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Sometimes it's Hard to Feel Forgiven

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Sometimes it's Hard to Feel Forgiven
it really is
adminFri, 08/11/2017 - 10:24
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If you have accepted Christ, you are forgiven of all of your sins. If you told God that you know you are a sinner and you need his Son's death on the cross to count for you, your sins are forgiven. If the Holy Spirit is indeed within your heart - your sins are forgiven. This forgiveness is eternal. This forgiveness is permanent.

Past, present, and future sins - forgiven.

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

The New International Version. (2011). (Eph 2:8–9). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The New International Version. (2011). (Ro 10:9). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.

The New International Version. (2011). (Heb 8:12). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

So why then when we feel like we've done something sinful when we feel guilty of something, do we have such a time feeling that forgiveness? We pray, we read some of the bible, and the guilt remains. We can even have a repentant attitude. An inner realization that what we did was wrong and we want to change as to not repeat that same behavior. A heart decision to pivot our direction and live differently. Even then, something still feels wrong.

It's not true in those moments that we aren't forgiven, yet it still feels like that. So what then is missing? Why is it that when we decide in our hearts to change, we don't immediately feel relieved of our guilt? What are we doing wrong?

Have you ever felt like this? Do you feel this way right now? If you do, I may know why. I must say, I'm not an expert, but hear me out.

If you are a Christian, you've probably heard it said before, that God, the Creator of the Universe, now works through his people. He isn't walking around today on the earth, he's not intervening and making appearances, he's not physically here performing miracles and telling us face-to-face that we are forgiven. But, his Holy Spirit is amongst us within our brothers and sisters.

Since we do have our people, who share with us the Holy Spirit, we must be talking about our sin together. Not until you open up will you fully experience God's grace. Trust me; He wants you to feel his forgiveness. He wants you to know you are forgiven. He wants you to believe that what he has done was good enough for you to feel truly free of your sin.

But how else can we experience that, learn that, feel that, if we don't let our sin out in the open? Our brothers and sisters in Christ are here for a reason. That being so we are to portray God's love to each other. A large part of that is demonstrating God's grace and forgiveness to each other.

I've never once opened up to a brother and been scorned or torn apart. I've never opened my heart to a brother and felt stepped on. Not once! In fact, any time that I've ever opened up I've received a living, breathing example of God's grace. A good example of the way I've received forgiveness like this, albeit sans everyone having the holy spirit, is the following exchange between Joseph and his brothers.

3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

The New International Version. (2011). (Ge 45:3–5). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Again, God works through his people. So, if you don't let his people work, you don’t experience God's hand in your life. If you don't show your heart to your brothers and sisters, you can't taste authentic forgiveness. You can't experience real fellowship, and you surely cannot feel God's love.

Likewise, you can get convicted about something cool; God can show you something amazing in his Word. His own words can illuminate your life through your independent studies - but if you don't share what it is that is in your heart - what good is it? How do you check if your conviction is Godly, or evil; wise, or silly?

To top that off, at a certain point I think God most likely will cease to convict your heart if you only ever keep your convictions to yourself. If you decide to be selfish with what God gives you - he'll cut you off. In that same way, if one of your friends opens up to you and you choose to not show them grace - he'll likely come after you. Now, of course, he won't "smite you" or strike you with lightning, but surely he will find a way to show you the error of your ways.

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. l

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

The New International Version. (2011). (Mt 18:21–35). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

I know these things to be true in my own life because I've experienced both sides of the coin. Typically this happens because I judge my sin, thinking that I am such a bad person. I become ashamed that my sin is so bad that it will make me look worse than I want to appear. I become overburdened with guilt, and instead of letting all this out I hide or sweep it all under the rug. Sadly sweeping it under the rug doesn't ever actually get rid of the feelings. Even if I can be successful at getting them so deep down that I don't think about them regularly - they still pop their heads out from time to time only leaving me (or you) to feel the same pain again, sometimes worse.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying praying and turning to your word in troubled times is bad - in facts it's an excellent thing to do. But what I am saying is that we have to be open and honest about our sin (or our pain, guilt, and especially convictions). Otherwise our efforts to get better, or be restored to a mentally healthy, spiritually healthy state - will be useless.

