Right now I'm reading through 1 Corinthians in my daily quiet time. As I read through a book I usually do it pretty slowly to soak in specific thoughts instead of rushing through and missing what God is trying to teach me. So today I was reading 1 Corinthians 3 and here are some of the things that jumped out at me.
You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? [4] For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men? 1 Cor. 3:3-4
Paul lays it on them here. He is saying, "You guys are acting like everybody else in our culture! You argue with each other about petty things, you get jealous of one anther - what are you thinking? Aren't we supposed to be different as followers of Christ? Aren't we called to reflect Christ in our daily actions? How can the world see the reflection of Christ when we don't even reflect Christ to one another? We look just like the world!"
Then he goes on:
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 1 Cor. 3:6-7
Man, how confused do we get? So often we begin thinking, "this church is doing things the way God wants them." Then somebody else has the same thought about another church and people begin to argue over who is doing it right. We totally lose focus of who is doing what! We are simply doing our little part, but it is God who makes it happen!
How in the world can we represent Christ to our world when we judge one another? God is doing so many outrageously cool things in our world today and guess what - He is doing them in many different, unique, creative ways! There is not one church, or one movement that has the edge on all the others. Our call is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. The way we do that is to Honor God; Build healthy relationships; and to have a BLAST!
God will use you to win alot more people to Christ when you reflect Him, than when you argue over what church is where God is moving. Here is a brief list of churches, in Norman, that are doing a great job reflecting Christ: (I know there is more, but here is a brief list)
- Alameda Church of Christ
- Crosspoint Community Church - Joe Grizzle is my hero!
- Generations Church
- McFarlin United Methodist I'm borrowing and idea from them for this coming Sunday.
- Bethel Baptist
- Great Life Church
- Heartland Community Church
- Heartland Harverst Church - They just moved into their new building and are exploding!
- Freedom Fellowship
Those are just a few. Let's do what God says and encourage one another! As we do so He will continue to transform cities through HIS church!
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