Month: September 2018

community

The Inspirational Story Of The Brethren Of The Common Life

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This is a story about some people who passionately lived out Christian community. In Scripture we see that God is inviting all people to join his new kingdom community. Since Jesus came and inaugurated this new community God has been calling people to himself and all who have received Jesus are members of this spiritual community. God has been adding members to this community through the centuries. After Jesus returns God will create a new heaven and new earth where all the members will live in the New Garden as God intended. This will be the culmination of the kingdom of God on earth. The story of Gerard Groote provides a good example of the kind of community God desires for his people now. Gerard Groote was born in 1340 in the Netherlands. His parents died of the plague when he was 10 and left him an inheritance. He was Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

Make Peace, Not War – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9 NIV). God promises to bless those who bring reconciliation to the world. Making peace, in other words, reconciliation, is one of God’s primary missions. His original plan for people was that they would all join together in harmony and mutual edification. Sadly, this world is full of people who do not pursue this peace. People lack peace with God, with each other and with themselves. His followers are called to be aware of this discord and make a positive effort to bring reconciliation. This is not easy work. It requires talking with people who may not want to come to peace. They might argue and resist and even fight. Our role is to be patient, listen, understand where they are coming from and then point them in the direction of reconciliation. Then we walk with them one Continue Reading →

walking in the spirit

Are You Stepping With The Spirit?

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“Keep in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25 NIV). The Holy Spirit guides us with the power of the presence of his goodness more often than with specific words that we hear inside our heads. God gives us his flow of life when we focus on his Spirit: “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires . . . the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:5-6 NIV). This is a little abstract but not difficult to learn how to do. Often the felt presence of the Spirit isn’t very strong; other times it is strong. Either way we can learn to center in the Spirit. If we keep our hearts tuned to the Holy Spirit then not only will Continue Reading →

Weekly words of encouragement

The Pure Will See God – Weekly Words Of Encouragement

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“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matt. 5:8 (NIV). This is one of the most popular verses in Christian history. Devout followers of Jesus who wanted to be close to God and “see” him in their life made a serious effort to purify their lives. This verse gives us a tremendous gift: the opportunity to see God! Jesus doesn’t give details about what that means but we know that it means that we will be very close to him. In this life it may mean that we experience his presence in a powerful way. In the next life we get to see God directly. The condition is that have a pure heart. Believers have judicial purity but Jesus is also asking for actual purity in our hearts. This takes time and effort and a willingness to examine our hearts. But if we pursue this we will Continue Reading →

Our Return To The Garden

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God has an amazing plan for us after Jesus returns. Along with being in the direct presence of Jesus and the Father we will live forever in a perfect community of love with God’s followers. This is what God originally intended for humans in the Garden of Eden. He told Adam and Eve “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals” (Gen. 1:28 NLT). If Adam and Eve and their descendants had not sinned then they would have built a community of people who were completely godly. Thus, their “city” would have been a fantastically harmonious and loving community. It would have been thoroughly creative and constructive as everyone joyfully used their god-given creativity to create and build beautiful and glorious homes and machines and whatever else was needed. They would have Continue Reading →