[just reiterating that this is an opinion piece on the topic, I know it makes sense to me from experience, but please if you think I've made a mistake or missed something, leave a comment below and we can dialogue]

The Introduction to Titus is a Big Deal

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The Introduction to Titus is a Big Deal
TITUS
adminWed, 01/03/2018 - 07:31
Published:

TITUS 1:1-4
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness—

2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,

3 and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,

4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:

Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

I knew this morning that I would be reading the intro to Titus and seeing if there was anything interesting about it. I didn't expect to get emotional about an introduction.

The following is stated in just these four verses:

Paul
-serves God as a Christian
-wants to help other Christians
-increase in Faith in God
-increase in knowledge of the truth
-is writing to Titus
-who he refers to as "my true son in our common faith"
God
-does not lie
-promised (the hope of) eternal life before the beginning of time
-has entrusted (and commanded) Paul with preaching regarding these things

It's just the introduction yet basically can be made into an entire teaching. Paul makes it clear that God speaks through his people. Furthermore, Christians need other wiser Christians to grow both in knowledge and in faith.

We also see that the Body of Christ is like a family. Paul cares so much for Titus that he makes it very clear in just three words, "My true son".

"My" - holding the younger man dear to his own heart. "True" - removing any restriction based on blood lineage. And "son", not friend, or cousin, but son.

To take someone in and love them as your own is a full time job, time spent that is worth honoring. Now of course I've never had the opportunity to do this myself, but it sure is how I've been treated. Whatever is the case for Titus' own "blood-parents", I can relate in having one much wiser (truly, more than one) come watch over me and take care of me. To have such an honor is a blessing I can't help but be thankful for.

This also is an established relationship, seeing earlier mentions of Titus, Paul refers to him with words that aren't as endearing. In 2 Corinthians we see him use brother, fellow worker, and partner. Some time has passed (maybe only a year) and he is now loved as a son. Most likely converted by Paul, he was not a Jew and yet that didn't stop Paul from deeply loving him.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts on this beautiful opening to such a short concise book.

The Introduction to Titus is a Big Deal pic

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The Introduction to Titus is a Big Deal picadminWed, 01/03/2018 - 12:03

my dad left too soon

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my dad left too soon
dad
adminThu, 02/22/2018 - 06:30
Published:
Personal

My dad was a liar. My dad was a cheater. My dad was a thief! He thought he was so funny... You know what's funny? When you leave behind your wife, kids, and the rest of your family - all because you can't stop drinking. What a joke! My dad was a quitter. My dad was a scum bag, no-good-rebel. The amount of people he hurt because of his selfishness is enough to be locked out of heaven forever. My mom has had a hard time since he died - thanks, dad...

My dad was supposed to be the leader of the family. The only direction he lead it was downward. He lead us into bankruptcy. He lead us into sadness, depression. He lead us to "shut-off notices" and eviction. He lead us to heartbreak and suffering.

When I look at pictures of much-younger-me, my heart breaks again. HOW? How could you? How could you ignore such a face? I was a cute kid man, but my dad went through life ignoring me. I had to figure most things out myself from a young age. It wasn't until I was thirteen or so that I began to understand the rules of baseball or any sport for that matter - and my dad was a huge sports fan. The one time my dad cried in front of me (before he was dying) was at some point when one of Cleveland's sports teams were looking better than ever. I can't quite remember which that was or when it was - but I remember him being in tears (of joy) about this. It was the most emotion I had ever seen in him - it's burned into my head.

