Our Journey . . .
We know our journey will present us with many challenges and difficulties, but having encouragement from our brothers and sisters is a blessing that can strengthen us - 1 Thess 5:11
Getting to know our brothers and sisters takes time, and if we reflect on the ministry of Christ, you will see He spent some three years with the 12 Apostles.
Also, his own siblings (four brothers and at least two sisters) knew Him all their lives.
Patience is called for, as we ask that we be shown patience.
We are not intending to hold Zoom meetings; rather, we encourage all to “zoom” into God’s word and to read slowly and reflect in your prayers, God’s own thoughts - Isa. 55:8,9
A Christian Community
Christ established not so much a movement called “Christianity” or an institution called “the church” but a community of people who together make up the “body of Christ”, both Jews & Gentiles – 1 Cor. 12:13, 14, 27.
Christ Jesus, our Lord and saviour, never suggested that entry into his Kingdom would be based upon our intellectual ability to understand “truth” as many people like to teach.
Yes, of course, understanding “truth” is important. However, real understanding comes only through the holy spirit, as explained in 1 John 2:27. And the gift of the spirit comes only to those deserving of the gift, in measure to what we do to show we deserve such a gift – 1 John 5:1-5.
Read the short account at Acts 19:11, 12, and you will see the extent to which the holy spirit can act.
The very last illustration Jesus gave before his arrest and crucifixion, recorded in Matt 25:31-46, shows how little acts of kindness can secure salvation for all members of the Christian Community. It is the kindness we show, not our intellectual ability, that allows us access to God’s Kingdom.
