The God of the Bible is not the God of the status quo. First he shakes us up, and then he uses us to shake our world. That’s always been God’s method. When God wanted to change the world, he told Noah to do something he had never done before (build an ark) to prepare for something he had never seen before (rain). When God wanted to bring forth a great nation, he called a successful, middle-aged businessman named Abram and told him to leave Ur of the Chaldees. When God wanted to deliver his people, he found a man slow of speech named Moses and sent him to talk to the Pharaoh. When the Lord needed someone to hide the spies in Jericho, he found a prostitute named Rahab. When God needed someone to defeat Goliath, he chose a shepherd boy named David. What God wanted to deliver his people from destruction, he chose a young girl named Esther. When Christ wanted some men in his inner circle, he chose fisherman and tax collectors, a loud mouth named Peter and two brothers called the “sons of thunder,” and told them to drop everything and follow him. In other words, the Lord God we worship and serve is not a God of the Status Quo.
. . . And so the Father sent his Son into the world. He came unto his own and his own received him not. In him was light, and the light was the life of men. In him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. For God so loved the world that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Our Lord did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. And here is the truth. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. But God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He has made him who knew no sin to become sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And he has brought you to life who were dead in your trespasses and sins. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, lest any man should boast. Having made us new creations in Christ, he has appointed us as ministers of reconciliation that we might say to the world, “Be reconciled to God.” And he said to us, “As the Father has sent me, so send I you.” Then he gave us his standing orders. Go into all the world and make disciples of every nation. This is the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our God is not the God of the status quo. First he shakes us up, and then he uses us to shake the world. In Christ, Brown
Praise the Lord for 2014. It is going to be an exciting year for
ministry and the mission of Jesus Christ, our Lord. May Jesus our Lord bless us
as we find the ways and means to celebrate His grace and love. We are planning
for an evening of great celebration on Saturday, February 8. It will be held at
5 PM at the Fellowship Hall, Union Center United Methodist Church, 128 Maple
Drive.
Our own chef Danny Snyder will be preparing a
very special banquet. This will be prepared and served with much love. Our own
Aric Phinney, a gifted and talented musician, will be ministering to us in
music. There will be a time of testimonies and praises. Please join
us.
Come, Share , Rejoice
See you then and there.
Brown
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