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| The Beautiful Body of Christ! |
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| Finding Joy in God's Kingdom |
March 3, 2009 |
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Greetings!
Thank you for praying for my recent speaking engagements in Oklahoma. I think they were a great success not due to my abilities or message but due to your prayer and God's greatness. At the meetings, I met many new friends in the Body of Christ and enlisted many in the fight against the "giant" of child abuse and neglect.
In Oklahoma and Arkansas, I encountered many different types of individuals that play diverse roles in their community. I met pastors, foster parents, child welfare workers, community partners, business owners, grandparents, donors, prayer warriors and lay people from local churches. Each individual brought a unique set of gifts and view points to each meeting. These same folks bring those unique gifts and view points to their community and the Body of Christ on a daily basis. If there is one thing that I learned in my travels, it is the sheer beauty of the Body of Christ.
It is easy to be discouraged as we witness our Nation slide into moral decay. Nightly, the news tells a story of a murder, death, destruction or crime. Let me share with you the newscast of Heaven ...
"This just in ... God is in control ... It seems God has a Body of Believers on earth that love Him and are devoted to enjoying Jesus forever and sharing this joy with others ... in a special interview with God today we found that He loves you and is eagerly awaiting the Body of Christ as a husband awaits his bride!" |
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3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
~ Romans 12:3-8 ~
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The Beautiful Body points us to Jesus ... Our Joy!
We should be humbled by the Body of Christ! God has constructed a Body of Believers around you for this specific time in history. This is your time. This is their time. Together, this is our time! You know what? I am learning to cherish it and find joy in Jesus through His Beautiful Body.
Wherever I go and whatever I do, I find a Body of Believers that connects me to my King and His Kingdom. There are people God has in every city, nation and continent that remind me of the love of Jesus as they exhibit Him through their lives and with the gifts He has provided. No matter where I travel, I am amazed at how God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, connects me to Himself through others.
God knits me to Himself by using His "Beautiful Body" to encourage, convict, challenge, complement and comfort my soul. It may be a word of advice, encouragement, correction or kindness but it is always good and pleasant to my soul. This is so refreshing in a world that spits out foulness and garbage every moment. I am refreshed and renewed by the "Beautiful Body" of Christ.
Friend, I am counting on you and others are counting on you for in you lies the remedy for this rotting world. In you is the beauty of Jesus Christ. In you lies the giftings of a Holy God that desires that all men come to the full knowledge of Jesus Christ and His love for them. In you reside the blessings of a compassionate and considerate God. Through you the King desires to communicate His Kingdom! Through you the King desires to share His love. You are a part of His "Beautiful Body". Enjoy the Body and Enjoy Him forever!
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For King and Kingdom,
Randy Martin |
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