God's end time redeemed community - Part 1

One of the deep convictions I received many years ago was of God's intense desire to reveal Himself IN and THROUGH His redeemed community - the church! I have often felt disappointed at what appears to be a popular acceptance of tradition, neglect and religious mindsets - even at the expense of nullifying God's Word. Well - it appears to me that God is into building church that is a product of His Kingdom coming and not just built upon the the wisdom and strength of man. Such is the eschatological (end time) community of God. Peter captured this in a moment of revelation when asked by Jesus who Peter thought He truly was. His answer - 'You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God' was responded to with 'You are Peter (petros - a small stone) and upon this rock (petra - a boulder) I will build my church.' Jesus Christ is building His church, it will be built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ - as the Son of the Living God - who came to redeem and build a community in full Trinitarian co-operation that loves Him and reflects the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3v10) that is our destiny, and God's inheritance in all the earth. Anything less will never satisfy those hungry for truth, hungry for restoration, desperate to bring Glory and honour to God in all the earth and ready to leave tired and convenient paths behind for the higher road of God's Kingdom highway. Below I summarise some of the areas of restoration that I believe God is busy with in His church, for those who have 'ears to hear', 1. A community of truth and truthfulness - Paul describes the church to his protege Timothy like this, 'If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.' 1 Timothy 3v15 We cannot be saved unless we meet Him who is 'the way, the truth and the life' nor can we grow up toward the stature of Christ unless we get to know the Living Word of God (Jesus Christ) and learn to walk with Him in the Holy Spirit. Church is also to be a community that proclaims truth to the world around us. We are to be the 'light of the world' in Christ. However, church is also meant to be a place where truth meets life, where 'truthfulness' lands, where we refuse to defend darkness in our lives and allow the light of God to shine on the shadowy corners of our hearts. This becomes evident one way or other in community. Serious thought! For this to prosper God wants to bring us into a community where Grace covers us and frees us from condemnation and we develop a culture of truthfulness. Honesty can sometimes be a commodity we are short of in church, preferring to 'stroke' one another and then reveal to third parties the things we see in each other...the Bible calls this gossip and it becomes a vicious circle since people are less 'open and truthful' by default in a culture where they do not feel 'safe' and remain guarded. Religious hypocrisy and superficiality result. Love makes a way for truth to follow. When we are 'for' one another, champions of one another, and cheering one another on (as part of the great cloud of witnesses) then we create a platform for truthfulness to prosper and the truth embraced brings freedom! LAYERS - the Gospel worked into our hearts should mean that we are growing to echo the words of Paul, 'it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me'. I know this is no easy process, the bludgeoning instrument of the cross is not always something we grope for in the dark, but it IS God's pathway to LIFE. Our lives are 'layered' and need the truth of God and the freedom He brings to be worked with ever increasing DEPTH into our hearts and minds. So, lets not stop at the top layer, this is only scratching the surface...lets let God down deep, even where it hurts, where we fear we won't cope....thats exactly where we need HIM to be - beyond where 'WE' can cope, and where 'HE' can reign, heal and transform. Religion won't let this happen. So say yes today to the God of all truth and life and let Him in and let Him - down deeper.... Part 2 to follow...blogs work best in bite sizes in our manic world........ JS