Great enough for life - (Not so) Wordless Wednesday

A Secret Place

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the LORD,

He is my refuge and my fortress:

my God;

in Him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,

and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with His feathers,

and under His wings shalt thou trust:

His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;

nor for the arrow that flieth by day;

Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;

nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side,

and ten thousand at thy right hand;

but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold

and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the LORD,

which is my refuge,

even the most High,

thy habitation;

there shall no evil befall thee,

neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For He shall give His angels charge over thee,

to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands,

lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:

the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon Me,

therefore will I deliver him:

I will set him on high,

because he hath known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him:

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him,

and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him,

and shew him My salvation.

Psalm 91

 

Let us be still to hear the whispers of God. 

~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Hope and Love of Christ

A girl child has not been the one hoped for in many countries and cultures.

A healthy boy has been many times more valuable during our history.

History tells how Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans threw away the unfit children.

There are many findings of newborn skeletons in the sewer systems of the Great Antique Civilizations.

Both Plato and Aristotle argued that parents should not let disabled and unwanted children to live.

Such children should be left to die at birth or later on in life.

A Roman husband had the choice to leave his child to die during the first days of the infant’s life.

It is a new way of thinking to give value to just any human life.

To value human life, simply because it exists.

It is one of the characteristics of Christian way of thinking and the teachings of the Christ.

During His years here on the earth Jesus exalted the value of children to unknown heights.

According to Paul there is no difference between men and women, Jews or Gentiles, or slaves or free men in Christ.

Unique value

The unique value of each and every person has been the motivation thriving the Christian work throughout the centuries.

The Christians know and acknowledge the Golden Rule, to do to others what we want to be done to us.

The world around us is suffering; there is poverty, hunger, violence, wars, and loneliness in abundance.

Our calling as Christians is to help all the people.

To defend the unique value of each and every person and the righteousness in our society and neighborhood.

We cannot change the world and help everyone.

But it is good to remember that great rivers are born from little creeks.

We can make a difference where we are, right now.

Our church can bring hope in Christ and His love to people around us.

I can bring His courage to the people next to me.

Peace in God gives the foundation that everyone needs.

Do the Christians need to be members of a church?

The Church in New Testament was founded when the Holy Spirit filled the congregation in Jerusalem during the Pentecost.

The members of the congregation were filled with the power and were able to testify to people from other nations in their own languages.

Peter preached to the people gathered and declared that this was the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel.

Peter also declared truths about Jesus Christ and 3000 people were saved that day because of his speech.

Church of Christ is formed by the people who believe in Jesus and confess Him as their Lord King and Savior in their lives.

In this sense, there only exists one Church of Christ, one giant congregation of all the people who believe in God.

2 On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. ² Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. ³ Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. ⁴ And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Acts 2:1.4 (NLT)

In the early days of the Christian Church there existed a close and intimate contact between the different members.

 

The true love of Jesus Christ made them one family.

 

The evangelism was preached to the Jews first but afterwards also to the Gentiles, and new congregations were born.

 

Bible declares clearly that Jesus Christ is the head of the Church.

 

He is the Leader and the Shepherd, over everyone else.

 

But with His Holy Spirit He designates people into different services and offices of the ministry.

 

There are different gifts that Christ has given to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers.

 

All these gifts and offices of the ministry of the Holy Spirit are given for the church and to the different congregations so they could grow, develop, strengthen and give birth to new congregations.

The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit

²⁸ “Then, after doing all those things,
    I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
    Your old men will dream dreams,
    and your young men will see visions.
²⁹ In those days I will pour out my Spirit    even on servants—men and women alike.³⁰ And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—    blood and fire and columns of smoke.³¹ The sun will become dark,    and the moon will turn blood red    before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.³² But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord    will be saved,for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,    just as the Lordhas said.These will be among the survivors    whom the Lord has called. Joel 2:28-32 (NLT)

Paul wrote a letter to the local congregations so that they would maintain a healthy belief and Christian life, and so that they could keep Jesus Christ as the center of their faith.

 

Bible describes the congregations and the church as a body that has different members.

 

The members are very closely united to each other and need each other in different ways.

 

When Holy Spirit raises and gives birth to different kinds of congregations in the same town we should take this as a demonstration of spiritual richness.

 

The call of each congregation is to declare Jesus Christ as the Lord.

 

Different kinds of Christian homes are resources for us and part of the richness of the Kingdom of God.

 

The congregations are made from people, each member is just a recovering sinner, and thus we are not perfect.

 

The congregations made here on earth are not, and cannot, be perfect.

 

¹¹ Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. ¹² Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-12 (NLT)

And when we encounter this imperfection we should not be discouraged, it is just part of the imperfect world where we live.

 

The church will be truly perfect in Heaven, when we are together with God in His Kingdom.

 

These imperfections should not be a cause to withdraw and draw back from the congregation.

 

We are all recovering sinners and no one is better than another, we all need God’s mercy and forgiveness.

 

In some sense the whole New Testament embodies the importance and significance of the Christian Church and congregation.

 

Without local congregations we would not have strong Christianity.

 

Without a good and loving contact to a church a new born Christian might easily got stranded in the beginning of his new life in Christ.

 

A living church gives us all the support and teaching that each and every Christian needs.

 

I believe that the Holy Spirit wishes to lead every Christian to a local church where they can experience a true closeness in the Holy Spirit and find their own gifts and ministries and serve others with them.