Tag Archives: body of Christ

The Church

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Here is what I’ve been thinking about:

1. We need churches that are forward moving in the Lord (listening and looking to Holy Spirit to lead the way, to direct in the actual thing that any one congregation is to be about, to be a church willing to limit itself to the instruction of God through them for their community, the parish in which they are located – for instance).

2. We need pastors that are growing and alive in God, in order to take a congregation forward (a congregation will only grow or develop to the level of its pastors, the pastor is a cap on spiritual maturity, choose well who you put yourself under and where your agreement goes).

3. We must understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive at its core (think forgiveness, holiness, taking up your cross, for instance) and that to prioritize making church acceptable to the world is a serious tactical error (the principle is that we never negotiate with darkness, whether that is an abusive spouse, a tyrannical government, a thief, terrorists, a kidnapper demanding a ransom, and such – to negotiate only results in the demand increasing and contempt [for those too nice] growing).

In other words, to remain in place, to doubt the ability for the congregation to mature, to limit the call to cross-bearing, to make church ‘nice’ for people, is to bring contempt on the cross of Christ, the heart of The Father, and the ministry of Holy Spirit.

Capturing God’s Heart – Church – Volume 48

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We use the word church to indicate the place where we gather. We know church to be the building in which we come for worship, for teaching, and for fellowship in the body of Christ.

When our Bibles tell us to ‘care for the church’, as we read in Acts 20:29, we may immediately think of taking care of the building, the gatherings, the programs, Sunday service, prayer meetings, and such.

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” Acts 20:28

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Have you Drank from Marah Yet?

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Baptisms in UgandaA tiny passage in Exodus sums up the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Israelites were moving away from Egypt, away from the Red Sea and through the desert of Shur (15:22).

Very thirsty they came to a spring of water that was unfit to drink. It was bitter and the people complained against Moses who was leading them (15:24)

Moses then cried out to the Lord for help, upon which we read the simple answer. Here is a piece of wood, throw it in the water and the water will be sweet and fit to drink (15:25).

I cannot help but realize that the wood tossed into the water at Marah was a prophetic act turning out attention to the cross.

For the cross does this exact thing. The cross of Christ has turned bitter water sweet.

Where all has been bitter the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changes the context completely.

Instead of threat of death, we have sweet life.

Instead of fear of thirst, we are confident of provision.

Instead of bitter, life is eased, and expanded, and multiplied (go on to read through Exodus 15:27).

For those of us who walk with Christ we are called to the same ministry.

Our presence and our manner is meant to eliminate assignments unto death (we do not cooperate with condemnation), faith is meant to ease fear and the complaining that goes with it, and we are meant to bring a fragrance of Christ whereby the sweet returns to our days experiences.

This is the work of believer and of the church.

The entire conversation has been changed in the person of Jesus Christ. No longer need we nit-pick, no longer need we live in fear, no longer are we party to condemnation. Rather, we realize there is enough for everyone and we live this out in the world.

We realize that ‘bitter’ is part of the old way, the new way is ‘sweet’, we therefore bring gladness to the hearts around us, we open up the way for others.

Poverty and neglect shuts down options. Love opens it all back up again.

The church is called to love, but to do this it has to stop needing to be right, stop requiring payment for offenses, and stop keeping church life small and narrow.

A church that is pinched and suspicious, critical and condemning, hasn’t yet drank at the now-sweet waters of Marah, and hasn’t yet moved on to the oasis of Elim – God help us walk in grace and the work of Jesus Christ.

For otherwise, we may as well go back to Egypt.