Viewing entries in
Guest Posts
Join us today in praying for our good friends and missionaries, the Valenzuela family, as they serve Jesus in Madrid, Spain. You can learn more about the missionaries and church plants that we support by visiting our global missions page on our website (https://redemptiondb.com/missions). We hope you enjoy this update from Pastor Esteban!
We love the ministry of the House of Blessing Orphanage, and we are blessed to be able to partner with Jason and Jackie Sanchez as they serve the kids and community of Bachiniva, Mexico. Check out this update from them!
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” -Acts 2:42
The early church saw many signs and wonders, as are recounted to us in the Bible. They worked in unison lifted one another up when necessary. The book of Acts shows not only a history of the church’s first steps, but it also provides an outline of behaviors, followed by the results of these behaviors. Those who accepted the word of God as truth came together and, as the above verse states, devoted themselves to 1) the apostles’ teaching, 2) fellowship, 3) breaking of bread, and 4) prayers.
I would like to consider one of these behaviors in this space: fellowship.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines fellowship as “a community of interest.” Acts chapter 2:44 states, “all who believed were together and had all things in common.” The early church consisted of a group of individuals who came to Christ, advanced in like-minded behaviors, as outlined in verse 42, which resulted in great blessings and, as verse 44 shows us, they were together and had all things in common. They were successful in creating a “community of interest” and benefitted greatly from their fellowship. Through their behavior, they lifted each other up in the name of Christ as we are called to encourage one another.
This passage demonstrates one of the most obvious reasons why fellowship in our lives is so important. Fellowship; or the pursuit of community with a common goal (which in this case is worshipping Jesus) provides us with encouragement and support. Without living in communion with fellow believers, we remove the opportunity to provide for each other’s physical needs and encourage one another in prayer or reading of the scriptures as we are also called to do in the same verse we’re called to live in fellowship.
Earlier in chapter two we see a great miracle where the Lord’s disciples speak in different languages, and this resonated with countless individuals from faraway lands as they recognized their own languages. This shows us that God’s power is awesome and transcends any kind of barrier. We also see that God’s church has always consisted of those from incredibly diverse backgrounds. If we look closely, we will find countless verses with God’s people worshipping him “… from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…” (Revelation 7:9). God made us different from one another, and intends to see us all worshipping him together.
In our natural lives, we know that when we interact with those from different backgrounds, we tend to be more productive and profitable (Weiner 2014). This is attributed to a multitude of factors including the fact that we expect to be challenged differently from those of dissimilar backgrounds as we are unsure what to expect (Phillips 2014). Those who gathered at the time of Pentecost are connected in the sense that they happened to be in the same place at the same time and that many of them gave their lives to Christ, but we have no real evidence of much anything else to unite these individuals other than their common belief in Jesus Christ.
If we are God’s creation, we must accept that we are all his creation, those who are similar, and those who are dissimilar. This passage clearly shows that the only similarity needed to form a community and benefit from one another’s company is a common belief in Jesus Christ, followed by engaging in the behaviors we are commanded to follow: read his Word, share with one another in communion, share with one another to provide for physical needs, and to pray. As we share in communion, we are met with the realization that God’s word is for everyone and that God has built every one of these distinct cultures and languages, giving us the opportunity to challenge ourselves to be better. Let us then encourage one another to share and learn from all indiscriminately as the Lord has called us to share to all “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole of creation.’ ” (Mark 16:15).
Fellowship isn’t just about sharing with those who already believe. Fellowship is about building a community of interest centered around the worship of Jesus Christ. We were commanded to pursue this community and our command holds true to this day. Building our community requires the extension of a relationship to those around us, and those further away and the encouragement to all to seek the Lord. I want to encourage you to embrace the diversity of our planet as an opportunity bring a diversity of laborers into our fellowship and creating Christ centered communities out of those from every nation and peoples. Let us pursue fellowship both within our more natural communities and without, to include all of creation.
Many years back I remember seeing a Christian play, and there in the scene at the point of Jesus’ Crucifixion in a shadowy background was another character depicting the ‘Father’. As each nail pounded into His Son’s body, the Father’s body would simultaneously mimic each movement of every nail piercing pain and agony that His Son was experiencing.
I remember this now not to debate the ‘separation’ and ‘forsaken’ scripture questions that come up regarding the Father’s position at the moment of our Lord’s crucifixion (Mark 15:34). Here now instead God has brought me to a place to better know, understand and remember at this Easter Season, the depth of the Father’s love and purpose, and presence in the plans of His sending His only Son.
Jesus would have in no other way.
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. - Jhn 14:6 NKJV
The example of Jesus’ devotion, obedience and unity with the Father can serve as a testimony of how to worship in Sprit and truth as He did.
In the earlier chapters of the gospel of John, Jesus’ commitment and passion to His Father’s will is evident:
- His ‘food’- His fullness and sustenance were found in accomplishing God’s will.
