“Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15 (NIV)
I wouldn’t be a part of a ministry if it were not for the grace of God and if it were not for my faith. I realized that God is my Maker, He made me, and I owe worship to Him. But I also realized that sin is my failure. I have sinned and rebelled against Him and I deserve His condemnation and I realize that Christ is my Savior, the only Savior who came to die in my place that I might be reconciled to God and that I must rest and trust on Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
It’s a pleasure for us to live in that new life where we’ve been freed from the bondage of sin. That’s what brings a church together. I’ve heard a sermon one time and he said, “A Gospel church is a family. It’s a family loved and chosen by God.” Tama nga naman, we are brought together by God in the first place. Kaya dapat we manifest God’s life in us in the graces of the Christian life, especially yung love. Ang “Christian love” ay dapat nagma-manifest sa ating relasyon sa bawat isa, from pastors, elders, workers at maging sa congregation.
Yes, kaya nating magbasa ng bible mag-isa, mag-pray ng solo pero may mga bagay na di natin kayang gawin sa sarili lang natin. Ako mismo I can’t grow and become more mature in Christ kung wala yung tulong ng aking mga leaders at mga kaibigan . We need one another. We can’t grow to Christian maturity apart from one another because so much of our growth is in our relationships with one another. Families get on one another’s nerves, families have to learn to forgive. Families can be places of tension and contention but we don’t want it to be that way. Syempre gusto natin at gusto ng Lord yung family that is shaped by the Gospel. We want a family with RESPECT, ESTEEM, AND LOVE FOR ELDERS WHO LABOR, LEAD, AND HELP YOU LEARN.
Family is amazing pero makikita natin na lahat ng members have very, very different aspects of their characters and personalities. There are different kinds of people. And Paul tells us that we don’t respond to everybody in the same way. Wala tayong karapatang husgahan kung bakit ganito siya, bakit ganyan siya. From my past experiences, I’ve learned that everybody who surrounds me is a blessing. Whether I hate that person or I can even accept her/his attitude but God used them for me to grow.
God wants us to have a peaceful family. Kahit minsan ikaw na yung nasasaktan, ikaw na yung nagsasacrifice, ayos lang! We are going to act like Jesus acted in His earthly ministry to us. We’re going to seek to do good to one another. Lagi nating isipin na mas matindi pa yung dinanas ni Jesus Christ para lang maligtas tayo.
PEACE + LOVE = JESUS CHRIST
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. I ask that You would enable me to respond by seeing my own sin and repenting of it and by aspiring to this beautiful vision of what a church shaped by the Gospel should look like. I ask this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Your sweetest Melody, ❤
the sweetest Melody 