You & Your Church

By: Jenifer Metzger

Now as we have many parts in one body,

and all the parts do not have the same

function, in the same way we who are

many are one body in Christ and

individually members of one another.

Romans 12:4-5 CSB

My husband leads our First Impressions ministry at our church and a couple of years ago one of his door greeters told him, "Thank you for letting me serve!" That was a first. We often say thank you to those who serve, but we've never had the one serving say thank you. It blew us away. This man got up early on a Sunday to come to church and stood at the door for an hour welcoming people, yet he took the time to thank us for the opportunity to serve. Wow.

I've served in various ministries for 35 years. It's an incredible blessing. It's also a lot of work. Earlier this month our church had VBS. Four nights of late nights, high energy, and ministering to over 100 kids. It was incredible, but it was also exhausting. Every Sunday my husband and I spend 5-6 hours at church working in different capacities. We leave church wore out and fall into bed for what my husband calls a "fat nap." Yet, it is still a blessing. Serving isn't always easy. It definitely isn't always glamorous. But it is always a blessing.

Often we see the word serve and automatically think hard work and time consuming -and yes, it can be those things at times, but that doesn't take away from the truth that serving your church is a blessing to not only your church but to you. Serving isn't a burden. It isn't an obstacle. It doesn't take is away from our socializing. It doesn't take away from our church experience. It's a blessing.

Whether you're serving at the front door welcoming people, teaching a kids class, playing an instrument, working media, cleaning a bathroom, or any other capacity, serving in your church is always a blessing. Whether you serve every Sunday or once a month, serving in your church is always a blessing.

If you already serve at your church, pause and think of why you started serving. Remember your why. Is it to see kids learn about Jesus? To see teens grow in their faith? To make sure everyone who walks through the doors feels welcomed and cared for? To make sure the church building is clean and inviting for all? What is your why? Think of it often and praise God for the opportunity to serve Him and your church.

If you aren't serving in your church, why? Your church needs you. I can't encourage you enough to first pray and ask God where He would have you serve. Then reach out to your pastor or ministry leader and tell them you want to serve. Don't assume there are plenty of people to cover everything. There's not. There never is. You are needed. God needs you to serve. Your church needs you to serve. You need you to serve. Be an active part of your church family and serve in that role with all your heart.

Discussion:
1. Do you currently serve in ministry at your local church? If so, what do you do and what is your why?
2. If you don't serve currently, where would you be interested in serving? Spend some time this week praying and ask God to lead you to the right ministry.

Fruits of the Spirit Series: Love

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: chris liu

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love..." ~Galatians 5:22a

As we dive deeper into our fruits of the Spirit series this week, we come now to the topic of love, the first fruit of the Spirit we will be studying together.

We live in a culture and time wherein there are a multitude of varying definitions of what love is and what it means. Some believe that to love someone means that you agree with and support anything and everything they ever do. Some believe it means never saying "no" or exercising boundaries. Others believe in the idea of "tough love" and never temper what they say or do with other fruits of the Spirit such as gentleness or kindness. 

For these reasons and more, it is important for us to allow Scripture to define for us what love is and what it is not. For that, we turn to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a:

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 

In other words, love is patient, kind, not envious of others, not prideful and arrogant, not rude and selfish, not easily angered, not given to jumping to conclusions about others, does not rejoice in evil but in truth, and is given to belief, hope, and endurance.

If the way we most often view and treat others does not reflect these characteristics, if we are easily angered with our children, if we regularly seek our own in our marriages, if we jump to conclusions about people, then no matter how much we might claim to love them, we are actually not exhibiting or practicing the love that is a fruit of the Spirit.

The love that comes from the Spirit (and remember - it does come from the Spirit! If you want to have this love in your heart for others, you will have to walk by the Spirit in close relationship with Him in order for Him to produce it in you!) must look like the way love is described in 1 Corinthians 13 or else it is not the love of the Spirit.

May we purpose to walk by the Spirit today and everyday, that we might have this love cultivated  in our hearts and show it to others daily.

Reflection Questions: 

1) What stood out to you about today's study?

2) Did anything about today's study surprise you?

3) In what ways are you exhibiting true love for others and in what ways are you not?

8 Love never fails. 

Our Hedge of Protection

 By: Joanne Viola

 

 

In my last post I shared about Job’s character, which you can read here. Job was a man who was “blameless, feared God, and shunned evil.” He walked in God’s ways.

Satan knew that and yet, he returns to God with an accusation:

“Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? 
You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.” 
(Job 1:10, NASB)

Basically Satan is accusing God of putting a hedge of protection around Job. This is an interesting accusation to say the least.

We know God does protect, although this is not to say, we will never experience difficult or painful situations. When God permits these things, it always serves a purpose in our lives.

In Job’s life, God removes His protection to a point, and Job does suffer, what is in my opinion, unbearable pain and loss.

But here is the thing: God is with him and Job remains faithful to God because he knows the goodness and mercy of God.

We need to remember that God does protect His people. Let’s look at a few of the promises which we have been given:

• “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.” (Psalm 3:3, NASB) The psalmist acknowledged in his circumstances then, and reminds us today, God surrounds us. He is about us. He is a shield which brings protection.
• “You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:5, NKJV) Again we see the idea of a hedge. A hedge is used as a boundary, which assures us God will only allow so much.
• “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.” (Psalm 125:2, NASB) God surrounds us with His grace and mercy, providing protection, so that we remain living our days with Him.

