Tag: Body of Christ

Respond In Love

How do you respond to God when He wants to use you on behalf of a group?  Nehemiah stopped, wept, repented for his people, prayed and fasted.  Gideon questioned the LORD multiple times, and even accused God of abandoning His people.

man wearing white dress shirt and black necktie
Photo by bruce mars on Pexels.com

Unintentional Damage

My jobs as the Research & Care Coordinator and the Cross Cultural Guide both deal with a variety of sensitive issues.  Too often people are hurt by misfire, friendly fire, or even collateral damage.  If you are an active believer, living in step with the Spirit, you know what it’s like to feel on the “frontlines” as though you were in a spiritual war because you are.  Paul reminds the believers of his time to put on the armor of God and to fight like a good soldier.  We must remember who our enemy is and who our family is.  Too often when someone in the family says something that we don’t understand, instead of assuming the best, we turn to attack each other – especially when we are speaking about sensitive subjects like race.

Example: I recently heard a white staff guy say that when people of color speak about wanting to lead in their culture, that he hears “I can only lead if you (white people) leave”.  He was angry and hurt and felt as though he isn’t wanted and is being pushed out as we talk about diversity and the need for others at the table.  This is a lie from the enemy, not from our family.  God wants all of His children to be part of His work so that He may be glorified through the unique skills, gifts, and perspectives of each person in the body of Christ.  Each person plays a part, and on this side of eternity, we also represent people groups as we play that part.

Nehemiah saw the shame of his people, not just the destruction caused by others and he asked God for forgiveness of his people after confessing their sins.  He then went on to rebuild his city and he wasn’t seeking the revenge of his people but rather the strengthening of them.  As a family, we need to see when the destruction around us, in our communities, is the work of the enemy and focus our energy toward rebuilding each other in love.  If we have hurt someone unknowingly in our communication, confess & apologize and seek to speak more lovingly.

We Are Family

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” – Revelation 7:9-10

Christian History  Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16 tells us about three main Jewish Festivals. First, the Festival of Unleavened Bread had the wavesheaf as the firstfruits of barley; this foreshadowed Yahshua himself the firstfruit of man resurrected to eternal form. The Festival of Harvest is the 2nd festival, seven weeks later. It is the day which two loaves of bread are made with yeast were offered as the firstfruits of the wheat harvest; a foreshadow of the Hebrews and Gentiles being the firstfruit of a now joined people, the people of Yahweh. 

Biblical Understanding  In Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost, we see the Holy Spirit give different languages to the believers in Jesus just a week after He ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to bring attention to Jesus through His willing and obedient children. Through the different languages given to them, these believers were able to grab the attention of thousands from various nations who were in town to celebrate the festival of Harvest. When the crowd heard something in their own language, related to their culture, they were attracted to the Jews who believed in Jesus. Peter confidently grabbed a holds of this opportunity and gave testimony to who Jesus is, what He did on the cross, and how God raised Him and later brought Him to heaven. On that day 3000 came to believe Jesus is the Christ as a result of the Holy Spirit working through the disciples to  interact cross-culturally.

Taylor & Alison
Spoke at Salisbury with Taylor & Allison, students from last years Summer Mission to Puerto Rico.

Within the last month, I had several opportunities to share with people from Acts 2. God desires that we steward our ethnicity, the cultural values that we come from, the culture we currently lived in, and all who He’s created us to be so that many more will enter His family. At the end of chapter 2, we see that this new community, called Christians (as a derogatory term), are together daily studying scripture, praying, eating, and caring for those around them in need. As a result, the Holy Spirit works through their united diverse community and loving compassion for the outsider to bring people into a relationship with Jesus daily!

Imagine what that could look like in the Christian evangelical world of the United States!