there will be many view of concerning the identity of Jesus. Perhaps a prophet, a resurrected spirit from another time, or the second coming of Elijah. We should not be surprised when people try to make Jesus fit into their world views.
Second, that the true understanding of Jesus is that He is the promised Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king and promised divine Son of God found in Psalm 2 who is worshipped by the kings of the earth. Only when we see Jesus in this light do we really understand Him.
The third teaching is that this true understanding of Jesus comes only thru divine revelation. It is the Father who must reveal this to us thru the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart. We cannot see this without divine help.
The fourth teaching is that Peter’s profession of faith will be used like a rock catapulted against the walls of a fortress and smash the “gates of hell” and lay the foundation for Christ’s Church. We see this as Peter is used to preach the gospel to the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles.
The fifth teaching is that Christ has promised His Church that they will be victorious in their struggle with unbelief in the world. The commission to make disciples of all nations will be a success. The Church is asked to minister in a very optimistic attitude.
We should be encouraged by this passage to see Jesus as the true Messiah, thank God for being able to see Him in that light, and have courage to press on in discipling the nations due to the promise of ultimate success.
Christocentric: This who passage screams at us that Jesus is the promised Messiah and assures us that though His coming did not bring in world peace and harmony as expected that the real plan of discipling the nations and overcoming the spiritual strong holds of the enemy is being accomplished. The first step towards world peace and harmony is to build the Church.
Moral: Have faith in Christ and in His plan!
Eternal: In eternity we will fully understand the greatness of how Christ planned to build His Church and overcome spiritual strongholds through the preaching of the gospel. We will see the grand design and be awed and inspired by the Wisdom of our God.
Prayer: Lord, let me see you more clearly, that I might love you more dearly, and follow you more dearly this day.
Contemplation: Take courage: I have won!
Action: What can I do to join the Christ in building His Church? Do it now!
[1] http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/caesarea_philippi.htm
Reading: NLT Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 "Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets." 15 Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
Meditation
When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., his kingdom was divided, with his son Archelaeus inheriting Judea and Samaria, Herod Antipas receiving Galilee and Perea (Transjordan), and Philip taking over Gaulanitis, the territory on the Golan, east of the Jordan River and north of the Sea of Galilee. Following the example of his father, Philip built the first city at Panias, naming it Caesarea Philippi to honor the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus and to distinguish it from Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast.
Caesarea Philippi became a center of Greek-Roman culture, a city known for its pagan worship, its prestigious status as the capital city of Herod Philip’s domain, and its significant Gentile population. References to "the district of Caesarea Philippi" (Matt 16:13) and "the villages of Caesarea Philippi" (Mark 8:27) reflect the city’s status as the power center of Philip’s territory.
These factors, together with the sheer rock cliff at the worship site, made this an ideal place for Jesus to make His historic announcements. Peter’s declaration, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God," challenged the gods in the niches of the cliff and their devotees who worshiped these gods as though they actually existed. I was impressed when I was in Israel that it was here that Jesus declared that the “gates of hell” would not prevail against His church.
If Jesus were standing with His disciples in front of this sheer cliff, it would explain His use of the metaphor "rock" used in His conversation with Peter. The word He used was petra, a term that would be used to describe such a bluff. (Cf. Matt 7:24,25, ". . .who built his house upon the rock petra.") It was Jesus’ practice to teach in metaphors and parables that related to the physical context in which He was ministering, for example, "fishers of men" and "a sower went out to sow" spoken on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where fishing and sowing could readily be observed. It is likely, therefore, that on this occasion, as they stood before this rock bluff, Jesus’ choice of the metaphor, petra, reflected this practice.[1]
What is this passage teaching. First that there will be many view of concerning the identity of Jesus. Perhaps a prophet, a resurrected spirit from another time, or the second coming of Elijah. We should not be surprised when people try to make Jesus fit into their world views.
Second, that the true understanding of Jesus is that He is the promised Messiah, the anointed prophet, priest, and king and promised divine Son of God found in Psalm 2 who is worshipped by the kings of the earth. Only when we see Jesus in this light do we really understand Him.
The third teaching is that this true understanding of Jesus comes only thru divine revelation. It is the Father who must reveal this to us thru the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart. We cannot see this without divine help.
The fourth teaching is that Peter’s profession of faith will be used like a rock catapulted against the walls of a fortress and smash the “gates of hell” and lay the foundation for Christ’s Church. We see this as Peter is used to preach the gospel to the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles.
The fifth teaching is that Christ has promised His Church that they will be victorious in their struggle with unbelief in the world. The commission to make disciples of all nations will be a success. The Church is asked to minister in a very optimistic attitude.
We should be encouraged by this passage to see Jesus as the true Messiah, thank God for being able to see Him in that light, and have courage to press on in discipling the nations due to the promise of ultimate success.
Christocentric: This who passage screams at us that Jesus is the promised Messiah and assures us that though His coming did not bring in world peace and harmony as expected that the real plan of discipling the nations and overcoming the spiritual strong holds of the enemy is being accomplished. The first step towards world peace and harmony is to build the Church.
Moral: Have faith in Christ and in His plan!
Eternal: In eternity we will fully understand the greatness of how Christ planned to build His Church and overcome spiritual strongholds through the preaching of the gospel. We will see the grand design and be awed and inspired by the Wisdom of our God.
Prayer: Lord, let me see you more clearly, that I might love you more dearly, and follow you more dearly this day.
Contemplation: Take courage: I have won!
Action: What can I do to join the Christ in building His Church? Do it now!
[1] http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/caesarea_philippi.htm
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Join Us For Easter Brunch at 10 AM on Easter Sunday!
This is a great way to enjoy Easter.
Come to First Church West and have a free and wonderful brunch
Have the children enjoy an Easter Egg hunt
Then sing some great songs of faith and listen to a message celebrating Life in Christ
What could be better than this?
Come with your family and friends to a day of inspiration and joy!
Come to First Church West and have a free and wonderful brunch
Have the children enjoy an Easter Egg hunt
Then sing some great songs of faith and listen to a message celebrating Life in Christ
What could be better than this?
Come with your family and friends to a day of inspiration and joy!
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