One Body

I went to church the other night and I listened to a sermon in which a guest preacher was talking about influence. He started talking eventually about the influence we have on our brothers and sisters in Christ and talked about a lot of the verses that talk about loving each other and us all being members of one body. Then he read from Romans 15:5, which states in the King James version, "Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus" The New International version reads "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus"

Then he proceeded to tell a story of a man who was a different denomination who came into his church building because he was working with some Haitian kids and he wanted to see if he could use the building to have an event for the kids. He said he told this man that he could not let him use the building because they were "not of a like mind". He said that when the man was confused, he shared with him verses and ways in which they were different and for this reason he could not let him use the building. He said the man went away puzzled and didnt understand. The preacher then went on to say that we have to be on the same team and to be on the same team you have to play by the same rules.

From then on, I did not hear another word that the preacher was saying. The man who walked away confused after being refused the church building was not the only one puzzled. Especially in a sermon where he was also talking about loving one another and being members of one body. Though this man was a different denomination, to the preacher he was not even of the same body because he did not do things the same way as him. I assume that this man was a Christ-follower. He definitely was for doing good things since he wanted to do things for the Haitian children. I don't know that having everything "right" is a prerequisite to being a part of the body. If that is the case, then nobody would be.

There are always going to be differences between brothers and sisters in Christ. But just because we do not do everything the same does not mean that we cannot be unified. Recently, there was a big sermon series listened to in churches all across the world called One Prayer. I got to hear one sermon while I was at church with my brother and sister-in-law in Texas. In this sermon, he talked about how his one prayer would be for the church to be one. In the sermon I heard, he states that we should be unified and all have One Enemy, One Heart , and One Purpose. He also states that "Unity is not the same as uniformity." If you have a chance, listen to this powerful sermon by Craig Groeschel called "Make us One". http://www.oneprayer.com/church/lifechurchtv/en (If the link does not work, go to http://www.oneprayer.com/ and click on messages and then go to the "Make us One" sermon.) I would make time to take 30 minutes and watch it. Instead of channel surfing or surfing the web, take the time to watch the sermon. He makes some really good points about this very important topic. The guy from the different denomination who was turned away probably did not feel loved by our brother. In fact, he probably walked away thinking about what a divisive church the Church of Christ must be.

This happens all over, but since I have come to Florida, I have been to Churches of Christ that don't even fellowship with other Churches of Christ because of the way they do things. But this is never mentioned in the sermons I hear on us being members of one body, or the sermons on unity, or the sermons on loving one another. Listen to the sermon if you get a chance and I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject.

Also, I read another blog from a preacher in Abilene named Mike Cope who is an amazing guy and a wonderful preacher. I have his blog linked on this web page. His blog address is http://preachermike.com/. He has a very interesting post today, August 22nd, called 21st Century Restoration Movement(s) that relates directly to this subject. He also links some books dealing with the subject.

Happy Birthday Kasey!!

My wonderful wife's birthday is today. I look forward to spending many more birthdays with her. Our 2nd anniversary was also on August 12th. It has been the best two years of my life. I am definitely the luckiest guy in the whole world!!



For those of you who dont know her, I always dreamed that I would marry the most beautiful woman in the whole world. A woman who every time I saw her, it would take my breath away. Every glimpse of her would be a treasure that I would cherish forever. Her eyes would sparkle like stars in the night sky. Her smile would make my heart pound for joy. She would brighten a room with her presence. Her inner beauty would radiate from her so much that it would be even more attractive than her amazing outward appearance. She would have a heart of gold that cared for all of God’s creation. Her words would bring joy and laughter to everyone around her at just the right times. Mercy and grace would flow from her in abundant measures. She would uplift and encourage those who feel like they have no hope. She would love and care for her family and friends and always make them feel as if they were the most important people in the world. She would be compassionate and kind to everyone. Her great wisdom would show in everything she does. I would love listening to the sound of her voice and the sound of her singing would be the most pleasant music on earth. One dance with her would provide enough excitement for a lifetime. When she was away, I would long for the touch of her hand and the scent of her hair. Her life would be lead by her loving God and Father in heaven. Her passion would be for serving God and his people. She would be slow to judge and quick to forgive. She would be athletic and love doing activities with me. She would be a wonderful cook. She would make me my favorite cake on special occasions. Having her in my life would naturally make me into a better person. She would believe in me and help me become the person that I have the potential to be. She would be great with children and children would love her. She would think that I was extremely funny and laugh at my jokes. She would think I was good-looking even when I might not think that of myself. She would love me for who I am and appreciate the things that I do. She would lead a simple life and share with those who are in need. I dreamed she would be someone I could grow old with. She would be with me when times are good and when times are bad. She would hold my hand and pray with me at morning, noon, and night. She would be the most beautiful creation God had ever made. Looking upon her would make me thank God for how majestic and wonderful He is....Well,the Lord has blessed me and my dreams came true. I always dreamed of having a wife like Beau :).



If you know Kasey, please share your thoughts or stories about her on this day we get to celebrate her life. (For those of you who get emails, you can comment on the blog site for all to see).

Money

I think about money a lot. Mainly, I want to make sure that I am doing the right things with my money. Money is one of the top things talked about in the Bible. What we do with our money shows where our heart is. We have to be on guard against getting and keeping money for our own selfish desires. This is an extremely hard thing to do.


One of the main things I have been wrestling with lately is retirement savings. I know it is important to save for retirement. But on the other hand, I dont want to be rich. My brother and I had a good discussion about this a while back. On one side, wealth could be good as long as your heart is good. When you have money, your character really shows. So if you accumulate wealth, and you use it all to benefit other people who are in need then this could be a very good thing. However, if you are accumulating wealth so that you can have a bigger house, a nicer car, security, etc., then this can be a very bad thing. Especially while so many people in the world have nothing but the clothes on their back and have a hard time getting food and shelter. The hard thing for me is putting my trust in God and not putting my security in money as I have talked about in earlier posts.

Here are some scriptures I have been reflecting on lately.

1 Timothy 6: 17-19 - 17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 - Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.

Hebrews 13:5 - Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

James 2:15-16 - 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

1 Timothy 6:6-10 - 6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Acts 2: 44-45 - 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

Matthew 6:24 - No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Luke 18: 18-23 - 18A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
19"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. 20You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother."
21"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.
22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
23When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. 24Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Luke 12: 15-21 - 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Proverbs 18: 10-11 - 10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower;the righteous run to it and are safe. 11 The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.


What are your thoughts on saving for retirement, wealth, money struggles,etc.?

P.S. - I also think the other extreme of having lots of debt is also a bad thing but I will tackle that in another post (or let my brother, Dustin, do a guest post since he has thought about that and studied that more than I have)