God’s Love- Spread to the World
#3rd_time_in_sharing
Another day is another blessing from our Almighty Father above.
My way of reconnecting with Steemit community!
As the saying goes”No man can stand alone without the people around him”.
Connection within the community gives a great impact into our lives-special and meaningful.
To begin with, let us read the given scriptures below:
Connection/Community- Where and how can I connect with other people in meaningful relationships?
The Believers Form a Community
Acts 2:41-47
Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day- about 3000 in all. All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles ‘teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper”), and to prayer.
A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity- all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
One Body with Many Parts
1 Corinthians 12: 12-26
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.
Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand, “that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye, “would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts that we regard as less honourable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honourable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honoured, all the parts are glad.
Oneness and Peace in Christ
Ephesians 2: 11-22
Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days, you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God. But now you have been brought near to Him through the blood of Christ.
For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and gentile into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
He brought this Good News of peace to you gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
A Temple for the Lord
So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
A Call to Persevere
Hebrews 10: 19-25
And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened an new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rule’s over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.