"Christ-in-his-church"

Hello, again! Glad you stopped by today. I hope you're keeping up (or maybe catching up!) on your Year of the Bible readings. Can you believe we're almost halfway done?! Good for us!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Finish this verse: “My flesh and my heart may fail; but ___________________________________” (Psalm 73)
Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

And here's the question of the day:
What does Paul ask the Christians at Ephesus to do? (Eph 3)

And here's the reflection of the day:
In his commentary on Ephesians, Ralph Winter describes its theme as "Christ-in-his-church" (Winter, Interpretation: Ephesians, p 4). "Christ-in-his-church." In other words, building up the Body of Christ, of which Christ is the head.

To build up the Body of Christ is to build up one another. The virtues that are listed (Eph 4:2-3) sound remarkably like the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). All of these are intended to be outward focused characteristics--putting others before ourselves, "bearing with one another in love" (v2). And Ephesians speaks of "the bond of peace" (v3) which is the glue that binds everything together. The peace of Christ is what holds the church together, what builds the body up. What an interesting thought from a BOUND apostle in prison, a prisoner for the Lord.

Putting a discussion of Ephesians authorship aside, Ephesians is a book which tells part of Paul's story, particularly when he was in jail. Paul is bound and shackled, deprived and mistreated. And yet he is able to urge others "to live a life worthy of the calling" they have received (v1). He must have envisioned the ties that bind his hands as the bonds of peace. How else could he have exhorted others while he himself was in such dire straits?

I think I'm going to try to remember that. The next time I feel "bound" by something, I'm going try to think of it as "the bonds of peace." I'm going to try to figure out how I can continue to live so as to be worthy of God's calling on my life, exhorting others and building others up rather than thinking only of my own discomfort.

Which reminds me of a song. . . (of course!)



Have a splendid day!
Allison

I'm ba-ack!

Good morning again! I had a great week at VBS--I think it's the best one we've had since I've been here. (Can you believe it's been four years?!)

At any rate, I took a sick day yesterday but I'm back at work, if not completely healed. *cough, cough, cough.* Let's get to it!


Here's the question of the day:
In the days of 2 Chronicles 15, was it safe to travel about in the lands?

And here's the reflection of the day:
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

The writer of Ephesians "sees every Christian life as preordained by God. Each life has a purpose, "good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Pheme Perkins, NIB Commentary, Ephesians).

Perkins goes on to point out that when we think of God having a divinely ordained plan for someone's life, we tend to think of the lives of Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr, Billy Graham, and one of dozen popes. They had world-changing lives.

But Ephesians was not written to Martin Luther or Billy Graham. It was written to ALL of us.
Perkins writes, "Every Christian has some 'good works' that are his or her divine calling."

And Ephesians recommends organizing one's life around God first. If Christ is at the center, all things will hold together. If one can organize life around God, then all of the details--"the passions and concerns of daily life"--become a part of God's divinely ordered plan worked out in our everyday lives. The mundane, tedious details of our lives suddenly belong to God. What may seem as a random sequence of events to a non-believer gels into a divine plan for each one of our lives, as we seek to live out God's purpose.

What do the details of your life look like? How do you think these pieces fit together as part of God's plan for your life?

Have a splendid day!
Allison

Numb3rs

Good morning/afternoon/evening! Today we begin month number three of Year of the Bible. Can you believe it? I think it's going so quickly.

I have to tell you the best part of doing YOTB is visiting with people in their homes and seeing their Bibles and participant books sitting out in the open. It does my heart good and I think it pleases God greatly too. I'm glad you're on this journey with me.


Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Feb. 28- What was the issue surrounding the Council of Jerusalem?
Acts 15:5 If the Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.

And here's the question of the day:
Sun, Mar 1: What must a Nazirite abstain from eating and drinking? (Num 6)


And here's the reflection of the day:
I have holiness on my mind this morning, mostly because I am preaching on Leviticus in a few hours. And if there's one word to describe Leviticus, it's HOLINESS. All those rules and regulations--those are all meant to encourage and enhance Israel's holiness. After all, God is a holy God and the people he calls his own are called to be (or strive to be!) just as holy. The key phrase to remember about Leviticus is "Be holy because I the Lord your God am holy."

But, my brain needs to transition to Numbers for a little bit (or Numb3rs, as the TV show title says). Lo, and behold, I open up the Bible (technically the file for the Bible program on my computer) to Numbers and I begin to read about "a man or woman" who wants to make a special vow--"a vow of separation the Lord."

Now, to be separate is to be holy. It seems there is a great deal of overlap between Leviticus and Numbers, both in form (long boring lists) and in organizing principles (holiness).

This Nazirite calling is a call to temporary leadership for the laypeople of the community. The author of one commentary notes that the content of the vow is not the point; the point is that laypeople in the church have an opportunity to step up into leadership positions. The vow is done in public, not private; it is official; and it has communal implications.

The Nazirite is required to separate from everyday routine--which is NOT to say that they retreat from life in general. They are still part of the congregation, but their special status brings them closer to the middle of the camp, which is the tabernacle.

I think this kind of temporary vow still exists today. I think God still calls forward laypeople for certain tasks for a temporary time. When our church was struck by lightning and caught on fire in July 2007, I think we had more than a few folks who took a "Nazirite vow"; we had a number of people who stepped up to the plate and helped rebuild the church.

I hope that laypeople in churches are on the lookout for "Nazirite vows" to be taken. It seems to me that pastors may think they know who God is calling to do what, but they're not always right. The Holy Spirit doesn't need to work through the pastor; the Holy Spirit works through individuals and especially lay people. This kind of calling is something that must come from the discernment of each congregation member.

If you feel a "Nazirite vow" in your future (a special calling for a limited time), please TELL YOUR PASTOR! God is obviously calling you to a special task and this is something your pastor will want to hear about.


And now receive this benediction from Numb3rs:
Numbers 6:24-27 24
"'"The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."'

Allison