Ability (part 7) Thought about the ability to grow as a member of the Body of Christ

Having received the ability to live we also got some talents, which may be totally different from the talents one of our siblings got.

All having received the ability to think about life also got the ability to come to see Who God is and for what purpose we are on this world. The same when we have used the ability to come to know God we have the ability to choose of Him and to serve Him according to His Will.

That ability to serve God is not based on your past, but on your faithfulness today. A person may have been an adversary of God, a big criminal, a lover of fleshy sins, but when he had come to know Christ Jesus and his God, he might have changed. In his conversion to Christianity he not only received the ability to grow as a member of the Body of Christ, sharing with brethren and sisters the love of Christ and the hope to a coming Kingdom of God.

When having hear the call of God, and having answered it positively, one can come under the blessings of the Most High. Being able to feel those blessings one is eager to follow the commandments of God and the commandments of His sent one, Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God. That son gave his followers tasks, which also still count for us today. Jesus asked his followers to go out into the world and to preach the Gospel, the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God.

There are the tasks given by Christ Jesus and the ones given by his heavenly Father. If you are faithful with the tasks God's son and the heavenly Father entrusts to you, God will enable you to accomplish it.

Don’t distinguish between big and small assignments from God. Paul saw every one as a privilege he did not deserve. Whether God has asked you to pray for someone, to minister to a person in need, to lead a Bible study, or to care for those who are sick, strive to be faithful. You will experience His enabling as you serve Him.

If you are faithful in a little, God will entrust you with more. You will be able to join Paul in praising God for having counted you faithful, putting you into His service (Luke 16:10).

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot.” (Luke 16:10 GWord)

Even when not experienced, like Timothy was, we can do the work of God and grow in our faith and in the community, like so many before had an opportunity to grow  in their ecclesia.

Paul urged Timothy not to allow his youthful insecurity to blunt his zeal and faithfulness in doing what God had told him. Rather than arguing with those who criticized Timothy, Paul urged him to live as an example of godliness. Paul advised Timothy to live a life that was so spotless in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity that his life could serve as a model for others in the church to follow. Timothy’s life was to be the evidence that God had called him. God looked beyond Timothy’s youth, timidity, and physical weakness and saw his sincere heart.

We too should take on the right attitude and show others how we are willing to give ourselves to the call we heard from God.

As you seek to follow God’s will, you may identify with Timothy.

Whatever your position at this moment, do know that by using your abilities you make it possible to grow and to develop as a Christian (a follower of Christ).
By allowing God to guide you and to enforce your abilities you shall be able to help not only yourself but also those around you who want to go with you on the same path, laid out in front of you by Jesus, the Way to God.

Just as a tender plant finds a way to grow in a hard and unreceptive environment, so the love of Jesus has the ability to emerge in a life that seems completely unresponsive to the call of the Divine Maker of all things. Giving in to God's call and doing His Will, you shall find that often you shall be able to do more than you would ever thought. This shall be possible when you allow God to demonstrate His call upon you by transforming your life into a model of godliness.

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Preceding articles:

Ability
Ability (part 2)
Ability (part 3) Thoughts around Ability

Ability (part 4) Thought about the ability to have ability

Ability (part 5) Thought about the abilities to be under God's Spirit

Ability (part 6) Thought about the ability of God’s Provision Bringing Glory

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Additional reading

1. Today’s thought “Ability to receive ableness from God” (May 11)
2. Today’s thought “Ability to see that God is not dead” (May 12)
3. Thought for those who think it is not necessary to do any works any more
4. Lost senses or a clear focus on the one at the stake
5. Worthy partakers of the body of Christ

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Priest, scribes and others with authority

John Bunyan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For the orderly functioning of life we need to have some order and functions. Our world is divided by different hierarchical posts.

In the world of the churches there are also several posts and in many denominations those in such positions often think they are higher than others and people have to listen to them and have to do what church dictates to them.

In Christianity we can see that at the beginning it was part of Judaism.
Jesus was a respected rabbi and considered by his followers as the sent one from God who had received the authority from the Most High in heaven.

When Jesus was gone the apostles were given special Holy Spirit powers to exercise authority as well. An outstanding example was the drama with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) who told lies to the Apostles, but Peter said, “You have not lied to men but to God” (verse 4).

In today’s reading of the 11th chapter of Mark we read

“as he (Jesus) was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and elders came to him and they said to him,

‘By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?’” (verses 27-28).

Priest and scribes were considered as the highly placed ones having authority to dictate to the people. According to them no one was supposed to teach unless they gave them authority. This is one reason why John the Baptist went into the wilderness to preach. It was this exercise of authority that saw the disciples thrown into prison when they taught in the temple (Acts 4:1-3) although later, such was the prestige of the Apostles, created by their miracles, that dramatic scenes unfolded. (Acts 5:12,13,17-20), but “none of the rest dared join them”.

History shows that as the early believers evolved into large established churches these churches too began to exercise an attitude of authority climaxing in the power of the Pope and the cardinal system. In the Middle Ages, if you were not appointment by church authorities to minister in a church, you had no authority to preach.

