JustJeff

Many persons have worked with me since I came to the Lord but none as close as the Holy Ghost. Everyone needs someone to work with them when they come to the Lord or else they will fall into many obstacles set forth by the Adversary. Leadership skills can best be developed when you lead by example, with Christ being the One we all should emulate. I work with many people as a deacon, teacher and supervisor of our half way house. Personally I try to be as an older brother in the Lord. It works for most and I try to give equal time to all as all have special needs. The future leaders seem to require less such guidance.

When I first came off of the streets in 1992 I was in a total surivival mode and everything that I could bring to myself I did. After being born again this continued and, as I grew in the Lord and I became a deacon, I found that not only did I still have a tendency to cater to myself and be concerned with my situations, but I also overlooked what others were going through that caused my issues. Jesus has shown me that Christianity is about outflowing, giving of all that is within you to others so that they may see Christ in you. It is not about being an introvert and hiding your light under a cover but, it is about shining so that all can see and come to the light. His suffering to glory by giving Himself so that all men might be saved tells me that I must suffer. His ability to live as a man in this world tells me that I can live as He lived, giving my love and compassion to others, so that they might be saved and that I myself will not be a castaway. And yes, He's still working on me.

The Hebrew translates to "drink offering poured out "on" the sacrifice. I would then take of my cup and offer it to Yahweh, giving to Him my burdens and therefore acknowledging that He and only He can help me. In humbling oneself to Him in this manner we indeed glorify Adonai as in all and above all, able to deal with all things, great and small. I am totally dependent upon Him. My struggles then glorify the Son and to the Father by calling upon Him to simply live day by day.

1 Cor 15:58; "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that you labor is not in vain in the Lord." We, as individuals and corparetly, are to be witnesses for the Lord by our testimony and by our works. This is the essence of our purpose as our ability to do these things is a reflection of our inner selves, the true person of God.

When the church ceases from complaining and arguing you get shalom; peace, harmony, unity, fellowship. This is the peace that passes all understanding, a reflection of the peace within the Lord. This is vastly different than the world we live in today, a dark and dreary land with war, hate, fear, lies etc. By being the Christ like example that we should be, we are lights shing in darkness, a reflection of Jesus Himself. Indeed, complaining and arguing have always compromised our witness. And only by spiritual growth has it been diminished, and in some cases, the Lord Himself has had to move on the individual. We can't change a thing. The only way is to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit. That requires surrender of self, humilty. Once we do this, the Lord can move us above those things that would cause us to argue and complain and we can deal with them in meekness.

All of Paul's letter were addressed to the church. He may have had to deal with individual situations within the church but just the same, it was the church that had to work out the problem as a body of believers. This is not addressing sin, rather it is going after our need for sanctification, to grow into the image of Jesus Christ.

There are many scriptures concerning the fact that when we humble ourselves, God will lift us up. he inhabits His holy mountain with the contrite, He accepts the sacrifices of the broken and contrite and on and on. It stands to reason that God resists the proud, so pride will not stand in His presence. It is that same pride that causes impatience because we feel we have the right to be lifted up in our time, not the Lord's. Impatience leads to sin.

Jesus was God made manifest in the flesh. He became as us. He was we. The verses proclaim that Adonai became a man as an open demonstartion of His humble nature to the obedience of the Father, leading to His death on the cross. Had not Jesus been human He would not have experienced the pain of mankind to temptation and physical harm. By suffering as we do He is set forth as our High Priest, as a loving Mediator completely able to stand before the Father with total compassion and understanding as to what each child's infirmities are. Had He not been human His perspective would have ben entirely different, as would ours toward Him. By being our human counterpart and successfully accomplishing His passion, we have confidence that we can walk as He walked.

In humbling Himself to the obedience of the cross our Lord and Savior chose to step down from His divinity and take on the likeness of a man. One would think that as God He wouldn't have to had done such a thing but because He is God He did. This is love. Love such as this could only come from God. This is absolute and therefore Jesus is divine.

Humilty is the ingredient that holds the church together insofar as it is equality. If we do not regard one another as equals there will never be a unified church. As our church ages we go through different levels of development. Because we deal with the homeless there has been a tendency to discriminate against them by those of us who deem ourselves better than they. This has caused divisions between those who cannot forget where they came from and those who have. Thanks be to God that we have developed beyond that point. The only way that I know to teach humilty is by example, the greatest being our Lord. As I look to Him I am desparate to be like Him which means I have to crucify my flesh, put self aside and show the church by my works. I know too that the Lord humbles the proud and when you see Him working on a church member it is best to offer counsel so that the recipient grows in humility from the experience.

