Spiritual Family

"Then he pointed to his disciples and said, 'Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!'" -Matthew 12:49-50
 
Each of us has a family we were born into, or adopted by. We didn't choose our family; Some of us enjoy and have kinship in the family we were born with, and some of us don't. For many people, the relationships in our families are bittersweet.

But, thankfully when we are born again, we are adopted into an entirely new family! We are grafted into this family due to our faith. (Romans 11:23) However, being a part of this family has it's own challenges which can result in our character development, learning, and self-discovery - if we let it. These types of relationships can feel even more like family than our "natural" family. That is because true kingdom relationship is born out of God's original intention for family - it is birthed out of His love for mankind.

Some people just starting out in their faith might adopt or be adopted by a "spiritual" mother or father who mentors them in their faith. Relationships like this are important to have, especially if we've had difficult nuclear family ties. In the books Timothy, Titus, and Philemon we hear of this spiritual fatherhood bond.

"I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison." -Philemon 1:10
 
Do you have people in your life that you consider to be "spiritual" family? We need these types of relationships to stay connected and grow as the body of Christ.

We Are the Church

"Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord." -Ephesians 2:20-21

It seems there is a lot of confusion today about what is the church and what isn't. Often we get confused about the church building where we meet versus the people within the building.  But when Jesus references the church in the New Testament, He is referring to the body of believers, His disciples, that believed in Him and the power of the resurrection.

A man I know had a life-threatening disease at the age of 17.  Someone learned about it, and came to pray for him. The doctors said he had only months to live.  But, when the man came to lay hands on him and pray for him, miraculously, he was healed!  He became a Christian as a result of this miraculous healing.

Today, this man is alive and well and has lived far beyond the 17 years the doctors said he would live.  He has a family, a great career, and if ever God asks him to pray for someone else’s healing, he cannot help but pray for them.

We live in the midst of a hurting world, filled with people who don’t have any hope. Most of them will never set foot inside of a church building, and the only Jesus they will ever see is us.  Isn't it time we rise up and BE the church God has called us to be?  We are not a building - we are a body of people who believe that Christ died for our sins and rose up on the third day.  Of the 40 miracles in the book of Acts, 39 were in the marketplace.

Are you a part of this body of believers, the church?  Let God's holy Spirit flow through you today, so that you can be the true representation of Jesus that the world so desperately needs to see.

Harmony in Calling

 

"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." -Romans 12:15-17

Harmony (n.): 1. agreement in action, opinion, feeling, etc.; accord; 2. order or congruity of parts to their whole or to one another; 3. agreeable sounds (http://www.thefreedictionary.com)

There is no doubt that there are many expressions of the Christian faith.  With 38,000 current denominations cited* and growing every year, it is no wonder we agree on so little. But, are the things we disagree on really deal-breakers?  Shouldn’t we major on the majors, and minor on the minors?  Hasn’t Christ called each of us to work together for the transformation of our cities, communities, and cultures? (Colossians 1:19-20)

When I think of the church as a whole, I think of a group of people singing – much like the heavenly host of angels who visited the shepherds telling them of Christ’s birth.  (Luke 2:14)  When we learn to major on the majors, and minor on the minors, this produces a beautiful, complimentary sound of all our voices together. Each of us brings something different to the table.  Likewise, different churches have a different piece of the puzzle.  Whether we are pastors, leaders, businesspeople, students, or whatever we are called to bring God’s kingdom to earth.  We are not always going to agree on everything – that is the beauty of it. It only gets out of harmony when there is disunity or hate of any kind. Of course we are called to hate sin.  (Romans 12:9)  But we are not called to judge one another. (Luke 6:37)

Do you believe Christ died for you?  Do you believe God’s calling for your life?  Do you desire God’s will be manifested through your life?  Learn to work with those who may be different than you.  When we discover how to harmonize our faith with others, we have set the stage to do amazing things for Him.  

"There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:4-6).

*Source:  http://www.sltrib.com/2001/May/05192001/Saturday/98497.htm