Some, such as John Bunyan, were put in prison for doing so.

When we look at the gospels we can find examples where it is made clear by Jesus that his followers will have to take up tasks. He also sent them out into the world, something which is too often forgotten today.

We read at the end of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus said,

 “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved …” (16:15,16).

That authority is given to everyone, so we all have the responsibility to share our faith.

Paul challenges us when he expresses this responsibility in the bluntest terms,

 “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16).

- based on the Today's thought “Who gave you this authority?” (February 15) by the Christadelphian

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Let us make sure we are not stiff-necked

Today, God’s word is available to be read in every language, but how many “hear” by properly reading it?

In God’s perception of humans today, nearly all are stiff-necked! Let us make sure we are not.

Let us become like Abraham of whom we read today in Romans 4,

“No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised”.

Those who call themselves Christian should be following up the teachings and the tasks given by the master teacher Jeshua, Jesus Christ. Too many forget how important the preaching of the Word of God is. Too many do not care to bring the Good News of the coming Kingdom to others. they better consider what Jeshua had asked his followers. they should know like the apostles knew that great emphasis must be placed on the preaching of the Gospel. This should be the sacred duty of every Christian, to place himself or herself under that preaching.

Preaching is at the heart of our liturgy. Our spiritual health and our Christian lives, like the lives of those around us, utterly depend upon hearing and heeding the voice of Christ and up hearing the Voice of his heavenly Father, the God of him, Abraham and us.

We may not neglect that which is most needful for our Christian lives and for the salvation of us and our beloved ones.

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Find more about preaching at our ecclesia site: Articles on Preaching or on Stepping toes and preaching

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Christadelphian Auxiliary Lecturing Society in changed times

It has been many years since the Christadelphian Auxiliary Lecturing Society (CALS or ALS) was set up to help the Brethren and Sisters of the UK preach the good news of the kingdom of God. As you may know it's current structure includes a Management committee (Mancom) coordinating and financing preaching throughout the UK and a number of branches (preaching areas) with their own committees coordinating and financing preaching in their own areas in the UK, see the ALS diary for more details.

While it is still the firm desire of the CALS to continue to support preaching in the UK, times have changed enormously since the CALS was established, attitudes have changed towards religion, the UK is a very different place culturally and the advancements of technology mean that the production of leaflets and preaching resources that used to be beyond the capabilities of most Brethren and Sisters and Ecclesias can often be done on a personal computer.

Christadelphian Hall in Bath/England (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Therefore we the CALS are considering how we can best serve the UK Brotherhood in the future and Want Your Input, to this end we have put together the below survey and very much want you and as many Brethren and Sisters to complete it, so please fill in the survey and pass on this message.

Click on the following link for the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/X36MHJR

May God be with you and may He continue to bless us with the freedom to preach His word.

Until He Comes.

Your Brother In Christ

Steve Harris

On behalf of the CALS Management Committee

Not all ability to preach

"It is the duty of every Christian man to preach the gospel.
But all have not the ability.
Those who know so little about the cause they profess to love that they cannot open their mouths to plead for it, and who from natural incompetency are incapable of doing so, are bound by Christian virtue to minister of their substance to those who can."John Thomas

Church sent into the world

David Bosch writes, “The involvement in the world should lead to a deepening of our relationship with and dependence on God, and the deepening of this relationship should lead to an increasing involvement in the world.” Tod Hiestand writes: " the individual church must see itself as sent into the world, it must also see itself as sent into the world along with the church catholic."

The mission of the church is derived from Jesus' call to gather together. also the apostle Paul called us not to neglect our own congregational meetings which form the church, (Hebrews 10:25)
The church’s call to be a “sign, witness and foretaste” of the coming Kingdom may not be overlooked.

God has sent the church so that in His mission His “love and attention are directed primarily at the world". God has given His son as the foundation of the Church.

We are all part of the world but God and His son Jesus have given us the task to distantiate from the worldly matters. The church that “goes” is the church that finds its primary identity detached from the world and set apart as holy.  The separate and untainted church rightfully understands that it needs to be a witness for the gospel.
Missiologist David Bosch writes: “Spirituality or devotional life seems to mean withdrawal from the world, charging my batteries, and then going out into the world. The image is of an automobile that runs on batteries only.”
Jesus light of Israel, but also for all people, states the need for us to remain set apart in their sentness, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”(John 17:18) We can hope to reap which shall only be possible if we properly reflect the teachings of Christ Jesus. Christ means ‘Messiah’, the  anointed one. He was anointed in order " to preach the Gospel" (Luke 4:18); and we too have been anointed insofar as we are in Christ, the anointed one (2 Corinthians 1:21). Therefore as He was ordained a preacher of the Gospel to the world, we too share that honour (as we do all His honours, to some extent). He was anointed (‘oiled’) by God in order to give the oil of joy to His people; He shared His experience of anointing with us, and we must go out and do likewise (Isaiah 61:1,2) (cp. Luke 4:18).

