"As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." 1 Peter 4:10
At Peace Church, we are a family. And just like we have responsibilities within our physical family, as part of God's family, we too have a responsibility to one another. One of those responsibilities is to serve one another with the grace gift that God has given each of us. You see, we need to begin to see the church not as a place that exists to meet our personal needs, but as a community where Christ in us can meet the needs of others around us. That means that we must be on the lookout to see how we can bless others within the family of God by serving them. If you are an encourager, who can you speak a word of encouragement and comfort to? If you have the gift of hospitality, who can you invite into your home to enjoy a meal together? If you have the gift of leadership, how can you use your influence to lead in ministry? Prayer: Are you aware of the needs of those around you? How might God want to use you to help meet those needs?
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"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." 1 Corinthians 13:1-2
We've all been in a room where loud music was playing while we are trying to have a conversation. Try, as we might, not much useful communication will happen while the noise persists. The Bible says this is how our effectiveness for the kingdom works. All of our gifts, skill and charisma actually hurt our witness if an essential thing is not present: love. Jesus laid the foundation for Paul writing this to Corinthians when He said, "Love the Lord, love your neighbor (Mark 12:30-31)." If we're not careful, our spiritual maturity and biblical knowledge will begin to take center stage as the "important things" in our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. May we love loudly so that our lives and our relationships don't become that crowded room where not much useful communication can happen. Prayer: "Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ? Who can you text or call right now to encourage? "For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body." 1 Corinthians 12:14-15
One of the best children's movies ever is Toy Story. There's a scene in Toy Story that brought a familiar past time for kids to life and it has to do with Mr. Potato Head. Every kid who ever owned a Mr. Potato Head has, at one point or another, placed all the parts of Mr. Potato's body in the wrong place. It's funny for a kid's movie or for a preschool class but, in reality, it's impossible. God created our bodies to function in exact ways that allow the body to work the best. As Paul mentions in the verses above, he references the body as perfect example of how the church works. Everybody matters! In the same way as our bodies would be dysfunctional if all our fingers were eyeballs, our church will be dysfunctional when the body parts aren't functioning in the ways they were designed to function. This is why, at Peace Church, we say that following Jesus is all about relationships! Only when there is proper communication in our physical bodies as well as in the body of Christ can we function how we are supposed to! Everybody (part) matters! Prayer: What role are you currently playing in the body of Christ? "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills." 1 Corinthians 12:11
Anytime you hang around a group of children for longer than five minutes, you are likely to hear the phrase, "That's not fair!" "Fair" is a word that is sometimes thrown around flippantly but we would do well to really use that word scarcely. The reality of our faith is that if we got what we deserved (what was fair), we would all spend eternity separated from God in hell. Praise God that He not only didn't give us what we deserved (mercy), but gave us everything we didn't deserve (grace)! Most would agree that God's grace is gloriously unfair in salvation but what about how God continues to work through our lives? The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that God, the Holy Spirit, lives in us. Again, that's GRACE! So we must be careful, as Paul warns the Corinthians here in our passage, to not turn our accusations towards God in how He is choosing to use us and how He is using others around us. Our responsibility is to simply trust that God is a good, good Father, continue to abide in Christ, and follow the Spirit's leading! Prayer: "Have you been guilty of thinking ill towards your brother or sister in Christ because of where God has them in comparison to yourself? Take a moment to thank God for His gloriously unfair grace!" "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ" - Ephesians 4:11-12
Many people outside the church (and inside for that matter) think that although the congregation of the church may gather on Sunday for service, they leave to live "normal" lives while the pastors do all of the "ministry" Monday through Saturday. Sadly, this philosophy has blinded many people. The New Testament knows nothing of passive church attenders who leave all the ministry work to the "professional Christians" (those who are paid). When Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians, he saw a massive need in society that could not and would not be changed or remedied by a few people who were doing all of the ministry in Ephesus. To paraphrase verse 12, Paul said, "Train others! Equip them to get in on what God is doing to build His church!" Do you know that God has given you the responsibility to equip others to use their gifts to serve the body of Christ? You might be thinking, "I can't do that." It is as easy as bringing others with you as you serve, allowing them to serve with you. Prayer: "How are you regularly serving the body of Christ? Who can you invite to join you in those opportunities?" |
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June 2018
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