aSacredRebel

unstoppable

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47, NRSV)

So how does a church grow?

Is this the same as Mary how does your garden grow?

Well a church grows not by having a good pastor. Or even by having a great pastor…

A church grows because they are an Acts 2:42 church. They are devoting themselves to teaching and fellowship, to breaking of bread and praying. They are gathering for worship and allowing the word of the Lord to infect their lives.

They will also not hold anything back, or look out for selfish gain. They will give as the Spirit fills them and flows through them, and give to all in need as the need.

This is how a church grows and if this is how the church is growing it will be unstoppable, because God is in it!

Advent Picture a day 2014

I have been doing picture devotionals for several years now and find them interesting.

So I am going to be completing a picture a day devo for Advent 2014 and I invite you to join me.

Above is the picture for the journey.

Make sure you comment here with your blog so I can follow your journey, or post your links as comments on my posts. or use the hashtag #picadayadvent to tag it. Have fun with this!

Here is a picture that is formatted for Instagram.

surprise!

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46, NRSV)

There are many things to this texts that are interesting…

But the one that sticks out to me most on this reading is that both groups, the righteous and the others, are surprised by the outcome…

The righteous did not know when they had done these things to Jesus. They were mearly helping out their fellow men, and come to find out when they did something to the last, the least, the little, and the lost, they were actually serving Jesus.

And the same for those on His left. They did not know when they over looked Jesus. But when they did not help the last, the least, the little and the lost, they over looked Jesus.

You see we do not really know what we are doing and the actions we think matter are insignificant in the Lord’s eyes. We need to see through His eyes, and look upon people the way he does. We need to see the face of our Lord in every person that we see. All our Him and by serving others we are serving Him.

We can not make it on our own, only through the grace of God and by loving our neighbor as our Lord did. reaching out to the last, the lost, the least and the little…

Will you be surprised?

all is the Lord’s!

The earth is the LORD’S and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it; for he has founded it on the seas, and established it on the rivers. Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false,and do not swear deceitfully. They will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of their salvation. Such is the company of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. (Psalm 24, NRSV)

Have you ever thought about all the things you own?

And where they came from?

We think we work hard and save and move up the ladder of success and get bigger and better things, and all of this is our own doing…

Not so much.

Everything in the world, including the world belongs to God. eminent domain belongs to the Lord. Everything we have been given has come from Him. Regardless of how much work we think we have put into it, regardless of how much time and sweat and whatever else we can come up with, it all belongs to the Lord and He can reclaim it at anytime.

But here is the kicker to all of this. This is really great news! Because that means we are His as well! Everything is His and He is in control. So follow Him and let Him give you the life He has in store for you.

unity

The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. (Ephesians 4:11-16, NRSV)

We try to predict the end of the world by Biblical passages and things that are happening.

But if we read this passage, it is clear when the kingdom of God will arrive. When we all have come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.

When we have come to unity in Christ that is when the kingdom will come….

Until then we have been given tools or gifts to use for the building up of the body and for sharing the love we have been given.

We need to use our gifts for the betterment of the body and to show the grace, mercy and love we have received.

given

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, NRSV)

to each…

Not to some. Not to the ones who accept, or acknowledge, but to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good! We are given a gift from the Holy Spirit for the good of the world!

All of these gifts are not the same, but have the same source, and are activated by that same Spirit. And the gift is given so that we may make God’s love known in the world.

So use the gift the Spirit has given you to show forth His love, mercy and grace to all the world. For the common good of the world He created!

parts

For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. (Romans 12:4-8, NRSV)

In the body there a lot of parts…

Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body has over 13,000 entries…

And are there parts we can live without?

We can live with only one kidney.

We have many members of society that do not have their tonsils, or appendix, or thyroid, or pineal glands…

But do you know that each of these “useless” parts of the body actually do serve a function.

The tonsils protect the throat from infection, as well as the rest of the body.

The appendix lessens the chances of a person getting leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, cancer of the colon and cancer of the ovaries.

These parts once thought useless are being shown to actually have a part.

Just as each of us has a part on the body of Christ. We are all needed and none of us are to think of ourselves more highly than we ought.

We are all a part of the body of Christ and we need each other, and are dependent on the other to be there to do their part.

serve

The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11, NRSV)

What is the gift you have received?

Are you good with numbers?

Are you good with kids?

Are you good with listening?

Are you musically talented?

There are so many different gifts and so many ways in which to use them…

So how are you in the game? How are you using the talent that God gave you to spread His love to others?

Love each other with the tools you have been given by God to use, and spread His love through the use of that gift in service to the world!

I was afraid…

As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. (Luke 19:11-26, NRSV)

What would you do if you had no fear?

I mean really what would you do?

The third slave here was afraid of what his master would do, so rather than use the gift he was given, he hid it to keep it safe.

Do we do that with our lives?

Do we hide away and not live our lives out loud, to show what our master has given us?

Are we afraid of God? Now don’t get me wrong, I think God wants us to be afraid of Him, in a holy sort of way, in the way parents want their children to fear them. Not in a way that keeps us from living and using what He has given us.

So do not fear God because He will punish you, but use what He has given you in service of those around you and get Him a return on His investment!

journey

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 25:14-30, NRSV)

It is a hard set of verses. For if the master here is God, is God a harsh man?

And how are we to interpret this?

Well we are all given talents, and if we don’t use them then we will have to answer to God for why we did not use them.

But how are we to know how to use them? And did we get it right?

Vocation has become a destination. Our calling in life has become a place we must get to.

But God never intended our gifts to be used in one way and only one way. He never intended for one destination of a calling.

Our lives are meant to be journeys with Him, and His body. We need to use the gifts He has given us in service to Him as we journey with Him and others through this life.

If we use the talents and gifts He has given us, then we are not being lazy, but utilizing what He has given us.

Does that mean we will always do the right thing and everything will be hunky dory? No. We will fail and fall on our faces, but He will be there to pick us up and help us to move forward.

So use you gifts and talents as you journey with God here in this place. Showing forth His love, grace and mercy for all creation.