BEING THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD

 In Ephesians 2:19-22 the church is told, "[Y]ou are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."

           

The Church is "God's household," on a mission for God in the world. Jesus is the corner stone and the whole building is being fitted together around Him.  The mission is not static but very active, "growing into a holy temple in the Lord."  This temple, this living temple, is the dwelling of God in the Spirit.  As God dwells in His household His Word and works are spread throughout the world.

           

Red, yellow, black, brown, or white, it makes no difference.  We are all precious in the sight of God.  Whoever will turn to Christ will be received by Him.  He will not force Himself on anybody but there is room for all kinds of folks at the table of Jesus.

           

The Good News the Church brings into the world is, "We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 15:11).  God's grace is greater than race, creed or color.  All the ground is level at the foot of the cross and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus is for everyone.

           

May the Church ever remember the counsel of the apostle Paul, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).  "Walk in them."  Walk in the ways and means of God.  Living and moving and having our being in Jesus, that's how to touch a community for Christ.

Shaped and Formed By Messiah

 Faith in Jesus calls for honesty and truthfulness.  It calls for authenticity and purity and mercy.  Jealousy and selfish ambition have no place in the life of one who is being shaped and formed by the Messiah who emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam's helpless race.

                       

The letter of James tells us "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James. 4:6).  Humility doesn't go over very well with many people.  Humility, to them, is for the weak.  To Jesus, however, humility brings a smile to the face of God.  It brings grace into the human situation and spreads love to folks who really do need to know they are loved. 

                       

The Christian presence in the cultures of the world is extremely important.  We followers of Jesus are compelled to show by our good behavior the deeds of our lives, carried out with the dignity and clarity of Christ-centered wisdom (See James 3:13).  How we live matters.  We are witnesses of the Good News that is Jesus, and it is important that we live in the spirit of a wisdom that is "from above," a wisdom that is pure and peaceable and gentle and reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy (James 3:17).  In short, it is a way of being that is centered in Jesus and reveals that it is in Him we live and move and have our being.

                       

Many people have written Jesus off, saying that He is anything but a Savior.  We Christians humbly disagree.  We believe Jesus is God's response to the deepest needs of the human heart.  Never will we write Him off.  Always we will bow our lives before Him and seek to live so that His will might be done on earth as it is in heaven.

                       

We believe Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, the Holy One of God who loves us with an everlasting love.

ONE PEOPLE UNDER GOD

 One of the founders of the Church of the Nazarene was Dr. Phineas F. Bresee.  He was committed to his church being a people committed to a Christ-centered, Christ-driven, Christ-exalting presence in the world.  Bresee understood this to mean that the Church would minister to whoever came across her path.  He said, ”Let the Church of the Nazarene be true to its commission; not great and elegant buildings; but to feed the hungry and clothe the naked and wipe away the tears of sorrowing, and gather jewels for His diadem.”

           

The New Testament letter of James tells us that we are not to be respecter of persons.  The wealthy are not honored above the poor, and the poor have as much right to the table of grace as everyone else.  In fact there is no "everyone else" in the kingdom of God.  All the ground is level at the foot of the cross.  Each of us stands in need of God's Amazing Grace, and each of us is called to live out our lives together in the Mind and Spirit of Jesus.

           

Isn't it great to be a follower of Jesus?  John Oxenham wrote, "In Christ there is no East or West, In Him no South or North; But one great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth."  Richard Gillard wrote, "We are pilgrims on a journey; we are brothers on the road.  We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load."

           

Jesus said, "In everything treat people the same way you want them to treat you" (Matt. 7:12).  This is the way everyday life in the church ought to be.  To the degree it isn't, we fall short.  To the degree it is, we live as a fragrant aroma of Christ in the World.

           

May God help us to take what has been given us by His Amazing Grace and pass it on.

REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE

I've heard it all my life, even as a child, "Practice what you preach."  Good advice isn't it?  Be what you say.  Do what you say you believe.  Let your life reflect your words.

In the New Testament, James tells the Church, "Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (Jam. 1:22).  His reason?  "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was" (Jam. 1:23-24).

What's the word here?  Remember who you are!  Integrity might just be the word.  Being is as important as saying, maybe, more so.  Words can be a dime a dozen, as they say; Truth be known we live in a words-are-a-dime-a-dozen age. 

As Christians, being is profoundly important to us.  Words are important, too, and they ought to be spoken with great carefulness, clarity, and truthfulness.  In the end, however, people look at our lives -- how we live, move and have our being.  What they observe when they look at us needs to be the real thing.  Hypocrisy has done more damage to the image of Jesus than any other thing.

When Jesus really is the dominating influence in a person's life, it will be seen.  People may or may not appreciate it, but they will see it.  Our role is to live authentic lives, in both our words and our actions.  We adhere not to a system of belief but to a person, Jesus Christ, who empowers us to live as He lived.  We really out to be Christian in all that it means for us to be who we are.                                                                                                           

Dress Properly

 When I was young I learned that certain sports required certain uniforms. Basketball uniforms wouldn't work on a football player, and visa versa.  Baseball uniforms wouldn't work on a swimmer and visa versa. The given sport had its own requirements for that game specific uniform.

And so it is with those of us who follow Jesus.  We need to be dressed properly for the journey.  In Ephesians 6:10-18, the apostle Paul gives us the proper equipment.  He says there are seven discipleship specific issues required in following Jesus.  They are: Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, God's Word, and Prayer.  Enter into the spiritual arena where the battle for your life is fought, without the proper clothing, is to assure yourself of failure.

The battle facing followers of Jesus, says Paul, "is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12).  Don't take this spiritual war seriously and you make a grave mistake.

We are called to "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might" so that we "will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (Eph. 6:10-11).  The way to "stand firm" is to live in Truth and Righteousness and Peace and Faith and Salvation and God's Word and Prayer. 

A good dose of humility wouldn't hurt either.  James says, "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you" (Jam. 4:10).  This is a God-thing in which we are involved and we do well to live in such a way that God is allowed to be God in us.  Jesus has won the victory for us at the cross; now it is up to us to take that victory, cover our lives in it, and stand firm.