34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. - Jhn 4:34 ESV
-He relied upon His Father to provide the direction, wisdom and guidance to complete the
work He was given to do
"Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. - Jhn 5:19 ESV
-His purposes and His works were done as a testimony to point to His Father
36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. - Jhn 5:36 ESV
-He sought only to glorify His Father
54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' - Jhn 8:54 ESV
The references regarding Jesus response and interaction with His Father in the gospel of John are a great example of how to have a heart set on surrender to God’s will. These scriptures also remind us of the ‘roles’ of our triune God in bringing us the gift of salvation.
However, there in the living word interspersed between Jesus’ relationship of surrender and commitment to the Father and His mission, I began to see the greater purpose. The unbroken unity and representation of His Father bound up in one revelation. Jesus’ ultimate desire is for us to know the Father’s love as He does.
Each gospel stories intended purpose seemed set in place to reveal His steadfast and unequivocal love for every one of the many He encountered. His care for Lazarus, His healing of the blind and lame, the feeding of the 5000, the woman caught in adultery to name a few. Here in these gospel stories, I heard Him saying ‘This is how much my Father loves you!”
16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - Jhn 3:16 ESV
In the midst of the approaching agony of His own death and suffering, the red letters of John 17 set a seal on a love that is beyond our human abilities to comprehend. Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven and then He prayed for us!
These 26 verses reveal the heart of God- a heart that longs for us, protects us, claims us, desires us. All of us. Love manifested. Oneness with He and Father.
He finished His Father’s work for us. He gave all the Father had given Him for us. He consecrated Himself for us. The glory He received given to us.
23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. - Jhn 17:23 ESV
Lord Jesus, revive us by Your word and truth. May we be in oneness with You and the Father. Excite us by Your love and our mission to bring that love to others. By Your might and power. Thank-you Jesus. Amen
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. - Eph 3:14-19 ESV
A strong statement, yes, but this mindset may be needed to help us recognize the many schemes of the devil that are at work to destroy our desire, our approach and position in prayer.
In Ephesians 6, the great analogical lesson on our spiritual armor ends with the warning to ‘keep alert with all perseverance’ by ‘praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayers and supplication’.
Thus personally, I have asked Jesus to teach me how to pray.
These reminders of His truth have helped me to reposition myself into the blessing that is found at the throne of grace.
• Prayer isn’t about my words. It is about my heart’s desire to draw near to God.
He knows what I have need of before I ask Him. He intercedes for me when I don’t know what to prayer. His ways and thoughts are higher than mine.
I come to God as He is: Almighty, Creator, Sustainer, Life giver.
I come to Him as I am: weak, beggarly, childlike, foolish, uncertain, sinful.
We meet in the dwelling place of His love, His mercy, His power.
Light penetrates the darkness. I am home.
13 And you will seek Me and find [Me], when you search for Me with all your heart. - Jer 29:13 NKJV
• Prayer is the mortar to build the church:
The descriptive phrases that are coupled with prayer in the early church exhibited a passion, a certainty and a confidence that God would perform as He had promised in continuing to build and nurture His church. The sampling of these words would indicate that the knowledge and practice of prayer was foundational to the health of the church:devoting themselves to prayer, earnest prayer, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day,constant in prayer, praying at all times in the Spirit, continuing steadfastly in prayer, praying without ceasing, striving in prayer, always in prayer, remembering you in prayer, Struggling for you in prayer.
2 And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. - Luk 10:2 ESV
• Prayer is a thread of eternity weaving my soul into the oneness of a triune God.
The Atonement-ordained by my Father in heaven who gave me the right to be called a child of God.
Jesus, the eternal sacrifice who became flesh and dwelt among us.
The Holy Spirit who gives life and is a guarantee of my heavenly inheritance.
The One who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
The One who parts the seas and walks on water.
The One who completes the good work that He has started.
My prayer is not about me in this moment, it is about His desire for me to embrace Him in every moment, forever. His eternal purposes become my goal, my vision. My momentary trouble is but for a moment.
22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. - Jhn 17:22-23 ESV
• My prayers bring delight to my Father and His response is my reward (a giving back, a payment, something I receive)
He tells us to ask that we would receive. His delight is to give us good gifts from above.
His intimate blessings reveal that we are His children and He knows the desires of our hearts.
Abba Father, Give us this day our daily bread. Fill and satisfy my longing soul with the good things from Your hand.
6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. - Mat 6:6 ESV
• Prayer is the conversation of truth that leads to life.
Eve’s conversation in a beautiful garden lead to rebellion and death.
Christ’s conversation in the garden of suffering lead to surrender and life.
I don’t need to wait to be in a place of suffering to seek Him.
He is a God of all seasons and always worthy of praise and thanksgiving.
41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." - Mat 26:41 ESV
• Prayer brings healing
This is how they will know that we are His disciples. We learn to trust, we become authentic, we receive instruction, we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We become knit together. We love.
