¿¿You Caught Up??

"We can get so caught up with kingdom details" that we miss the actual goal, which is to pursue the King himself, and mature as his body; a dwelling place for him.

I have been doing a lot of rethinking and evaluation on what the word "church" actually means to me, and what I want it to look like in my life. The question I am posing today, is the same question I have been wrestling with myself for the last 3 years...¿What happened to simplicity of the Church of Acts?

Having been raised, practically my whole life, in a Christian environment, it is hard sometimes to know what I actually believe and what I have been socialized to believe. Children who grow in a predominantly Christian environment can be extremely "church-ed", so that answers to questions like: "What is the Church?" can sometimes come from auto-pilot instead of deep convictions of faith or even an experience with God himself. 

Sort of like when I use to go to Sunday school. When asked a question about the lesson, the answer was usually Jesus, God, or the Devil lol. Well I don´t want to approach my relationship with God this way, nor would I like to set this example for others. Church life is so important and directly connected with the way we and others experience and interrupt God.

It is recorded that Jesus only used this term "church" twice in the NT (Matthew 16:18, 18:17). The word "church" is primarily used by Paul in his epistles. Paul never refers to the church as a physical structure but as a dedicated group of disciples; a new race redeemed by the blood of Christ (Mounce's Expository Dictionary).

I wonder what the people in the book of Act would think about the modern day church. Or better, what does Jesus think? Of course Jesus looks at her with compassion and is entirely committed to seeing her  mature. Still, what does he think about her habits and indoctrinations?

My thing is this...if the church is indeed a group of people, and not a building, why are we so distracted in making it just that?! Why has the task of "doing/having church" become more important then the actual people that it consist of? The fact of the matter is this: Without real relationships, without covenant agape love, there is no church! You might have people, but minus the relationships and you have a nice entity with no power or influence outside of those four walls that contain it. I am not saying that non-Christians are unable to value and maintain real relationships. BUT... this "compelling love" that is spoken of in the NT to lay down our lives for one another, can only be born from that new life, that "new race" (1Peter 2:9).  I believe part of the reason the Gospel of Jesus Christ has made it so far is,  those men and women of Acts were committed to each other in deed, and not just in word.

Acts 2:42-47  describes the fellowship of the believers of the early church as this... 

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Verse 42 being a foundational verse for understanding the early church, describes a group of believers who lived together in a simple way. As they gathered, they discussed the scriptures, prayed, fellowship, and celebrated the Lord's Supper. They are not described as doing many, many different things. It is simple as opposed to something complex.

The church was, and is not a physical place. In the New Testament it primarily refers to the spiritual Body of Christ on the earth. "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints [holy ones] for the work of service, to the building up of THE BODY OF CHRIST; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the true knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Why then have many fallen into the idea of having church look any other way?  Don´t get me wrong. I am one for new expression, order, thinking ahead, and all that. Still I find it hard to accept that elaborate programs and church politics is what Jesus had in mind. Especially if this means over looking peoples actual needs for the sake of the task. Just because the model of the early church is primitive does not deem it as useless or unnecessary. 

The core values that I can see in the early church of Acts are these: They were Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-led, United/Together, Prayer-focused, Gospel-proclaiming , Scripture-tied, Generous/Giving.  Let us evaluate our church experiences, and ask the Lord to shake everything that is not founded in him. There is so much more of him to have, and is meant to be experienced in spirit and truth, as a body. Also don´t lose heart those of you have been disappointed by wrong representations of what church life should be...remember God always has a remnant! ;)


Thanks for reading!

¿Has he read your mail lately?

¿Have you ever had your personal mail read by someone you haven't seen in a while? Pretty intense stuff!  I recently had my mail read and I am feeling quite refreshed. It is that feeling of "yeah, you get me God." Knowing that God sees you and knows where you are, can either make you or break you. Either way you become so aware of him and how powerful he really is, he puts you in your place.

One incredible thing about God is, he not only reminds us of who he is and how powerful he is, he reminds us of who we are and what potential we have. I love how kindhearted he is.

