Where does Ministry Happen? Part 2

This week we will continue in our series where does ministry happen and look at another place where we as regenerate believers are called to be advocates and ambassadors for the gospel in each area of our lives.

In your community group: God created us to function with deep relationships, there is evidence throughout the Bible of this, from the Israelites in their tribes, to Jesus taking 12 men and doing life together, to the church in Acts, and constantly built up by Paul as he refers often to the body and each part playing its role well, and how the hand cannot function outside of the body and what good is it to have eyes if they have no head to go on.

One of the best ways to serve is through loving others in your community group and building rich community through service and sacrifice (Acts 2:42-47). Most of the churches effective at pastoral care and assimilation report a great majority of people who became active in a community group setting before ever stepping into the church building. People have a tendency to belong, and then believe. We desire that men and women feel connected to the body and see each other loving and serving one another through study, prayer, fellowship. This is the basis of the church, this is when it functions well and the church experiences real growth, depth first, then width.

So what opportunities do you have this week to invite someone who may not be involved in a church, or who doesn't know what it means to be the body, or needs to see it functioning in the Biblical way. May our Community Groups be a place where men and women see the church on display.

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon

Where Does Ministry Happen?

In today's church culture it is easy for us to think that "real ministry" happens only inside the walls of the church building. But I think that the Bible teaches us something much different, that God intends ministry to happen wherever the believer is present, and for the most part that is outside the walls of the church.

The church has become a country club, keeping the ministry inside, but according to 2 Cor. 5:18-20-the apostle Paul clearly teaches that we, all regenerate believers, have been given the ministry of reconciliation, that is God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

With that said where then does this ministry take place, over the course of the next 6 weeks we will look at the various areas the Lord has given us to be ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The first we will look at is: THE HOME

God wants us to have integrity in our homes. You cannot go far in the Bible until you see this. Gen 3:23-25-from the beginning man has been charged to lovingly lead their households, this thought however is not limited to Genesis, but is a theme that runs throughout the Bible, (Eph. 5:25, Eph. 6:4, 1 Tim. 2:8). Women are called then to care for and lovingly witness to their husbands and children (Eph. 5:22, 1 Cor. 7:14, 1 Pet. 3:1). And children are called to honor and obey their parents (Ex. 20:12, Eph. 6:1-3). This is a serious thing, for the Scriptures say that one can even be disqualified from church leadership due to a neglect of ministry in the home (1 Tim. 3:4-5). This even applies to those that are not married or those who have yet to have kids, how are you preparing to be the godly mother, father, husband, or wife, right now?

In the end the world doesn't need more talk from Christians, they need to see how the Gospel effects and changes our lives and that starts with how we minister in our homes when no one is looking.

How are you leading today in your home to show that God is utmost in your affections? What actions are you taking?

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon

Thoughts on Trust

Simple today, not at all complicated. Do you trust Christ? Do you trust His Word? Do you trust that He still works today? If yes, then why? If the answer is no? Why? For most of us it will be yes but only in certain areas. Why do you think that is? If we were honest wouldn't it be the areas that are easy that we find ourselves trusting Him, and not in the hard or difficult areas. The question I have is this: is that trust? Is that the real definition of trust? Today is not a long blog, but today I hope that what it does is drive you to your knees, to plead with the Father to strip away any area where you are walking in the strength of your own mind and where you have chosen your way and not His.

Today is about you, for the glory of the Father, it's about dealing with your heart, and maybe there may be some healing in your life and in the lives of those around you, and may your walk with Christ be strengthened by deeper faith in Him.

"Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!" Ps. 40:4

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon

Thoughts from Gal. 2:20-21

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."

That is a great verse and most of us, whom are regenerate, sitting out there would say, yes that is the life of a true regenerate believer. That is the way to live life. But how many of us cling to the law and think that our performance in this life, our cleaning our act up, is what makes God love us more and save us. I think that if we were to be real we cling more to this life then we would really like to admit. The life of the Christian is one that is captured by the Gospel, and what this verse says is not part of that life, all of it. The Gospel message encompasses the whole not the part, but so many of us live a life bound to what we think God should do. So we give Him a part of it over here, and maybe even go to a C.G. on occasion, and help with the Thanksgiving breakfast, but are there not those parts of life that we chose just to hold onto because we "know" best. This verse is encouraging in this fact: that God has a life for us far beyond anything that we could ever think or imagine. But it is not the life that the world would deem "successful," it is life marked by suffering and persecution, moments of joy and also deep sorrow. But Paul is telling the Galatians that no matter the circumstances that occur in this world, God in His amazing sovereignty has purposed you to live not for yourself, to find joy not in what you can accumulate but in what you can give. And he says that as we do this life begins to make sense and joy is not fleeting based on the circumstances but on the one that conquered death and life.

So today are you seeking to lay all of your life down at the feet of the Savior, or are you making excuses to not be in fellowship, not be growing, or not trust Him that He says those who lose their lives will save them. Where are you today? Oh I pray that we would see our lives are not our own, but Jesus bought them with a great price and He wants it all.

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon

Abide-Thoughts from John 15

In my personal time of study this week there just seems to be a common theme that arose in everything that I have faced, what does it mean to abide? This theme is constant in the Scriptures and one that deserves our utmost attention. John 15 speaks on this with great clarity, and amazing relevance.

V.4-Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

So if Jesus says that we cannot bear any good fruit unless we abide in Him we must know what it means to abide. Here is how I would describe what it means to abide: to continue in daily and personal relationship with Jesus, this is characterized by trust, prayer, obedience, and joy.

Let's break those down a little bit:

Trust-where is your trust, do you trust that in all things, no matter the circumstances that arise, or the bumps in the road, that Christ is good, that He does good and is truth. You cannot trust Him only with the good things of life, we must trust His sovereignty over all things.

This allows us to go where He desires us to go and do what He desires us to do. This is a key element to the Christian walk, it is why men and women all throughout history have died for the gospel.

Prayer-What does your prayer life look like, is it a wish list of sorts, a montra to state, or is it a way of life, where you are trying to line your life up with the way that things are. Are you seeking in your prayer life to draw closer to Him, that He may lift the fog and that you may see clearly what He is doing.

Obedience-to what? V.10-His Word-once you have prayer and trusted and God has opened your eyes to see the truth, are you walking in obedience or are you running away from the simple, uncomfortable things He is asking you to do. Here's a bit of advice, God doesn't always ask us to do things that come easy, often they are painful but in the end produce life and movement.

Joy-are you walking in joy? Joy that cannot be stolen by anything this world throws at us. Joy that is produced only by trusting in the King of Kings, praying to our Father in heaven, and walking in obedience to His call. That is the joy that cannot be sustained by sheer will or positive thinking, rather by a life that abides in Christ.

Today may we strive to characterize ourselves as men and women who abide in Him and do all that we can to make Him our supreme affection.

LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE

Brandon