Dear Fellow Children of God,
This
past Thursday evening I was in a classroom at St. John as a new training class
for Stephen Ministry began learning about serving in Jesus’ name. Six students and 3 teachers gathered to grow
in their ability to reach out as a Christian and intentionally help others in
time of trial or need. It was very
encouraging to see this room full of people committed in their faith.
This
class will include 20 sessions and 50 hours of teaching attitudes and skills of
listening, of sharing God’s love and help, of confidentiality, of referring to
professional help, and other topics. At
the end of each session the writers of these materials have developed a
technique that helps focus this training by using a symbol called the Stephen
Ministry Compass. Those in training are
asked how serving as a Stephen Minister requires them to be compassionate, full
of faith, skilled, and trustworthy.
These are the words on the outside of this Stephen Ministry
Compass.
But,
then they are asked one more question to focus their training and future
service. “How is Christ at the center of
this work?” You see, in the center of
this compass is a symbol called the “Chi Rho.”
These are the first two Greek letters in the Greek spelling of the word
Christ. This symbol has been used to point
to Jesus since early Christian times, when the Greek language was the common
language in the region of the world where the Christian Church was being born. Every week in training the students look back
at what they have learned and focus on our Lord. They consider how their service points to
Christ and brings Him to this caring situation.
While
this is an excellent tool to help new Stephen Ministers to consider how their
caring service is distinctively Christian, this is also a great idea for all
Christians. What a good question to ask
and what a good way to focus as we begin a day of work, chores, and activities,
and as we wind down at night and consider what has happened during the day. “How is Christ at the center of my life this day?”
That is the call of our Lord which we
receive many times throughout Scripture, that Christ is to be at the center of
our lives and that we live to serve Him.
For example, in Colossians 3 we hear God’s Word say, “23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not
for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as
a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24) God calls us
daily to live our lives in service of Christ our Lord. We can and should ask, “Do my actions and my
words and my relationships point to Jesus’ love and His righteousness?”
However,
in our consumer driven world today, many forget God’s call and see Him as just another
product or tool to help in time of need. Even those of us who follow Jesus can fall
into this trap. Do I need guidance? Do I need help or strength? Do I need forgiveness? Do I need the promise of eternal life? In today’s world people often forget God
until such needs arise. Then they go to the shelf (or the church) and take what
they need. When life seems better God is
put back on the shelf of their life until they think they need Him again. But, this is not having Jesus at the center
of everything we do. Rather than living
for God, this is rather using God for our purposes. Instead of serving Christ as Lord, we can and
often do make ourselves into idols.
Amazingly, even knowing our selfish
hearts, God has not abandoned us. When
we have acted in self-serving ways, God gave of Himself. The Father sent His Son from heaven to a
world of sin and pain and death. The Son,
Jesus, the author of life, died on the cross and gave His life for people
trapped in selfishness, sin, and death.
Jesus lived FOR US. He died FOR
US. He rose FOR US. In the face of our rebellious living for
ourselves instead of living for our Creator and our Savior, God in contrast
sacrificed to save us from ourselves. “6 You
see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good
man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans
5:6-8) What love!
So, we
can ask the question in our own lives. “How
is Christ at the center of my life this day?”
The truth is that we always need the direction and forgiveness and love
of God. And God gives us that love in
Jesus. So, we seek God’s grace and work
to serve Him as the center of our
lives. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with
all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that
you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord
Christ you are serving.”
“How is Christ
at the center of my life this day?”
A Child of God, Called to Live for Jesus
in Whatever I Do!
Pastor Jonathan
P.S.
Tuesday morning brought a surprise at St. John.
It seems a plow backed into the wall of the church at Jamie’s
office. So, while insurance companies
are working out the details, Jamie is now making her office in the Music Room /
Stephen Ministry office. Here are a few pictures. https://goo.gl/photos/HQ5pJytQBRiu39kW9
P.P.S. I took some family fishing on Monday, January 16. As the foot or more of snow fell that day we were getting bites on a local lake. But . . . the BIG ONE got away! https://goo.gl/photos/qc4bxxXQjc6RdsYh8
P.P.P.S. For the next 3 Sundays we continue
to focus intentionally on God’s call to share Jesus. Using my doctoral work we will look at,
·
“Sharing
Jesus – God’s Plan” - January 15
·
“Sinners
and Saints – Sharing God’s Law, and Even more His Salvation,” - January 22
·
“Sharing
Jesus Through Relationships” - January 29
·
“Witnessing
and Sharing Jesus through My Actions.” – February 5.
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE
PASTOR’ - I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to
all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have. (I am regularly
adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this
e-mail for the first time.) However, if you don’t want to receive this
e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for
this message.
****
