I Need You

I need you. I am praying for you today because I need you. I need you to be everything Jesus has intended for you to be in him. That is how he designed things to be, that I would need you and you would need me. We call it the Church. Scriptures refer to it as a Body and it is a spiritual thing. We are members and as members we are dependent on each other to be everything we need to be for the glory of Jesus. I need you.

Most of us have a lousy understanding of the Body. Some market it as a commodity to a people they see as customers. Their desire is growth that they manage through various tools of manipulation. That is not Jesus' design and it leads to a distortion that prevents you from understanding how much I need you.

The Body is an amazing living spiritual thing that provides a setting for gifted followers of Jesus Christ to serve as they have been called to serve. I say "gifted" but not in the manner in which you may understand. Gifted, as in possessing a gift or gifts from the Spirit to enable us to serve in the calling we have received. Each of our callings fit together with other believers. No one serves in isolation but our calling and gifts fit together with others to enable us to serve in an overwhelming spiritual manner that brings all glory to Jesus. Read 1 Corinthians 12 for yourself.

The thing is, Jesus also put in place trainers within this body. These are men and women who have been set aside as servants to the members of the Body. The Body does not revolve around these trainers but each member grows up into the head, which is Jesus. Trainers are only there to help people understand their purpose, calling, gifts and to help us understand that we work together, in unity, because we have been designed to need each other. If they take the focus off of Jesus then they have failed in their responsibilities. If they cause disunity and fail to train us to need each other then they have failed. Read this:

He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. (Ephesians 4:11)

He, being Jesus, called these people to be trainers. They are not special, only chosen to be set aside. In order to fulfill their responsibility they must be fully possessed by the Spirit, focused on Jesus to be equipped for this work. And their purpose:

His purpose was to equip God’s people for the work of serving and building up the body of Christ until we all reach the unity of faith and knowledge of God’s Son. (v. 12-13)

His purpose in setting aside these people was to use them for the equipping of his people, for the work of serving, building up, to the point of obtaining unity of faith and knowledge in Jesus. Amazing, isn't it? And what is Yahweh's goal?

God’s goal is for us to become mature adults—to be fully grown, measured by the standard of the fullness of Christ. (v. 13b)

Maturity. That is Yahweh's goal for us, what all of us are suppose to be moving into. The whole chapter is well worth further study to put this in context but the important thing to understand is that we need these trainers who help us understand that we need each other. They aren't suppose to be our focus, more like the trainers in a gym, there to help us improve. They know stuff we have yet to learn. They are the least, the servants, those who lay down their lives to serve us, and for this we honour them, because it costs them everything. Or it should if they understand who they are in the Body. Not everyone in the position has been called but if you look close enough I think you will find the authentic trainers.

Bottom line: I need you. I am designed to fit with you, so our gifts work together, and in the process we grow together, maturing and reaching the fullness of Jesus. So be well my friend, seek the Lord with all your heart, be dependent on him and allow the Spirit to possess you fully. Be strong in the Lord, because I need you.

Needy Christians

When you listen to our worship songs Christians sure come off as a needy bunch. It seems we are always crying out to God, expressing our needs but if you listen closely you will hear the difference between our cries and the world's. Our need is for the Lord Jesus himself.

We don't go to church to win favour with God.

We don't do kind things to earn merit points.

We don't do anything to try to manipulate four our own benefit.

We don't need to; he already gave us all the benefits of being his children.

So why do our songs sound so needy?Because we know that without Jesus we are nothing and have nothing. He is our source of joy, strength, hope, love, peace, everything. Our entire desire is to grow closer with him, so we can be more like him,so we can obey what he has commanded.

Yet we live in a world filled with attractions. No one says that sin is ugly in appearance and it is only after we have eaten that the rotten taste is clear. Our heart, mind and spirit long for intimacy with God but our body longs for the pleasures of this world. We cry out to God because we want his presence so evident to us that no temptation could ever overpower us. And it is a daily walk.

For a people who are used to planning a week, month, year or even 20 years in advance, to live day by day in the Spirit is not always an easy discipline. Imagine planning your meals a day at a time, needing to shop every morning for what you need today. That is how it works with Jesus. We have what we need for today. That is why he told us not to worry about tomorrow. It is why it is called a walk of faith. Daily trusting in his mercies for today.

There is no shame in being needy when that need is Jesus Christ. But when he has responded and renewed us again, when we have been bathed in his presence, when he has responded to our heart cry, we need to rise up and take action in the mission we have been given. If all we did was sit around and bathe in his presence, we would fail the mission.

So sing his praise and your need of him; receive all his benefits; and get to work.

Everyone Needs Jesus

Christian values are quickly being replaced by immoral values in our society. More than ever before the western society and culture is turning it's back on Jesus and choosing man's wisdom. The lost are not more lost as a result, it's just now the pretending is over and the great divide is more evident. The real danger is what this wide spread acceptance of immorality is doing to our children. It almost seems like an entire generation has been lost to Jesus. I said seems.

The important thing to keep in mind is that the heart of mankind has not changed all that much. Many sins that were hidden are being brought out into the light. What was done in secret is now done on the street corner. Now it is easier to address and should stop Christians from thinking that there isn't much work to do. Instead of feeling despair we should be rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. There is a world going to hell and we know someone wanting to save them.

Do you re-call Jesus with the woman at the well? She was a person completely lost in sin, who was pleased with herself and saw no need to change. Different from many people, she did not go looking for Jesus; he went looking for her. I think there is no story more fitting for us with our society than this encounter.

Jesus was faced with many barriers in dealing with this woman, yet he overcame all of them. He was there to convey the good news to this woman as we are here to convey it to our society and we too have barriers to overcome, according to God's grace and power. Over the next few days I will be looking at the 4 barriers Jesus overcame.

First, there was the social barrier:

"You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (John 4:9)

Jesus had the barrier of acceptable social practices at that time. First, he was a Jew and Jews did not speak to Samaritans, because of tradition. Also he was a man alone and she was a woman alone. They should not be speaking to each other. Jesus made it clear that a relationship with God transcends all social barriers:

"If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." (John 4:10)

I think sometimes we forget that the good news we have to share is far greater than anything else on this planet. Everyone needs to hear it. We can't allow a thing like social barriers to block us. Often these barriers are in our own thinking and attitude. We have to lose that with the reality of a Kingdom perspective.

For us, the sin of a person does not matter, the culture does not matter, either do language or skin colour; the fact that sin separates them from God is all that matters. We can not be frightened by someone's culture, language or traditions. We don't stand on ceremony or traditions. We have one simple task to do and that is share the good news. 

Jesus does not care what our culture is, our skin colour, language, position in life. He doesn't care if we are a stay at home mom or a big business tycoon. All he cares is that we are enslaved to our sin and he wants us to be rescued. He came so that we could be freed from sin so how can we allow social barriers to keep us from those whom he loves. Nothing stopped Jesus from reaching out as there should be nothing stopping us. With the boldness of his love we must push through into their world so we can tell them about Jesus. Rich, poor, male, female, adult, child, whatever sin, language, culture, everyone needs Jesus.