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All Authority is In Christ

You are worthy in Christ because He has called you Daughter.

You are worthy in Christ because He has called you Son.

Before any thing was formed, you were chosen in Him.

He is King of the universe, and all authority is in Him.

No words of demons nor mortals can alter His truth.

The King says you are of Noble birth.

And His word is beyond contestation.

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My Thoughts on What it Means to Daily Live as a Christian

thought-bubbleOn Monday, I asked the question “What does it mean *to you* to daily live the Christian life?”  (Click to see that post and the responses shared in the comments.)

I also made this statement: Repetition with purpose can be very valuable; empty repetition, however, can suck the joy out of life. It’s important to know why you do things. [Tweet this!]

My thought in asking the question was to simply think intentionally about what it means to walk through life each day as a follower of Christ.  With this focus on what I’m here for it seems to make me more intentional about living life and helps keep me from just going through the motions.  Of course, your mileage may vary.

There’s not one right answer to the question, and I have no intention to judge anyone’s answer.  Your answer is yours, and I think it reflects the season you are going through in your spiritual life.

As I thought about the question I came up with the following statement:

Living by Christ daily to me is actively living in the presence of Christ in a real relationship through the Spirit, listening to His leading both inwardly and outwardly, and following through with how Christ desires to change me and express Himself through me.

A few things this implies:

The Christian life can only be lived by Christ.  He indwells us and lives the Christian life in us.  We live as His followers in, by, through, and to Him.  Jesus is the Source.  None of this is meant to be accomplished in our own power.

Life in Christ is not passive.  Faith is an active thing.  We pray, seek, pursue, love, listen, serve.

We can always live in the presence of Christ.  We can learn to tune into His frequency during any activity.  So we live in a constant awareness of Christ in our spirit and in our life.

We can have a real relationship with Christ.  We can know Him as we know people in our lives today.  We can’t physically touch Him, of course, but we can have a very intimate relationship with Him because He can touch a part of us that few humans can: our spirit.  Through this our Lord feeds us with Real Life!

Christ leads us in our spirit, but also through Scriptures, books, messages, and the people and experiences in our lives.  He is always speaking to us.  May we have ears and hearts to hear Him.  Listening to Him and following His lead is part of what it means to live by His indwelling life.

We are always in the process of transformation, being changed to be able to express more of Christ.  Again, this is not passive.  The Spirit leads us to act in many different ways and scenarios, and this builds practical experience that serve as examples to ourselves and others as to how Christ desires to work through us.

We are in partnership with Christ.  We are not zombies or robots (hopefully).  While I hope you want to grow in expressing more of Christ, He gives us the freedom to choose Him in each moment.  As we choose Him, we gain more and more of His Life and draw closer to Him, and He teaches us how to love others with Divine Love.  This also means that His life in us is naturally relational, and therefore needs a community to be expressed in.

Do you have any thoughts to share about this?  Anything to add or take away?  How would you answer the same question?

Follow the Life!

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Put On The New Self

Put On the New Self

3 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ [m]rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Put on the New Life!

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Answer This Question: What Does It Mean To Live As A Christian Today?

Question_mark_(black_on_white)Sometimes I fall into a rut.  With everything going on in daily life, it can be tempting to just go through the motions day after day without questioning much.  In such times, it is helpful to reflect on why you are doing certain things.

When we look at the reason for doing something, we find that it either makes sense or it doesn’t, and from this we can decide if we should continue or not.  If it doesn’t make sense, don’t be afraid to challenge and possibly change it.

Repetition with purpose can be very valuable; empty repetition, however, can suck the joy out of life. It’s important to know why you do things.  [Tweet this!]

So I’m going to ask you a question today, and I hope you’ll answer in the comments section.

What does it mean *to you* to daily live the Christian life?

Try to answer in just a few sentences or less.

Please note that I am looking for honest, real, practical answers here.  I’m not really looking for Bible verses or doctrinal statements.  Also, I’m not asking how someone becomes a Christian, but instead what it means to live a Christian life in the world today.

I’m looking forward to your responses and I’ll post mine later this week.

Follow the Life!

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It Is Well: The Story Behind This Classic Hymn Will Make You Appreciate It Even More

The_sinking_of_the_Steamship_Ville_du_HavreIf you have been a Christian for any length of time, or even if you haven’t, you have probably heard or sung the hymn It Is Well With My Soul.  The words for this hymn were penned in 1873 by Horatio G. Spafford in the midst of horrible tragedy.