Once I have examined myself and I find that I have transgressed, I need to be cleaned up. I need to openly confess my sin or my bones will roar (thank you David). I can do this to a brother or sister, particularly if it is against them that I have offended or appeal directly to the Savior who will righteously forgive me. Then, however, I must repent. I must work diligently to not repeat the same mistake and crucify Him all over again. If I do not take these steps after I have examined myself it is rather like going to the doctor, being diagnosed with cancer and not doing anything about it. Eventually the cancer will eat me alive and so too does my unrepentent sin. When cleared of a sin new spiritual growth occurs, through more humilty and a closer move toward maturity as a Christian. This clearly reflects inwardly in your spirit and outwardly as your character is perceived by others, as well as you yourself, as becoming more like Him.

Based upon these writings in Phil. and Cor. it would seem that we go straight to heaven (or hell) upon our demise. It is comforting to know that we will not be in a suspended state somewhere until we are called home. Our reward is instant and that is gratifying. In terms of energizing me I have cause to be earnest in my desire to succeed as the goal is somewhat more short term, being at the very end of this life. At the same time, Paul writes later on in Phil. (2:12) to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling, a reminder that there is no guarantee, as scarcely shall the righteous be saved (1 Peter 4:18). PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

Mankind is out of balance or else we would all live in perfect harmony. I submit therefore that we live in a neurotic world and those without the Lord fully in their lives are out of order. When out of balance we cannot possibly look honestly at ourselves, preferring instead to find fault with others. On the other hand, neurosis can breed low self esteem and have the effect of causing contempt for those that we perceive as better off or more gifted than ourselves. This leads to depression. The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite spirit. In other words we must be humble and led by His Holy Spirit in order to look at ourselves as He sees us, honestly and as we really are. When we examine ourselves in this manner we realize that He reveals our faults to us in a constructive manner, to our benefit so that we can grow in Him and toward Him. The result in all of this is shalom, harmony, balance.

Fear often manifests itself as a lack of confidence in one's abilities, in this case, the ability to confront someone with the Good News. We become tongue tied simply because we are affraid of rejection. When we are dead in Christ we lose our life, we are dead to sin and the cares of this world. The abundant life that we attain is spiritual growth, becoming more like Him, able to have godliness and contentment, which is great gain. True wealth! I believe that the fear that I stated above was me and to a degree, may still be. I know though, that as I get deeper and deeper into this walk, ever in the word and more often in the Spirit, my confidence is growing and the fear is disappearing.

When we are disobedient our Heavenly Father responds, to the degree of our disobedience. Throughout the Old Testament as His people rebelled against Him, He moved with a mighty hand. He used plagues, serpents, firey pits, invading armies, etc., all because of rebellion. Severe yes, to those who envision God as a kissey, kissey God. But He is not a flimsey, shallow God. He is a God greatly to be feared. A God who commands our respect and our obedience. He does not take lightly to those who agree to obey His commandments and then turn around and promptly do the fleshly thing (Ecc 5:4). When our Lord left us His Last Supper He commanded that we all share of the cup and of the loaf, clearly showing that He sees us as His one, singular body. The need to get an infant church in order required strict discipline and Adonai reacted to their disobedience accordingly. As a person in Christ and as the member of a baby church, God has given me and us vivid and frequent examples of His chastisements. He separates the wheat from the chaff, He reacts to our stiffnecked times, He draws back from us when we remain unmoved. We have lost brethren and we have gained. All because of a love that is undieing, and uncomprehendable to mortal man. And through it all, those who remain have learned to love Him more. To never cease to praise and worship Him. And, that is why we serve and that is why He chastises us.

Ol' Nehemiah said that the joy of the Lord is our strength (8:10). Our faith is in God and when we exercise that faith, every minute of every day, it is His joy that we have. Along with that joy comes the assurance that no matter the degree of difficulty, God is in control. Therefore the battle belongs to the Lord and I rejoice in victory. The basis for my belief? Experience. Been there, done that and will do more so as I grow in Him. My joys grows greater every day!

The Lord's Supper is a time of fellowship and remembrance. A time when we, as brothers and sisters gather together to celebrate the essence of our belief. A time to relfect that Jesus came into the world that the world might be saved. As we gather together and meditate in Our Saviors glory we come together as a minute particle of this world, but a small part of the whole body. When we fail to take note of all of our brothers and sisters, as they share this deep and emotional time of love and fellowship with us , we are slapping the Lord in His beautiful face. We are disregarding the fact that He died for all. Could the church have done worse things? Sure. Could they have done more hurtful things to the Lord? Possibly. But, to forget the very meaning of His Last Supper is tragic because they forgot the very reason why they were a church.