God knows what is best for us and does all He can to guide us. He hems us in, [encloses us], behind and before and puts His hand on us to keep us steadily on the right path.

God –
behind and before us,
our hedge of protection.

 

 

Reflection: 
God has surrounded us, protected us, and prevented harm from occurring, many times even when we were unaware. Which of these verses will you remember this coming week?

 

Image by Julia Casado from Pixabay 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought Life: What You Feed Will Grow

 By: Lauren Thomas

This year, I have enjoyed a beautiful new garden and have taken joy in the mature plants in my landscape. I thought about this while watering my plants this week. And it reminded me of a very important phrase – one that is a Biblical principle: what you feed will grow. 

 

Okay, that phrase is not in the Bible, but the concept is there! What about Galatians 6:7 where we read that we reap what we sow. Or what about the parables of the talents and minas? In these, the person who stewards what he has, is given more! In the Old Testament, blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience were laid out, and the people were exhorted: choose life that you might live!

 

What you feed will grow. 

That phrase can apply to many facets of life. But consider how it applies to your thought life. What you feed will grow. 

 

If you, like myself, are a chronic overthinker, you’re doing a lot of “feeding” every day. Feeding your thoughts deals with what you consume (social media, streaming services, movies, music, books) and with what you give space for in your mind. By this, I mean the time and space you give to certain topics; to replaying conversations; to analyzing situations; to processing thoughts, emotions and events; etc. All of these are instances of “feeding.”

 

This makes sense from a biblical perspective and from a neurobiological standpoint! What we “rehearse” is what “rewires” our brains. Our brains have neuroplasticity, meaning that they can change and be reshaped. This is done by repetition. As I continue to give focus and attention to something, I am strengthening neuropathways. I’m reshaping the very structure of my brain. 

 

What you feed will grow. 

 

Sounds great. Sounds practical. But how do we make this actionable?

1. Identify what you want to grow in your life and what you want to starve out. Yes, there might be some things in your life that need to be starved out. As you “starve them” they will not grow. They will shrink. They might even die away – through the power of the Holy Spirit in you!

2. When you notice yourself start to feed the wrong things, take those thoughts captive. 

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ

2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV

 

Martin Luther said – and I paraphrase – you can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you can stop them from nesting there. When the wrong thoughts come, name them for what they are, give them to the Lord, and think about something else. Even just distracting yourself can be helpful!

3. Feed what you want to grow! Take time to consume what will feed the right thoughts. Give space for the thoughts that are virtuous and pleasing to God. The Holy Spirit is a critical aspect of feeding what you want to grow. Invite him into the work!

 

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

Jude 1:20 ESV

 

Back to my garden. I have been intentional and consistent in watering and weeding, more so than in previous years. Some things I’m feeding and some things I’m pulling up. And my garden is glorious as a result! Just some “food for thought.”

 

Reflection:

What things are growing in your life? What are you feeding? What are some strategies you could use to “starve a thought”? 

The Fruits of the Spirit Series: Understanding they are from the Spirit

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Johannes Plenio

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

~Galatians 5:22-23

I have so enjoyed journeying with you all through our names of God series! That series has now come to an end, and as I contemplated what to write on next, I felt the Lord impress upon my heart the idea to write a series on the fruits of the Spirit. I am really excited about this, as this topic is near and dear to my heart.

We are all likely quite familiar with what the fruits of the Spirit are. But there is something here in this talk on the fruits of the Spirit that we often get wrong - we fail to correctly understand how we acquire the fruits of the Spirit.

That was my problem for many years. I would get up in the morning and determine that I would be the most patient, gentle, and self-controlled mom ever that day. Within ten minutes of my feet hitting the floor, that would all go out the window as I would get frustrated with one of my children or say something in a less than self-controlled way. I would get frustrated on a daily basis because I couldn't figure out what my problem was. Why couldn't I seem to be patient? Why couldn't I be gentle? Why wasn't I self-controlled? Why did it seem as if the fruits of the Spirit were accessible to me?

It was because I didn't understand how to acquire them in the first place. 

I was acting as if the fruits of the Spirit came about by me pulling myself up by my bootstraps and determining to be full of those fruits, by striving, by depending on myself. And nothing could be further from the truth. 

What we often fail to notice is the wording - these are the fruits of THE SPIRIT. That, my friends, is the key here! And it was right there in Galatians 5 all along. But what I had to do to fully understand how this all worked was back up to verses 16-17, which say this:

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish."

What do we see here is the key to being able to live out the fruits of the Spirit in our lives? Walking by the Spirit. That is the key to living the victorious Christian life and living in such a way as to emulate Him. The fruits of the Spirit are just that - His fruits that He produces in us. And those are produced as we walk with Him - as we are in the Word, spend time in prayer, listen for His voice, etc. 

The good, refreshing news here is that living out the fruits of the Spirit doesn't depend on us - the Spirit Himself produces them in us as we depend on and walk with Him. 

Thank You, Lord, for that! 

Reflection Questions:

1) Have you ever lived under the mistaken idea that it is up to you to produce the fruits of the Spirit in your life?

2) What changes do you need to make in order to walk by the Spirit more? What would that look like for you?

3) How does it take a load off your shoulders to realize it isn't your job to produce the fruits of the Spirit yourself? How is it encouraging to know that is something the Lord does in us as we walk with Him?