Family perspective

It’s easy to get wrapped up in our own little corner of Christianity.  We sometimes forget that “the church” consists of the entire body of believers, and not just the building we go to on Sundays.  We can even get so wrapped up in what we see God doing in our immediate Christian community that the idea of God working anywhere else seems like a weird, foreign concept. 

However, the gospel grows the church body wherever it goes.  Whoever hears and believes the gospel message of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection and trusts Him for forgiveness of sins and eternal life is someone who joins the church body.  Getting reminders of how the good news is received in distant places helps us keep God’s perspective and His larger mission in mind.  Knowing how God is transforming lives in other locations also helps guard us from thinking that God only works through “my church” or “my pastor”.

As Paul opened his letter to the believers in Colossae, he remind them that they are part of a much larger church community:

Colossians 1:5-8
You have already heard about this hope in the message of truth, the gospel that has come to you.  It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and recognized God’s grace in the truth.  You learned this from Epaphras, our much loved fellow slave.  He is a faithful minister of the Messiah on your behalf, and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.

The Colossian believers were part of the larger church body because they heard the gospel and recognized God’s grace in the truth.  They were brought the message by Epaphras, who was faithfully using his gifts and talents to proclaim the gospel.

Since Epaphras was now working side by side with Paul, he had the opportunity to share the gospel with other people in new locations.  Since their work for Christ had them working in multiple communities, both Paul and Epaphras could see the larger family picture.  They wanted the Colossians to see themselves as part of a whole, and not just an isolated patch of believers.

Do we remember that we’re part of a much larger community?  If you haven’t looked outside your church’s bulletin in a while, take a look at the work that organizations like Voice of the Martyrs or Compassion International are doing.  Go for a larger picture our believing family, and ask God to help you see His family like He does.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

House of prayer (part 2)

Jerusalem was abuzz with news of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into town.  The next day Jesus shows, in dramatic fashion, that the nation’s idea of being religious was in need of reform:

Mark 11:15-17 They came to Jerusalem, and He went into the temple complex and began to throw out those buying and selling in the temple.  He overturned the money changers’ tables and the chairs of those selling doves, and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the complex.

Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?

Note that when Jesus was correcting the people, He referred them back to God’s Word.  In this case, Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah.  The people present, especially the priests and scribes, would have instantly recognized Jesus’ reference:

Isaiah 56:1-3,6-7 This is what the Lord says: Preserve justice and do what is right, for My salvation is coming soon, and My righteousness will be revealed.  Happy is the man who does this, anyone who maintains this, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.  No foreigner who has converted to the Lord should say, “The Lord will exclude me from His people”…

…And the foreigners who convert to the Lord, minister to Him, love the Lord’s name, and are His servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it, and who hold firmly to My covenant – I will bring them to My holy mountain and let them rejoice in My house of prayer.  Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

God’s plan for His temple was to include those from other nations.  Foreigners who submitted to the Lord didn’t need to worry about being excluded from fellowship with God just because they weren’t Jewish.  Instead, God makes this incredible promise to them:

I will bring them to My holy mountain and let them rejoice in My house of prayer.

God assures the believing foreigners that He will personally lead them to His temple, accept them and their sacrifices, and include them in the worship given by His chosen people, Israel.  This was a huge blessing for God to give to those born outside of His covenant with Israel.  As a result of this promise, there were many believing foreigners in Jerusalem at Passover.

With the religious economy the Jewish leaders had instituted within the temple complex, they were hindering the foreign believers from participating in worship at God’s house of prayer.  The Jewish leaders were standing in the way of God’s promise to foreigners – no wonder Jesus was flipping tables and chairs!

In our own church gatherings, do our religious activities point others toward God…or do we hinder others from meeting with God? 

If a foreigner came to us, would they recognize our church gatherings as God’s house of prayer, or something else?

Keep Pressing,
Ken