08 - Connecting w/ God
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 08 | ARE YOU WORKING PROPERLY?
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 08 | ARE YOU WORKING PROPERLY?
ARE YOU WORKING PROPERLY?
Ephesians 4:15-16
“But speaking the truth in love, let us grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (NASB)
One of the more helpful metaphors for the church (we Christians) is that of a “body.”
Paul uses that extensively in 1 Corinthians 12, talking about we Christians being placed in the body just as HE (God the Holy Spirit) wills. Thus, not all are hands, or feet or mouthpieces (like me … Ha!)
Here in his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul goes on to talk about how we (the Body of Christ) need to GROW and that can happen only by the “proper working of each individual part.”
Have you ever had a part of your body that was broken or injured? Then your focus becomes healing, so that you can get back to feeling good and everything working properly again.
Have you ever considered yourself – within the Body of Christ – to be like a joint: an elbow, a knee, an ankle? How hard is it to move freely and enjoy life if one of your joints is out of whack?
It’s the same with the Body of Christ, aka “the Church.” No matter what role the Lord has for me in the Body, if am not functioning, the body (the church) will be hurting. It will be incomplete.
Because… we are connected to one another and we are also connected to God. God didn’t design us to be “Christian hermits.” He designed us to be functioning parts of the Body of Christ, the Church. (Remember: The Church is the People. The Believers.)
So, where do you fit in? What gift has the Spirit given you? (See 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 for more info on Spiritual Gifts.)
And if you know where you fit in, but are NOT doing your thing, that is, not sharing or ministering your Spiritual Gift to others in the Body, you are not obeying these verses and are hurting the growth that God desires.
You see, being CONNECTED to GOD carries with it some action steps. But God never asks us to do anything that is not ultimately for His Glory and OUR benefit! And He has equipped you to do what He needs you to do.
Prayer: Lord, I want to do my part to help the Body, the Church, to become all that You want it to be. Show me – or reconfirm in me – where I fit in and what You would have me do. Amen.
Ephesians 4:15-16
“But speaking the truth in love, let us grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.” (NASB)
One of the more helpful metaphors for the church (we Christians) is that of a “body.”
Paul uses that extensively in 1 Corinthians 12, talking about we Christians being placed in the body just as HE (God the Holy Spirit) wills. Thus, not all are hands, or feet or mouthpieces (like me … Ha!)
Here in his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul goes on to talk about how we (the Body of Christ) need to GROW and that can happen only by the “proper working of each individual part.”
Have you ever had a part of your body that was broken or injured? Then your focus becomes healing, so that you can get back to feeling good and everything working properly again.
Have you ever considered yourself – within the Body of Christ – to be like a joint: an elbow, a knee, an ankle? How hard is it to move freely and enjoy life if one of your joints is out of whack?
It’s the same with the Body of Christ, aka “the Church.” No matter what role the Lord has for me in the Body, if am not functioning, the body (the church) will be hurting. It will be incomplete.
Because… we are connected to one another and we are also connected to God. God didn’t design us to be “Christian hermits.” He designed us to be functioning parts of the Body of Christ, the Church. (Remember: The Church is the People. The Believers.)
So, where do you fit in? What gift has the Spirit given you? (See 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 for more info on Spiritual Gifts.)
And if you know where you fit in, but are NOT doing your thing, that is, not sharing or ministering your Spiritual Gift to others in the Body, you are not obeying these verses and are hurting the growth that God desires.
You see, being CONNECTED to GOD carries with it some action steps. But God never asks us to do anything that is not ultimately for His Glory and OUR benefit! And He has equipped you to do what He needs you to do.
Prayer: Lord, I want to do my part to help the Body, the Church, to become all that You want it to be. Show me – or reconfirm in me – where I fit in and what You would have me do. Amen.
Posted in Connecting w/ God