Green Pastures and Still Waters
- Details
Meanwhile. There’s a word we don’t like too much. It sounds like “waiting,” and, for Americans, waiting is a bad word. Type-A people don’t like “meanwhile” either, it implies something may have impeded progress. But, “meanwhile” can also refer to the reality that things can happen in a couple of places at the same time. That is one of the implications in our text for Sunday. We’ll be back in Acts 18 this week to study what was going on in Corinth while the people in Thessalonica were reading Paul’s letters and learning about life as a follower of Christ. Our Infinite Father is not limited to working in one place at a time. That was not only true in Corinth and Thessalonica, it’s true in Greenville and Thailand. God is working through the Comptons in Thailand and He is working here. They just baptized six new believers; we will baptize 18 people (Lord willing) on the evening of May 5. Missions is not something distinct and unusual. “Missions” is what we are doing here…someplace else. We have Global Staff (so to speak), that are doing gospel work in places we cannot go. We have Missional Partners that facilitate missional work for those on the frontlines. We have National Missional Partners that do a better work in the places that they live than we could do if we went. They know the culture, the language AND they know Christ and are able to share Him and His life full time when they have our support. As you’ll see from our text for Sunday. This is as it should be. If you are currently praying/giving for global outreach, thank you!
- Details
New dresses. Men wearing pink shirts. Women in white shoes. Frilly gloves and bonnets. Candy. Candy. Candy. Marshmallow Peeps. Inflatable bunnies. Plastic Eggs. Easter. Is there some joy in there anywhere? All the hype around Christmas and Easter makes me think something must have happened a few thousand years ago to keep all this going. Something more than a retail store rhythm and a candy seller’s dream. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was the pivotal point in human history. There is human history before the cross and resurrection and there is human history after the cross and resurrection. Those three days changed the destiny of the human race. Jesus was certainly a Great Teacher and the Best Model for life and practice but that reality is not the source of our joy. What He accomplished on the cross, that was validated by His resurrection, is the source for our joy. Joy is a “pervasive sense of well-being.” If we are burdened with guilt and shame, if we are hopeless and powerless to change, if we are trying to fix our world and all the people in it, we will not have a pervasive sense of well-being. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means more than a new destination for those who believe. It means a new life! It means a new way to live! It means a new identity and a new future and a new hope…and, it means joy. Jesus said that we can have His joy in fullness and that no one can take it away. We hope to see you Sunday for more on this glorious subject.