As stewards, we celebrate the Gospel here; we celebrate redemption, restoration, healing, and the things of God. Even in the middle of difficult times, we choose to celebrate the mercies of God. "Celebration is godly defiance in the culture of doubt" - Jon Tyson.
Not only do we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Easter, the central point of our faith, but because of what He's done, we celebrate our own resurrection. He rose from the grave to life, and raises us to new life with Him. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life!
Christ’s own joy, comfort, happiness and glory are enlarged as he shows grace and mercy; as he pardons and relieves; as he brings comfort to his own. - Gentle and Lowly
We are a people who are coming to know Jesus; becoming like Jesus; and living as Jesus lived as we make our way on this journey.
According to scripture, we should be explorers and stewards of the mysteries of God. When we lose sight of the Gospel of Christ, we are truly missing the central aspect of the church He began. We should constantly be preaching and responding to the mystery of God, which is the Gospel, in our lives. We should then steward it well and make it our focus.
We must constantly ask of ourselves, "Are we a place where those in the community know that they will experience belonging?" Nothing and no one supersedes the Gospel. It will change us, transform us, and challenge us as God is the one who gives the growth. As we mature in faith we will search our hearts to evaluate how we have been complicit in under-playing the Gospel.
In First Corinthians, we see how Paul is calling for the believers to mature in their faith. They made a big deal of small insignificant issues the church faced. When we look at some of what they were struggling with, we actually can see struggles the church today struggles with. To sum up some of what Paul was saying, we need to get over ourselves and realize that our own wisdom is nothing compared to Christ.
According to the book of Acts, we see what ruled the lives of the church at its inception: the apostles' teaching, the fellowship of believers, communion, and prayer. These are things that the global church should still be devoted to just as much as it was so long ago. As we are devoted to those, our fellowship will always be space to be with Jesus; become like Jesus; and do what he did to live to the full.
In encountering the Word of God made flesh, and now engaging with the scriptures, we should be asking 'So what should we do?'. How are we supposed wrestle with the texts found in scripture? What should be our aim, or our response to Christ coming? We should live a life filled with consistent repentance.
Ann Voskamp says, "Any time and place that you make space for Jesus, you become a womb for the goodness of God." Mary became a sacred space, and we too can become a sacred space for our Savior. Let us display His goodness, and grace all around us. We should use this season to remind us of the effects of making space for Jesus. It is much bigger than just a Christmas season.
All throughout scripture we see that God’s methods and His timing point to His strength not ours. No matter what we face, or how long we wait, we also see that God always fulfills His promises. Believers should then respond in faith when God calls us to be a part in His redemptive plans. As people anticipating the impossible let us live in a posture of faith and submission.
The ‘prophetic perfect’ promise of Isaiah was a steadfast truth for the people of Israel for 750 years. There is a posture of faith in hope, in the midst of all that life brings, ‘look up’. These promises from Isaiah are anchors. May you live in the prophetic perfect posture, stirred in unending promises of our God in Christ.
In Hebrews it tells us that we should be thankful because we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. So while circumstances are tough and we may feel we are surrounded by struggle and sorrow, we should remember that what God is doing is a far greater story that we might not yet see. In the midst of the storms, trials, and chaos we should pause and thank Jesus for who He is and what He is doing, but also knowing that there is a bigger story He's unveiling. Lord, please open our eyes....
Is Jesus an experiential reality of our faith, our tradition, our family or is He simply a historical study? We see Paul asking God not for assistance, but for the Spirit to completely take over. In our own lives we should be willing to give up our control and see the Spirit fully take over. We are a people of revelation and mystery. Let us stoke the fire of what God is doing.
Our posture throughout life should be one that demonstrates and helps increase faith in the power of God. Whatever situation, or 'cell' that you find yourself in is an opportunity to reveal God's story. Don't let the story stop. You cannot experience the resurrection apart from the crucifixion.
How do we orient our lives around the living Christ and define our identity in who we are in Him? Jesus is wisdom from God for us. The only thing we can boast in, is in the Lord.
The church is a community of Jesus-followers who are becoming perfectly one. We should be asking ourselves if we are surrounded by a group of people who are orienting their life toward the things of Christ and living that out in this world. The story upon which we take our stand; by which we are being saved; of which we hold fast, is the story of Jesus crucified, Jesus resurrected. Nothing and no one else.
As we begin this journey through the first letter to the Corinthian church, we see Paul approaching this church with love rather than pointed fingers. Eventually he will address their struggles, inward fighting, and sinful lifestyles but something to take note of is how he is calling out what's within them, and how God sees them. Like Christ does with us, he sees past our sin and guilt, and brings us out of where we are found. We too, have a calling to speak the future into the present, based up...
There is a beautiful letter to the Church at Corinth written by Paul. We see as we read, that he loves the people who make up this church and longs that they live with Christ as their center. As those that he loves stumble and struggle on this journey called life, they find themselves surrounded by an abundance of struggles, many by their own poor choice in path taken. Paul does what a loving leader always does, he comes to them with open arms, not pointed fingers. He invites them into the heart...
One of the many tragedies of sin is the fractured friendship between God and man. But the beauty of the Gospel message is Jesus steps into our mess and is Himself the way for true and real friendship with God. He then invites us into His work of reconciliation, ministering to the broken world around us.
The picture we see of Jesus is one whose love for his people causes him to run toward the broken, desperate, sin-stained, guilty. He steps into the darkness and says there is so much more I have in store for you. Dane Ortlund said, "The intercession of Christ is his heart connecting our hearts to the Father's heart."
Dane Ortlund said "It's impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be over celebrated, made too much of, exaggerated. It cannot be plumbed. But, we should surely give great effort." When you look at the life of Christ, you will see the way He lives truly proves His heart. His heart, is one full of compassion that moves toward the ones in need. Do you know who you're talking to?
In Matthew chapter 11, Jesus gives us a glimpse of his heart as he calls himself 'gentle and lowly'. Unfortunately people often overlook the very heart of Christ as they emphasize other characteristics. But this is who HE says he is. The next question we need to ask ourselves, is 'who do we say that he is'. When we answer that question correctly, we will be able to look over our lives and see his hand, and his heart moving toward us constantly.
God allows us to go to places where the weight of desperation presses against our hearts. God is drawing each of us back into the center of what is on His mind and His heart. Perhaps, we are those who breathe life into weary and dry souls. We have experienced hopelessness and doubt so that we will speak life into those He brings us who are experiencing the same things. We are witnesses to the redemptive work of the gospel. He whispered life into our soul, so that we may do the same for others....
Do you wonder about what God has already completed in your current circumstance that we don't yet see? We shall anchor our souls in truths of God. Let us put what we do know about God above what we do not know about the days ahead.