With all that zeal, my dad hadn't ever taken the time to teach me anything about his interests. My dad loved to golf, and my dad loved to bowl. Neither are things he taught me or expressed to me. I only knew of his love for golf from the golf clubs I'd later find in the garage and from stories his dad would tell me. I knew he was always on bowling leagues, but at any age that I can remember - I had never seen him bowl.

My dad died seven years ago today. Leaving behind my brother Mark, my mother, and me. I should say good riddance, and my dad should go to hell.

But he went to heaven, and I miss him. On top of this, I forgive him. I don't know if I could forgive him if I didn't have the Holy Spirit in my heart, but thanks to the power of God I'm actually thankful for him - but more on that later. As I get older I see more and more how much I am like my dad. I too am a liar, a cheater, and a thief. I too have hurt a host of friends and family. I too am a quitter and a scum bag, a rebel. I'm selfish and I can be a poor leader. I also have a hard time including people in my life and interests, etc.. I too should go to hell.

To be honest, my parents were not ready to be parents. When my mom became pregnant with my brother, both families pushed them to get married (thanks, family). They went from super rebels to parents overnight and tried to make it work. Mark and I survived. So they succeeded. It would be crazy to hold all these things against two crazy kids that got married - I mean they tried! They could have dumped us off, or never got married at all.

I'm thankful for the example my dad gave me. I'm half him after all. So now I have a good picture of what I could become if I don't let God change me to be more like His Son. The example that Jesus set is a man who was bold, strong, forgiving, compassionate, and empathetic. Jesus was reliant-on-God and a lover-of-men, I want to be like that! I know so much of what-not-to-do as a husband and father. I'm lucky to have become a Christian at a young age (12) and gain "spiritual parents". From them, I've learned what-to-do as a husband and father. No doubt I have much to learn still - but I have received two examples of how my life can play out, and I know the direction I'd like to go.

Also, I don't know my dad's heart. I cant know his intentions or what he cared about. I can't know why he never stopped drinking. I can't know what drove him to leave the house for the bars when I'd beg him, crying, not to leave (as a cute, innocent version of me). He should have gone to hell, and so should I, but we're not going to. I can't wait to see him again in heaven so we can catch up!

We're all messed up people. Every single one of us has our individual flaws, shortcomings, sins, and sufferings. Luckily this life isn't all there is. This is a short time here on earth. Our time here is like a spark, a minor flash, here today - gone tomorrow. What are you living for? What's the point of life? Thanks, God, for giving us a reason to live! We can all get fit, get rich, or get famous - if we try hard enough. But what use is anything if we are going to die eventually? God is real! He is personal - and loves us all, He has that purpose for us, that reason to live. He sent his one and only Son to die on the cross and rise again so that we don't have to die and we too will go on to live forever. Look - God has already forgiven us. The job is complete, he is done - mission complete! Thankfully, He left it up to us to accept that forgiveness. It's a gift. A wrapped present that's been sitting under your Christmas tree since the day you were born - screaming to be opened. Inside is freedom, peace, and joy. Inside is eternal life and a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. Inside is a significant life.

No matter who you are or what you've done, God accepts you. The question is - will you accept Him?

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Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Saved My Life (my trip to [redacted])

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Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Saved My Life (my trip to [redacted])
kksml
adminFri, 09/07/2018 - 09:08
Published:
Personal

The trip to ///// was eye-opening, to say the least. God showed me things about himself that I had not seen previously. God is very big, and his presence is felt around the world.

I got to witness first-hand, a miracle, and heard stories of others. I got to teach a large crowd of //////// Pastors about the Lord. I taught over acts 20, on living a significant life for God. One part of doing so is teaching/preaching about the Lord whenever and wherever, as much as possible. The point of doing so, as often as possible that is, is so that your people do not get tricked into believing other skewed versions of Jesus. It's a risk, especially in /////, that people will try to move in and teach things that are not biblical. It was true during Jesus' time and is true today (even here in America, which is not so surprising).