Isaiah’s description of the beauty of Christ’s preaching in (Isaiah 52:7) is quoted by Paul concerning every preacher of the Gospel (Romans 10:15); the “he” of (Isaiah 52) is changed to “them” in Romans 10. And Paul is quoting this Old Testament prophecy about Jesus to prove that we are all “sent” to preach the Gospel. The validity of our commission to preach is quite simply that Jesus Himself preached; in this way we are all personally “sent” to preach, simply because He was sent to preach. As the Father sent Him, so He sends us.  We should be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) and we should show the world that we are united in that one Body of Christ. Jesus prays that they would remain unified, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” With Jesus’ prayer as a foundation for understanding the nature of the church we see that the Church finds itself in the world, yet set apart and unified.

We as brothers and sisters in Christ do have to be unified if we desire to have an effective witness in the world and to build a true church of Christ. We can not be monads or private disciples going our own way, out of love for our fellow believers we do have to share the love of Christ and our own love with the whole community.

We need to speak out against the suburban value of extreme individualism and call Christians back to community. We should prepare the ground, fertilise the field, and plant Bible based structures.

We need to deconstruct the value of consumerism in a way that leads instead to sacrificial living and we need to understand how our individualism and consumerism lead us to neglect the hurting and needy people in our neighborhoods and cities. We cannot stay together in a closed or isolated cocoon. It can help everybody if we can move from an individualized witness to a more robust and powerful communal witness.

Jesus was not about sending his disciples out by themselves into their individualized world to “share the gospel” so that people could “go to heaven when they die.” Rather, he was sending them out to be a communal, public witness to the Kingdom that he was announcing and inaugurating. We need a Church that rejects the lone ranger mentality and lives in sacrificial and compassionate community.

(Based on ideas from Todd Hiestand and Duncan Heaster)

Risen With Him

RISEN WITH HIM

“If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.” - Col. 3:1

      Soon the whole Western world will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Such a celebration will call for inspiring music, altars decked with lilies, and sermons from pulpits proclaiming the victory of life over death. The pageantry of Easter attracts millions to their respective churches. Unfortunately, a day or two later, all will be more or less forgotten by most in their renewed pursuit of the various needs, wants, and ambitions of this present life.

      Nevertheless, to every true believer, the death and resurrection of our Lord is a very fundamental truth, for it holds a promise of eternal life. “As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Christ’s resurrection is therefore the guarantee of our resurrection. The Apostle Paul, in this connection, prayed that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened in order that we might understand and appreciate the superlative height and glory to which we are called, a call to glory, honor and immortality (Romans 2:7).

      The resurrection of our Lord, then, is significant to us, for it is a reminder of the glorious hope, based on precious promises, of one day living and reigning with the Lord in His Kingdom and being with Him for all eternity. This should stimulate us to set our affections on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. It should cause us to focus our eyes of faith steadily on this lovely vision, being the  goal of our lives, despite the afflictions, setbacks, disappointments, and losses, which befall all the children of God.

      What does it mean to be “risen with Christ?”  This means that we are now dead to self, and are alive as new creatures in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). We are walking in a newness of life (Rom. 6:4). Col. 1:12, 13 tell us, “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.”

      This,  then,  is the Easter message to us who are  following  in the footsteps of our beloved Master.  Remembering  His  resurrection increases our faith and brightens our hope, and thus the things of this earth become dim in our sight and unattractive to us. Thus inspired, we seek first and foremost the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. We redeem the time that God has allocated us and remind ourselves of the Apostle Peter’s words, “What manner of  persons ought you to be in all conduct and godliness?” (2 Pet. 3:11), seeing that we are risen with Christ and are seeking to lay up all our treasures in heaven and are no longer concerned for the things of this earth.  

      Let us also remember that one of the first instructions that the angel gave the women who had come to the tomb was to go and tell others the Good News that He was no longer dead, but risen (Matthew 28:7). What a great and wonderful message it was for them to share this “good news” with the others.

      The Risen Lord tells His disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). This command is still in effect today and thus it is still appropriate for us to carry this wondrous message near and far. The joy, which the knowledge of the Risen Lord brings to our hearts, will be greatly increased if we share these glad tidings with others. Yes, our Master is still saying to His disciples, you and me, “Go…and tell.”  Are we doing this for Him? If we have been slack in sharing the Good News, why not make a fresh start, beginning with this Easter Sunday? There could be no better time.

                                                                                           G. Boccaccio

So Send I You

“…As the Father hath sent Me, so send I you.” - John 20:21

                        So send I you to bind the bruised and broken,

                        O’er wand’ring souls to work, to weep, to wake,

                        To beat the burdens of a world so weary,

                        So send I you to know My love alone.

                          So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred,

                        To eyes made blind because they will not see,

                        To spend, though it be blood, to spend and spare not

                        So send I you ~ to taste of Calvary.

                                                                            E. Margaret Clarkson

From Christian Millennial Fellowship's
New Creation Magazine
A Herald of Christ's Kingdom