Music Monday - If we are the Body

There are layers to being a Christian. It all starts with Jesus.

The physician came not for the healthy but the sick. Have you heard this before? It reminds me that Jesus didn't come for the righteous, but for those who know they need him.

The next layer is us, as we are made right, in the eyes of God. God reached out to us with Jesus, and Jesus reached out not just to us, but to those in need. They knew he was compassionate to their needs so they sought him out.

As a Christian, I too should be compassionate to those around me, and should reach out to them.

This weeks song beckons us to be the hands and feet of Christ.

But if we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a way

What is a Christ follower to do? (Part 2)

In Job Description (Part 1) we learned what a Christians are not supposed to do. Today let us look at what a Christian is supposed to do. By doing things that we were never meant to do we cause ourselves and others pain. We also can put a hug burden on ourselves. We don't want that, so here is the job description I think Christians have.

Job Description

So what exactly does the job description look like? This is hard for me to pinpoint, because I am still oh so tired, and oh so far from where I should be. Grace be with me, and you as well.

 ¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷ And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. ¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28

What exactly is a disciple? Well a disciple is a follower or student.

noun 
        1 Religion.

1. one of the 12 personal followers of Christ.
2. one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ. Luke 10:1.
3. any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime.

2. any follower of Christ.

3. (initial capital letter) a member of the Disciples of Christ.

4. a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower: - http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disciple?s=t

To make disciples, we first must be a disciple. So that is the job description in a nutshell.  Be a disciple and make disciples. Wow.

So how do we be a disciple. We learn and be opening to learning, and instruction. Instruction that comes from Christ through the word of God and the leaders God has put in our lives. When ever someone gives you guidance or instructions you should still see what the Bible says about it.

So know that we know that being a disciple means we are lifelong students of Christ; how do we make disciples. We make disciples by sharing our knowledge and what Christ is doing in our life. We can do this by showing people Christ's love, we can start conversations with them, or even invite them to church or church functions. However you decide to share Christ with others remember you should always pray.

Pray for guidance on who and how. Pray about who, pray that God will show you that person and use you to show that person to Jesus. Pray about how God would have you show His love to this person, pray that he will guide you. In the doing and the talking, pray for words of wisdom and openings into the conversation. Never cease to pray.

How do you continue to learn?  How do you introduce others to Jesus?

5 Bible Verses for when you feel unloved!

Do you feel unloved? I've been there before, feeling completely abandoned and unloved. It is not a place that I like being, but it seems to happen and there doesn't seem like much I can to do, or is there?

Mother and Son By: Glenn Beltz 

In a past post I wrote about the armor of God. When we read about the armor of God we learn about the belt of truth. The truth is you are loved. Do you need more proof than just my telling you?  Well how about hearing it from the perfect word of God. Here are 5 Bible Verses for those moments when you feel unloved.

1.

 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. - 1 John 3:1

Isn't it great that God loved us so much that he lavishes his love on us; that he calls us His children. Lavish means "expending or bestowing profusely" He doesn't only call us His children, but he fully claims us, giving us rights as His children.

2.

¹⁴ Sing, Daughter Zion;  shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! ¹⁵ The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. ¹⁶ On that day they will say to Jerusalem,  “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. ¹⁷ The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” -

Zephaniah 3:14-17

 God loves you so much that he sings over us with rejoicing.  When I hear this I think of my mom.  She babysits a lot, and when she is putting a sweet baby to sleep she is singing to them. She really likes to sing 'Jesus loves you" and  'I love you'. It is so sweet. She does this not only so they can fall asleep but also to remind them of her love for them. I image that is what this verse is referring to; God singing his love over us.

3.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[a]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -

Romans 8:35-39

We need to remember that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us. Yes, sin can separate us from the Holy Father, but he already knew that you were going to sin. Nobody is perfect. He knew David was going to sin, but He still loved him, and offered him forgiveness. We are no different, He still loves us. even though our pasts may be bleak, or sin stained. Remember nothing can separate you from His love.

4.

⁸ But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

- Deuteronomy 7:8-9

This verse reminds us of 2 different things. First, when God makes us a promise he will come through on it, even if it isn't in our timing. Second, God loves us so much he doesn't want to see us in bondage so he comes to free us. He frees us like he freed the Israelites from Egypt. It may not come with great miracles, but it could. The thing to remember here is that we need to rest in our faith and we need to know that God will bring us our freedom in his own timing. So if it hasn't happened yet, pray and stay faithful.

