Trying to find the words

Church must shift directions within the hearts of men and woman or will only continue our course toward impotence and irrelevance. The enemy’s ploy is to keep us busy entertaining ourselves and worrying about our dissatisfaction. We are occupied, even saturated, with activity that is frivolous. Even after coming to Christ we turn church in to a spiritual Disney land. What can we consume from this body we have joined ourselves with. What will serve my desires? What will it provide me that I can’t provide for myself? Is it meaningful to me? Even those charge with stewardship over the church ask, “will it suit the people that are constantly looking for something to feed their never ending needs?” Will the want us? How can we change so that will want us? What can we promise them that will catch their fancy? Then they will come and we will be…. Something (do we even know).

While true Christian community meets needs, it is a place of love and care. But these are byproducts of a people joined together in a mutual giving of themselves to Christ Jesus himself. The momentum of the church can not be, I have friends here, but I have to be here because Christ is compelling me to give of myself. I am drawn to this body, the body has not wooed me.

Our spiritual engines are in reverse. And while we definitely have motion, we are either trying to go forward while in reverse OR going moving only closer to ourselves. Have we made the fulfillment of ourselves the ultimate end?

Jesus has the in losing our life we find it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer has that only the one that as abandoned everything to Jesus can know how completely saved by grace he is. St. Frances says that it is giving that we receive.

Can we change the direction of our spiritual engines and stand together as the body of Christ because we are committed to Christ. Can we draw give money and time voluntarily because we are compelled by the purposes of God. Does our devotion to Jesus ring so loud in hearts that we re-order our lives in such a way to be before the LORD for long hours, that we don’t measure one another as friends as much as co-labors in serving Christ. In other words the value of the people that are with us, isn’t no close of a friend do we feel toward them (or them to us) but we see the their value as someone else committed to the purpose of Jesus – one more to labor alongside of for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.

Jesus I need to understand this more and need to able to explain this better. Please give me the words. I see it in my mind – let it come out of my mouth with power.