Make It Clear

Make It Clear

Colossians 4: ² Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. ³ At the same time pray also for us, so that God will give us a good opportunity to preach his message about the secret of Christ. For that is why I am now in prison. ⁴ Pray, then, that I may speak, as I should, in such a way as to make it clear.

 

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“Why aren’t you hanging with us anymore?” was a question posed to me. We used to go out every weekend from one club to the next. But when my life changed, I sought something in life that seemed a bit more. I could not answer the question clearly.

 

• I had a sense of purpose but could not explain it well.
• I had to learn about JESUS and how to explain what I believed.
• I had done things one way for so long that I could not tell people why my life had changed.

 

Paul asks for prayer because his life had changed. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees, meaning he was a leader of leaders. He may have been wealthy being in this position and was very powerful. BUT JESUS met him and changed his life. He had to learn how to tell people about his encounter with the one true and living GOD.

 

My Observations

• It’s hard to explain why I believe in JESUS, but I do.
• Prayer is powerful and GOD will guide me to the right words.
• I need many people to pray for me to make “it” clear.

 

“It” is JESUS. I mean, making “it” clear is making JESUS clear to those who need hope and eternal life. To me, this is everyone. Unfortunately, the enemy, Satan, wants people to live blinded lives that do not ever seek HIM.

 

GOD wants HIS people to have peaceful lives full of love and abundant joy. HE also wants HIS SON known to all of mankind. HE uses imperfect people like me to say “I believe”, so others will do the same. I am glad I can have many people pray for me to make “it” clear.

 

Challenge

• What is the writer’s request?
• What is your purpose in life?
• Will you seek opportunities to speak “as you should” about JESUS to someone who needs hope and eternal life today?

Made Specific

Made Specific

Ephesians 4: ¹⁶ Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.

 

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Waking up slightly later than usual, I realized I had to catch a flight. I rushed out the house and sped to the airport. To my dismay, the traffic getting into the parking garage was fierce. I ran to the gate only to watch the plane pull away. I was supposed to present my part to a client that afternoon in another city.

 

• I was not available to present my part.
• I was part of a team and I had a specific role.
• I did not do my part as I should have.

 

Under the control of JESUS, Paul explains that each person has a specific role to play. HE made each person different to play a specific role in the whole body.

 

My Observations

• GOD wants me to surrender my life so HE can be in control.
• GOD made me specifically to grow the body.
• GOD wants me to do my part to build the body up in HIS love.

 

Human love is incomplete. I mean, one person has a tiny piece of love, but not the totality. Under the control of JESUS, we are put together as one single body. Each person has a specific role to play in HIS love.

 

Every action placed under HIS control has a purpose that HE uses to draw HIS kingdom together. HE knows where the missing pieces fit and each piece is just as important as the next. I am grateful GOD made me to be part of HIS family and has given me a specific purpose.

 

Challenge

• What concern is the writer addressing?
• Do you feel alone or feel as if you are not quite fitting in?
• Will you enjoy the fact that GOD made you for a specific role and needs you to do your part so HE can reach those who HE will draw to HIMSELF through you today?

Putting Gifts to Use

Putting Gifts to Use

Ephesians 4: ¹¹ It was he who “gave gifts to people”; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. ¹² He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ. ¹³ And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature.

 

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Seeing the mural, I was amazed! Someone had illustrated major events of the Bible in a way I could understand. Another person I ran into was very talented in growing gardens. She mentioned how it reminded her of bearing fruit and had many analogies.

 

• I thought gifts were only limited to being used in church.
• I limited gifts to churchy tests and certain language used only in churches.
• I wondered if I had any gifts because the church did not seem to value what I had to offer.

 

JESUS “gave gifts to people” according to the scripture. Paul explains that each gift given would be put to use for the work of the Christian service. The list he gives can sometimes be confused by activities defined in many churches. GOD’s appointment is sovereign and is above human definitions.

 

My Observations

• GOD wants me to build up the body of CHRIST
• GOD wants me to come together in oneness in faith and knowledge of the SON of GOD.
• GOD wants me to mature and someday reach the height of JESUS.

 

Overlooked talents cause many people to become disenchanted with churches. I mean, a person who is gifted in welding may want to use his or her talents, but is asked to work in children’s church instead. People who have many gifts may be apostles or prophets or evangelists or pastors or teachers and they do not even know it.

