Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

June 7
Saturday


SERVING
TOGETHER

READ:
Galatians 5:13-16
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Through love
serve one another.
__Galatians 5:13
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When Cristine Bouwkamp and Kyle Kramer got married in the spring of 2007, they did something most of us wouldn't think of doing. Instead of hosting a "sit-down dinner," they held a simple reception at the church and invited their guests to help distribute food to people in need.

They bought a truckload of food and had it delivered to the church parking lot. Then they and their wedding guests served the people of the neighborhood. Cristine and Kyle said the first thing they wished to do as a married couple was to serve others. Because God had changed their lives so radically, they wanted to "bless God for blessing us with each other."

The Kramers chose a great start for their new marriage--blessing God by serving others. The apostle paul encouraged the Christians of Galatia: "Through love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). Some of them believed that the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament were still binding on the church. So Paul wrote that salvation is by grace through faith. It is by faith we live out our new life in Christ. He reminded them that the law was fulfilled in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (v.14).

As followers of Jesus, we're here to serve Him out of love--to "bless God for blessing us." __Anne Cetas
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````````````````````O that my life may useful be`````````````````
``````````````````````As I serve Jesus faithfully;`````````````````
````````````````````And may His love be seen in me__````````````
`````````````````````This is my earnest prayer. __Hes````````````
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God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others.

****************Today's Bible Reading __ Galatians 5:13-16*********

In today's Bible reading, Paul is talking to the Galatian church about
the value of spiritual liberty. In fact, all believers need to avoid
the extremes of license and legalism, as he tells us in Romans 6:1,
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound?" And in Galatians 3:3 he teaches that legalism is also to be
shunned: "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you
now being made perfect by the flesh?" If we embrace the middle
ground of the liberty that is in Christ, we can freely and joyously live
in His will and purposes. __Bill Crowder

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Thought some might like this also

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~QUIET NUDGES~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~by Philip Yancey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have thought through some of the key events of my
life, searching for threads of guidance. I refer to them as
illustrations of the quiet nudges God can use to guide us
without overwhelming us.

For me, at least, guidance becomes evident only
when I look backward, months and years later. Then, the
circuitous process falls into place and the hand of God
seems clear. But at the moment of decision, I feel mainly
confusion and uncertainty. Indeed, almost all the guidance
in my life has been subtle and indirect.

I think, for example, of a major crossroad in my career.
While working for Campus Life magazine, I felt the constant
tug between two irreconcilable directions. One
pulled me toward management; the other toward editorial
directing and writing. For many months, I tried both,
unable to decide. I enjoyed both roles. Most advisors
counceled me toward the management role because of
the organization's needs. I often prayed about the decision but never received any concrete guidance.

Over time, i began to notice a trend, however: a battle
with insomnia. Externally, I handled the pressures of
management well and stayed healthy to all appearances. But often I would have bouts of insomnia, so severe that I would get only 1 or 2 hours of sleep at night. It took me almost a year to notice a further detail: I slept well when I worked on writing projects; I could
not sleep when I worked in management.

For a time I would work one full week on writing projects, then one full week on management. It was true. I slept like a baby (truthfully more like a colicky baby) during writing weeks and slept hardly at all during
management weeks. Could this be divine guidance? I
wondered. The situation never changed, and finally I
concluded the message of insomnia was as direct a form
of guidance as I would get. Now that I look back on it,
it seems startlingly direct.

I also think of the circumstances that led to some of
the books I have written. where Is God When It Hurts?
came out of a rejection. Back in 1975, I had what I
thought to be a wonderful idea for a book. I had just
discovered Devotions, by John Donne. The concepts
were superb, but the King James-era English made the
content impenetrable to many modern readers. I wrote
several publishers, proposing to do for devotions what
Ken Taylor had done for the King James version__a
Living Donne, perhaps, or John Donne Redone. I spent
long hours working up samples. everyone judged the
idea fine as a literary exercise but totally unmarketable
as a contemporary book. My boss at that time had a suggestion.
"Why don't you do your own book on the problem
of pain and suffering, using modern examples?"
Where Is God When It Hurts? was born.

While researching for that book I met Paul Brand, a
world authority on the subject of pain. I came to know
him "by chance," when my wife cleaned out a supply
closet at the warehouse of a Christian relief organziation.

"There's an article on pain in this international conference
report that I think you'll like," she told me. Dr.
Brand's unique perspective in this report so fascinated
me that I arranged for a meeting as soon as possible.

During our conversations, I ultimately learned of a
scruffed-up transcript of some devotional talks he had
kept in a file drawer for 20 years. That transcript became
the genesis of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.

As I look back, the hand of God seems evident in
those and many other choices. They fit together into a
pattern. But at the time, they seemed no more extraordinary
than any other event in my life.

This pattern has recurred so often (and clear guidance
for the future has occurred so seldom) that I am about to
conclude that we have the basic direction wrong. I had
always thought of guidance as forward-looking. We
keep praying, hoping, counting on God to reveal what
we should do next. In my own experience, at least, I
have found the direction to be reversed. The focus must
be on the moment before me--the present. How is my
relationship to God? As circumstances change, for better
or worse, will I respond with obedience and trust?

For me, guidance becomes clear only as i look backward.
At the moment, my future is a big blur. My present
is a daily struggle to crank out more words and a desire
to grow in relationship with God.

A picture is being painted, for me and for all who are
called the sons and daughters of God. Yet it does not take
shape until enough time passes for me to stand up and
look back on what colors and designs have been laid
down. If I saw the pattern in advance, a sort of schema
for "paint-by-numbers," that would leave no room for
faith. And besides, God does not paint by numbers.