Fw: post for editing

 

 

I really got alot out of Pastor Matt's sermon from Sunday June 14th.  It was on how to be a member of a community of believers, a real member, and how to show others what a real believer looks like.

 

First, he said that Jesus has sent us into the world to be "fishers of men".  I like that phrase.  For me that means that I need to take every opportunity to speak of Jesus and to show His love to those I deal with.  I know sometimes its not easy, and often it takes me out of my comfort zone, but it is expected of us.  I have had many instances since I broke my leg to tell others how the Lord has strengthened me and taken care of me.  Many people say "how can you be so happy when you have so many health problems?"  I have responded by telling them what the Lord has done in my life and that I am trusting in Him.  Many people also see the horrible scars on my leg and ask "what happened?"  There again, I can tell them how I am trusting in the Lord and what He has done in my life.  At first it was definately a hard thing to do.  What if they made fun of me?  What if they thought I was weird?  I have never had a negative response from people I have had a chance to tell about God and Jesus.  So, I have been getting bolder and bolder.

 

The second thing that really stuck in my mind was the fact that we are very valuable to God.  Sometimes I don't feel very valuable to anyone.  But then I remember the verses in the Bible that say that we are more valuable than sparrows and flowers.  When I look at flowers especially, I feel very valuable to God.  I see the intracinsies of the flower.  The many colors blending perfectly and the awsome detail.  And I think of how special God made that flower but, within a day or two it is gone.  Since I am a child of God, I will last forever, and if He took so much care in creating a flower, how much more did He take care in creating me and how special I must be to Him.

 

Another highlight for me was that we are to accept others because God accepts all of us.  Many times in my life I didn't feel accepted by my peers and it made me feel really sad.  My pride sometimes causes me to act in the same way.  But this is wrong.  Wouldn't it be great if we could all accept eachother?  I think that our body would grow stronger if we all did.  And when we invite others to our fellowship or small group meetings, if people could see the love and acceptance within our body, it would go a long way toward helping them feel that we are friends they would like to have and be more inclined to hear the message of salvation thru Jesus.

 

The last point that Pastor Matt made was that we should not think that we are above certain people or certain jobs.  Whenever I start to think that I am to good for this or that, I remember that Jesus gave up the glory He had in Heaven to humble Himself and become a human being so that He could die to save people who were His enemies.  I know that if I were asked to do that, I wouldn't think that it was a very good idea.  As a mother, I would have a real problem giving away one of my boys to die in someone elses place, whether they were friend, family or what ever.  But God the Father did that for us.  If Jesus, the KIng of Kings and Lord of Lords, was willing to humble himself to such a great degree for us, we should definately be willing to clean toilets, sweep floors or do anything that needs to be done for our fellowship, no questions asked.