Wake Up

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

-Colossians 3:16

From hanging out with my new friend, Sister Francine, a thought occurred to me.

The following is a snip-it of a reflection I had on an interview with Sister,

"By the end of our conversation, Francine and I became good friends. We made dinner plans for the upcoming weeks, hugged one another, and went our separate ways. Today I learned a lot about faith, not just about Francine's occupation and opinion, but also about my own personal relationship with Christ. I once considered myself a Protestant. “A protestor of what?” I asked myself in the car on the way home. My faith is not about protesting the Catholic faith (or the church of England), that’s for sure. I am not a protestor, but a student of His people. I am an evangelical and a born again believer who is in love with a God that is Good. However, “evangelical” and “born again” are words that describe me, not define me. I agree with Francine, Christ defines me; Him, and Him alone. I have much to do in the name of my Creator, but more importantly, I have many places to follow my Leader, spiritually and physically. I have gained more than a friend today, I have a new sister, related through the most sacred Blood."

So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

-Ecclesiastes 7:25

If a house is divided against itself, it cannot stand.

-Mark 3:25

Your Love is a Song

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.... Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

-1 Corinthians 12:12, 27

So recently, community has been put on the hearts of Christian across the nation. It has been incredible. However, our Real Life Fellowship group, while reading through Ephesians, started to see how Christ has called us to community.

In Ephesians chapter 4, Christ calls us through Paul to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received. (Eph 4:1)." Paul then goes on to write, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."There is one body and one Spirit...one hope....one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all....Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph 4:3-6, 15, 16)"

Yes, Christ calls us to be unified in Him. Community is so much more than the body of people, it's the unity amongst them. Now, this doesn't just mean that unity needs to be with people all of the same age group (i.e. all college aged Christians), but that means that both young and old need to come together in Christ.

Recently, I got to experience this first hand. My church, Terra Nova, has Bible studies called "New Tribes." In these New Tribes the age range is very wide (youngest in our group is 19, eldest is what I'm assuming to be late fifties). It is evident that our New Tribe is a spiritual family. If it wasn't for the fact that we all look so very different, people might mistake us for being a blood-related family (as if a spiritual family isn't...).

Now, unity does not mean sameness. In fact, Christ has created us all to be very, very different.

And He Himself gave some to be

apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry,

for the edifying of the body of Christ,

till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,

to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

-Ephesians 4:11-13

It is together that we function as one. We, as the church, all compliment one another. If we were made complete, knowing and having all things, then God wouldn't have created all of us. It is because of our differences that we need to be united, so that Christ may be honored in all ways.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

-Ephesians 2:19-23

White Lights

Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 

-Matthew 8:25, 26

Even in the midst of what appears to be a somber, or scary occasion, Christ is there. No only is He there, loving you, calling out your name, He is beside you, that you may Have all confidence in Him, that He will never leave you. Even when the things that tempt us the most, appear to be extremely present in our lives; when we see and hear the waves come crashing, when we feel the winds start to blow us over, Christ is there to calm the storm. 

I was put in a similar situation this morning at breakfast. After a lovely morning at the most amazing church in the capital district (not that I'm biased or anything..!), a text message from a dear friend of mine caused a great tempest to arise on the sea. However, Christ's message this morning in  church was to love one another no matter what. Not to love in order to avoid sin (actions from anger, jealousy, depression, etc.), but in order to truly love them. Just as Christ put on my heart last night with the previous blog, He was calling me to live out His Message today.

so we, though many, are one body in Christ,

and individually members one of another.

-Romans 12:5

I told him I love him. That he will forever be my brother, and that no matter what he may do, I love him. 

Most importantly, Christ loves Him. I pray that my reminder of humanly, brotherly/sisterly love, was a great reminder of True Love. (Amen.)

I pray for those who are following after Christ's heart, for you to not be disgruntled when a brother or sister falls, but that you stay strong, and truly love your brother and sisters---no matter what. 

Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the res of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you...

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

-1 Peter 4:1-4, 7-10