All Together

David grew stronger and stronger, because the Lord Almighty was with him. This is the list of David's famous soldiers. Together with the rest of the people of Israel, they helped him become king, as the Lord had promised, and they kept his kingdom strong. 1 Chronicles 11:9-10 (GNT)

We planted a church on April 1 in the middle of the COVID pandemic. I have always known God has a sense of humor but seriously? It doesn’t look like I thought it would. Everything is virtual. We’re figuring it out as we go. Some of the stuff I thought we’d figure out early on has been tabled and other things have moved to the forefront.

One thing I know for sure. We are all in this together. Each member of our team brings something unique to the church. And we need each and every one of us to be about His Kingdom. Each of us is designed with our own ministry style (APEST) and each of us brings talents to the group that allow us to serve individually yet for the collective good.

For example, my top scoring ministry styles are Apostle then Teacher. This is great except if we went forward with only these, there wouldn’t be the level of love and nurturing that is needed. The ‘heart’ of the church would be lacking. And God knew this. I found it interesting in 1 Chronicles there are a lot of chapters that talk about the band of men around David, their talents, what they brought to the Group. And in those verses was today’s verse.

David was a great leader. He loved God but without God being with him and without his famous soldiers and the “rest of the people of Israel”, he wouldn’t have been able to do what he did.

In the New Testament God spends a lot of time talking about the body. We need each other to accomplish the mission he has given us. We are to work together, complement each other and be one with him. We cannot do what he has called us to do alone. And when we serve this way, the miracle of God’s unity is seen by all. It is truly mind-blowing.

We might be in the middle of a pandemic but God is still working. He is still bringing together a body of people to be about his mission. He is still, even virtually, using the talents and gifts of everyone to knit us together with the Holy Spirit to move His Kingdom forward.

The lesson has been demonstrated all throughout the ages…Pandemic or not, we need each other.

In My Little Space

Each one repaired the section immediately across from his own house. Nehemiah 3:28 (NLT)

Our world is a messy place. All you have to do is read or listen to the news and you can see that sin is rampant. There are so many hurting people. There is so much that is broken. Paying attention to all that is wrong can be extremely overwhelming.

I am tempted sometimes to give up. There is too much to do. Too much pain and there is no way I can make a difference. How could I possibly help?

But this is Satan’s lie. As with Nehemiah, if we each would rebuild in our area, we’d make a huge impact on the war against evil. My neighborhood looks different than your neighborhood. The people I see every day are not the people you see. That’s the wonderful thing about sharing the Gospel and growing God’s kingdom.

If each of us would make an effort where we are in our little space, more and more people would be reached. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will encounter people who need the gifts we have to offer. Not our spouse’s gifts, not our coworker’s gifts, not a fellow Christian’s gifts but our gifts. The perfect gift in the perfect place at the perfect time.

That’s what God does. He asks us to work right where we are and then he sends the people that need to be loved.

And All God's People.....

I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd. John 10:16 (NLT)

This week I was blessed to be able to go to a church conference. The theme of the conference is based on discipleship and investing in people the way Jesus did. I am also blessed that my church invests in the mission of Jesus with their finances and support.

We’ve been on this journey with this same group of people over the last year. We’ve gotten together for three cohorts and discussed, worked through, listened to each other as we’ve talked about God’s kingdom. What are the steps forward? What should it look like? What are some of the obstacles we encounter and of course, how is God working?

The totally amazing thing is we are all from different denominations, different races, both sexes. And we all face similar challenges. But our one goal is the same. Share Jesus. He is our one true love. During this journey together, we’ve shared lots of praises and lots of heartaches. I have come to truly care about this group of people and their journey.

The last day at this conference, our leader gathered us together and we had communion. Words cannot explain how beautiful this was to me. We stood in a circle sharing the bread and the wine as we sang a hymn. Then we prayed. We prayed for God’s kingdom, for the journey he had us on and that his name would be glorified.

Friends, this is what God’s kingdom should look like. This is “My kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” All of God’s people working together for ONE goal. That goal is for all of God’s church (read people here) to love each other and work together so others can love Jesus as well.

Let’s put aside our differences. Deep down we all want the same thing. To love and honor Jesus with our lives. We will do this best together. I pray this weekend you too can connect with someone and know the bonding that comes from hearts reaching toward God.

You Are Cordially Invited To Invite

Should you be jealous because I am kind to others? Matthew 20:15 (NLT)

The parable of the workers (Matthew 20:1-16) is about a landowner who goes out and invites people to work in his fields. They agree on payment and go off to work. He does out again at various times of the day and does the same. When payment time comes, the folks who worked longer complained that their pay wasn’t fair. The landowner replies that they were given what they were promised.

In our Western society we read this parable and think “Well, that’s not fair.” The workers should have gotten paid their wages according to what they worked. That’s fair. In our world today, there would have been law suits, accusations of discrimination and all sorts of news stories.

But if we put on our Jesus hats, we would have the exact opposite response. We would say “Everyone come! The reward is the same for all! It doesn’t matter if you’ve worked your whole life or just entered into the banquet as the party was ending. Everyone gets to hear ‘Well done good and faithful servant!’”

We would want as many people to be invited as possible. We would be out there in the fields checking to make sure everyone was. I would venture to say that the Kingdom of Heaven is not fair…..really. Everyone who calls on Jesus as their Savior can get in. Doesn’t matter what you did or didn’t do. Doesn’t matter if you come in late to the game. Doesn’t matter what you look like, where you are from, what you do or don’t do for a living. The only thing that matters if you say “Yes” to the invitation.

And since Jesus has asked us all to extend the invitation, we should be out there in the fields, on the streets, where ever we live, work and play being disciples. We should be inviting people in and when they say “I can’t I haven’t ___________________ (fill in the blank), let them know that all are welcome. Let them know that there is no entrance fee. Let them know how kind Jesus is to anyone that wants to come in.

And then, treat them like you mean it. Today, put on your Jesus hat and start inviting. And remember the Kingdom of Heaven is about not about who is first….it’s really about who is last.

Whose Kingdom Is It?

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 (ESV)

What do you think God’s kingdom looks like? We pray this prayer but rarely do we stop and ponder what it would look like for God’s kingdom to be here on earth.

I imagine if God’s kingdom were here on earth “as it is in heaven”, there would be certain things that were obvious. For starters, there would be beauty everywhere. Nature would explode and we would be mesmerized by it. That happens on earth in a beautiful sunset or majestic mountains. There is nature that takes our breath away.

There are other things that I think are part of God’s kingdom that maybe we don’t see all the time.

• Worship - we will always be worshiping in Heaven.

• Love - there will be lots and lots of love. We will be taking care of each other, sharing, caring, and offering kindness.

• Laughter and happiness - the Bible tells us there will be no more tears. I’m looking forward to that!

• Productivity - I do think we will have things to do whether it be work or pleasure, we won’t be idle.

So, if we pray “Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven,” what’s stopping it? If we truly want heaven on earth, why aren’t we seeing it?

One thought that popped into my mind is that there are too many kingdoms and too many rulers trying to reign. If I want God’s kingdom to be here, right now, in my heart, then I have to move my kingdom out of the way. If I’m being honest, the agenda for my kingdom is in conflict with God’s kingdom. They cannot both exist together.

There can be only one ruler. There can be only one kingdom. Which one will you give allegiance to today?