Today a friend and I were going through 2 Corinthians 5 when we came to verse 20, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."
I have been thinking about this verse all day. Yes I knew I was the ambassador of Christ but the two other things that really popped out to me were: "as though God were making his appeal through us" and "Be reconciled to God"
It doesn't matter how many evangelical tools I have, how many classes I have taken, how well I speak or what version of the Bible I am using because it is God who is making his appeal through me. How does that happen? I look at the other things I have mentioned and they all seem to be very man centered but this says it is a God centered process to be an ambassador. Sure classes and materials are good to have but it is the Holy Spirit who does the work. So what is our part? How about prayer? We need to spend a great deal of time in prayer and then allow God to make his appeal to whoever we are speaking to. It helps us to remember that it is God who saves not a specific formula of words.
It also doesn't matter how well we know the scriptures if we allow sin to separate us from our relationship to God. As His ambassadors we are to be reconciled with Him which means we need to confess our sins (agree with Him) and then repent of our sins (turn from them). When we do that we are held accountable by God. Our confession puts us at a higher level of accountability. So we should be more aware when we begin to go down that path of sin again. The warning is that without the reconciliation we cannot be the ambassadors we are called to be.
So I am Christ's ambassador. I need to get myself out of the way, check my heart in order to confess and repent of sin and pray allowing God to make his appeal through me. It's a tall order but He's a big God.
Showing posts with label body of Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body of Christ. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
We are all Weavers
On Saturday morning when I attended the funeral of my friend. I saw people I haven't seen in 20 years. As I watched the people go down the aisle I began to get a sense of the tapestry of life. At some point in our lives we have heard that we are part of a tapestry being woven together by God. Sometimes from this side it looks knotted and very messed up but from His point of view everything fits together nicely. This came to my mind because these people from many years ago all had a part in my life. They were part of my growth in Christ as we attended the church together. Many of them I worked along side of as we ministered to children, teaching the gospel. They were there for the births of my two children. These people were a big part of my life which I had totally forgotten until Saturday.
We are all weavers. We weave in and out of people's lives. This is all done so unconsciously. We do not really notice who we are affecting as we move about in our life. I am very embarrassed by that fact. There are those who I could have made a greater impact on for the gospel if I had noticed. As I watched these people, I began to remember the impact on my own life each had made. There was the woman who taught kindergarten with me for many years. I became her helper at 18 years of age. She was kind to me and taught me so much about interacting with young children. Then there were full grown adults with their own children who had been in that class. I was a weaver to them. One of those is now working in another church growing the Lord, serving women.
The body of Christ is full of weavers. We are the weavers as we move around down here but God is the Weaver as He places us in each other's lives. His purpose is sure, "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13 That is a tall order for each one of us. We need to focus on who we are in Christ as we weave in and out of other's lives. Are we interacting like who we are? Are we considering those we pass everyday as "better than ourselves" (Philippians 2:3)? Do we watch our words? (Ephesians 4:29)
The questions could go on and on. As Followers of Christ we are all joined together by our Head, Jesus Christ. We may weave in and out of different local bodies of Christ in our lifetimes but we can know this for certain our Head does not change. So weave with joy as you serve the Head making a difference in others for the Kingdom's sake.
We are all weavers. We weave in and out of people's lives. This is all done so unconsciously. We do not really notice who we are affecting as we move about in our life. I am very embarrassed by that fact. There are those who I could have made a greater impact on for the gospel if I had noticed. As I watched these people, I began to remember the impact on my own life each had made. There was the woman who taught kindergarten with me for many years. I became her helper at 18 years of age. She was kind to me and taught me so much about interacting with young children. Then there were full grown adults with their own children who had been in that class. I was a weaver to them. One of those is now working in another church growing the Lord, serving women.
The body of Christ is full of weavers. We are the weavers as we move around down here but God is the Weaver as He places us in each other's lives. His purpose is sure, "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4:12-13 That is a tall order for each one of us. We need to focus on who we are in Christ as we weave in and out of other's lives. Are we interacting like who we are? Are we considering those we pass everyday as "better than ourselves" (Philippians 2:3)? Do we watch our words? (Ephesians 4:29)
The questions could go on and on. As Followers of Christ we are all joined together by our Head, Jesus Christ. We may weave in and out of different local bodies of Christ in our lifetimes but we can know this for certain our Head does not change. So weave with joy as you serve the Head making a difference in others for the Kingdom's sake.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Body of Christ
This weekend was a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with Arabic women in the body of Christ. They were gracious and very kind to me as I spoke to them about their spiritual gifts. I learned from them this weekend as we embraced and gave each other greetings with a holy kiss. This is not the tradition in my church more of a handshake will do but their culture is more acceptable of the holy kiss. The intimacy of this embrace breaks down barriers that we ourselves put up. I was at total ease to speak to them after having been embraced by each woman in expression of the love of Christ.
We do not have these kind of opportunities often but when we do, we need to take advantage of them. The body of Christ extends way beyond the four walls of our own church. It is universal with Christ as the head. We can learn from each other as we worship together. It bothers me that so often we end of talking about others in the body. There will be disagreements among us but these disagreements are not opportunities to gossip and slander other believers. We are told to "...encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13) Doesn't that ring true? Of course, all of the scripture does. When we fall into the habit of being critical of others and their techniques, we are on our way to being deceived by sin. We begin to think that we are the right ones and if others are not walking the way we walk in the body, then they are wrong. This will result in pride. A critical spirit does not have a place within the body.
Yes we are to be discerning but isn't that different? Even though we disagree with another brother or sister, we are still part of the body and can work through issues together. One day we will stand shoulder to shoulder singing praises to God in His eternal kingdom.
This weekend was good for me. I was taught love and acceptance through the embraces of these women who are connected to me by our Savior, Jesus Christ. So the next time I feel that critical spirit coming on, I need to remember what Paul wrote to the Romans, "Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings." (Romans 16:16) Paul writes that "all" of the churches of Christ care enough to acknowledge the church in Rome. Where's the competition? There is not competition with the body of Christ. We are all one. It is time to live like it!
We do not have these kind of opportunities often but when we do, we need to take advantage of them. The body of Christ extends way beyond the four walls of our own church. It is universal with Christ as the head. We can learn from each other as we worship together. It bothers me that so often we end of talking about others in the body. There will be disagreements among us but these disagreements are not opportunities to gossip and slander other believers. We are told to "...encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:13) Doesn't that ring true? Of course, all of the scripture does. When we fall into the habit of being critical of others and their techniques, we are on our way to being deceived by sin. We begin to think that we are the right ones and if others are not walking the way we walk in the body, then they are wrong. This will result in pride. A critical spirit does not have a place within the body.
Yes we are to be discerning but isn't that different? Even though we disagree with another brother or sister, we are still part of the body and can work through issues together. One day we will stand shoulder to shoulder singing praises to God in His eternal kingdom.
This weekend was good for me. I was taught love and acceptance through the embraces of these women who are connected to me by our Savior, Jesus Christ. So the next time I feel that critical spirit coming on, I need to remember what Paul wrote to the Romans, "Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings." (Romans 16:16) Paul writes that "all" of the churches of Christ care enough to acknowledge the church in Rome. Where's the competition? There is not competition with the body of Christ. We are all one. It is time to live like it!
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