Marty: What Are We Equipped For?

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors
and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

- Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)

I'm a big proponent of looking back on your life to see where God has taught you or caused you to grow through situations, life events, joyful times, difficult times, blessings, and tragedies. We don't usually fully understand the significance of an experience when we are in the middle of it. If we are honest with ourselves, there are times when we may not want to acknowledge that God can use a set of circumstances to teach us something. Yet, when we reflect on our life, God's activity can become very clear. As we go through this brief life on earth, He who gave us that very life molds us and shapes us. Something we experienced a few years ago may have prepared us for what we are doing today. And today's experiences are preparing us for something to come.

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors
and teachers..."

My pastor used a passage from Paul's letter to the Ephesians in his teaching this morning. While it was only a small part of his message, it gave me a new perspective on a familiar text. First point here is that the experiences and circumstances through which God shapes us include learning from the apostles and prophets through His word, and evangelists, pastors, and teachers whom we encounter. And Paul tells us here, that Christ himself gave these people to us.

"...to equip his people.."

That's right - Paul tells us that Christ gave us the apostles and prophets, and evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip us. Our pastors aren't in church Sunday morning to make us feel good about our upcoming week. And those dedicated bible study teachers we take for granted aren't just doing their preparation so you can learn the cultural background of bible stories. Nope. Paul says they are to "equip" us.

Equip us for what?

Paul says these folks - these gifts to us from Christ - are given "to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." 

Wow! So God has placed in our lives people specifically charged to equip us for tasks that He will call us to, with His goal being to build up the Body of Christ in unity and maturity!

I don't know about you, but that takes a lot of pressure off me. I don't need to worry about what God is going to call me to do - He'll make that clear to me. And then I don't have to fret about how I am going to do it, because I know - I trust - that He will have prepared me in advance to do that which He has called me to do.

What are you being equipped for?

Lisa: What about my frozen yogurt?

Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night with a crazy thought in your head and wondered "where did that come from?"  To those who know me it is no secret that I love frozen yogurt.  I guess I never realized how much until I thought to myself--"They don't have frozen yogurt in the DR and that is not something anyone can bring me when they visit" and then that thought leads to other thoughts and soon you have been awake for an hour and you figure well I might as well get up and go to the bathroom--haha!

I am not a worrier by nature and in fact scripture tells us not to worry about anything--God has this world and He is in control of everything and nothing happens that doesn't first go through His hands.  That is such a comfort for me as we prepare for this amazing adventure that we have been called too.  Can you imagine what your day and even your life would look like if we always remembered that our God is in control and loves us more than anything?  He rejoices with us, laughs with us and cries with us as we make this journey through life. In my heart lately God has placed the desire to spend more time with Him, learning His word and really listening to Him and what he wants from me.  There are times when I get so excited about the plans that "I" have for our time in the DR that I forget that God's thoughts and ways are not like mine.  I need to always be seeking His will for my life and our time serving in the DR.   I need to realize that my plan may be totally different that what God has in store for me.  He sees the bigger picture and only asks that I go along and be His hands and feet--that does make me excited!

My prayer for this week is that I will listen to God and spend more time with Him.  I pray that my will may be aligned with His and I walk with the Lord--not in front of Him--thinking that I am telling Him how things are gonna be.  I realize that my waking in the middle of the night thinking of the yogurt means a few things--God wanted me awake to realize He is calling me to a closer walk with Him, God wants me to seek His will and go with His plans and not tell Him mine and maybe that I haven't had frozen yogurt in awhile and He knows I love it!

Jessica: "If It Doesn't Break Your Heart, It Isn't Love"

You don't know.

You don't know how much I love you.

Or how much I want you to meet the glorious God I serve.

Or how desperately I try to show you His splendor through my words and deeds.

You will never know.

You will never know the amount of time I have spent fighting for you in the spiritual war for your life.

Or that while you are eating, I am on my knees begging God to reveal Himself to you.

Or that while you are sleeping, my tears are spilling onto my pillow because I know you are hurting, and I know you are lost.

You will never know about the letters I wanted to send, the phone calls I wanted to make, the words I wanted to speak, but never could. 

Would it matter?

I wonder if it would make a difference if you knew.

If you knew that God was seeking after you.

If you knew that He loves you infinitely more than I ever could.

I wonder if I could do something more.  
        If I just prayed harder, loved deeper, spoke louder.  Would it matter?  Would you finally believe?

With each passing day my love for you grows deeper, and so does my heartbreak.  My heart is screaming out, but I find no words to say.

God, please show them the truth.  My friends, my beloved ones, need you.