Being part of His church

Graphic from Literature and Liturgy

Today I'm focusing on Ephesians 2:19-22.


God's building something.

It started with the prophets who were the foundation. Jesus is the chief cornerstone. God is joining His followers, the Church, together with Jesus to build a temple to His glory.

The church is comprised of all who believe in Christ; it is a visible entity that symbolizes the invisible grace that makes it possible.  I believe that the church has a special place in God's work on this earth.

God has always planned to reconcile men to Himself; this can be seen throughout the Scriptures:

Genesis 3:15 - Genesis 3:1-20 recounts the fall of man and the fact that God provided a way back to Himself.

There are pictures of God's redemption throughout the Old Testament; here's just a few of them:

Genesis 22 - God required Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac and at the last minute provided a substitute for that sacrifice.
Exodus 2-14 - Moses leads Israel out of captivity in Egypt.  Psalm 106:6-12 summarizes how God redeemed Israel through Moses leading their exit from Egypt. 
Ruth 1-4 - Boaz is the kinsman redeemer who purchased the ability to care for Ruth and her mother in law and bring Ruth into the family of Israel who were God's chosen people.
Isaiah 49:8-10 & Isaiah 61:1-3-the promise of restoration and deliverance

John 12:20-35 - Jesus died for everyone and if he is lifted up He will draw all to Himself

Romans 5:12-19 - Death came through Adam and salvation for all came through Christ

Philippians 2:5-11 - Eventually all will come to God through the Lordship of Jesus

2 Peter 3:8-9-God waits for all to come to Himself.

1 Timothy 4:6-10 - God is the savior of all people

So everyone will eventually come to God through Jesus, but the church are those who form the mystical body of Christ who have come to Him while on this earth. It would seem that God has a special place, a special work for those of His Church. The Church is supposed to bring glory to God on this earth, preach His kingdom and make disciples, and help one another grow in relationship with God through Christ. Scriptures such as Romans 15:1-6 & 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 show me that the Church exists to bring glory to God.  In Matthew 28:18-20 & Acts 1:8 we're shown that the Church is to bring preach the Jesus story and make disciples. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, Ephesians 4:11-16, and Ephesians 3:10-25 show the Church is to help Believers in Christ to encourage one another and grow in their relationship with Him.

I believe that if I don't accept God's gift of salvation now, at the end of this life I'll be separated from Him in hell. That Hell is still redemptive in nature; a time of refining fire that I might repent and come to Him. Choosing Him now not only saves me from hell later, it allows me to experience relationship with the Creator of my soul. As part of His Church I am called to bring Him glory, help bring His kingdom to others, and help build up others of faith.

So what does this mean to me now? What are the questions that come to my mind?

• Does the way I live bring glory to God?
• What am I doing to help others come into His kingdom?
• Am I encouraging and helping others in the faith grow in Him?

Oh Father, thank You that You let me into Your kingdom. Thank You for letting me be part of Your work.   Would you please empower me to live so that my life brings You glory.  Help me stay positive at my job and keep a servant's heart so  that You would be honored.  Help me be smart and fix problems at work and make things better so that You can get the glory.  Be with me at Prison ministry so that You would speak through me and be a source of encouragement, truth, help and an example for those young men.  Oh Father, show me daily if there's something specific that You want me to do and help me be sensitive to Your leading.  Sometimes I feel exhausted and like I don't have the energy that I need for it all.  Please give me wisdom and self discipline to eat, exercise, and live in ways that keep me healthy for my life and all I need to do.  Please empower and energize me by Your Holy Spirit within me to be up for the life/ministry before me.  May I be a source of wisdom, encouragement, and love to Daniel as we talk each week.  May I be a good helper to John and a source of love, encouragement and affirmation.  Even though we don't talk much, show me ways to be a positive source for Your kingdom in Devon, Rachel, Dylan, Liz and my grandchildren's lives.  Thank You that I can always come to You Lord.

Glorifying of the adopting grace

Photo from Living Grace Fellowship

I'm still thinking about Ephesians 1:4-6.  

God loves all humanity so much that He made us the focus of His love.  God loves me so much that I am the focus of His love.

What affect does, or should, that have on me?

I read a compelling post on this very topic by John Piper over at Desiring God. I want to look at 3 quotes from that post here:

"I think, if you said to the average American student that “being loved” is not an experience that terminates on you, they would look at you with perplexity and wonder: Where else would it terminate? I’m the one being loved. How could it not finally be about me? That’s why it feels so good — someone finally took notice of me. Cared for me. Valued me. And that sense is so strong and so natural and so obvious to most people that the thought that there might be a better way to be loved, a more satisfying way to be loved, a stronger way, is simply inconceivable."

"God loved us in eternity before we were created, and he planned to make us his children by adoption. And the aim of this love was “the praise of the glory of his grace.” He loved us this way that we might praise his grace. The ultimate aim of our adoption is the glorifying of adopting grace. A regenerate person loves to praise God’s grace in our adoption. A nominal Christian simply loves the natural benefits of adoption."

"The final decisive question is: Why does God, who loves us so much, and who makes much of us so extremely, remind us again and again that he does all this for his own glory? Why does God remind us over and over that he makes much of us in a way that is designed ultimately to make much of him?
The answer is this: Loving us this way is a greater love. God’s love for us, that makes much of us for his glory, is a greater love than if he ended by making us our greatest treasure, rather than himself. Making himself our end is a greater love than making us his end. The reason this is greater love is that self, no matter how glorified by God (Romans 8:30), will never satisfy a heart that is made for God. God loves you infinitely. He sent his Son to die that he might have you, and that you might have him (1 Peter 3:18). He will not let you settle for wonderful and happy thoughts of self. Not even a saved, glorified self. He will not let your glory, which he himself creates and delights in, replace his glory as your supreme treasure. That would not be love."


2 Corinthians 5:14 notes that: For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (NIV)

Roy Allen notes that this word compel "means to powerfully urge along a line of conduct. Force is not involved, but some impulse is so great that it evokes a strong intellectual and emotional inclination to respond appropriately. In this case, the impulse is the love of Christ, which is so immense that it demands a response as complete and radical as His love for us."

So, what does a complete and radical response to this great love look like?

 Matthew 22:34-40 records when a lawyer asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment and was told that the first is for us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is for us to love our neighbor like ourselves.


Jason Rouchie makes the point that "From the heart “flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23), and without one’s will, desires, passions, affections, perceptions, and thoughts rightly aligned, the life of love is impossible"

How do I align my will, desires, passions, affections, perceptions, and thoughts?

The only way I know if through prayer, reading the Word, and gratitude. By taking time each day to bare my heart before the Lord, to be quiet, and lean in to Him.  By reading His Word and thinking about it.  When I watch a movie, scenes from it will play over in my mind.  When I become entrenched in the Word, it changes the way I think.  Living a life a gratitude causes me to look at things differently.  Gratitude causes me to be on the look out for ways God is blessing me each day and to express my appreciation.

Loving people rides on the heels of loving God because God loves people.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 tell me that I am to have a ministry of reconciliation.  To reconcile means to win over to friendliness, to bring into agreement or harmony, to restore.  

I adore the way Peterson paraphrases some of the word in Philippians 4:4-5 by saying that we're to Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them.

These are the kinds of activities my life should be about. As I'm thinking of this some very specific life situations come to my mind:

• My medical director at work who's always trying to pull me into his alliances against other doctors or my DON.  I need to stop speaking poorly about him.  I need to speak words to him of ways we can work together.
• I need to not get upset at my husband when he does little things that I find irritating.  I need to pray for God's strength in me to over look offenses and work to be strongly united.
• I need to seek to work together with my DON at work and leave the many problems with her integrity, manipulations and lying to God.
• I need to ask the Holy Spirit to make me aware of when I'm getting an attitude toward people or looking down on them. To quicken a desire in me to want everyone's good.

Oh Father, help me be completely Yours.  May my will, desire, passions, affections, perceptions and thoughts be rightly aligned.  Oh Father produce in me the fruit of self discipline.  Help me be able to get up earlier each day so I can spend more than 5 minutes with You.  Help my heart to be stayed on You all day long.  Give me Your love for others.  Give me Your grace that I will get into work together with people instead of alliances against them.  Help me never to enter into the sin of other people but always to love them and show them that I am on their side as a human being.