What was interesting about this, specifically with that part of what I taught, was the last teaching we witnessed at the conference was from a guy teaching something unbiblical. The third day of the conference was then devoted to correcting what that guy taught on and rebuking him publicly in front of the other pastors.

That guy was a part of the organization that put it all together but is leaving soon to go teach his odd-ball belief on his own, good riddance.

____

///// is weird. The food is delicious. The driving is pure insanity. Nobody shakes their head yes, there is the normal no-shake, and a wobble from side to side that could possibly mean yes, as well as anything else under the sun.

congested city streets

Some parts of cities are covered in trash, others have had attempts at being cleaned. People use the bathroom in the streets in broad daylight. Cows walk the streets freely (being that they are sacred animals, alongside giant rats!). Nobody looks before crossing extremely dangerous, fast-moving, congested traffic.

People speak one of the hundreds of languages, alongside whatever main language is spoken within the area as a whole, and usually also English to some degree (some more than others).

You eat spicy food for breakfast lunch and dinner. The “spicy” there is much different than American spicy. You can get the spiciest they have to offer, and sure it's very spicy, but it's delicious. Instead of burning your mouth for the next 20 minutes, you feel it, taste it, then it's gone.

____

A general run-through of our week went like this:

We left for ///// on a Friday. First, we drove to Pittsburgh, flew to Paris, missed our connecting flight, flew to //////, then to //////////, /////, at last. We did not have time to mosey around, only enough time to grab our bags, use the bathroom, and get in our car to our first hotel. I wanted to stop at the Krispy Kreme’s there but there just wasn't time. I took a mental note, knowing we'd return on the way home - and we were on our way.

By the way, my friend and I's luggage was lost in this first set of flights. That was pretty cool (sarcasm).

The Kids Welcome Us

Our first hotel on the land owned by the organization that sent us. It's also a school for all ages up through high school, and a summer camp for kids and an all-year camp for orphans. We were welcomed by the kids who clapped us to our seats and sung us some songs, as well as danced and recited Bible verses from memory. It was beautiful. Our team-lead (Greg) gave a short speech, we did a skit for the kids and handed out candy, and shortly after that went to bed. It had been quite the trip already and we were all very tired.

The next day we toured other parts of the city, a nearby village, the school, their conference center, their hospital (the organization owns it, ////// ///////////// //// /////////// //// ////, amazing). We shopped around and saw a few other things and later had a cookout hosted by the leader of the organization. It was delicious, but still, we were very tired and two of us still remained without luggage.

taxi alt

We were set to leave this place and fly to another city the following day. Late that night our luggage arrived via ///-/// (a three-wheeled yellow car with room up front for the driver, and room in the back for maybe 3 people to sit). A guy drove this tiny, door-less-windowless vehicle 5 hours to give us our luggage, handed it to us, and left.

I was very relieved to have my stuff. I set my alarm for 6 am and celebrated with the other guys about how amazing the trip had already been. Regardless of any setbacks, everything was still going as planned.

Our team leader (Greg) came in not too long after that and told us, "there's been a change of plans, we are going to leave at 3 am". A very odd tradition in ///// occurs when a dearly loved politician dies. The day becomes a holiday, all travel closes down, and everyone riots. It's very bizarre.

We got word that a politician just like that was going to die, so we had to leave or else we would be stuck in the city. So just like that, my alarm changed to 2:50a, and we left promptly at 3 that morning (that was probably the groggiest I had been the entire time).

We stayed in a hotel near the airport awaiting our next flight, watching WWE wrestling, and then the news which told us that the politician did, in fact, die, riots did break out, and multiple people died as a result. I'm telling you I do not understand why this is a thing, but it is indeed a thing.