Our credibility is based upon our sincerety and our compassion. The two are related by our witness and shed abroad by the Holy Ghost. The Spirit brings things to our remembrance, the things that we have learned in the word and by life's experiences. Our sufferings are given to us not only to build our faith but to understand, that is, understand what others go through and relate to them as they are struggling by, our own experiences. Paul had gone through many hard times, as the Lord told him he would. This brought a hard man down and gave him the humanity that he needed to be able to walk as Christ did. It made him a powerful witness in that he could communicate on a level that would be understood by the hearers. Christianity is a personal struggle against the world, the devil and the flesh. Each day there should be a fight, no matter how great or small, that will allow us to gain a victory. From our victory grows our testimony. A story that someone, somewhere at sometime will need to hear that will win them to Christ Jesus.

Meditating on seeing Jesus' face causes me to see love. True love. No hidden thoughts or meanings. No considerations. No conditions. Just plain love and with that, the time to love even as I am loved. At the Lord's Supper I refelect that this is what it's all about isn't it? A God who would die for me in such a painful and terrible way because..., He first loved me. Each time I take this communion the thoughts become deeper, stronger and much more significant.

For us to be able to determine what is God's will for us we need to be able to discern between His voice and our own little voice in our heads. We need to be able to choose between what is spirit and that which is flesh. Paul's prayer to the Phillipians would have been to help them accordingly. When we are selfish we are thinking of our own best interests, seeking to please the flesh. We are blind to what God needs us to see. Good in the context here indicates that we are seeking that which we consider good for ourself. That is what the Israelies thought when they wanted more meat and choked with quail in their gluttonous mouths. So do we when we seek that which we think is good.

The Lord's Supper is a memorial, designed to keep us ever mindful of our Lord's suffering for us that we might live. It reminds of His glorious resurrection to which our hope for eternal life lies. It reminds us of our faith. In the present we are reminded to keep the faith. To live our lives holy and acceptable to Him. To walk as He walked and to live in love and unity, one with another. We are reminded to be witnesses for Him and to spread the Good News, as that is what He has commissioned us to do. In the future, if we are faithful, we will reap our reward, starting with the Great Banquet and being with the Lord for evermore. Eternal bliss. Something to seek with our whole hearts.

Paul full expects that God will continually be with us and guide to our destination, nurturing us and urging us to reach our full potential in Him. The basis for Paul's belief in this is that he knew that God is faithful and He will never leave us nor foresake us. For the same reason I have the same expectation of God and pray that I will always be strong enough in the faith to do mine.

The Lord's Supper is a memorial service, to keep us mindful of the great suffering of our beloved Savior. His incomparable sacrifice made so that we as sinners might have a chance to be partakers in the Great Banquet. When we attain to this end of ages event the memorial will be complete as we will no longer have to be reminded of our Lord and His sacrifice. He will be with us for evermore. Hallelujah! When we come to the Lord's Supper let us remember that we are renewing our commitment to Him and that, together, we are pressing toward the mark, that time when we will all be together with Him, forever.

As Christian Missionaries we are on the receiving end of those who partner with us to support the work. I know that those who make this type of committment are partakers in spreading the Good News and the many people who are won to Christ are attributed to their works. As a home mission in the inner city, our partners are able to visit and see for themselves, just as Nathaniel did when he proved Jesus. This bestows upon them an additional blessing, the joy of seeing Jesus at work for themselves. Oftentimes those who visit us leave prayer requests to the which we have had made tremendous testimonies of answered prayer. On the other hand, many have prayed for us, that we may be stedfast in the work, empowered by the Holy Spirit and have the peace of Christ reign within us, along with many private petitions. More than anything, this keeps us going. See for yourself. Visit www.peoplethatlove.com

Jesus prophetic teachings are all meant to build our trust in Him, our faith that He is and is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. As events unfolded even during His life on earth that He had told before time, eg: His passion, the coming Holy Spirit, et al, His disciples slowly started to grow in the faith. And, the hope that we have today is built by His ever alive future promises of yesteryear, keeping our faith fertile, ever growing. At His great banquet there will be a miraculous meal prepared before us. Our Lord will gird Himself and will serve His servants. The delicacies will be beyond our greatest expectations, pleasing to every palate. We will be all as one, in mind an accord singing His praise in harmony and unity. Our joy will be full, everlasting to everlasting with God's love, one for another. All pain and suffering will be gone, our tears no more. What a glorious time it will be.