Serving in the Body of Christ

The Body of Christ is too busy for its own good. We neglect our Lord and one another, because we make our own pursuits more important than God’s will for our life (1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 2:10).

The government took over so many of our ministries, because the needs went unmet. Take, for instance, the care of our elderly. They go unvisited and feel unwanted, because we do not make them a priority in our churches.

Elderly Saints, who ministered for the Lord all of their life, need and deserve our attention. Rides to doctor appointments, visits, taking someone out to lunch, cards, phone calls and praying for one another are just a few ways that we can minister to our elderly.

Parents are so busy today that children's workers in the Body of Christ can fill in the gaps and encourage our children to grow up in service to God. Many adults give their children and youth leaders credit for their dedication to God. We influence eternity by our service to children now.

However, caring for the children attending our churches is another neglected ministry. We already raised our children, or we are in the process of raising them, and we want nothing to do with children's ministries in the Body of Christ.

Single parents need the most help. We can babysit to give these parents a chance to allow their Inner Child to play. Gifting these hardworking parents with a certificate to go out to eat or to buy whatever they need at a retail store is also helpful on their tight budget.

Many churches end up hiring people in order to have someone committed to the children, since very few people will commit to this ministry. Our children need Godly authority, responsibility, approval and nurturing in the same way which God relates to us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).

If we all band together, the care required in these vital ministries will not be a burden on any one person, but will be a blessing for everyone involved (Romans 15:7).

We can make time for God and His Body as a priority in our schedule. Before we do anything, we consult the Lord and live each moment in His perfect will for us (Ephesians 2:10). While living by the Spirit, we will all function as a valuable member of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to love Your Body as You love us. Allow us to be Your ambassadors to Your Body. Unconditional love and acceptance gives Your Body the assurance we all crave as human beings, regardless of our age or social/economic status. Remind us to give one another grace in our failings and to encourage one another in our successes.

Give us listening ears and the ability to recognize body language in order to be present with one another, rather than taking each other for granted. Help us to make one another feel safe to share our issues with each other, so we can bear each others burdens as You expect us to do (Galatians 6:2).

Thought for the Day:

If Satan can keep us in bondage to our failures, he cripples us in our service to God and His Body; as we learn to nurture and forgive our self, we will have an increased ability to accept, nurture, affirm and forgive one another. 

- Mark 12:30-31

No One Like Our God

Among all the wise men of every nation and kingdom, throughout all of the ages, there is no one like our God. He is great. Even His name is mighty and powerful. He is King of all nations, and only fools refuse to revere Him. He deserves all of our allegiance and praise (Jeremiah 10:6-7; Romans 1:22). He has plans for those who serve Him. Plans, which give us hope of a prosperous future, and He will never allow anything or anyone to irreparable harm us (Jeremiah 29:11).

Our Lord God made the heavens and the earth by the mighty power of His outstretched arm. Nothing is too complicated for Him to deal with, because He is our great and mighty God. His name is Lord of hosts, and He is mighty in all of His deeds. He gives us great counsel, and He rewards every one of us according to our character and the fruit of our deeds (Jeremiah 32:17-19). When I think about this, I want to follow His Spirit’s direction each moment of my day.

We have hope, because we know His mercy and compassion never fail. They are new every single morning, regardless of our failures from yesterday. He is always faithful. Our soul knows that the Lord is our portion, and we wait for Him. We seek Him and silently hope for His salvation every day (Lamentations 3:21-23). One of these days, everyone on the whole earth will know the glory of our Lord, just as water covers the whole sea (Habakkuk 2:14).

Let us bless the name of our God forever and ever. All wisdom and power belong to Him. He controls both time and the seasons. Kings are raised up and deposed by the will of our Lord. He gives wisdom, knowledge and understanding to whomever humbly asks. In fact, He reveals the deep, hidden mysteries of the ages to those who seek Him. He knows the deeds of those who choose to dwell in darkness, but He continually offers them a place in His Light (Daniel 2:20-22).

Prayer:

Father God, there in no one as Holy as You are. No one compares to You in any way. You are our solid Rock and we trust only in You (1 Samuel 2:2; Psalm 143:8). You will not allow us to be put to shame or for our enemies to triumph over us (Psalm 25:2). We all, both great and small, give praise to You, our God (Revelations 19:5). There is no God as great as You (Psalm 77:13). You rule over all powers and principalities both human and spiritual (Colossians 1:16). You are divine and there is no one like You.

Thought for the Day:

The Lord is in His holy temple; Let all the earth be silent before Him.  - Habakkuk 2:20

 

 

 

The Importance of Forgiving Yourself

"God remembers our sins no more.”
- Hebrews 8: 12

Sometimes it is easier to forgive others than it is to forgive our self. However, the same principles in God's Word concerning our responsibility to forgive others, also applies to forgiving our self. As humans, no one is perfect. We all make mistakes. You can eliminate self-rejection by reminding yourself that even in your failures God forgave you 2000 years ago. He took from you the burden of guilt for your actions and nailed it to the cross, because He already knew about and forgave you for what you have done. If God can forgive us, how can we do any less?

Sometimes, we even hold grudges against our self for our past disappointments, failures and mistakes. God holds no grudges. His steadfast love never ceases, His mercy never ends; in fact, it is new every single morning (Lamentations 3: 22-23). He casts the memory of our offenses as far away as the east is from the west (Psalms 103:12). Think about that...when you travel east around the globe, there is never a point that you start traveling west. The east never meets the west. God gives us endless forgiveness (Hebrews 8: 12). If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us every time. He will do one better than that! He will also sanctify and purify us from all unholy behavior, if we will let Him (1 John 1:9). As we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins, we can let go of our anger against our self and forgive our self.

There is no way that we can truly love others if we do not first love God and then our self. Luke 10: 27 admonishes us, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” God calls us to let go of our need to make an effort or to do penance to make up for our past offenses. Jesus already took care of the penalty for us on Calvary's cross (Acts 13:38). If you need to ask someone's forgiveness, or make amends for something you have done, now would be a good time to do that (Matthew 6:12). But even if they will not forgive you, God already forgave you, and Jesus shed His blood to guarantee your forgiveness. If God cares enough to forgive you, then you can forgive yourself too.

If you refuse to forgive yourself, then there are negative consequences ~ stress, inner turmoil, panic attacks, loss of sleep, irritability, chronic physical illnesses, anger, feeling overwhelmed and having strained relationships with others. If you do not forgive your self, you run the risk of more unresolved hurt, pain and suffering from self-destructive behaviors. You have guilt and remorse eating away at you from the inside out. Subconsciously, you may even be seeking revenge and paybacks toward yourself in a way that you are not even aware of. We have a putrefying wound that is never cured, until we accept God’s healing in this area of our life.

Unresolved, unproductive and unnecessary anger, hatred and blaming of your self are counterproductive. It is a trick of Satan to make us pessimistic and negative. It stops our growth in our spiritual walk until we come to the place of forgiving our self. These buried emotions may even make us defensive and distant with other people. We carry our feelings on our shoulders and think other people are talking about us or have an attitude toward us, when all along we are the one sinning against our self. We live in constant fear of failure, of making more mistakes or repeating old mistakes, of being rejected or of not gaining the approval of others, when all along we are the one rejecting and withholding approval from our self.

Sometimes, Satan discourages me into thinking that I am too incompetent to help anyone else. I get disheartened and I want to give up. Whenever this happens, God never fails to send me reassurance through His Word or an encouraging remark from a friend or even a stranger. His perfect plan will use all of my foibles to help someone else in their time of need. Despite all of our failings, God gives us overwhelming victory through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:37). Even if everyone else is fighting against us, including our self, they shall not prevail. God is with us to deliver us in our times of need (Jeremiah 1: 19). The Lord forgives us and we can forgive our self as well as one another (Colossians 3:13).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we are so blessed, because You forgave all of our transgressions and covered all of our sins. You never count our sin against us again. On the cross, You paid the penalty of the sins of the whole world once and for all (Romans 4:7-8). Now, we can forgive and comfort those who sin against us, including our self, so that we will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:7). In You, we have redemption through Your blood. You forgive all of our sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesans 1:7). We realize that since You forgave us unconditionally, we can follow Your example and forgive others and our self unconditionally as well.

Thought for the Day:

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone (even yourself), forgive him/her (and yourself), so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." - Mark 11:25 

 

 

 

 

 

Inadequacies and Failures

Read: 2 Peter 1:5-8

“For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 2 Peter 1:8

When it was time to make Saul the King of Israel, the prophet had to consult God in order to find him. Saul hid among the baggage because He was riddled with fears due to his insecurities. These inadequacies also caused him to rule ineffectively as the King. Rather than to trust that God had a purpose for him during his reign, he focused on what he considered his lack of abilities and forgot that God ordained him for this position. He ended up consumed with himself, possessed by evil spirits and crippled with depression.

As a young Christian, I did this too. I remembered negative comments made by significant others in my past, and I fell prey to their destructive influence. I allowed my inadequacies and failures to add to my fear and mistrust, and to influence these derisory feelings flooding my soul. Sometimes, because of these negative experiences and beliefs, I even declined the opportunities God gave me to allow Christ to make a difference in someone’s life through me.

Once I started stepping out of my comfort zone and gaining a bit of confidence, my motives in ministry still reflected my need to earn God’s love. I tried to prove to Him that I was worthy of His calling. I relied on my own talents and knowledge to accomplish God’s will in my life. I failed every time too, or I end up only partially accomplishing what God called me to do. In fact, the negative baggage in my life often hindered me from fully seeing the incredible power of Christ in me working through me.

Over the years of walking in His presence, God cleansed me from the effects of this unconstructive criticism and these past failures. Now, when I make the effort to rely on the unlimited power of Christ in me (Galatians 2:20), my success rate increases dramatically. Instead of depending on myself, I can step aside as the Spirit within me directs my words and deeds. I trust Him to work all things out for my good and the good of those to whom I minister. Empowered by His Spirit, I can do all things, because He lives in me (Philippians 4:13).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I thank You for forgiving me when I allowed fear to hinder me from obeying Your will for my life. Thank You for giving me small successes to build up my confidence in Your ability to work through me. Help me to be instant in season and out of season, because the darkness is closing in toward a time when people will no longer endure hearing sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:2-3).

Thought for the Day:

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. - 2 Peter 1:3