These are the original lyrics to the song:

It Is Well With My Soul
(Original lyrics)

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know,a
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
A song in the night, oh my soul! b

a “know” (at the end of the third line) was changed to “say”.
b “A song in the night, oh my soul” (last line)
was changed to “Even so, it is well with my soul”.

Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and business man in Chicago and was influential in the local church.  He invested in real estate and nearly lost everything in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

The Spaffords did not despair. Their home had been spared and they had their family. God had been good. Even though their finances were mostly depleted, Anna and Horatio used what resources they had left to feed the hungry, help the homeless, care for the sick and injured and comfort their grief stricken neighbors. The Great Chicago Fire was a great American tragedy; the Spaffords used it to show the love of the Christ to those in need.

In 1873 Anna Spafford’s health was failing and hoping to put behind the tragic loss of their son and the fire and to benefit Anna’s health, the Spaffords planned a trip to Europe. They would sail on the French steamer Ville du Havre to Europe with their four daughters. Spafford not only wanted to visit Europe but he wanted to assist Evangelists Dwight L. Moody and Ira D. Sankey in a revival they were conducting in England.

However, Horatio ended up attending to business matters in Chicago while his wife and four remaining children (they previously lost a son due to scarlett fever) went ahead to England.  On the voyage across the Atlantic, their ship was struck and sank.

On November 22, 1873 the steamer Ville du Havre was struck by a British iron sailing ship, the Lockhearn. The steamer Ville du Havre, with Anna Spafford and her daughters aboard, sank within twelve minutes in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Only 81 of the 307 passengers and crew members survived this tragic shipwreck.

Even though the Lockhearn was in danger of sinking the unconscious Anna Spafford was picked up from floating debris by the crew of the Lockhearn. An American cargo sailing vessel, the Trimountain, arrived in time to save the survivors of the Ville du Havre and the Lockhearn. Anna Spafford was taken to Cardiff, Wales where she telegraphed her husband Horatio. Anna’s cable was brief and heartbreaking, “Saved alone. What shall I do…” Horatio and Anna’s four daughters had drowned. As soon as he received Anna’s telegram, Horatio left Chicago without delay to bring his wife home. Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean the captain of the ship called Horatio to the bridge. He informed Horatio that “A careful reckoning has been made and I believe we are now passing the place where the Ville du Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep.” That night, alone in his cabin Horatio G. Spafford penned the words to his famous hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul.” Horatio’s faith in God never faltered. He later wrote Anna’s half-sister, “On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down, in mid-ocean, the waters three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs.”

The following account is taken from the Christian History Institute.

Anna Spafford later spoke of being sucked violently downward. Baby Tanetta was torn from her arms by a collision with some heavy debris, with a blow so violent that Anna’s arm was severely bruised. She flailed at the water trying to catch her baby. Anna caught Tanetta’s gown for just a moment before another smashing blow tore the little girl out of her arms forever. Reaching out again, all she could find was a man’s leg in corduroy trousers. Anna, barely conscious, was then swirled about in a whirlpool before surfacing near the Loch Earn. She instinctively clung on to a small plank and the next thing she recalled was the splash of an oar as she lay at the bottom of a small boat. Bruised and sick, her long hair was matted with salt and her dressing gown shredded. But the pain in her body was nothing compared to the pain in her heart as she realized that her four daughters had been lost in the disaster. A young male passenger, afloat on a piece of wood, came upon Maggie and Annie, the two oldest Spafford children. At his direction, each girl grasped one of his side pockets as he tried to find a board large enough to support all three of them. After about 30 or 40 minutes in the water, he found a piece of wreckage and struggled to help the two young girls climb atop the board. But as he watched, their weary arms weakened, and he saw their eyes close. Their lifeless forms floated away from his own fatigue-paralyzed arms. No clues ever surfaced about the fate of little Bessie.

The Spaffords went on to have three more children, but again lost a son to scarlett fever.  The relocated to Jerusalem, where they established a Christian community to share the love of Christ there.

The group settled in the old part of Jerusalem and started a work which later became known as the “American Colony.” There they served the needy, helped the poor, cared for the sick and took in homeless children. Their only cause was to show those living about them the love of Jesus. Swedish novelist Selma Ottiliana Lovisa Lagerlõf wrote of this colony of Christians in her two volume Nobel Prize winning work “Jerusalem.”

