The Gift of Singleness

In today’s world of “Churchianity”, it’s easy to place the name of Jesus on a lot of rituals and beliefs that have nothing to do with truly loving Jesus. We’ve gotten so good at doing church that we believe “doing church” is synonymous with loving Jesus. We have settled for a life of going through the motions in place of a life marked by the love of Jesus. We are more concerned with whether or not we liked the worship songs than we are with submitting ourselves in worship to God. We are more concerned with whether or not the sermon inspired us enough than we are with turning our eyes to the truth of God’s Word. We busy ourselves with volunteering in the same spot every Sunday, rather than pursuing the lost people in our midst. We would rather settle for “Churchianity” than full submission to Jesus. We think that loving Jesus is a warm feeling in our heart while living our lives relatively the same, but Jesus won’t settle for this imitation. In Luke 9, Jesus says, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (NIV). If we are committing to Jesus, we are committing to taking up our own cross and dying, daily. We are committing to gripping the plow and not looking back.  Jesus wasn’t just a nice guy with good advice on how to live our lives — Jesus is the savior of the world. He defeated sin and death and calls us to be ministers of his love to the rest of the world. To love Jesus is to live the same kind of radically sacrificial life that he lived when he walked on this earth. Reflection/Discussion Question: Are your definition of loving Jesus and Jesus’s definition of loving him the same?

Jesus didn’t spend much time with people whose main motivation was to challenge Jesus. In fact, he didn’t seem taken aback when his followers ditched him when it got too hard (John 6:66). Jesus was after the sick, the wounded, the hungry, the broken, the searching, the curious, the humble. He welcomed people who had nothing, but were hungry for what Jesus had to offer.  As we pursue unity, we need to look around our inner circle of believers and ask ourselves: How hungry are they for the things of God? We cannot be unified the way Jesus prayed if we agree to disagree or resolve to just get along. We can experience complete unity when we come together under one purpose - to pursue Christ together. When we are all walking toward Christ, we can move toward unity. If even one person decides to walk in an opposite direction, we will start to divide. And when one person walks away, others are bound to follow. Jesus, in his perfect unity with the Father, was always walking toward the Father. People were hungry for what Jesus had, so they followed him along his way. When we follow Jesus together, we can walk in unity just as Jesus prayed. As we start to be distracted by things of this world that threaten to pull our attention away from Jesus, we can count on our community to pull our focus back to what is most important. Other people may be able to join together in pursuit of a similar passion, but if that passion isn’t Jesus, then they will never achieve the oneness that we were made to experience with one another and with our Father. Reflection/Discussion Question: Are you and the people in your inner circle hungry for the things of God?

I had to humble myself to ask for forgiveness from family for my attitude towards controversial issues.

Couple days ago I shared a burden regarding a root of bitterness hardening my heart toward my husband. I humbled myself and admitted I needed prayer to overcome it. I wasn’t even wanting to pray for him anymore I was so hurt. Last night while studying & praying the Lord showed me II Corinthians 5:18-20. As believers we are ambassadors of the ministry of reconciliation. This morning my husband was leaving for work and felt lightheaded. He has high blood pressure, heart issues & *not saved*. I told him to sit down and I’d pray. I felt led to apologize to him for my part in our marriage issues. Then I started praying and let it pour out of my spirit. Praying for his healing, comfort and SALVATION. He began to weep and I knew he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. I continued praying silently, Holy Spirit help him, I heard him cry out for help, forgiveness and our marriage. My husband *gave his life to Jesus this morning*! Please pray for him. Forgiveness is powerful! Don’t let the enemy discourage you! Pray without ceasing.