Thoughts about my church
I haven’t belonged to many churches in my life time. I remember the first summer Bible school I went to and we made pictures of Jesus and I received a Bible. I had that picture into my 20s now I can’t find it. I remember back then that it was important to have God in my life. The next church I remember was a church where I didn’t feel I belonged. I didn’t want to go to church anymore if that was what church was like. Not a good way to think of church, is it?
I didn’t start going to church again until my mid-twenties (I was out of church for 10+ years). I can’t say that church set a good example for me either. It wasn’t like the churches described in Acts (see Acts 2:43-47). If you read it, it sounds like a family sharing all things together for a common purpose – serving God.
Yes family – that is what I have found with my church – an extended family. Now the church I am currently attending has set a foundation of verses from the Bible to set our ministry direction. Here they are:
For the foundation, the solid rock
with which we are to do all things:
Foundation - Matt. 22:34-40
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.
35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus
replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the
Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Now most buildings are some form
of a rectangle, so you need 4 corners to build from. Here are the four corners
we use to build our relationships with God and those God brings us in contact
with:
CORNER - Micah 6:8
God has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require
of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
CORNER - Matt. 25: 31-40
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with
him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will
be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep
on his right and the goats on his left. 34 "Then the King will say
to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by God; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was
hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something
to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and
you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and
you came to visit me.'
CORNER - James 3:17
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving,
considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
CORNER - Romans 8:31-39
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can
be against us? 3 2God who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for
us all—how will God not also, along with him, graciously give us all
things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more
than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and
is also interceding for us. 35m 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." 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, 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.
Now we need a roof to cover our
ministry. We form a cross structure for our roof with these two versus:
ROOF - John 3:16
For God so loved the world that God gave God’s one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
ROOF - John 14:1-4
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in
me. 2 In my Parent’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would
have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me
that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I
am going."
Then I think of what a disciple is and I know it is a person who can understand the versus I just listed and understand how they build a relationship with God that can not be shook by anything here on Earth. God is great. Jesus has risen. You are forgiven. Live your life in appreciation of all the LOVE and devotion God has shown you by honoring the words Jesus brought to us. Start with these seven (7) verses and you shall find a confidence that out shines, out lasts and out lasts everything that you can imagine here on Earth.
I ask your forgiveness for missing last week’s blog. I had writers block. I felt the need to share about my church and how it blesses me (and I am honored to help it grow), unfortunately, the words wouldn’t come last week. This week – they came so fast I can hardly type fast enough.
May you have good week. Next week – I am not sure the direction I shall take from here. Maybe it is time to study these seven (7) verses so that we can see how God has blessed us. Yep, seems like the right time.
May God continue to bless you until our next study.
alyce