They remained in Jerusalem for the rest of their days.

In 1876 P.P. Bliss put Horatio Spafford’s words to music. This hymn is still sung in Protestant churches today. “It Is Well With My Soul” was first sung in public by P.P. Bliss on November 24, 1876 before an assembly of ministers hosted by Dwight L. Moody in Chicago’s Farewell Hall. Ironically, one month later, P.P. Bliss and his wife were killed in a horrific train wreck. It is believed that Horatio took the words “It is well” from the words of the Shunammite woman who lost her only son but was later raised from the dead by Elisha. (II Kings 4:26 )

Horatio G. Spafford was born on October 20, 1828 in Lansingburgh, New York and died of Malaria on October 16, 1888 in Jerusalem. Anna Spafford continued to work in the surrounding areas of Jerusalem until her death in 1923. The Spaffords were laid to eternal rest in Jerusalem. It can be said that “It Is Well With Their Souls.”

(Quoted sections from the full story available here.)

This story bears the marks of the trial and tragedy we face in this world, and yet the hope and endurance that indwells us in Christ.

Whatever you are facing, do not allow the swells of emotion to toss you about.  Emotions are certainly real and need to be experienced and dealt with.  For the Christian, however, our peace, rest, faith, hope, and love resiliently abide in and radiate out from Christ’s Spirit in us.

When “sorrows like sea billows roll”, may you look to Jesus and say, “it is well with my soul”.

Listen to the hymn via youtube.

Follow the Life!

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Thinking the Best of Others

conspiracyFor his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.  (Psalm 103:11-12)

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.  (Hebrews 8:12)

Amazingly, we have a God who thinks the best of us.  Our Father looks at us through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, and through Him sees the best that is in us.  He chooses to see us as an expression and an extension of His Son whose life indwells us.  This is what the Father does, and the Son expressed this divine vantage point in His interactions when He was on earth.  Jesus saw the best in the disciples, the sick, the lame, the needy, the tax collectors, the women, the adultress woman, and on and on.  In the stories of Jesus we find God’s Expression deeply valuing each person.

However, most of you probably know some conspiracy theorists, who typically spread their theories through deadly gossip (gossip is a fast acting poison that will kill community life).  These people are always looking for (and reacting to) the worst intentions in others.  Conspiracy theorists are constantly thinking and saying things like:

– They did that to make me look bad.

– He gave me this gift so I would feel guilty.

– She is just buttering me up so I don’t see her real intentions to undermine me.

– He only wants to help me to make himself look good – he’s using me.

– That person must be whispering about me.  I’m sure they don’t really like me.

– She missed our meeting because she doesn’t care about me.

– He didn’t talk to me because he really doesn’t like me.  He’s avoiding me at all costs!

And on and on…

Note that each of these statements is an accusation.  And by the way, Satan actually means “the accuser”.  He is one who accuses the saints, and we are following in his bitter footsteps when we do the same thing.  Not only that, but to accuse a part of Christ is to accuse Christ Himself.

Also note in the verses above that God is doing the opposite of accusing.  He is choosing to see the best in us by electing to remember our sins no more.  God is not seeking to hold us down; He is doing everything He can to lift us up.

In Jesus, He gives us every good thing.

In Christ, we are exonerated from our sins and rebellion against God.  Not that we are not responsible for the consequences and for participating in reconciliation as needed.  We are agents of Christ in the world and He often calls us to untangle the knots we make.

But my point is this: as the Father sees us in Christ, so we then see others through the lens of Christ as well.  Or perhaps put better, we yield to Christ in us who already sees everyone in that way.

Maybe some people don’t care about us.  Maybe they do want to undermine us, hurt us, ignore us, and so on.  But everyone of those people are dealing with something in their life at that very moment.  They are dealing with their past hurts and failures.  They are struggling with fears, just as everyone else does.

Many times, though, conspiracy theorists are completely wrong.  Their paranoia has caused them to find faults and motives that simply are not there.  This can then lead to gossip that is completely false.  (This is why it is always best to confirm information directly with the source, and this can save you from getting sucked into someone’s paranoid view of others.)

Of course, sometimes people are actually trying to hurt you.  Perhaps they are jealous and they want the success/position/family/happiness/etc you have.  Even so, I believe the best option is to look above the offense and see them in Christ.  Perhaps this means that you ignore their intentions and leave the situation to God, or you ask the Lord to show you how to respond through His wisdom and love.