So, then it was time to fly to the conference. We were all prepared to teach the next three days. When we arrived at the conference we were once again welcomed as if we were kings. Clapped and sung into the room. We sat on the stage in front of everyone, were given flower necklaces, etc. etc. It felt so surreal, but they were very excited to learn from us.

view from hotel we stayed at during conference

They are not as fortunate as we are to have the huge amount of decent biblical resources to study from and teach from. They love when our church sends people because we tend to be much more bible based than others and teach deeper teachings, less fluff, less nice easy-to-teach but un-applicable stories, and more thought-out deep theology.

the conference

Like I said previously, we taught for two days, but didn't go to the third day of the conference (for multiple reasons). Throughout the week cops were looking for us, suspicious of our reasons for being in the country. They were convinced eventually it was for a tour, but it was too dangerous to leave again and go to the conference with the risk they might follow us. It’s illegal to proselytize in /////, which we were not doing, but they most likely would not believe that we were only there to teach fellow Christians. Also, because our visas were strictly for tourism, coming to instruct others, in general, would most likely get us kicked out too.

Tourism Views

Another reason we didn't go is that that guy who taught the crazy stuff needed to be corrected and they'd rather us not have to sit through that. I was going to teach a second time that day, but instead, I got to teach that teaching in my college bible study after I got home from /////.

With the new-found free day, we went to some historic sights, saw some amazing views, and did some more shopping before hitting the hay and preparing to leave.

With our bags packed, we departed the hotel and boarded a flight back from ///// to /////////. It was an in-country flight, so nothing was free on this flight. We paid for our dinner and landed shortly after.

It hit me, this is the airport with the Krispy Kreme stand out front. I wasn’t going to tell anyone but when we get out of this airport I was dead-set on getting a donut!

So just like that, we exited the airport and out front was the Krispy Kreme shack, shaped like a box of donuts. My group ran the other direction to the car (we were going to stay in a hotel until our next flight 8-or-so hours away). I start to order donuts but realize something...

I have no idea where my passport is. I looked, and I looked again. Endlessly I searched my bag, canceled my Donut order and then the team leader (Greg) showed up. "What's going on B", he asked. "Well, I think I left my passport on the plane". Panic. Panic from both of us. Although panic from both of us appears as straight faces and deep thought about what we were to do next.

I spent the next several hours trying to figure this all out. The airline searched the plane, couldn't find it. Lost and found received nothing. Asked the airline again, nothing. Had to write a police report. Went to the cops. They were not very helpful. Hours pass. Nothing.

It seemed like my fate was sealed. My friends gave me money, we said our goodbyes, and I was going to travel to another city to the embassy in order to get an emergency passport. When all was said and done I'd be in ///// for at the very least, another week. Possibly two more weeks.

Not only would I have to wait for my police report to be filed in court, but then I'd have to wait for the embassy to process my passport, and then and only then could I try and find a flight home which I would have to pay for out of pocket, since they were unable to cancel my flight, probably because it was so late.

The /////// man who accompanied me volunteered to take me through this journey of travel, and that was nice. We were about to board the bus to the next following cities when he received a phone call. He started walking in the other direction. Get this - up until this point I had been praying for a miracle non-stop. I've seen miracles happen on this trip, now I needed one myself.

After I finally got the ////// guy to tell me what happened, I found out that - my passport actually was on that plane. It flew to Central ///// (we were in the South). However, it would return in time for my next flight.

A miracle.

Now, had I not decided to run off and get Krispy Kreme I would be returning to the airport when it was time for the flight, no passport in hand. So many more variables would have been introduced, it could be in the car, at the hotel, etc. Luckily, I never had to deal with that.

Had I not run off for a donut, my ////// friend would have been long gone, my American friends would be leaving, I would have been stuck and all alone, having to try and figure it out all by myself.

I think the Lord used my desire for that donut to save me and also teach me a lesson. The Lord says to never worry, but you better believe I was worried. In the end, it all worked out just fine, and God says he can use all things, all situations for good - we don't always get to see that good, but he's going to do it.

I truly learned from this experience about how truly useless worrying really can be.

