Monday, October 11, 2010

Mending broken bones.

Col 3: 15

15: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body we are called to peace. And be thankful.

I have wrestled with this question many times, "What would it look like if the Kingdom here on earth truly looked like one body?". If we truly acted as one body then what should our response be as the Church to yahoos that protest funerals, quit there jobs to stand in front of future sites of Muslim community centers, shoot abortion doctors in their own churches, or stand on college campuses and degrade: homosexuals, liberals, the Greek system, and the singing of the National Anthem at sporting events? I by no means have any answers here, I am just thinking out loud but it seems to me that when there is a part of our physical body that is broken we do what is necessary to fix it. Why don't we try to fix the parts of our Church Body that are broken? Why do I sit back as those people in my states capital defame the Man that I live my life for? We cannot tolerate Jesus being the copout to write off not-so-blind ignorance.

I want to be a part of a Body of Peace. I just wish I knew how to fix our broken Limbs peacefully.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Cholesterol free seasonings

As many of you know by now I am psychotically attempting to memorize the Sermon on the Mount in a swift 130 days. That may seem quick but for me the longer it takes me the less likely I am to finish…I think that is a safe assumption for anyone though. The verse I am going over today is heavy on my heart I can’t shake it. It is Matthew 5:22

“But I tell you anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, Raca, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says; ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Hell.”

There is a lot going on in this verse, there are probably a few words that you don’t know or are easily misunderstood. That’s cool look them up later. I am in the same boat.

Jump into something with me and lets look at the statement, ‘You fool!’ The Greek word for ‘fool’ in this context is Moros, which stems from the word Moraino that means; to make foolish, show one foolish; to become a fool, be made a fool. Cool, I can deal with that, nothing about those descriptions gives me too much trouble except another description of this word ‘Fool’ or Moraino is “to become saltless, tasteless, inert.”

The description “Saltless or tasteless” is troubling to me. That one hits a nerve.

See, Jesus, 9 verses earlier called his followers the “Salt of the earth”. He was stating that we were the only hope to bring his flavor to earth and have it carried out, we are the hope that will make others lives taste good because of him. He is the seasoning inside of us. When we speak against one another we are trying to rip the Jesus out of each other. This is a harsh reality for me, sarcasm is my most fluent language and here Jesus is admonishing the fact that with each sarcastic twist of my tongue I am inching closer to the edge of hell because with each one of those statements I am choking the Jesus out of those around me. With my sarcasm, I am making Christ followers around me bland by tearing at them, which in turn is making the image of Christ bland as well. If I make his followers have no flavor then why would anyone desire to ‘taste’ like him? There is only so much blah food one person can take before they move onto the next course of the meal.

Also, we need to realize that by making other around us less salty we are making ourselves “tasteless”. Nothing ruins a meal more than something on the plate being tasteless. No one uses hard-tack as the bread of their sandwiches because it has no flavor which would in turn take away from the flavor of the meat.

Our actions are what make the ‘meal’ enjoyable, and the way we speak to one another is what dictates the flavor.

I am called to be the salt of the earth not the ‘Fool’ that throws it out and tramples on it. I want to be flavorful not just substance.

Recommended scripture for today’s topic: Matthew 5:13-16, and Matthew 5:21-26.

Monday, October 4, 2010

October 2010

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August 2010

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down…”

(italicized portions are excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount, Matt: 5,6,7)

A group of friends and I are taking the next few months and heavily dedicating ourselves to studying the Sermon on the Mount and in doing so I have had the luxury of being completely immersed in the teaching of Jesus day in and day out.  It seems that so often we get caught in the lie that we need to “have everything together” and that we need to “know all the answers”.   The cool part about being in the teachings of Jesus is that his simplicity completely exposes that lie, he is the teacher, he knows all.  We learn from him.  It is simple, and we continually try to over complicate it.  I can honestly say that for the past couple of months we, as the ministry of Mission House, have been caught in the rut of needing to know all of the answers and needing to have all of the details completely figured out.  The peace about Jesus that separates him from all other gods is that we just simply have to have enough faith to trust and he then will faithfully guide us. 

Blessed are the gentle and the broken… Let the light inside of you shine before men… Love everyone… Don’t worry. 

Jesus made it easy.  We make it hard.  I am excited for this new season when we can sit back and expect Jesus to show up big through us simply because we are going big for him and not because of some extravagant program.  Mission House is in a great place right now.  I cannot wait to see what happens.  Thank you so much for being a part of this adventure with us.

Now, for some business, I need your support financially.  Mission House has a new opportunity that will make it easier to jump on board and do ministry financially with us.  Starting this month with the cooperation of a very supportive bank automatic check withdrawal will be provided using ACH debiting.  This relieves the hassle of check writing!  To be a part of our monthly withdrawals using ACH debiting, click here.  You can continue to provide assistance the traditional way by sending your financial support to Mission House, PO Box 172365, Kansas City, KS, 66117.

 

 

Join me in prayer…

  

1. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9)

In the short time we have been in the neighborhood, we have not only fallen victim to but  have witnessed first-hand the strain that racial barriers have on a productive society.  Our neighborhood is extremely diverse which in turn creates hostility and misunderstanding.

Pray for peace in our neighborhood.

 

2. I will pour out my spirit on your offspring. (Isaiah 44:3)

One of the greatest joys of ministry is the fact that we get to build relationships with new people because God built a relationship with us through Jesus.  The best part about building new relationships is that God shows up through us in the lives of others.

Pray for strong relationships.

 

3. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. (Matthew 9:37)

The key component of Mission House each year is a good group of interns committed to surrendering to the direction of Jesus Christ and allowing their hearts to be broken for the people and circumstances of our community.

Pray for our core interns.


4. Do not be anxious about anything. (Philippians 4:6)

It has become easy to get overwhelmed with the details and pressures of starting a new ministry.  Jesus directs us to trust the plan and lay our burdens on Him.

Pray for the ability to trust.


5.  Give and it will be given to you. (Luke 6:38)

As we establish Mission House and begin to bless and be a part of our new neighborhood, we are dependent on outside individuals, churches, and organizations to bless us with financial stability.  I am quickly realizing that ministry is a collaboration of resources, which is exciting because we get to be a part of God’s work together.

Pray for financial stability.

 

6.  Let my words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

As we begin to unfold and unpack more of the vision that God has for Mission House let us not over think and overreact to His calling.  Help us stay true to God’s plan and be open to his direction, even if it changes our vision.

Pray for wisdom.

 

Send your Donations to:
Mission House
PO Box 172365
Kansas City, KS 66117


Mission House

PO Box 172365
Kansas City, Kansas 66117

  
This message was sent to samuelmccord.1400miles@blogger.com by samuelmccord@gmail.com

PO BOX 172365, Kansas City, Kansas, 66117