Pastor Kellie's Blog

Get Going!

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“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”?  Matthew 28:19

In our weekly GiGi Bible study on the book of Jonah, we learned something interesting that I’d like to share with you.

Those who have been around the church for awhile should be familiar with the “Great Commission” which is found in Matthew 28 above.   This, in a nutshell, is the marching orders for every believer for all time, “go & make disciples”.  Another word for this is called “evangelism”.  The sad truth is that most Christians don’t “evangelize”.  Perhaps part of the reason is that they view evangelism as what we do, rather than a way to live.  A couple of weeks ago Ellen Bernhardt was water baptized.  This is a direct result of evangelism by her son & daughter-in-law!  So how did they do it?  By doing “life”!

We learned through our study that the Greek word “go” found in the Great Commission could better be translated as “going”.  Priscilla Shirer writes, “In other words, the command to make disciples should be accomplished while believers are going about their business...What a powerful impact we can make if we purpose to go about the regular duties of our day with an underlying mission to make disciples.”  
The mission that has been given to every believer & church hasn’t changed, “go & make disciples”.  Don’t think of evangelism as an event, but a way of life, you might just be surprised at how "easy" it really is!

Are You Transforming?

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"And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image."  2 Corinthians 3:18b

Have you ever stopped to think how ugly a butterfly is BEFORE it gets transformed?   You’ve probably all read about the process that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.  That first step of that process involves a hard shell forming over the caterpillar called a chrysalis.   While the caterpillar is in its cocoon amazing changes take place so that when the caterpillar is “done”, it has now grown, transformed, into a beautiful butterfly!  Depending on the type of caterpillar it was, this process can take as little as 10 days or as long as several months.   

In a similar way, God expects, designed, you and I, who were once like the “ugly” caterpillar, covered in a “hard shell” called sin, to be transformed into His glorious image through His Word and His Spirit.

Like the caterpillar, it seems this process of transformation happens more quickly for some, and much longer for others.  The reasons for this are varied, but one thing is certain, being transformed is NOT an option for the true follower of Christ!  You and I are expected to reflect the Lord’s glory in “ever increasing measure”, so that others can get an accurate impression of who Christ is and what He’s like.  It doesn’t matter where you are in the process, it just matters that you’re not staying the same. 

From a Rock to a Stumbling Block

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“Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You! Jesus turned away from Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way [an offense and a hindrance [a stumbling block] and a snare to Me]; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men.”  Matthew 16:22-23 AMP

Do you realize that on the heels of Peter confessing Jesus as “the Christ”, he then, being used by satan, attempted to thwart the plan God had set for Him?  In one moment Peter is “the rock”, and the very next he has become the stumbling block.  How is it that someone can go from one extreme to the other in such a short period of time?  By using “natural” wisdom rather than God’s.  From Peter’s perspective Jesus needed to be protected.  Protected from whom??  God?  Because Peter knew best?  Remember, Peter was in Jesus’ inner circle, one of the “3”, surely he could not be used of satan, could he?  Absolutely! 

Anytime we approach life based on an earthly, temporal, perspective, we are capable of doing the same thing with those we love and care about most.  After all, Peter was simply concerned for his Friend, wanting to “protect” Him from suffering.  If we’re not careful, we too can be a “stumbling block” in another believer’s life by trying to “protect” them from God’s plan and purpose for their life.   Perhaps God is telling you to “do” something that in the natural seems too hard or self-sacrificial, even crazy, and someone in your life who loves you is trying to keep you from fulfilling it.  We must recognize that sometimes our most difficult temptations can come from those who are closest to us.  Church, we must always obey God rather than man knowing that His plan for our life is not only the best way, it’s the only way to live!

Sure There's No "I" in Team, But There is a "Me"!

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Henry Ford said, “Coming together is a beginning.  Keeping together is progress.  Working together is success.  Today as we celebrate all that the Lord has been doing through the ministry of LWCC, we know that none of it would be possible if not for the partnership we all share with one another.  As Ecclesiastes says, working as part of a team is more satisfying than working alone and it also guarantees help when we need it.   

In the last section of Colossians, the Apostle Paul, who was, apart from Christ, the greatest figure of the New Testament, remembered those who partnered with him to accomplish the task the Lord gave him.   As he nears what in all likelihood would be the end of his life, he talks about some of the friends that he had made along the course of his life and what they meant to him personally and for his ministry. Each friend that he mentions stands out because of some special ability or characteristic that they possessed. His friends were more than acquaintances; they were partners in ministry.

God used Paul to accomplish tremendous spiritual victories throughout his life. But Paul did not accomplish these things as a soloist. He was the leader of a team of close friends who worked as a team under the leadership and empowerment of their heavenly Father. Together, they accomplished far more than Paul could have ever accomplished on his own.  He did not take the credit but gladly included his team in recognition for what had been able to be accomplished. Likewise, we honor each of you for partnering with us to advance God’s Kingdom!  We love you!

Balance - Fact or Fiction?

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What does balance look like to you?  Is is something you strive for or is it something that you’ve come to believe is impossible to achieve?  ??Webster’s defines balance this way, “when ALL of the parts are in harmony.”  It seems that balance is something that most of us struggle with.  After all, there are so many demands on our lives -  family, work, church, friends, hobbies, and the list goes on & on!??You & I are made up of body, mind & spirit and in order for us to have balance, all of these must be in harmony.  Jesus, who is our example, knew what it meant to be busy!  He knew what it meant to be pulled in a lot of different directions, He was always in high demand, and always “on the job”! But we read in Luke 2:52 that He lived a balanced life.  You might be thinking, of course, He’s God!  But remember, His Spirit lives within us and we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us!  So let’s consider for a moment how He did it.  First we know that He regularly spent time in prayer and in the Lord’s house.  He knew that if we was going to be effective in what He was called to do He had to put “first things first”.  His relationship with His Father had to be at the center of all that He did.  Jesus wasn’t someone who was all about “work”, or all about friends or family, or certainly not all about Himself!  
If you are feeling out of balance today, take an honest look at your life. Say, "Where am I in balance? Where am I out of balance?"  Evaluate it. Do a self-examination. Have a spiritual, mental, emotional, social, physical check-up and evaluate your lifestyle. Proverbs says  it’s wise to analyze. Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."  Don’t just prioritize your schedule, schedule your priorities!  Matthew 6:33 promises us that “if we seek FIRST His Kingdom & His righteousness that ALL of these things will be added unto us as well”.  Now that’s a promise you can take to the bank!

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