The other day I was washing a few coffee mugs, one of them was chipped a bit. Right away I thought this is trash. Then I thought again, since it was part of a set of 6 that I use daily, just because it is broken doesn't mean it isn't any good. How many times have I dismissed a certain opportunity or situation that was less then perfection and tossed it away as trash. I missed a chance to see God work his stuff.

To embrace imperfection is to truly love (1Jn 4:7-12). Gosh, I know this is hard, but it is the bases of our christian faith.  For God so loved the world, he gave his son to people that were in fact clueless and selfish. Fully knowing that when they did realize who Jesus was, they in return, would give their lives. We don't want to fall far from this simple yet engulfing truth, it is pure freedom.

Sometimes we can become innocently (or not) sidetracked. We lose sight of the goal, we forget who he says we are. Granted sometimes, God will take us to places that have nothing to do with what he has promised (been there, done that) and we begin to doubt. We shouldn't let these situations keep us from giving our lives away as Jesus did for us. In other words die to yourself a bit so he can be glorified through you.  If We keep holding out for that ideal opportunity, we may never jump into our purpose. We have everything we need to make it, right where we are, with the people we are with. Beloved, "making it" isn't the goal. Aim for love-inspired obedience, and your life will be changed.

Well I am getting off my soap box now =) I think my daughter needs a diaper change, duty calls, literally!!!

 thanks for reading,
peonies & jade bangles

"Before your face, questions die away"

My heart if full, though refreshed. Been a while since I felt God dealing with me in such a way. I am finding a tenderness and a disposition that I am sure is beautiful to Him.

What a trying season we have been in and I am not afraid to admit it either. Wrestling with ourselves, dreams and wants, that in some way seem far from where we are now. Aiming towards a life that is pleasing to the Lord can be difficult at times, especially when you are not sure exactly how things will take shape or form.

Of course, you have the fundamental things to focus on in the mean time; loving your neighbor, exercising the fruit of the spirit, taking up your cross and following Jesus, none of these being exactly easy either.

What I have found to be true, in the midst of questions like "what, when, where, why and how", is to allow the Lord to give you himself. In other words, instead of a particular answer or list of how to's, you embrace Him as He is and allow Him to fill your need to know. Yes, I agree that there are times where one must press through and grab a hold of God for answers. But, in my experience, I have found that most of the time, He will simply say "worship me" or "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me" (Matt 11:29).  This attitude is pleasing to Him because it demonstrates great trust in Him.

One of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis says,  "I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?"  Such a beautiful confession to the Lord. A declaration of confidences in Him. This kind of relationship can not be fabricated or copied from someone else. This heart that is bent on God´s personal word to be faithful and finish what He has started, is actually put into us by God himself, if we allow his dealings.

I hope that we (especially me) can allow the Lord to bring us to this place where he is enough. Where all our questions, fears, aspirations would "die away" in the face of Him. That yes, he would "suffice" and be our greatest thing (Phil 3:7...).

pjb.

Consider The Lily

Woke up this morning thinking about the birds and lilies in Matthew 6.
What beautiful imagery. A carefree, wild, and fragrant lily whirling as the sun shines down. She really has nothing to worry about. She isn't even moved by the fact that her little life, as a flower, will soon come to an end after she blooms.

"Do not worry about your life."  Many of us are caught in this web of "what, when, where and how" , that we end up missing out on the now of our life.  I remember when I was single. My roommates would laugh at me, because there we were, mid summer, and I was already planning  for new years. It was like I was living from event to event, trip to trip and semester to semester and I couldn't help it. I was aiming towards something, and I didn't want anything else to take me away from that. But in reality, I was missing out on valuable things, found in the process of living...yes yes that process that we all hear about, but don´t stop to take in and find its beauty.  Oswald Chambers says "If we are not experiencing the "much more," it is because we are not obeying the life God has given us, we are taken up with confusing considerations."

With that said,  lets not be afraid to miss it. Since it's all found in the process anyway and "the end is just an incident of his faithfulness", we have complete freedom taking in the process and finding its beauty.  We are free from the obligation of achievements or success, and can only boast in his faithfulness and joy in our obedience.

thanks for reading!

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