 

A writer may, in fact, be using her talents to glorify GOD in many ways. Some people who smile may be evangelizing as he walks down the street. A woman lying in a bed may invoke prayer. Limiting GOD has caused people to think their talent is useless. Quite the opposite. The gift HE gave each person is customized to reach others in HIS defined way. I am glad HE provided me with gifts that do not need to be compared to, or evaluated by other people’s gifts.

 

Challenge

• What is a mature response to what the writer wrote?
• Do you have gifts and talents that seem to be overlooked by people?
• Will you put your gifts and talents to use for the service of building up the body of CHRIST, knowing your gift is extremely important to GOD today?

Admiration

Admiration

1 Corinthians 12: ²⁷ All of you are Christ's body, and each one is a part of it. ²⁸ In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues. ²⁹ They are not all apostles or prophets or teachers. Not everyone has the power to work miracles ³⁰ or to heal diseases or to speak in strange tongues or to explain what is said. ³¹ Set your hearts, then, on the more important gifts.

 

Best of all, however, is the following way.

 

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Trying my hand at art, I drew some things, but I quickly realized I was not as good as the gifted. I would read books on how to draw more realistic, but the innate talent just was not there. I decided to admire those who had greater ability than me rather than pursuing their gift.

 

• I began to value others for what they could do.
• I started understanding I need others who can do many things better than myself.
• I saw more value in what people brought to the table when I accepted my deficit.

 

Paul goes into a history lesson that could be mistaken as a hierarchy. He had just mentioned that everyone is equal, Jew and Gentile. He then explains that CHRIST put the apostles in place to spread the Good News. He then explains that other people, with various gifts, followed. While these gifts were nice to have, everyone should pursue the greatest gift, namely love.

 

My Observation

• GOD wants me to value other people who gave their life to HIM.
• GOD wants me to see that I need other people to complete HIS church.
• GOD wants me to recognize other people’s talents to serve HIM in HIS church.

 

Admiring what people do for GOD is highly acceptable. I mean seeing someone serve or heal or speak a certain way is a good thing to do. If I envy someone versus admiring them, then I have a problem. GOD has given each person a special gift that is to be used to bring people to HIM.

 

HE wants me to use this gift as often as I can. I can admire what others do, but all of us are supposed to learn how to love each other the way GOD intended. I am glad there are many other people, who I can learn from, who have the talent to bring people to the saving knowledge of JESUS.

 

Challenge

• What qualities do you admire?
• How does envy get in the way of admiration?
• Do you feel you are valued for the gifts you are using for the growth of GOD’s kingdom?
• Will you seek to add love as one of your learned gifts today? 

Detached

 

Detached

1 Corinthians 12: ²¹ So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don't need you!” Nor can the head say to the feet, “Well, I don't need you!” ²² On the contrary, we cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker; ²³ and those parts that we think aren't worth very much are the ones which we treat with greater care; while the parts of the body which don't look very nice are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ which the more beautiful parts do not need. God himself has put the body together in such a way as to give greater honor to those parts that need it. ²⁵ And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. ²⁶ If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness.

 

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Walking into church, someone greeted me by name. I had no clue what his name was so I politely greeted him and kept going. This surface conversation was replicated with several people until service was over. I went home with no one knowing me or the circumstances I was going through.

 

• It was easy to be detached from other people’s problems.
• It was easy to smile in a group when everything was going wrong inside.
• It was easy to put up a front in church because others were doing the same.

 

Paul continues explaining the “body” of CHRIST. He flips from those who felt lesser than others to those who feel superior to people. “I don’t need you” is the mistake Paul is trying to correct. This brazen line of thinking is fostered by pride  and societal structures that naturally form hierarchies.

 

My Observations

• GOD wants me to break down hierarchies.
• GOD wants me to value what everyone brings to HIM.
• GOD wants me to know that when one person suffers, it is my obligation to suffer “with” him or her.

 

Detaching from people is easy and sometimes necessary. Carrying too many burdens can cause one to fall into despair. On the other hand, being detached puts up a façade that everything is alright, meanwhile life keeps getting messier and messier. GOD wants the “body” HE made to be there for one another.

 

No one is greater than another person. Only GOD is greater than all. We are made to share our hurts, pains, sins and point people to JESUS for salvation. Looking good in front of people is not the answer. Sharing JESUS as the healer, is the only way to truth. I am grateful for and need the body of CHRIST.

 

Challenge

• Do you feel it is easier to do things by yourself?
• What do you notice about the term “I don’t need you” in this explanation?
• What are your thoughts on “division?
• ”Will you seek help or seek to be helpful to someone today?

Fine Just As You Are

1 Corinthians 12: ¹⁴ For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. ¹⁵ If the foot were to say, “Because I am not a hand, I don't belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I don't belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell? ¹⁸ As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. ¹⁹ There would not be a body if it were all only one part! ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts but one body.

 

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After being talked about by many people, I wondered if I was broken beyond repair. Too skinny, too poor, too messy, too out of fashion were the many insults hurled at me. The world had placed negative labels on me that I wondered if they were true.

 

• I started to doubt my value.
• I wondered if I could amount to anything.
• I sometimes felt useless.

 

Paul explains that looking at someone else’s gifts and talents may cause a person to doubt the value of their own. He used an analogy of feet, ears and eyes to illustrate how necessary each person is to the body of CHRIST.

 

My Observations

• GOD wants me to value other people’s gifts and talents.
• GOD wants me to also value my gifts and talents.
• GOD wants me to understand that no one is inferior or superior.

 

Feeling “less than” is a serious problem. I mean, making someone feel less than their gifts and talents GOD has given them is a serious offense. But also, envying someone because of their gifts and talents can cause problems as well. What is the remedy? Be thankful.

 

When I am thankful for my gifts as well as other people’s gifts, I can broaden my world to more than me. My life becomes abundant when I praise GOD for others and for how HE made me. I am glad HE says “I saved you in the middle of your sins.” This shows me HE loves me just as I am.

 

Challenge

• What does this passage say about the “body?”
• What value do you place on your gifts and talents? How about other people’s gift?
• Will you seek to value how GOD made you and how HE made other people different for HIS purpose?

Broken Mirror

 Broken Mirror

1 Corinthians 12 ¹² Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. ¹³ In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.

 

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When I was moving, I threw a hand mirror in a box with books and other hard items. While unpacking I noticed it was cracked. I could still use the mirror, but it just wasn’t the same.

 

• I am part of larger group.
• I am a broken piece of a whole mirror.
• I am part of the entire body of CHRIST, but I need other broken pieces.

 

“Let us make man in OUR image” was the creation of the mirror. But when Adam sinned, the entire mirror was broken. It could no longer reflect GOD as a whole. Each piece could reflect a tiny portion, but not the whole being.

 

My Observation

• GOD wants me to know I am part of CHRIST, but only a part.
• GOD wants me to understand that I need other pieces of the mirror to reflect HIM properly.
• GOD wants me to seek the other broken pieces to put the mirror back together.

 

Knowing one part of the mirror is not more important than another part is the beginning. I mean, when I move a piece of the mirror to the eye or the ear, it reflects what is shown. BUT GOD wants an entire reflection. HE wants all the pieces put back together.

 

But what happens when they are all together? Wouldn’t there still be a crack? Yes. But somehow the HOLY SPIRIT removes the crack when we are “baptized into the one body” by HIM. HE guides us to see we all need each other to truly reflect GOD. I am glad I need other pieces.

 

Challenge

• What are your observations about the differences spoken here?
• What do you notice about the HOLY SPIRIT?
• Do you feel you are a part of something much bigger?
• Will you seek CHRIST and be added into the body today?

I need “you”

1 Corinthians 12: ¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
^18 .But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be

¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

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Do it yourself shows are a favorite of mine because I can learn how things are made and pick up a few tricks. To save a few bucks I think I can do anything until I actually start the project and quickly realize I’m in trouble.

I wind up getting an expert who costs twice as much as my original estimate because they have to repair what I broke. I still wonder how I made it home when I tried to repair my own brakes!

• None of us is as good as “all of us.”
• I may think my talents are great until I try to do everything.
• I sometimes have to admit I need “that” person.

GOD made me incomplete.  Yes I am complete in my relationship with HIM but HE made me need other people. I must recognize their GOD given talents and experiences and welcome their help instead of complaining to GOD that I am not made a certain way.

• I should thank GOD for other people because HE made them just as they are.
• I should thank GOD for different opinions because GOD lovers variety.
• I should thank GOD for diverse thought because my thinking can be faulty.

The words “I need you” should pour out of my mouth on a regular basis because I can’t do it all. I must appreciate those who provide the help.

• Do you think other people are better than you because of their title?
• Can you examine yourself to see why you think a position in the church is greater than another?
• Won’t you put your trust in GOD who loves a wide variety of people?