There is but one
God, with whom none can be compared. He
has created all things so He must be above all things. Everything takes their being from Him. Genesis 1.1 tells us everything we need to
know in that regard. All Judeo-Christian
belief and faith flows from that one statement that, "In the beginning
God…" The truly amazing thing about
this God is that He is personal, involved and loving. He has chosen to reveal Himself without a
fierce desire to destroy us who transgress against Him. A king would never permit his subjects to
ignore his commands the way the Lord does.
He has chosen a people for Himself that they might display His glory to
the world. He has offered them
protection and covenant blessing simply because of His nature of mercy and
grace. The covenant people persist in
that relationship in spite of their sin because He chooses to forgive them. He is not a god like any other, He is both great
and good. We should indeed rejoice and
sing!
Jesus was attracting
great crowds to His healing and teaching.
People were coming to hear Him teach and to be healed by Him. He withdrew to the mountain and called to
Himself those whom He desired, the twelve we know as the
disciples/apostles. What would it have
been like to get that call, to hear your name called? It has happened to you if you are a
Christian. He has called you to be both
His disciple, one who learns from Him and is learning to be like Him, and He
has also called you to be His apostle, one who tells about Him, shares in His
teaching and healing ministry. You have
been called by name and appointed to those two roles. You have all you need to do these things, you
have been given the Holy Spirit. You
have only to live from that place rather than the place of your desires in
order to fulfill the mission you have been given. You are forgiven, you are redeemed, you are
empowered.
He gave "
the apostles, the prophets, the
evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the
work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature
manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…" We don't simply get a big download of
information and abilities that is all we need when we accept Jesus or even when
we are filled with the Holy Spirit. There
is continual growth expected in the Christian life. We need one another for maturity. That list at the beginning of this paragraph
includes most everyone in the church.
The point of our life together is encouragement, growth and joy. Do we take community for granted or do we
rejoice in God's gift to us?
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