Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

Being and Becoming God’s Church

For the second week in a row, the pastor of a congregation gets an anonymous note of discouragement from an attender who is unhappy with the way things are done. Sigh. It is enough to bring leadership to their knees before God asking for help to keep going, doing what God has asked you to do. in spite of the circumstances. The power of our Christ alive keeps the pastor going. Harmony has a discord but passionate prayers are lifted up asking for the “choir” to find the right “key” and stay on it. Caring confrontation with a passionate heart for people, said in a Spirit of God’s love, keeps us “in tune” with God’s purposes for His church.

This is Paul’s work in a nutshell. We are encouraged and take courage that we are not alone in the mission to help people find and follow Christ. The small stuff of “church life” is just that…small stuff. We must stay alert, evaluate our hearts consistently to make sure WE are not the problem but the solution to harmony in God’s church. We are God’s church. The church belongs to God. The church does not belong to us. Christ is the head of the church. We are not. When we put all this into perspective, harmony is within our reach.

Paul closing words to his beloved brothers and sisters in Corinth are full of passion and love for God’s church.

2 Corinthians 13, The Message
5-9 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do otherwise.

We don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that it will all come together in your lives.

10 I’m writing this to you now so that when I come I won’t have to say another word on the subject. The authority the Master gave me is for putting people together, not taking them apart. I want to get on with it, and not have to spend time on reprimands.

11-13 And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace. All the brothers and sisters here say hello.

14 The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.

What do we learn?
–Reading the whole 13th chapter brings to mind my mom, saying, “Wait ’til you dad gets home…” and you know the rest. I also hear God saying through Paul, listen to him, “Don’t make Me come back there again”…get it together! Our parents discipline us because they love and care for us deeply. God care and love for us goes even deeper for his children.

Embrace the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ.
Embrace the extravagant love of God.
Embrace an intimate friendship with the Holy Spirit!

The more we embrace grace, unconditional love of God and intimate friendship with the Holy Spirit, reprimands will be less and the harmony of God’s choir will be more beautiful than we can think or imagine!

Dear Heavenly Father, Keep our hearts pure, our motivations selfless, our praises going to You and our minds on Christ. Help us to see others through your eyes. Help us to care enough to confront but not until you give us the right words at the right time and in the right Spirit. In Jesus Name, Amen

Being and Becoming Christian in a Corrupt World

Who is influencing whom? A recent nationwide survey completed by the Barna Research Group determined that only 4 percent of Americans had a “biblical” worldview. When George Barna, who has researched cultural trends and the Christian Church since 1984, looked at the “born- again” believers in America, the results were a dismal 9 percent.

Barna’s survey also connected an individual’s worldview with his or her moral beliefs and actions. Barna says, “Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life.”

If we don’t really believe the truth of God and live it, then our witness will be confusing and misleading. Most of us go through life not recognizing that our personal worldviews have been deeply affected by the world. Through the media and other influences, the secularized American view of history, law, politics, science, God and man affects our thinking more than we realize. We then are taken “captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

However, by diligently learning, applying and trusting God’s truths in every area of our lives — whether it’s watching a movie, communicating with our spouses, raising our children or working at the office — we can begin to develop a deep comprehensive faith that will stand against the unrelenting tide of our culture’s nonbiblical ideas. If we capture and embrace more of God’s worldview and trust it with unwavering faith, then we begin to make the right decisions and form the appropriate responses to questions on abortion, same- sex marriage, cloning, stem-cell research and even media choices. Because, in the end, it is our decisions and actions that reveal what we really believe.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2).

I think about all of this when I read today’s passage. Paul is explaining once more, the “tools of our trade” so that we, as a church of believers, who strive to behave like we say we believe, and will affect society more than society affects us. We need to be alert, consistently developing a biblical worldview versus a worldview.

2 Corinthians 10, The Message

3-6 The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

In this part of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, there are those that would oppose Paul and his words, competing with him, putting him down as one “muscling in” where he does not belong. Paul defends is motivations for ministry and points out that this is worldly thinking that does not advance the work of the spreading the gospel and teaching others how to live. Worldly competition is at play here. Oh, how worldly competition within the church must break the heart of God!

Paul closes with…

5-18 We’re not barging in on the rightful work of others, interfering with their ministries, demanding a place in the sun with them. What we’re hoping for is that as your lives grow in faith, you’ll play a part within our expanding work. And we’ll all still be within the limits God sets as we proclaim the Message in countries beyond Corinth. But we have no intention of moving in on what others have done and taking credit for it. “If you want to claim credit, claim it for God.” What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the difference.

What do we learn and need to evaluate in our own lives?
–What God says about us makes the difference.
–Are we “captive” or “casual” Christians. Read more of what Barna has to say about the difference between the two. By the way, 66% of those surveyed are living as casual Christians today.
–How much does our culture influence us? Take stock.
–Who is influencing whom?

Dear Heavenly Father, Sometimes we have be hit over the head in our thoughts to realize just how much the world can influence us. In our busyness we fall for the easy way to live. We become too casual about what we say we believe. We repent. Wash us clean of worldly dirt and help us to throw off all that is tying us down. Set us free to experience the wide open spaces of your unconditional love, mercy and grace today. All day long. Make me a blessing to someone today.
In Jesus Name, Amen