If you have Christ in you, you can choose to see each person as He does.  And He sees the best of them, just as He sees the best of you.

Imagine being set free from paranoia.  Imagine being liberated from worrying about what or who every person is talking about.  Imagine being unburdened from “discerning” every person’s intentions.

This freedom is available in Christ.  He can teach you to learn to see the best in others, to look past the faults and offenses and hurts that people hurl at us, thereby becoming part of His healing and restoring work in this world.

Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.  (1 Corinthians 4:5)

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  (Matthew 7:1)

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  (Romans 2:1)

Follow the Life!

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Christian, Will You Go Beyond What Is Right?

rice paddyThe following story is told in Angus Kinnear’s biography of Watchman Nee, Against the Tide:

In another village a newly believing farmer and his friend had faced a crisis. Their strips of rice field lay close to an irrigation stream on the terraced hillsides from which they daily drew water for their paddy. But one night as they slept a neighbor with land beneath them on the slope defrauded them of their essential and laboriously pumped supply by breaching the clay of their retaining bank and running it off on to his own land. Next morning they saw what had happened but, controlling themselves, said nothing. Again they raised their water, and again next night it was all drained off. Still they uttered no word of protest when at dawn they discovered the mean trick the man had played on them. This went on for seven successive days, and they were justly irritated. Were they not Christians, and should not Christians be patient? The Scriptures speak of loving your enemies, rejoicing in sufferings, and counting it pure joy when you meet various trials, and their restraint seemed irreproachable. In desperation they went to some older believers for advice.”It is unjust!” they exclaimed. “how is it that, having suffered all this wrong for a full week and kept faith with God, we are still unhappy? Tell us in this situation what we should rightly do next.”

One of those senior brothers had some experience. First they all knelt together in prayer; then he replied,”If we do the right thing and no more, then surely we are unprofitable servants. We ourselves should go beyond what is merely right. Maybe you are not yet happy because you have not gone the full distance. Let me suggest that you try going the second mile. First yourselves irrigate that farmer’s paddy field, and after that irrigate your own. Go back and test it out, and see whether or not your hearts find rest.”

They agreed to try, and next morning were early afoot. Carrying forth their wooden trough with its “dragon’s backbone” water-lift and going to work once more on its treadmill, they made it their first task to irrigate the field of their enemy who had so persistently robbed their own field of its water. And now this amazing thing happened: the more they labored in the day’s intense heat watering their persecutor’s land, the happier they became. By the time, in late afternoon, they had finished lifting sufficient also for their own paddy field, their hearts were at perfect rest.

When the brothers had repeated this for two or three days the man came with his friends, dumbfounded, to apologize. With every show of sincerity he asked for the explanation. “If this is Christianity,” he said, “then we want to hear more about it,” and soon he too was drinking in the Word of life.

In telling this episode Watchman was distinguishing between the principle of right and wrong and the principle of life.”Those two had been most patient,” he explains. “They had labored to irrigate their paddy, and without a word of complaint had suffered others to steal their water. Was that not very good? They had done all that man could require of them, but God was not yet satisfied. They lacked peace of heart because they had not met the demands of his life. When however they conformed to his standards, joy and peace welled up in their hearts.

“What is the Sermon on the Mount?” he continues. “What does Jesus teach in Matthew chapters 5 to 7? Is it not this, that we dare not be satisfied with less than what meets the demands of the new life God has put within us? It does not teach that provided we do what is right then all is well. No, we overlook the inner life whereby his Holy Spirit moves us to further action. Many say that Matthew 5 to 7 is too difficult. It is beyond us. I admit that it is. It is sheer impossibility. But here’s the point. You have an inner life, a Person close at hand, and in a given situation that new life tells you that unless you do as the Sermon on the Mount requires (and “love” is a key word) you will lack rest. The whole question lies here: are you walking in the way of good and evil, or in the way of life?”

An interesting aspect of this story is that the brothers sought the Lord’s direction together in prayer.  Through this time together, it was realized that the life of Christ in them was leading them to do more than just not retaliate; they were being called to serve this person who was hurting them.

Without spending time in prayer, they were stuck looking at the situation through the eyes of the flesh, and were attempting to rely on their own strength to muster patience with the offense against them.  But they knew something was not right because they were not “happy”.

