Being is more important than doing
p.201
Share to the group a statement or scripture that resonates with you from today’s reading and a responding prayer…
The Church
Being is more important than doing
p.201
Share to the group a statement or scripture that resonates with you from today’s reading and a responding prayer…
“There should be no division in the body” 1 Corinthians 12:25.
“He calls members to love one another because the world will know we are His disciplines by our love”
I’m reminded of how the church & the people God has placed in my life are a huge part of my walk with Him. We work together in unity & God doesn’t want us to be separated by our differences. I struggle with going to church weekly & talk to people other than who I’m most comfortable with. Yet, I need to remember that being in unity means to uplift, support, and grow in our relationship with God & others. I’m reminded that I am apart of the body just as much as other members are. We share the same goal to do God’s will. May I turn away from living a self-centered mindset and give credit to God. It’s not my own doing, but through God I am able to deepen my relationship with other people. I pray I look to Christ and understand that God created a community for us to love one another and most importantly, use our roles to bring others to Him.
From don
“Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for Christianity in our day is for churches to walk with God so closely that the world comes to know Him through their witness. When a church allows God’s presence and activity to be expressed through them, a watching world will be drawn to Him.”
I love the one body with many members analogy as pictured in 1 Corinthians 12. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body though many, are one body, so it is with Christ,” (1 Cor. 12:12). Each member of the body of Christ is simultaneously unique as well as interdependent upon one another. Working together, bonded in love and unified by Christ the head, the body will “allow God’s presence and activity to be expressed through them!”
Lord, I pray that we would be as one unified body of believers that seeks Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Help us to be a witness of Your power to the world, and shine Your light in the darkness that often surrounds us, walking closely to You as one. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.”
The statement that stood out to me today was “sharing what God is doing in my life may help someone else encounter God in a meaningful way.” I like this statement because I don’t necessarily share what God is doing in my life and I miss out on having an opportunity to share something that someone else may be struggling with that God has helped me with. I pray that God would give me opportunities to share all of the things He has helped me with in my life and hopefully this can be beneficial to others. It is also one of the main reasons I serve in college group in order to hopefully keep people from straying from God like I did in college.
In today’s reading, I’m reminded to pray for our church. God is calling us to be holy, pure, unified and loving people. He wants us to be a light for the world. He wants us to rely on the Holy Spirit and His Word and listen to our leaders and members as we proceed to function as that light. I’m praying for our pastor and leaders and church community to be a light and blessing for His glory.
The reading today was encouraging. Not just the being over doing aspect that we’ve heard multiple times, but the assurance that any gift can be used for the body. In the case of the pray-er, she was able to have a large impact on multiple ministries without even meeting some of these people. Not everyone has to be the greatest evangelist or best speaker. And I’m not trying to use this as a copout, but it definitely means I need to see where my gifts can be used most effectively. Another thing that caught my eye is that we as a church should know what we’re up to. People can’t pray for each other or offer their services and gifts if they don’t know what’s happening. And here I think they weekly/monthly prayer meetings are essential. To debrief each other’s lives and offer prayer is super important, but it often looks like we’re going about our struggles alone. I’d definitely like to encourage more people to come to the church prayer meetings, either on Sundays or monthly on Thursdays.
Just like the human body needs all of its anatomical systems to work together in order to properly function, the church functions as one unit through the interconnection of spiritual leaders and members. Like the systems, each member has a role in the body (church) and each leader has a responsibility to equip the members of the body. Through the fulfillment of each role/task, the members and leaders can help each other fully know God’s will. Moreover, the church successfully unites and does God’s will when leaders and members share what they sense God wants the church to be and do, rather than to solely rely on an individual’s senses or take on a majority rule.