GOD MAKES THINGS GROW

“What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”  (1 Corinthians 3:5-7 Berean Study Bible)

I truly believe that we are being called [by God] to reach out in bold and new ways and to experience phenomenal growth as a church, not for the purpose of pride and power, but because we have something great to offer -- something the world cannot live without… It is the Good News revealed through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through the life-giving presence of the Holy Spirit.

-- Rev. Michael Roberts in the “Arkansas United Methodist” 


#4670

GOD’S CALL ON EACH OF US

"Come, follow Me," Jesus said, "and I will send you out to fish for people."  (Matthew 4:19 NRSV)

There was a woman in one of the churches I pastored who, it seemed to me, was always picking on me.  She seemed sure that her young pastor was unable to do anything just the way it should be done.  One day she lectured me about the way I did funerals.  She let me know, in no uncertain terms, that I had better make the gospel exceedingly clear in my funeral sermons, because she had friends and relatives who would be at her funeral who might never hear the gospel if they did not hear it at her funeral.  I didn't mean to be offensive as I blurted out, "Mrs. Jones, don't blame me for that."

We all have responsibilities to carry out God's call to witness and to serve.  And we had better get on with responding to that call right away.  Whether it be death or the sound of the trumpet that heralds His coming, there will be an end to the time that we have available to address those urgent concerns.

-- Tony Campolo in “Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God”


#4636

OFFERING CHRIST

“Then Peter said, ‘Look at us!’ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’"  (Acts 3:4-6)

As I thought about our church and the many other churches within our community I wondered, what we can actually offer. Most churches do not have the financial and material resources that most unemployed people need – such as housing, food, utilities, jobs, and medical resources. But I was reminded once again of what the church DOES have. Churches DO have Jesus! And Jesus is who people really need. Jesus can bring people into a relationship with Almighty God who Himself owns all the resources on a thousand hills. And He’s the One the church can offer to the community. The church’s mission is to introduce people to JESUS.

Scripture says “My GOD shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory IN CHRIST JESUS.” (Philippians 4:19) Only Jesus can truly satisfy the emptiness in the human heart. Only Jesus can forgive sins. Only Jesus can encourage us by His abiding presence in overcoming fear. There is no better way to encourage someone than to tell them about Christ and His love.

-- Michael W. Bilsza, excerpted from a letter to the editor in the Coshocton Beacon


#4635

OFFERING GOD’S LOVE

Offering God's love to another person and inviting someone else to follow Jesus multiplies both the inner qualities of spiritual fruitfulness and the outward impact of service more than anything else we could possibly do.  Living fruitfully includes passing along the faith and creating spiritual life in others.  Fruitful living involves inviting others to the spiritual life.

Offering God's love so that others may accept God's grace bears fruit beyond what we can fathom.  Imagine if as a consequence of you following Christ and your invitation, a few other people explore the spiritual life who otherwise might not have done so.  Imagine if these people eventually embrace following Jesus themselves, mature in faith, and make a difference in the world through their service, mission and giving.  Imagine how the people you invite to faith intermingle with the lives of countless other people you do not know.  The fruit in your life multiplies in unseen and unknowable ways when we offer God's love.  The grace of God is replicated, repeated, and shared.  Seeds are scattered, some take root and bear fruit in ways beyond what we can comprehend.

-- Robert Schnase in “Five Practices of Fruitful Living”


#4266

GOD’S LIFE-GIVING OFFER

“They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the LORD for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”  (Psalm 107:5-9 NIV)

Lost, hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, these wanderers typify the Israelites in exile. But they also typify anyone who has not found the satisfaction that comes from knowing God. Anyone who recognizes his or her own lostness can receive the offer of Jesus to satisfy these needs. Jesus is the way (John 14:6), the bread from heaven (John 6:33,35), the living water (John 4:10-14), and the giver of rest (Matthew 11:28-30). Have you received His life-giving offer?

-- from “The Life Application Study Bible”

#4128

OFFERING CHRIST

Pashi was a student in our local college. He was from India, and when presented with the claims of Christ, Pashi’s devastating reply was: “I would like to believe in Christ. We of India would like to believe in Christ. But we have never seen a Christian who was like Christ.”

Come to think of it, neither have I.

We believers are all merely pilgrims in progress, encumbered with disagreeable genes, trying -- and in the process being found “trying indeed.” The very term Christlike is confusing. In what way are we to be like Him? In His ability to heal, to teach, to cast out demons? To face His accusers silently? I think the term has to do with Christ’s attitude toward His Father’s will.

“I delight to do Thy will” (Psalm 40:8, KJV).

Whatever the true meaning, I was feeling we Christians had let the Lord down. I decided to call our co-worker and friend, Dr. Akbar Haqq, a brilliant Christian who once was president of the Henry Martyn School of Islamic Studies in New Delhi.

“How would you answer Pashi?” I asked him.

“I would tell him, ‘I’m not offering you Christians,'” Akbar answered decisively. ‘I am offering you Christ.'”

-- Ruth Bell Graham in Legacy of a Pack Rat

#4053

TELLING THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”  But not everyone welcomes the Good News, for Isaiah the prophet said, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.  (Romans 10:13-17 NLT)

Telling the good news about Jesus is the unique business of the church. The YMCA has excellent camping and recreation programs. There are many effective social service agencies in our communities. Multitudes of clubs and organizations welcome our people's participation and involvement. We can offer those around us only one thing that these organizations do not already offer -- JESUS CHRIST. We must be careful not to water down the message with a vague theism.

-- Michael Slaughter in Beyond Playing Church


#4045

OFFERING CHRIST

Offering God's love multiplies the fruitful life.  By offering Christ, we complete God's grace, the grace we received when we invited God into our lives and made room for Him in our hearts.  The receptivity that opened our hearts to God opens doors to others.  Our lives become a doorway through which people enter into spiritual life.  God with us becomes God through us.  As we invite and encourage others into the life of Christ and stimulate their spiritual exploration, we perceive God working through us.  We become "ambassadors for Christ, since God is making His appeal through us" (2 Corinthians 5:20).  Grace becomes tangible through invitations.

-- Robert Schnase in Five Practices of Fruitful Living

#3744

OFFERING CHRIST

The most mysterious element of the decline of mainline churches is our unwillingness to invite others in a gentle, authentic, and natural way. It's as if we believe that what we have experienced in our faith journey is of no value. Somewhere the movement characterized by "go to" instincts settled into a "come to" church, and the deliberate, searching, seeking, sharing, outward-focused quality of discipleship quieted into a restrained passivity that waits for people to find us. We have developed an attitude that says, "Let those who know nothing of God's love come to their senses and show up at our place on Sunday morning." We can do better.

The initiating and invitational posture is essential to discipleship. Invitation complete us --  there are depths of the inner life that remain beyond our experience without offering Christ. The receptivity that opens us to God leads us to encourage, welcome, and support others. Invitation continues God's love. In us, the Word becomes flesh once more.

-- Robert Schnase in Five Practices of Fruitful Living


#3512