3 posts tagged “christians”

While in seminary, I had this idea that denominations are sinful, for they separate the members of the Body of Christ.  But when talking with my late professor, he’d mentioned that denominations in themselves are not sinful, for they promote differences…denominations only become sinful when they do separate.

In the 17^th chapter of John, Jesus gives excellent examples, first of how to pray for ourselves, each other, and then also for the Church.  But in each prayer, notice how strongly Jesus stressed the importance of unity within the Church (Body of Christ).  Of all the things that Jesus could have prayed for (boldness in sharing the message, lack of persecution, prosperity, etc), what’s the importance of unity?  So that the world may believe that the Father sent Him.  But when we look at the Church today, is it really united?  How will the world know about Jesus through our unity?  How will/can this ever manifest?

I think that one of the reasons I so much enjoy playing soccer is because, I’m reminded of the great fellowship we developed through it while in seminary, which also reminds me of how I imagine the Church:

We’d gather together several mornings a week just for the love of the game. Newer players were encouraged and mentored by more experienced players in order to sharpen their skills, and so they might become better at the game. When somebody didn’t show up for practices, everybody was disappointed, and several people were sure to inform them of how they were missed.

Out on the field/court, though competitive, the way we played gave evidence to our love for the game.  We’d communicate regularly, set each other up for passes and shots, encourage one another when we made a bad play, congratulate for good plays, and do the same for the other teams. We played as a team, subbing-in often so everybody had a chance to play their best as often as possible, backed each other up, and worked together in unity for the common goal (no pun intended).  And ball-hogs were not an issue as long as our focus remained on the game. Sure there was danger, and injuries almost always occurred.  But our love for the game trumped every pain, bruise, sprain, or break that ever occurred.

Now, re-read this, replacing the underlined words with the following:

• “The game”                          with  “The Lord”
• “Players”                             with  “Christians”
• “sharpen their skills”            with  “be encouraged in the Word / become better familiar with the Word”
• “Become better at”              with  “Grow closer to”
• “Practices”                         with  “Bible study, Sunday service, church events, ministries, etc.”
• “people”                             with  “Brothers / Sisters in Christ”
• “On the field”                      with  “In the field/world”
• “Played”                             with  “lived / shared the Good News”
• “Playing”                            with  “discipling / ministering to”
• “other teams”                     with  “non-Christians”
• “We played as a team”       with  “We were united in Christ”
• “Backed each other up”      with  “prayed for one another”
• “ball-hogs”                         with  “pride was”
• “injuries”                            with “rejection, persecution, etc.”

I believe that when Jesus prayed in John 17, He knew the future formation (or fate) of the Church, and so prayed that it…we, Christians everywhere, would be united, just as He and the Father are united. If a soccer team is united, then it has a better chance of making it to (and possibly winning) the championships, than if it’s not.

This is the beginning of a new year, a time when improvement is promised.  Can you imagine if we of the Church was on the same page, following ultimately the same mission & vision, praying for each other and our congregations, gathering regularly, communicating, helping where needed, being of like mind & spirit, and working towards the same goal?  Just imagine the Church’s testimony to the world!  No wonder Jesus stressed unity so strongly!

---Marturo

  I can remember as a child, each Christmas, waiting for Santa to arrive. I’d put cookies out on a plate, a glass of milk, and a note, in case Santa didn’t know that the snack was for him. As I grew older (but not too old to stop believing in Santa), I’d stay up late, excited about my hopes in seeing him! Then I’d wake up learning that I’d missed him.  Yes, Christmas Eve is about waiting.

  After the Israelites returned from Babylon, God promised to send them a Messiah. All throughout the Israelite history, the only people known as Messiahs were Priests, Kings, and Prophets (Jesus was/is all 3!)  But He never gave them a real warning as of when…just that He was coming soon. So the Israelites, by then known as Jews, kept watch.  For 400 years, people waited, and waited, and waited.  A few times, people would give off the image of a Messiah raised up, getting the people all excited, only to become disappointed.  Can you imagine 400 years of hearing “Ahhhhh? ….awwww…”?  Hundreds of thousands of people waiting for God’s Messiah, only to be continuously disappointed when they learned that the person in whom they’d put their trust, wasn’t the Messiah at all.  But you see, they were waiting for a human, and humans continued to fail them.  They were looking for a Messiah from God, and expecting him to be human. And they weren’t too far off, but God wasn’t talking about sending a simple human…He was talking about something so much more!

Today, we’re in a similar position as the Israelites of the time.  Only for us, it’s not when the long awaited Messiah will come the first time…now, we’re waiting for Jesus to return…to come a second time.  So like the Israelites, we are waiting for the promised coming of God’s Messiah, we don’t know when He’s coming back (like a thief in the night), though we have been commanded to “Watch”, while at the same time, given landmarks to watch for, and even when we do, we remember that Jesus said they’re simply pangs that have to happen before He can return.  So in a sense we’re in the same position as the Jews of Jesus’ time.

  Wait…same?  Are we really in the same position as the early Jews?  Have we not been commanded to do more than simply wait for His arrival? 

The Jews then were called to:                                        Christians today are called to:

1.  Be a nation of God’s holy priests.                                1. Be a nation of God's holy Priests

2.  Testify of God’s history and presence among them       2.Testify to the nations about Christ's first coming

3.  Wait & keep watch for the Messiah’s first coming      3. Wait & keep watch for the Messiah's second coming.

Christmas Eve then was about waiting for Jesus, God’s Messiah, to finally come.

Christmas Eve is now about waiting for Jesus to come…to return.

Christmas Eve is about waiting.

---Marturo

I bet I know what you're thinking...Hispanic name, Asian background, you're confused.  So I'll try to help you understand.
The background: I like the darker background, I'm a fan of Japan, and love dragonflies.
The name: Marturo is Koine Greek...biblical Greek (a dead language).  It's actually where we get the word "Martyr".  But Martyr doesn't necessarily mean what we've come to know it as (one who dies for their faith, sacrificial person, etc), but "witness".  In fact, spelled in Greek, you'd see it as: Maptupw.  Ultimately, it means "I witness".

Who am I: I'm a Christian, Caucasian male in my 30s. I've been to Seminary and earned my Master of Divinity. I enjoy talking about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, but also faith (or lack of), and religions (or lack of), or just about anything else (though I'm not much on politics).  I try not to preach to people with whom I talk, but just converse.  I welcome your comments (or complaints).  I'd also prefer to address the issue than to judge your response (or you).  To give you an example, I actually got interested in VOX from reading and commenting on a post by "atheist dad".

What to expect: Bible studies, inspirations, venting on occasion, challenging questions about your faith (or lack of), theological discussions or questions, etc.  This is not a money-making blog, but mostly someplace where I may be myself, teach and discuss God, and more while also being anonymous.

I look forward to getting this off the ground, and to our discussions.  If you stop by and read something, please comment, even if it's just a hello...not for hit points or anything...it's just nice to know I'm not the only one reading this.