Do you delight in God’s people and His Church?

I ran across an interesting story the other day that makes a great point:

A Christian once visited a farmer to talk to him about Christ. "I wouldn't come to church up there." the farmer said. "I know old So and So church goer who claims to be a Christian and So and So who attends church there who claims to be a Christian and they don't live any differently from me. I'm as good as they are.”

Everywhere the farmer went he told about the hypocrites in that Church. Months passed and the Christian brother went to see the farmer again.

"I want to buy a hog,” said the Christian. The farmer showed all his best hogs to him. Then they came to the runt. "I believe I will take that one" the Christian said.

“BUT you don't want that one. He's the worst runt to the litter,” replied the farmer.

"I sure do" said the Christian. So they loaded the runt in the truck.

"Now," said the Christian "what if I take this pig here from your farm and ride all over this area telling folks that this is the kind of hogs you raise?”

"That's not fair!" the farmer exclaimed. "I have some nice hogs and you want to show people that runt?!”

To which the Christian replied, "If it's fair for the church it's fair for the hogs!”

It doesn't take much effort to find fault with the church, but it DOES take a lot of effort to love her and the people who are a part of her. Instead, if for no other reason than because Jesus commands us to do so, we need to re-orient our lives so that we can come to lovingly delight in the church.

Let's start that conversation today by sharing some of the blessings we have received by being a part of God's people, the Church. How have God's people blessed your life? How are you being a blessing to others.

Share those stories of blessing this week.

Do you have a growing concern for others?

Thomas A’ Kempis said, “A person who does much loves much; he does much who does it well; he does it well who serves the common good rather than himself.”

Later John Calvin said, "There is nothing in which men resemble God more truly than in doing good to others."

This should not be revolutionary stuff, but it often seems to be. The church in Jerusalem in Acts 2 and 4, not to mention countless other examples in the New Testament and throughout history to the present, offer countless examples of the love of God's people being translated into meeting the temporal and spiritual needs of people.

In those examples Christians sacrifice for each other and for those outside of the Church. They share generously. They love radically. They give without thinking of themselves. Compassion and empathy come natural to them. They are faithful, determined and they persevere no matter what the challenges that lie in front of them. And when they do so, Jesus is on full display.

Today, as in any other time in history, when these kinds of Christian examples are visible that is revolutionary to the world.

I know we don't have to think very hard to recall the times when Christians didn't show up. I know we can point out all the self-centeredness, greed, ugliness, etc. that has unfortunately been present when so-called Christians have shown up and Jesus was anything but visible in their lives.

I am interested in how we can make love and good deeds common and growing in our lives and in our churches.

How can we develop a growing desire on our part to meet the spiritual and temporal needs of others?

How can we make sure not to get comfortable with the status quo around us and, instead, envision a world where Jesus' principles and values take root?

How can we envision our role in that Jesus-centered world?

Where do we begin individually and as local churches together?

Are you more sensitive to God's presence?

There is no shortage of people interested in sensing God's presence. Scores of people write about it, talk about it and think about it. But how do we begin to understand the subject?

The Bible offers several different ways where God’s presence can be seen and experienced:

God is everywhere or omnipresent. Psalm 139 makes clear that there is nothing in our lives that he is unaware of or unconcerned about.

God’s fullest expression is seen in Jesus. Matthew 1:23 reminds us that Jesus was called Immanuel, which means God with us. If you really want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.

God’s Spirit indwells His children. John 14:16-17 reminds us that all people who have received salvation through Jesus have the Holy Spirit in their life guiding, directing and transforming.

God’s presence is seen in His work. Look at all the miracle stories in the Bible. When God shows up in miraculous ways people notice. Also, when God’s Spirit clearly rests on a person, people notice that He is present (Acts 11:21).

God’s eternal presence. The Bible is clear in passages like Revelation 21:3 that God will be most fully present with us in Heaven and that the opposite of that is in Hell, the place where He is fully absent. (Whitney 58-59)

What is important to notice here is that in every instance God chooses to reveal Himself. There is nothing that we can ever do to deserve God's presence in our lives. There is certainly nothing we can do to demand it. He is present only as a result of His love for us and His desire to be in relationship with us.

There is one other important piece to remember. God never contradicts His Word. He will never ask us to do something contradictory to what the Bible says. We won't be encouraged to cheat on our taxes in order to have more money to share with the poor. We won't be asked to to treat others in an ungodly way even if our goal is a Godly one. None of that lines up with His Word and, therefore, God is not present in it.

Instead, as we follow God and are open to His Holy Spirit, He works in and through us and we can sense Him all the time. We can develop "eyes to see and ears to hear" what God is doing and the heart and mind to respond.

How do you make sure to tell what is a sign of God's presence and what isn't?


How do you respond to His presence in your life?