The buzz was in escapable; the bond was palpable; God’s family was delighted to be together again! A full house of worship is a beautiful thing, but more than that is to hear the voices of praise, the echoes of prayer, and the hunger for Scripture. The generosity of the church was celebrated; guests were warmly welcomed, and the fellowship lingered long after worship had ended. When the church is being the church, she is beautiful!
Much activity has been going on in these halls during the course of the week, too. Staff busy at work, team meetings, counseling sessions, the Care Group Leadership Summit, the architect and civil engineers moving about, and so much of ministry that happens behind the scenes. Despite the weather interruptions, life goes on and the church advances Godward.
Here are some gleanings from all of the teaching this past Sunday. From the Living Generously ABF, we learned from Mary Magadelene’s example to be generous with our talents and skills, to attend to what love requires. From the exposition of Luke, we learned that when Jesus says “Follow Me”, He is not calling you to a leap in the dark nor a walk in the park, but to surrender and commitment wherein you find your greatest freedom. We were also reminded that suffering does not obstruct the gospel, but provides opportunity for its advance. From the Identify Your Ministry Sunday Night Seminary class, we were reminded that part of following Jesus is helping others follow Jesus, and your Godward movement in the context of community is where ministry begins. Your primary calling to Christ and your secondary calling is to follow Him.
It is a joy to me when I discover a quote from an expositor or scholar from times gone by that parallels a statement I’ve crafted based on what the Spirit has taught me from God’s word. Let me give you an example from this last week as I was preparing for the Identify Your Minitry seminary class. One statement that I say over and over again is “doing things for God is not the same as walking with God.” I discovered a quote from Oswald Chambers that says the same thing in a different way:
“The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him.
The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God,
not a call to do something for Him.”
May yours be a DAWDLing faith…
Draw near to God (James 4:8)
Abide in Christ (John 15:5)
Walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16)
Delight in His Word (Colossians 3:16)
Love as I have loved you (John 13:34)
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