community of faith – Be Still…

1 Corinthians 5:1-13 – Purity of Community

If you’ve never been a ministry leader who had to make the hard call of letting another leader go from serving because of their unrepentant sin, it’s harder than you might imagine. What Paul is asking the church to do here, while Biblical, is not at all easy. Relationships are at stake. But so are salvation and allegiance to the truth. There is a reason that Scripture prescribes this type of purging in our fellowship of believers.

Paul uses the perfect example for his day when he refers to yeast. Bread would have been a huge staple in their diets, and the use of yeast and understanding of how it expands the dough would be clear. You wouldn’t want tainted yeast to infest your batch of bread, so why would you want an unrepentant sinner to be part of your circle of faithful ones? Continue reading “1 Corinthians 5:1-13 – Purity of Community”

Acts 2:42 – Community Looks Like This

“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)

I love this picture of a community. When believers gather, it is special. Our weekly church meetings are nice, but this memory verse for our quiver of truth suggests believers should enjoy so much more. When is the last time you shared a meal with another believer, besides your own family?

Context (Acts 2:42-47): The young church is growing, and here we learn about how the new believers start forming clusters to gather. The church was born so that believers could meet, support, and love each other. Seeing the early church in action can be enlightening for us today. Continue reading “Acts 2:42 – Community Looks Like This”

Nehemiah 12:44-47 – Fitting In

Read Nehemiah 12:44-47

While the people celebrated the dedication of the wall, work was being done to make sure all the key ministry positions were filled. On the one hand, it seems like an odd time to be making staffing appointments; on the other hand, how brilliant to aid the selection process when plenty of people were already in attendance.

The new community needed order, and the recruitment of helpers began. It makes me think of when I would fill positions for Sunday School teachers, food donors, and other volunteers. The goal was to make our children’s ministry programs flow seamlessly. When these people receive their job descriptions, they know how they fit in.

Ezra 10 – A Fresh Start

Read Ezra 10

The book of Ezra closes with a plan of cleansing agreed to by the people. Our last reading identified the problem, and we saw Ezra’s response was to earnestly pray. Today’s reading picks up right there with many other people joining Ezra in his lament.

Were you surprised at how easily the people agreed with Ezra? The plan was put in place to remove the pagan spouses from the land to cleanse the land of foreigners who would not share in the devotion to the LORD, respecting his laws and decrees. The purpose of this cleansing was to remove the “poison” of unbelief from spreading.

1 Peter 4:7-11 – Bring Glory to God

Read 1 Peter 4:7-11

That first line sure grabbed me, did it for you? I had to stop and just nod my head. I’d love to think that Jesus was coming soon. And then I remember all the people I know and love that don’t know Jesus yet, or if they do, they aren’t nurturing their relationship like Jesus deserves. So when you wonder why Jesus hasn’t come yet, remind yourself there are still people who need to know about him and be saved.

We’re a lot closer to Jesus’ return than Peter was when he wrote this letter. Thousands of years have already passed. In every generation, people have been getting ready. I don’t suppose any of those who love Jesus mind when they get to heaven. We have the confidence he’ll return when the Father says so. He promised. It’s our job to be ready.