Each part

P 3301 Our love of God = love of others.

/ DVH

“This is how we can be sure that we love the children of God: by having a passionate love for God and by obedience to His commands. True love for God means obeying His commands, and His commands don’t weigh us down as heavy burdens. You see, every child of God overcomes the world, for our faith is the victorious power that triumphs over the world. So who are the world conquerors, defeating its power? Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:2-5 TPT.

Do you see that? We don’t obey because we must — we obey because we want His goodness, mercy and love to win! I love the bit that says we can overcome the world simply because we believe the gospel. Our belief in Jesus, as God’s Son, is our victory. Plus our chosen obedience is another outward illustration of how much we love our brothers and sisters. We are not just a clump of disconnected people who happen to worship together Sunday by Sunday. We are the living breathing Bride of Christ Himself. 

We are interconnected, as well as dependent upon each other – what happens to one, happens to all. Just try hitting your finger with a hammer and wait for the rest of your body to explain to you how it doesn’t like that very much!  Plus, this thought is also a good thing to remember, the next time the lady next to you is a bit pitchy in her singing, and her kid has the fidgets. 

“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”  Colossians 2:18,19. “He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” Ephesians 4:16. 

To be healthy as a Christian we need to be connected to Him and that leads to interconnection. When there are disruptions or difficulties – we need to realise that in the body of Christ, I could be an eyelash and you could be a toe, or even maybe something internal. So we will see this world from a very different POV! When I discovered this verse … I understood that JESUS makes the body fit together and my job is to support and help the other parts to do what they are here to do, with His help. 

I don’t have to make sense of other people’s rationale, I simply need to pray for them, and love them. I read another verse that says: “Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].” 1 Peter 4:8. Simply put, that verse means the kind of love that is ‘a deep, and fervent love. Together with the kind of forgiveness that will overlook faults, reduce conflict, and promote healing in our relationships — rather than amplifying mistakes.’

What we lack most of the time, isn’t about exercising patience, restraint or perseverance, it is God’s love flourishing in us, expressed through us. That kind of unconditional, always patient and kind love, has the power to change someone else’s life, without even speaking a word. And if we do speak, because of His love whatever we say, will be one of those “apples of gold in settings of silver” I am always rattling on about. (Proverbs 25:11) Instead of out and out correction, let’s focus on what the other person does that is praiseworthy, full of grace, and positive and uplifting. And tackle the sin, not the person. Focussing on what’s wrong pulls anybody down into a defensive position. But God’s Word enables, it lifts up! People are happy to stand up in the light of His love, because His love won’t ever lead to despair. 

We can miss out on His wisdom and benefits, when we use the word of God like a hammer instead of a sword. A sword can cut people free of restraints. A hammer does damage. This is why our meetings together are always incredibly important, because then we have a chance to build up each other’s faith. We can exhort each other into the greatness of Who He is – rather than stare at ‘what a failure I think I am.’ Our commonality is in Jesus. If I love Him and you love Him, then we have that in common. But our primary goal is to love Him first. 

When we love each other, we are loving Him. Each person in front of us has been made in His image  “… Let us make man in Our image…” Genesis 1:26. I may need to pray and look carefully at the other person, yet even though His image is there, sin may cloud it. But when we choose to live our lives belonging to Him, His image is there. Living in Love is not just a theme, it becomes everything we do, simply because we want to stay close to Him and each other. I try to focus first on the Lord, on what He says, not just on the other person. When He is in the place that belongs to Him, everything else falls in behind that. 

We can sadly, quite easily forgo loving each other, staying with ‘like’ instead of ‘choice.’ But when we find the Lord in that other person, and focus on Him, then we can love them. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, …” Matthew 6:33. These other things will follow. Bye 👋

P 3138 Be real.

/ DVH

Let’s actively work at being real. We have all become so tied up in our own thoughts and superficial communications with each other, that we are barely skimming the surface of what God intended to exist within the Body of Christ. One of our greatest strengths is being over-looked — it’s becoming one with each other. Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

“There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. We were all baptised by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.

Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell?  God has placed each part in the body just as hHe wanted it to be.  If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body?  As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.

The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honour. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And He has given more honour to the parts that didn’t have any. In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honoured, every part shares in its joy. You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.”

This is a huge portion of scripture, but I believe it is often overlooked – except when we squabble with each other about which gift is important! Somehow we have convinced ourselves that having coffee and cake in the break at church means we are having real fellowship. I don’t think that for minute. Many churches seem to rely upon the individual to care for themselves, so what about the verses that talk about ‘one another?’ I believe that praying for something that someone mentioned in the coffee and cake time … can be incredibly important.  People need to know they are loved, and cherished by the Lord, and us, at all times!  And the Holy Spirit wants to use each one of us to communicate those things to each other. 

I go to a church that has members all around the city I live in. Most of those church members work, so they don’t have “spare time” during the week. So when can we minister to one another? My answer is simple – do it at church, do it on the phone, do it by TEXT!  Ask the person who is suffering: ‘Would you like me to pray with you about that?’ If they say ‘yes’ then do it. If their pain is enough to make them uncomfortable or cry in front of you, then my advice is pray for them! We are not the ANSWER to each other’s prayers — but we can hold up someone’s arms when the heaviness of their pain means they feel they can’t go on. We need to join our prayers with anyone who is suffering, instead of saying: “I’ll pray for you” – do it NOW, on the spot!” 

That person who is not coping, is an elbow, or a toe in the Body of Christ and I should no more ignore their pain, than I would ignore physical pain in my own body. I once broke a teeny tiny bone in my foot. On the grand scale of things it was nothing, but it hurt anyway! And it meant I couldn’t walk properly or do any of the normal things that happened in my day. Pain is a terrible thing when you feel all alone. But if you know someone else cares about you enough to hold you up before His throne of Grace – then you begin to feel a little better. Make it a habit, when you meet with other Christians to make sure you ask: “Does anyone need prayer?”

Many churches have people in them who are shy or inexperienced with extemporaneous prayer. Because they are not in leadership roles, they can feel their prayers are minor. The power of God operates when we take faith steps – He healed Naaman, the Syrian commander, because a little girl was brave and spoke up. Let’s actively encourage the Body to minister healing, help, kindness, wherever they can. We make time for the sermon, and the worship and the announcements – how about we make time to minister to each other? 

Church members need an opportunity to help, to take a risk, and pray for someone else. A bonus benefit is that they will gain more trust and faith, when they realise they too can hear God well enough to help somebody. That is irreplaceable gain. It means the stress to be everybody, to everyone, comes off the leaders. The barriers that hold us back from gaining further knowledge of each other, must come down. You may not think you pray all that well, but when God Himself answers your prayers for your brother or sister – you knock that lie into the bin where it belongs.

I once prayed out loud in a prayer meeting, and I hadn’t met Jesus yet! I sure fooled the other participants, they didn’t talk to me about the gospel for months, they thought I already knew the Lord. Just because I prayed aloud in a group!  I think it is time we were REAL with each other. BTW, there’s nothing realer than “confessing your faults to one another.” Bye. 👋