Philippians 4:6-7 New Living Translation (NLT)

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

____

All in all, it was a wild ride. We all made it safe and sound back home after 40+ hours of travel. Thanks for your prayers, financial help, and for reading this!

bonus win


The Anonymous Billionaire (Romans 12 Part 1)

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The Anonymous Billionaire (Romans 12 Part 1)
billionaire
adminThu, 05/02/2019 - 14:10
Published:
Romans 12

You're a millionaire now!

If an anonymous billionaire gave you a million dollars, it would be a pretty amazing gift. From that point forward, money would never be a problem for you. What a relief. Now, what if the following week he decides to buy you a car? You'd have enough respect to thank him for that, but the car-gift would be seriously overshadowed by the original money-gift. Don't get me wrong, the car is nice and all, but you could have bought it yourself, you're a dang millionaire now!

Now why is it that as Christians we can be forgiven for all of our sins, welcomed into the family of God, adopted as the Creator of the Universe's own child, given the knowledge of where we will go when we die - a beautiful afterlife — all these things in one simple gift given to us for free, better than any amount of money — and we want more, complain about not getting more, scratch and beg for more. How could we take such a gift for granted? Should it not have the potential to overshadow everything else?

With a gift like a million dollars, you'd feel like you need to give back. Maybe now you feel like mowing his lawn all the time, or working for his company for free? Who knows. But some sort of respect would undoubtedly come from the receipt of such a gift.

It's time to share

So why is it that all too often we keep our gift to ourselves? God not only gives us the gifts I mentioned above but even more to go about having success spreading his gift to others. The many gifts of spreading his gift, one way or another and we each got at least one of them. Shouldn’t we use them? Shouldn’t we share?

If the billionaire said "here's a million, and here's my phone number, tell anyone you want to text me, and I'll PayPal them a million dollars as well", and you don't give that phone number out, especially to people you supposedly care about - would that not be the most selfish thing ever?

Maybe your life was a trash dump waiting to get shipped to the middle of the ocean, or maybe you had it all together. As Christians, we might have technically all come from different walks of the earth, but we were all born and raised on an earth ran by the evil one. God saving us from this dirty planet is just about the most loving thing He could possibly do. But He not only saved you, but He also gave you tools (like the billionaire's phone number) to make telling others about this saving-gift that much easier.

Sometimes we forget the state we were in when we got saved. As I mentioned, for some, it was worse than others. That being said, more important than forgetting where we came from, we tend to more-so forget where the gospel came from. God's loving mercy on our souls was not a quick decision on God's part. Our receipt of the gift is just about the easiest thing ever especially when compared to the long line of history, ancestry, miracles, and all sorts of prophecy that had to fall in line in order for Jesus to even be born.

It's important that we not only spend any amount of time every day reminding ourselves of the origins of our gifts but with that knowledge in our hearts and minds, commit ourselves to serve the Lord. In return for what He has done for us, the best we can do is sacrifice the rest of our lives to the cause of serving Him (not just some parts of our lives, but our entire life, our entire body & soul).

Renewing our minds

When we devote ourselves to studying the word daily or at least reading and praying daily, we "renew" our minds. This renewal transforms our character over time, making us become more and more like Christ. Not only that but we will move closer to truly knowing and understanding the Lord's will in our (and our people's) lives. The closer we are to him, the closer we are to understanding him and washing off the scum of the world we have rolled around in since birth.

God indeed has given us each at least one spiritual gift (on top of his saving grace and all the other random things he does for us every day). Some take these gifts and consider themselves special. They were asked to teach, so now that they are in front of a crowd it is so clear to all of their peers that they are important, they think. Glory be to me! Well, I'd be lying if I didn't say that this is a struggle for me. Even if I know the truth, I have to constantly, repeatedly, tell myself it's not about me or pray," please Lord, I know it's not about me, help me not think about me".

