Greetings! Grace and peace to you through the one who invites us to invite him into our lives, Jesus Christ – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! What a beautiful morning in the Kingdom, at least – right here and right now! I trust that you had a good week with a little bit of same-old routine and a few surprises as well! I pray that you are looking forward to the weekend…and to gathering with your Christian family to celebrate God’s activity in your life. Please join me in prayer – Lord, release the power and presence of Holy Spirit in our congregation this weekend – Amen!
Last night it was the start of a new Bible school – ministry training time…and it was good to see the returning team and to refocus on equipping ourselves and moving up a level. I was particularly challenged by a teaching called: Renewed Like The Eagles. There was a section on “forgiveness” that was a beneficial reminder of key principles: ‘forgiveness’ is a powerful tool that releases the stuff from yesterday; ‘forgiveness’ needs to be applied everyday; ‘forgiveness’ is not forgetting; ‘forgiveness’ is not anaesthetic; ‘forgiveness’ is not condoning; ‘forgiveness’ is not renewing; ‘forgiveness’ is not about the past. I have been replaying the teaching in my mind, especially as it relates to an eagle ‘preening’ itself each day.
Yesterday, I gave you 5 of 10 building blocks of Biblical community…and I just received the other 5…so I will give them to you: [6] – humility…1 Peter 5:5 [7] – honesty… [8] – mercy… [9] – confidentiality… [10] – unity… 10 times in first five chapters of Acts unity is referenced as a significant component of the early church. There are, of course, more details to add but I think you can understand that building a biblical community demands effort.
Well, I am wondering what is going on in your world, what new insights God has given you, what action steps are you taking to implement them, and …after all Christmas is but 6 weeks from yesterday, which means New Year’s is but 7 weeks away. The time to re-orient ourselves is speaking to us. How will we respond?
Have a great weekend…be blessed!