Gospel

Partnership

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A Gospel Partnership

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Philippians 1:3-5 ESV

When I think of people who have helped to shape history of the Christian church, the Apostle Paul comes right to the top of my list. But in first century Macedonia, no one had ever heard of Paul or for that matter of Christianity. On his first visit there, Paul went in response to a dream the Holy Spirit sent him while he and Silas were in Asia Minor. Though Paul did not question the dream’s origin, he had a difficult time letting go of the successful ministry they were having there in the region which now is modern day Turkey. Yet, in obedience to God’s call, Paul and Silas boarded a ship to make the crossing and once ashore headed directly for Phillipi. Maybe at first, Paul wondered why God had called him there. They found just a tiny group meeting for prayer at the riverbank in place of the meeting places overflowing with crowds that they had seen in Ephesus. Yet, from those humble beginnings, Paul discovered something new: that was partnership. He found in these humble friends, people who did not just come to see miracles, or to gain some spiritual gift. Instead, this small group was moved by Paul’s Gospel message and stayed to become his lifelong friends. Later as Paul went on his missionary journeys and later to prison in Rome, they sent people to help him and out of their meager resources sent offerings to him from that day until the end of his life.

Like those friends of Paul, you and I might not be gifted speakers or influential leaders in our church, but we can partner with others in the work which God has called them to do. We can pray for the situations they are facing, go out to serve side by side, or give financially. Though what we can do or how much we can give may not be a lot, what we can do matters to Jesus. Remember that five loaves of bread in His hands can supply more in the work of the gospel than a year’s wages in the hands of the world!

Nose Rings and Tattoos

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Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to everyone who is to come. Psalm 77:18 NKJV

One year it almost never snowed, so as a contractor whose Winter income came from snow removal, I ended up working about six weeks in a warehouse among some pretty rough looking characters. I tried my best getting along, but those tattooed younger fellows, some of whom had nose rings and I had very little in common. As one of them put it, “Pete, did you ever wonder where all those guys who were sent to after school detention ended up working?” Now, I am the sort of person who tends to get cranked up over tattoos and nose rings, because the only critters with nose rings I knew were our hogs, so that they wouldn’t destroy their own pasture and tattoos were for the old guys who had been sailors in WW2. Yet, God didn’t seem to be as hung up as I was. Instead, He focused, not on how good or bad the other guys looked, but one whether I was telling them about Jesus.

As the weeks dragged by, I tried ignoring their less than wholesome jokes, and spent my lunch times, looking for a quiet corner to eat and read my New Testament. It didn’t seem even possible to talk to anyone about Jesus, till one day as we were emptying pallets from one of the trailers, the guy next to me earnestly asked in a whisper, “So what does hallelujah mean anyway?”  Rather than laughing, I delightedly did my best to explain and discovered that day, that God can give an opportunity at the most unexpected time to tell someone about His faithfulness and mercy. We just need to remind ourselves that God is delighted to accept some pretty strange characters into His family, because after all He sent Jesus to the cross to forgive, even me and you!

By the way, I loved this video about telling our grandchildren about the good old days Be sure to tell them that Jesus was the only thing good about some of those days!

It is Easter Again!

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Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; John 20:8 ESV

I like the conflicted kind of faith that John had because it is so much like my own. After all, he had not seen a vision of angels as the women had, nor seen Jesus Himself as did Mary Magdalene. John had not had the chance to walk with Jesus to Emmaus or see Him vanish as He broke the bread. All John had in his hands was an empty burial shroud, yet that slim shard of evidence stirred within him the words that Jesus had spoken, “and after three days I will rise again.” and John believed.

I love this simple disciple, who never even ventures to name himself, though we know from the early accounts that it is John. He is so much like us, on this Easter morning. Not one of us has literally heard the Savior’s voice, nor touched His wounds as Thomas did. We hold only copies of the words His followers wrote, are stirred by the whispers of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, and yet it is enough! The miracle of God’s gift, and the faith He stirs within us, fills us with joy. It is Easter again! We have received the amazing good news with what seems to others only a few shreds of evidence. Together we have become brothers and sisters with John and everyone else who has believed in Jesus for 2,000 years. Happy Resurrection Day! It is Easter Again! He is risen indeed!