With our daily reminders, may it be praying, reading, studying, or whatever combination it is that you choose to stay close to God, we need also to remind ourselves of how great we are not. Besides, "who regards you as superior or what sets you apart as special? What do you have that you did not receive [from another]? And if in fact you received it [from God or someone else], why do you boast as if you had not received it [but had gained it by yourself]?" (1 Cor. 4:7 [AMP]).

based on Romans 12:1-3

NASB

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

This article is a part of a series, once you are done reading this one, read part 2!

a Role in the Whole (Romans 12 Part 2)

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a Role in the Whole (Romans 12 Part 2)
rolewhole2
adminMon, 05/06/2019 - 11:22
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Romans 12

This is the second article in a series, read part one if you have not already.

To Belong

What does it mean to belong to something? If we think of a puzzle, clearly this or that piece belongs to the other pieces, in the sense that without them, the puzzle is incomplete. Similarly, take the power supply that is typically found within a desktop computer. It is a rather large, "boxy" component that powers every other part within the machine. Obviously, it belongs in its proper place, attached to all the necessary ports and wires. Without the power supply, the computer is useless. You could use the power supply to power something else that requires a similar load, but that is not the purpose it was created to fulfill. The tires of your car belong on the wheels or rims of your car. You could alternatively use your tires to make a few tire-swings in your backyard, but your car becomes useless & incomplete. Some neighbor kids might get an hour of fun out of the swings, but you're not getting anywhere in that car, at least not very far.

The point is, the tires belong on the wheels, the power supply in the computer, and the last puzzle piece belongs to the puzzle, making it whole, complete, and/or beautiful. With these examples in mind, it's clear that each thing could be rendered useless even in their respective spot if some other piece was missing (another puzzle piece, a hard drive, the engine). If these things were sentient beings that could think about their role in the whole, they would be able to recognize that they are important, only insomuch as they fulfill their role in the whole. Some pieces may seem more important only relative to their absence from the whole. All roles are equally important in fulfilling or completing the whole. Each puzzle piece, computer part, or car part need the other pieces and parts to work at 100%. Sure, you could be content with a puzzle missing one piece or a computer with one less stick of RAM or a car without doors - but all of these things would be a lot better or worth more if all the pieces and parts were there, playing their role in the whole.

Let us think through yet another example. This time - a fast-food restaurant. One employee’s role is the cook. At this restaurant, there is only one cook. The cook decides to call off. Would it make sense for the restaurant to stay open? Not at all. The cook calling off means the cashier can’t work, the managers have nothing to manage, and so on. Nobody gets paid and if this were to go on long-term the restaurant would be forced to close its doors indefinitely.

Typically, a well-run restaurant has fail-safes in place. Multiple people with the same role, able to pick up when one person is moving too slow, or another calls off. Every role doesn’t seem as important when the restaurant is running smoothly. However, if the cashiers all call off and the manager has to run the cash register, they cannot properly manage the rest of the staff. Then a chain reaction occurs, and two out of three of the cooks are moving slower than normal (when the manager is barking orders at them), and the person in the drive-thru window is scrolling through Instagram. The whole system falls apart and it becomes abundantly clear that each role is equally important and essential.

Strategically the managers schedule the right number of people for each role, depending on how busy the place gets at certain times or on special days. Maybe they only need one cook at 3 am, but five cooks during lunch time. At any moment if half of the staff gets the flu, the restaurant could quickly gain a reputation for having bad service due to the lack of staff. This problem could also arise if the staff is poorly trained, or if overall the restaurant ethos is one of ill-concern. You obviously cannot plan for everything, but when you can be present, you should give every role your very best effort.

Our Role

Now when we look at the body of Christ, we can quickly draw all the parallels. We each have been given a gift by the Lord. So, we each have a role to fulfill within our ministry efforts. Each role is no less important than any other.

