2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In the next messages the Lord has directed me to write about our congregations. This is a very tender subject for me, something you will understand when I share why. Peter and I have done a lot of moving connected with job transfers in the past. This has taken us to a number of different congregations, some of which were wonderful and others of which were highly dysfunctional. Two of the latter were particularly painful experiences, because one split due to political wrangling, and the other took a direction that deviated from making God’s Word its central order of business. Many lives in addition to ours were adversely affected by what happened. The experience of going through this upended not only our social life, but left us spiritually starved. That was the condition we were in when we first came to our present congregation. Now that we have experienced the God-driven alternative, I can testify to just how crucial to our well-being membership and participation in a healthy congregation really is. Because we have no family living nearby, the members of our congregation are truly family to us. My understanding of God’s Kingdom is that the love we exchange with our fellow members is a foreshadowing of what we will enjoy in heaven. Now, let’s look at the Scriptures our loving Abba has given us to get His perspective on this very important subject.
1 Kings 8: 23, 25, & 29 are excepts from Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. (23) “…Lord god of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or earth below! You keep Your covenant with Your people and show them Your love when they live in whole-hearted obedience to You.” (25) An now, Lord God of Israel, I pray the You will also keep the other promise You made to my father [David] when You said to him that there would always be one of His descendants ruling as king of Israel, provided they obeyed You as carefully as he did.” (29) “Watch over this temple day and night, this place where You have chosen to be worshipped. Hear me when I face this temple and pray.” The purpose of the physical building is to focus the attention of the people on God. Sadly, some of the Jewish people became more focused on the building and its fixtures. I suspect that is one reason why none of the temples built there were allowed to remain. When a person attends a Jewish service even today the custom of facing in the direction of Jerusalem to say some of the prayers is still practiced. The dynamics of a Jewish temple congregation in Solomon’s time must have been quite different than the more intimate congregations of today since Jews from all over Israel were commanded to come to Jerusalem to worship. Building altars anywhere else in Israel was discouraged. The reason for this is that God was still believed to be present in the Holy of Holies of the temple. It was not until Ezekiel wrote from captivity in Babylon that God actually departed the temple [see EZK 10: 4]. God’s purpose, as it has always been, was to expunge any form of idolatry and to bring the people to a lifestyle with Him at the very center of it. That is still His purpose today.
Two citations from Matthew reveal the attitude of the Son. MT 18: 20, “For where two or three come together in My name I am there with them.” MT 28: 20, “…And I will be with you always, to the end of an age.” While Christ was on earth, He worshipped in synagogues just as other Jews did. There are a number of Scriptures that reveal to us that he spent considerable time from the time he was a young lad [read LK 2: 41-52] and also teaching there as an adult [see JN 6: 59]. Christ was able to travel from synagogue to synagogue, even without using His omniscience, always knowing ahead what the subject of the lessons to be taught would be. That is because over the course of the Jewish year, the Torah is read serially. Even today, the same portion of the Torah is read at the same time each year. MT 18: 20 is a citation that, the international spiritual retreat organization, Cursillo, recommends to be read at each of the renewal meetings of the community. That is an important reminder to us not only of His omnipresence, but also of His intimate interest in the welfare of those who believe in Him. The response He gave in MT 28: 20 to his disciples at the time He appears to them and gives us all the great commission [MT 28: 19-20] is to remind us that although He is in heaven, He will never abandon us. I find great comfort in that and hope you do too.
The Son’s desire for us to mimic His approach to human relationships is revealed in JN 13: 34-35, “And now I give you a new commandment; love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another, then everyone will know you are my disciples.” What He was doing with this teaching was presenting a way for people to come together in an attitude of caring and concern for each other. That is the ideal for us. When we put that together with his teaching about loving one’s enemies [see MT 5: 44-45], a construct is formed for the successful formation of the Body of Christ, His healthy congregation. This is not to say that mankind has had the faith and courage to conform to this ideal. However, my experience in our present one has surely shown us that it is indeed possible when people as a group are obedient to Christ for that ideal to become a reality. A healthy congregation has three important functions which are carried out: 1) providing a real house for God in which its members and visitors can experience God’s presence as they worship; 2) providing opportunities for its members to use their God-given talents to offer others opportunities for personal and spiritual growth; 3) being a force for faith-building and service to the local and world communities.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have brought us together in congregations for worship, spiritual growth, and service to You. We thank you for that privilege and for revealing the approach we must take to make this successful. Help us to find ways to keep You at the center of our lives as we strive to come closer to You through obedience. Help us to mirror the love You have for us in our interactions with each other, even when we are tempted not to do this. We dedicate ourselves to the unity and edification of the Body of Christ. In His name, amen.
Dear Ones, there is much more to say about this subject, so I will continue tomorrow. In the meantime, be encouraged in your faith, knowing that those who share it with you do so in love. Your loving Abba wants to be a constant and consistent presence in Your life and to bless it. Peter and I also send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn