Reflections on 1 Thess 5

Good word for the morning for spiritual leaders (church members):

1 Thess. 5:14 And we urge you, brothers,

warn those who are idle,

encourage the timid,

help the weak,

be patient with everyone.

 

15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

 

                16 Be joyful always;

                17 pray continually;

                18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

 

19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire;

 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt.

 21 Test everything.

Hold on to the good.

 22 Avoid every kind of evil.

 

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us.

 

In verse 14 there are 3 ways to handle three categories of people in our lives and be patient with them all.

 Verse 15 Kindness

Then 16 through 22 has 8 commands/instructions. Included are the words “always” “continually” and “all circumstances.”  These are lifestyle choices to be chosen minute by minute.  Any given minute we could chose the opposite: be “woe is me,” “self reliant”, or “ungrateful” or “unappreciative.” These are attitude choices that lead to the kind of words we use and behavior we choose.  Lord, may I (we) be joyful, prayful, and thankful today.

Good words to start off a Wednesday morning! May others see a difference in me and you.

What is Happening? Revival

Last night Monica shared with me a conversation that she had with someone yesterday as the church gathered.  The conversation went something like this:

Lady said, "It has been a long time since I have felt so broken and on my face before God."

Monica reply, "I know, this is revival."

I agree.  God is at work in many different ways throughout the church family and gathered guests.  People are evaluating their lifestyles and choices based on Jesus's demands for His followers.  People are experiencing fresh calls from God and responding in obedience.  People are experiencing brokenness before God over sin and rebellion.  Family members are worshiping together again. 

A reevaluation and conversation is taking place among the church as to how we position ourselves in relation to our community to be most useful for the mission of God to see the lost found and the needs of the poor met.

What do you call this? Revival.  Keep praying and seeking Him.  Follow Him.

Mission Trip Wrap-up Thoughts

On Sunday night the mission team that participated in serving on the mission field in Toronto shared insights with our church.  Several benefits from serving on a short-term mission trip were mentioned that I would like to recap here:

1. Gaining a larger perspective of God's activity in the world. By changing latitude and longitude location a person can gain a larger framework for the world, the church, cultures, and the mission of God.
2. Learning the value of service.  The group is the servant of the host missionary/pastor/church.  A "whatever we can do to help" attitude is healthy to develop and implement back home as well.
3. Families strengthened.  It was eye opening to see a father and his two daughter serve the Lord together during this week.  They were able to observe and help one another accomplish new task and goals that had never been attempted in the local home environment. 
4. A mission team is a great source of refreshment and encouragement to a resident missionary/church planter.  The work of a missionary can become lonely and tiresome. A little help and encouragement from a team can multiply the effort and energize the work.
5. Team building.  Working together we all achieve more.  Flexibility. Using our strengths and covering each other's limitations. Everyone on the team experiences the "magic" of being on a winning team.
6. Gaining new insights for ministry that can be implemented in the home church.  Simply being around catalytic and innovated leaders on the front lines of creative ministry provided ideas that can be helpful to an established church.
7. Fun and laughter amid the adventure.  Teams that work and serve together build a camaraderie that lasts long after the trip is complete.

I am hopeful that in the days to come a long term relationship/partnership can develop between our church and the church planting network in the Greater Toronto Area.

Landed Safely in ATL

The team had made it back safely to Atlanta. All are thankful to be headed to Carrollton and looking to a glass of sweet tea.

Made it to Buffalo Airport

Almost on the plane. We had no problem at the border. Thank you for your prayers.

Great last night in Toronto

The team helped put on a family gym night where we saw some 20 folks from the community come out for basketball, volleyball, kickball, and snacks. There were families there from Iraq, Malaysia, Europe, and Africa. Just an amazing picture of the diversity of this community. Great week serving a great church. Praying we represented Jesus and Pleasant View well.

Photos from Thursday

After delivering invitations to around 225 homes and other projects we spent the late afternoon at Lake Ontario and downtown Mississauga. Beautiful day.