We could easily lose sight of our importance. It makes sense that from time-to-time we fall short of fully delivering in our role. We are not perfect, so we cannot expect to perfectly contribute in our God-given role. However, it is our duty to try to fill our role, with our best-foot-forward. With each of our roles being mutually important, we must band together to complete the puzzle, to make the car go far, to get the computer running as well as possible. We must be willing to play our role, even when we don't feel like it. With each of us being essential to the rest of us, we must live as if we belong to one another. In so doing, our body will be healthy and will thrive.

When a body's parts all work together as they were intended, the body is considered to be healthy. For an athlete, and we'll talk about a runner as an example, health is very important (yes, health is important to all, but if your life revolves around sport and competition, it becomes much more important.). When a runner prepares for a race, they have hope that their brain will send the correct signals to the legs to correctly take every step. In fact, a healthy runner wouldn’t even think about it because they would be certain everything is working correctly. In a race, the stride, the way you breathe, the way you move your arms, the strategy as to when you will speed up or slow down and how you will take the next corner are all equally important. An experienced runner doesn’t have to think about most of these things all that much - they've trained for weeks, maybe months, they know how their body will perform and they can count on that not changing. In fact, after so much training, if race day arrived and that morning you rolled your ankle, it would be devastating, you'd have to forego running that race and miss out on the all-so-sought-after medal.

Likewise, every person and their specific gifting/role are all equally important and necessary. Our lives must be connected in a way much more significant than just showing up to meetings. We must know what’s going on with each other. We need fail-safes just like the fast-food restaurant. If one person can’t teach the meeting one week - having someone else be ready, willing, and competent enough to take over is significant.

As Christians, each of us should be willing to love any other member of the body (and any other person in general). Meaning we support each other and hold each other up. We should run to help when another is down. Just like if an actual body was suddenly missing a leg, the person that body belongs to would be very aware of the missing limb. Similarly, when the body of Christ is unified and one person goes missing or decides not to satisfy their role, we all feel the deficit. It can be just as devastating as having to (in the case of the athletic runner) skip the race because we sincerely care about and need that person and feel the loss of their absence or delinquency.

Just as in the fast-food example, we should be able to achieve a state where no role seems more important than any other because all roles are filled, and each person is contributing all that they can in the role they were given by God. You should be aware of how vital your role is that when you are missing, you are equally missed.

"Maybe you're the big toe on the runner in the race, but guess what? Without the big toe, that runner wouldn't even be able to run in the first place! Only way you're going to find out what body part you are, is if you're involved in SERVICE."
-Logan Balas

We need to give our service to the Lord our most valiant effort. Even when we face struggles of our own, we should maintain our devotion to serving God. We should practice hospitality to all even when we are suffering. If a guest shows up at our door, we should be urging to know how they are doing, and how we could help them however we can. We should try to build them up even if we are beaten down. Maybe they aren't suffering but instead are joyous and excited about something God has done in their life, even then we should celebrate alongside them, rather than pull them out of their joy because we are suffering. You might find coming alongside the guest rather than making them hear what’s going on with you, will build you up as well. Caring for others over yourself works in a supernatural way. It's an odd paradigm but considering how much love and joy the Lord had to feel when he died on the cross for us, it makes a lot of sense. Our struggles evaporate (or become less of a struggle and easier to think through and talk about.) with the warmth that comes when we choose to love others over ourselves.

The Most Amazingly Efficient Machine

With all roles of the whole not only filled but regularly fulfilled, the whole is complete, active, beautiful and useful. If the body of Christ could be equated to a machine, and the body is in a healthy, united/unified state, it would be the most amazingly efficient machine. This sort of machine churns out fruit, successful ministry and a family/strong community of believers, who are there for each other, all fighting for the same God and the same goal; winning souls! If you are feeling useless, divided, lonely, or depressed - it can all change once you start fulfilling your role in the whole. The maintenance required to keep the machine running at 100% is "love [which springs] from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Tim 1:5 [AMP]).

based on Romans 12:4-6, 12:10-13, 12:16 & 12:18

NIV

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us … Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality … Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited … If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.





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