The solution presented was truly inspired.  It was against human wisdom that would demand justice, and it resolved the situation peaceably to the benefit of both parties, although there was suffering on the part of the Christians to perform extra work in watering two fields.

While this solution may not be directly found in the Scriptures (there are no “water your neighbor’s paddy field” verses), this echoes Jesus’ words about turning the other cheek, walking the second mile, and Paul’s words to the Corinthians who were taking each other to court: “why not rather be wronged?”.  So the Spirit-led direction could be confirmed as being in line with the life of Christ.

In the end, this created a testimony to the non-believing neighbor that drew him towards Christ.  God saw fit to use their suffering to expand His life to others!

This is a wonderful example of how we who are inhabited by the Spirit of Christ can solve problems… first come before Christ together in prayer, listen for His answer which will follow the pattern of His life, and follow Him.  Note that His answers will rarely follow the conventional wisdom of this world.

Follow the Life!

Do you have any similar examples to share?  I’d love for you to put them in the comments.

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Chocolate, Pomegranates, Penguins, Hiking, and Art: 5 Favorite Posts from the Past

Since I’ve moved the blog to a new page, I thought I would post a few of my favorite and most popular articles I’ve written in the past.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

Expressing Christ in Organic Church

Seeing Christ in a Pomegranate

Christ Our Penguin

The Way: Simplifying the Church’s Mission

Legalism Versus Chocolate

 

Follow the Life!

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Whoever is of a Willing Heart

heart of thomas4Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying, 5‘Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD’S contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, 6and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, 7and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, 8and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 9and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.  (Exodus 35:4-9, NASB)

As I write this, a few friends of mine have made great sacrifices to pursue a calling in their lives to follow the Lord in learning how to establish first century style churches that are built on a foundation of living by the Lord’s indwelling life as a community, and fulfilling the Father’s eternal purpose in creation to have a bride for His Son, a dwelling place to rest in, and a family to visibly share and express His great love.

As the brothers in our church met and prayed for one of these brothers as he prepares to depart us, my thoughts moved towards the willingness expressed in these brothers and sisters to let go of what they know and to embrace the Lord’s way.

It is interesting that in the Exodus passage above one observes that God is commanding Israel to offer precious materials for the building of His temporary, physical dwelling place on earth, the tabernacle (continue reading Chapter 35), yet His command is only for those who have a “willing heart.”  There is a condition that precedes the contribution, and it is a heart condition.  The giver must be fully yielding to the Lord and His ways.

Let us not for a moment think that the Lord’s dwelling can be built by offerings given from a motivation of fear, guilt, shame, or manipulation.  The giver being sought by the Lord is one who gives everything utterly to Him to use in whatever way He sees fit.

I believe that whatever the Lord seeks to build visibly is actually a picture of something invisible or spiritual.  The tabernacle is a picture of the Son, Jesus Christ.  Just as God desired His temporary, physical dwelling to be built through willing, loving hearts, so does Jesus build God’s spiritual temple today with those who willingly, without reservation, lay down themselves for His purposes.  Jesus is the perfect representation of God, and He also does not build with guilt, fear, shame, or manipulation.

This kind of willingness to follow the Lord requires us to lay down many things.  It may even require us to give up things that are very good in our eyes.

– Our own desires to have stuff, whatever that stuff may be.  It could be a house, a new car, an education, a career, security, living in one location, building a financial portfolio, being near family and/or friends, our reputation, our comfort, and so on.

– Giving up the easy, quick ways of the world and the flesh, for the longsuffering ways of God.  We may often not understand these ways, or even think that we have better ideas than Him; yet the deep things of the Lord only come about when His life is the source of everything.

– Giving up our control.  Giving up control of ourselves, our money, our future.

– Giving up our plans.  I’m not against planning ahead, and I think it is wise to do so; however, I believe it is essential to remain mindful of the Lord’s direction to change our plans at any time.  A person who has a willing heart will always be open to this.

Note that there is no mention of quantity in the passage above.  He does not say, “If you are really, really rich, and you are willing, then give some to Me.”  The condition is to give willingly and the Lord will use what is brought for His purpose.  In the building of the Lord’s spiritual house today, I believe He is still looking for “whoever has a willing heart”, regardless of the wealth of their spiritual gifts.  The Lord can do much more through a willing servant with little gifting than a stubborn servant with much gifting.

I believe that our fellowship has done as the Lord requested, to “Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD’S contribution” for the purpose of building His house.

Follow the Life!

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