In prayer, the vulnerability and weakness of another becomes a fragile treasure carefully lifted up.
We are changed. The cry for God’s healing touch upon another becomes our own balm of healing.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. - Jas 5:13, 16 ESV
• Prayer is a service of the Kingdom Priests
In the ancient priesthood, ritual and sacrificial duties were required to allow sinful man to meet with a Holy God. Though the Levitical priesthood has now been replaced by the leadership of our High Priest Jesus Christ, our role of intercessory prayer is our offering as servants under His ‘royal priesthood’.
Our prayers for the saving of souls, for the Word to go forth, for missionary needs, for doors to open, for ministries, for the church to grow are right now the petition being declared in the heavenly realms!
His Kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." - Rev 5:8-10 ESV
Thank you Lord Jesus that You have seated us with You in the heavenly places. Let us serve in our position beside You. Please elevate our response to prayer as a privilege with purpose and power by Your Spirit Lord. Teach us how to love You more through our prayers. Amen
As a therapist, I don’t shy away from emotions. I appreciate and even encourage emotional expressions. I can tell you wholeheartedly that I enjoy watching movies with lots of displays of relationship and family dynamics, and expressions of emotion.
Displays of anger, particularly when expressed verbally, are powerful and typically give you a view into a person’s heart. After all, recall what the second part of Matthew 12:34 says, “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Our words give us away, particularly when we’re angry.
Have you ever tried to pretend you weren’t upset with someone to their face? How painful is this “act”? Or maybe you tend to be passive-aggressive. So, you never quite own your anger and therefore it comes out sideways, in underhanded jabs, leaving people wondering if they just got hit by something you said.
Maybe your anger runs very deep, and it feels quite justified. You may have had a loved one (or someone supposed to be a loved one) that wounded or betrayed you. Is it right to feel anger toward them? What do you do with it?
Let’s look more closely at Psalm 109. This Psalm was written by King David and has 31 verses. We’re just going to focus on a few of them. First verses 1 and 2:
1Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
David cries out to God, begging him to answer his call. He describes what he is going through – people are slandering him. Being slandered, lies being told about you, is one of the most painful things to go through. Particularly when you have tried to do the right thing by the Lord and in your life. So, we can all understand, David is angry about what he’s going through.
David then begins to describe line by line all that he would like to see done to his enemies. We’ll look at a few verses here:
9May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow!
10May his children wander about and beg,
seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11May the creditor seize all that he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
nor any to pity his fatherless children!
Can you relate yet? If we’re honest, I think we all can. I believe we all have been so angry as to imagine harm coming to those who have hurt us. What’s amazing is that this intensity of anger is in the Bible – in a prayer to God. And the intensity does not end here – there are more verses following these that describe what King David is asking God to do to punish his enemies.
However, 9 verses later, something changes. David refocuses on who he is speaking to – Almighty God – declaring that his “steadfast love is good” (verse 21). And then David acknowledges his own situation, “I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me” (verse 22). See the verses below:
21But you, O GOD my Lord,
deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is stricken within me.
I believe we can find insight here. Is the answer to anger found in acknowledging our own sin and need for God’s rescuing? I believe so.
But of course, similar to our other emotions, it’s that simple, and in some ways it’s not that simple. What do I mean? Well, the answer can be that simple but actually working though the anger isn’t always that simple.
For some of us, the hurt is so deep, and the anger so strong, that we will need to express it over and over again to finally let it go. The expression could be crying out to God, talking to someone we trust, writing therapeutic letters (a letter we write to the person we’re upset with, but don’t actually give it to the them), attending a support group, processing it in therapy, confronting the person we’re upset with, setting up healthier boundaries (what we say yes and no to for our lives), artistic ventures like painting, acting or writing, and so much more.
But one thing we have to remember is that anger is not a “bad” emotion. When we label emotions as “good” or “bad” it’s gets in the way of dealing with them. Because our emotions tell us something. As in the case of anger – it tells us something about what’s going on inside of us.
In Psalm 4:4, King David instructs us:
4Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
In other words, take time to reflect upon what is going on in your heart, and why the anger is there. Do not simply react (such as sending a text you can’t take back) to feeling that way.
The book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 25 and 26, the Apostle Paul instructs us:
25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold.
First, he talks about speaking truthfully, which can, many times, prevent anger from getting rooted in your heart. In other words, deal with the matter at hand – say what you have to say (ideally, speaking the truth in love).
Paul then references Psalm 4:4 at the beginning of verse 26, “in your anger do not sin.” It doesn’t say, ‘if you’re angry, you’re sinning.’ Sometimes we confuse the two and convince ourselves that it’s wrong to be angry, and we live inauthentic lives, never addressing offences or telling others or ourselves the truth. But you don’t have to live this way.
It’s impossible to cover every scenario in a blog. But know that your story is important. Please reach out if you need to talk or you need help processing how you’re feeling or figuring out what to do next. You’re not alone. We are here to help.
