Day 122: It Is Not About The Hand
Read: Ephesians 4:11 - 16
From another Email that my friends keep sending to me. What is God saying to you?
"You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want" ~Zig Ziglar
I was in the supermarket one day, and an older lady came down the aisle
whom I could barely see over the top of her groceries. I got somewhat
frightened because she seemed to be heading straight for me. She
screeched to a halt within a few feet of me, peered over her load,
wagged her finger, and said, "I left your church. I left your church".
So I said, "Well, if it’s my church, I think that was a very wise
decision. If it’s my church, I think I’m going to leave too." She said,
"Don’t you want to know why I left?" I said, "No, not particularly, but I
think I’m going to find out". And I was right. She said, "Young man,
You and your church weren’t meeting any of my needs".
I
answered, "I do not ever recollect seeing you before, let alone talking
to you, let alone knowing your needs. Did you ever tell anyone
specifically what your needs were?" She couldn’t recall that she had, so
I raised another question. "Can you tell me, if we have 5,000 people
sitting in that church, all with your same attitude, how anyone’s needs
are going to be met? If you reserve the right to have that attitude,
then you must give everybody the freedom to have that attitude. And if
everybody who exercises that freedom has that attitude, who on this
earth is going to do all the need-meeting?" Standing her ground, she
demanded, "Then you tell me who will."
Relieved, I said, "I
thought you’d never ask. This is what will work: when people stop
sitting in the pew saying, ’They’re not meeting my needs’ and start
saying, ’Whose needs can I meet?’ 'Whose needs should I be meeting?'
Then unmet needs will be met. When the servant spirit flourishes in a
congregation, then they minister to each other as unto the Lord."
Ephesians 4:12,13 says to us that '12 Their purpose is to prepare God’s
people to serve and to build up the body of Christ. 13 (And) This is to
continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge
about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we (will) measure up to
Christ, who is the standard.'
'15 Instead, as we lovingly
speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our (own) relationship to
Christ, who is the head. 16 He makes the whole body fit together and
unites it through the support of every joint. As each and every part
does its job, he makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in
love. (v. 15,16)' This is basically saying that we all have a job to do.
The human body does not exist to meet the needs of our hands. Our hands
exist to meet the needs of the body and in doing so gets its own needs
met. The Church (The Body of Christ) does not exist to meet our needs.
We exist to carry out the work of the Body in doing so our own needs are
met.
Let Us Pray: Lord, bless Your people in their work, and
give them the energy to reach all of Your children, even the most
needful. As Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, may their love “increase
and overflow for each other and for everyone else.” And grant them also
regular opportunities to recharge their own sense of Your love. Lord, grant Your people the grace to carry out their tasks with joy. As Paul
prayed for the Colossians, let them be “strengthened with all power”
according to Your glorious might, “bearing fruit in every good work.”
May Your love shine out through the love of the Church, The Body of
Christ, marching forward, in action. Thru Christ our Lord.
http://www.youtube.com/
Read: Ephesians 4:11 - 16
From another Email that my friends keep sending to me. What is God saying to you?
"You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want" ~Zig Ziglar
I was in the supermarket one day, and an older lady came down the aisle whom I could barely see over the top of her groceries. I got somewhat frightened because she seemed to be heading straight for me. She screeched to a halt within a few feet of me, peered over her load, wagged her finger, and said, "I left your church. I left your church". So I said, "Well, if it’s my church, I think that was a very wise decision. If it’s my church, I think I’m going to leave too." She said, "Don’t you want to know why I left?" I said, "No, not particularly, but I think I’m going to find out". And I was right. She said, "Young man, You and your church weren’t meeting any of my needs".
I answered, "I do not ever recollect seeing you before, let alone talking to you, let alone knowing your needs. Did you ever tell anyone specifically what your needs were?" She couldn’t recall that she had, so I raised another question. "Can you tell me, if we have 5,000 people sitting in that church, all with your same attitude, how anyone’s needs are going to be met? If you reserve the right to have that attitude, then you must give everybody the freedom to have that attitude. And if everybody who exercises that freedom has that attitude, who on this earth is going to do all the need-meeting?" Standing her ground, she demanded, "Then you tell me who will."
Relieved, I said, "I thought you’d never ask. This is what will work: when people stop sitting in the pew saying, ’They’re not meeting my needs’ and start saying, ’Whose needs can I meet?’ 'Whose needs should I be meeting?' Then unmet needs will be met. When the servant spirit flourishes in a congregation, then they minister to each other as unto the Lord." Ephesians 4:12,13 says to us that '12 Their purpose is to prepare God’s people to serve and to build up the body of Christ. 13 (And) This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God’s Son, until we become mature, until we (will) measure up to Christ, who is the standard.'
'15 Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our (own) relationship to Christ, who is the head. 16 He makes the whole body fit together and unites it through the support of every joint. As each and every part does its job, he makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. (v. 15,16)' This is basically saying that we all have a job to do. The human body does not exist to meet the needs of our hands. Our hands exist to meet the needs of the body and in doing so gets its own needs met. The Church (The Body of Christ) does not exist to meet our needs. We exist to carry out the work of the Body in doing so our own needs are met.
Let Us Pray: Lord, bless Your people in their work, and give them the energy to reach all of Your children, even the most needful. As Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, may their love “increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else.” And grant them also regular opportunities to recharge their own sense of Your love. Lord, grant Your people the grace to carry out their tasks with joy. As Paul prayed for the Colossians, let them be “strengthened with all power” according to Your glorious might, “bearing fruit in every good work.” May Your love shine out through the love of the Church, The Body of Christ, marching forward, in action. Thru Christ our Lord.
http://www.youtube.com/
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