5.

²⁰ But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

²² Be merciful to those who doubt;

-  Jude 1:20-22

Yes, God works in his own timing, we should encourage those around us who doubt. We should also do what we can to remember that God loves us. We can do that by praying for faith and strength; studying the scriptures; and spending time with fellow believers building each other up, and accepting encouragement.  

Would you like a printable reminder?

What do you do when you feel unloved? Are there any verses you would like to add?

November 8-9

November 8 - I am thankful for my coworker. My cowoker took the week off. Praise God things were slow, and she was able to get some rest and much needed relaxation. With that said, I will ever be excited to see her Monday.

November 9 - I am thankful that God provides for my every need. Sometimes giving me more than enough and allowing me to bless others.

Dear Heavenly Father,

You have blessed me with so much. I am thankful I have a coworker to share the load with. I also praise you for your provisions in my life. You always provide my needs, some of my wants and even allow me to bless others.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

A boast in faith?

After my lesson, I was energetic. I couldn't wait to start down the new path God has for me. I've been here before and it didn't end with me following the path. The thought of when did my faith become so weak. Dear Lord, give me faith to follow you.

That prayer sounds good right. I was reading my long list of blogs and I found one that convicted me, because of my lack of faith. This blog post gave me a new view. Instead of looking up, I have started looking around, and I see that God has given me enough faith to do what He has called me to do.

In reality my faith is not at all what stops me from walking that path. It is fear. Fear that has attached itself to me. What is even worse is that I have even caught myself feeding the fear with lies. Isn't that what fear is anyway. The Bible tells us that perfect love casts out fear. The only perfect love comes from God. So when I am not following God down this new path, I'm standing maybe even living in that lie.

The faith chapter, Hebrews 11, tells of people who used their faith to step out of the boat, to take the path God had for them. They were commended for this. Jesus told a parable about the two sons, found in Matthew 21:28-32. 

In this parable the father asked both sons to go work in the fields for him. The first said no, but changed his mind and went. The second said yes, but then changed his mind and never went. I would like to say I'm standing and haven't answered. That would be nice, but I have told God yes, I will go. But I'm standing here still thinking about it.

The problem is the longer I think about the path, the longer I stand here in fear, the bigger the chance I'm going to be the second son. I don't want to be the second son, I want to be commended for my faith. I want to be an example to those who are hearing the same lies. I want them to say, if God can heal her, if he can use her, if he can help her overcome the lies, then he will do the same for me. I want God to use me to free those around me.

Dear Lord, You have given me the faith I need to overcome the lies, and to fight off the fear. Give me another opportunity to step out in faith. Use me to free those around me who have been lied to as well. Give them freedom from seeing me move. In Jesus Name, Amen

Good Samaritan

I never wanted to be the good Samaritan, because in reality I am very weak. I never wanted to get stuck having to help others when I really am not qualified, or even able, or I am just to tired from my other duties to help this person. When we hear the story of the good Samaritan we praise him for all he did.

 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ - Luke 10:30-35

Have you ever noticed that while the good Samaritan helped the hurt man, he also handed the hurt man over to someone else. The good Samaritan couldn't do everything the man needed. Let that sink in. The good Samaritan for reasons not explained in the Bible has to leave the man in another person's hands.
Let us play the maybe game. The good Samaritan had to leave because...

... of previous commitments.

...of work.

...needed to attend to his family.

All noble reasons to have to walk away, but in reality did the good Samaritan really walk away completely. No, he promised to check in. Even though he was no longer there, he didn't put the hurt man out of his mind. No, he paid for the innkeeper to be taken care of  the man. He left the man in capable hands.

We can't save the world and this parable points to the need to help others, but also to know our limitations. When we have to walk away, we can still show concern and check up on the person. This is no excuse to hand off everybody who needs help. If that person needs help and you have the knowledge, talent, and ability then you are the person to help them. By helping them you will reap the blessings, even if you don't see the blessings until you are in Heaven.

So now I understand the good Samaritan knew his limitations and kept with them. He didn't try to force himself to do anything he wasn't capable of doing. Yet he made sure the injured man was taken care of. So remember to love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. As Jesus says this is the way of life.

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” - Luke 10:27-28