Welcome to the July 18th edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
The Story of My Week
This was a busy week.
I am grateful that some of the things we were chasing at work came through.
It's been a test case of trusting God for small steps and being grateful for the little progress at every point.
And I am very grateful.
I refuse to tie anything to coincidence.
I have seen too many coincidences to not see the hand of an omnipresent God.
Working behind the scenes.
Creating outcomes according to His master plan.
And I know I have a place in that Masterplan.
Thank you, God, for the little things and the not so little things.
All things are for your glory.
Things I Learnt
1-When Leaders need Help: During our group study, a member of the group shared a story that brought home the point that leaders need to be ministered to.
He was in a church service and at some point, the leaders asked anyone who needed prayers to come forward to be prayed for by the elders.
As he stood, he noticed one of the elders looked like he had been stabbed with a knife. The kind of pain he said he could see on his face told him something was amiss.
He went forward to meet the elder - people probably might have thought he was doing to be prayed for.
Then he decided to do something unusual.
He led the elder to the side room where the church prepared the Holy Communion elements.
When they were there, he told the elder that there was nothing he had done or could do in the future that would make Christ turn away from him.
The elder started to cry. According to him, he had been chasing the building approval on a project. He was forced to pay a bribe to get the approval.
He was feeling so downbeat for doing this and he had not been able to share with anyone else.
He felt like a monkey had just gone off his back.
Years later, the elder would confess that this action by him was a lifesaver to faith.
Leaders need to be ministered to too.
Let's not forget them.
2-A Community is more than Church: Someone posted that she was looking for in a church.
She wanted a church that "doesn't like events, activities and "structure". That prioritizes community and relationship. That preaches interactive sermons, where the person preaching is not the only one speaking".
I smiled when I read this.
What she wanted was a community, not a church.
The only way she can get all these would be in a small community of Christians on the same faith and life journey with her.
And this is where we get things confused.
We expect the Church to do what we need to find a community to do for us.
This is because as a church grows, structure comes into play. It is difficult to lead a church without a structure.
Even the disciples had to create a food distribution structure.
Postscript
May I never be overawed by the great advances in science and technology to imagine that God has left everything to man's control. May I never lose confidence in a timeless God who uses everything to fulfill His plans and purposes. Amen
Tata,
Tola
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