Every once in a while I’ll hear from someone that this email get’s forwarded out to, to get an encouraging note, thanking me for sending it out.  One of my struggles is accepting praise – it’s very difficult for me to balance out my appreciativeness at what God may be doing through me, and my sincere struggle to kill any sense of pride that it has anything to do with me.  Now encouragement is a good thing, and I believe we should encourage and honor one another more (Heb 10:24-25).  There are few things better at building up unity of the faith and simultaneously killing the sin of pride and self-righteousness, than honoring one another.  What I would like to say then to all of you who read this, is that if you are a Christian, you are invaluable to the Church.  Your giftings may be different than mine, (thankfully so) your giftings may be different from your pastor, and God has designed you that way purposefully.  There are specific works that God has prepared for you (Eph 2:10), that I cannot do.  Likewise, there are specific works that God has prepared for me, that you cannot do.  Now this is where it gets interesting… Both God’s plan for you, and God’s plan for me are interwoven, meaning that there are specific works God means for me to carry out, that I would not be able to without you, etc.

1 Corinthians 12:21-27 – “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,  that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.  Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

The gospel message is alive, moving forth, growing, and saving lives to the glory of God.  How are you a part of that?  My encouragement to you is know that God loves you as you are, that is the foundation of the gospel, yet that is not the whole gospel.  God’s love would not be love if He died just so that you could stay as you are.  Christ died that you would be fully reconciled to Him, which means we should all be in constant motion, striving to be more and more like Christ.  Keep pressing forward in your life, do not shrink back.

Hebrews 10:37-39 – “For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” 

That’s a question I ask myself often.  Am I moving forward or back?  Those are the only two options for a Christian.  I could go on for hours, speaking on how strategies for moving forward, pragmatic steps you could take, but I’ll save that for another day.  Ok, I have to at least say this… I put in snippets from the Bible each day, but it’s nothing compared to what God will do if you simply read your Bibles daily.  If you never read another email from me, but committed to read your Bible every day, that would be a good trade, a REALLY good trade.  God is the only person capable of transforming hearts and minds, and His Word is the means by which He accomplishes that most.

So that is my recruitment speech – I need you, the Church needs you, and God wants to use you, if you will prepare yourself and purpose yourself to press forward.  Whatever God has given you to do, do so with all your power.  Encourage, love, and honor your brothers and sisters in Christ, we all need each other.  We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.  Know that you’re cared and prayed for, and as you press forward know that God is capable of doing much more than we could possibly imagine or hope for.

Grace and Peace,
Adam