Making the journey together

A large part of the Christian experience can be nurtured privately, but it was never meant to be undertaken in isolation. We need each other as we make the journey of faith together. We need someone else to nudge us forward in encouragement, or to keep us accountable to our disciplines and to pray for us when we find prayer too difficult. 

2 Corinthians 13:11 - Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

As we embark upon the spiritual journey of Lent this week, I invite you to commit to a practice that will nurture your relationship with God and others. If you don't have something to guide you and you would like something, please drop me a message and I will send you an invite to be a part of our community's 40 Days Together devotions. 

Helen Keller - Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Stronger together

Times are tough for everyone at the moment and this is when we need to stick together, especially with those we love and those in the body of Christ.

"Separate reeds are weak easily broken, but bound together are strong and hard to part." - Unknown

The writer of Ecclesiastes would give his approval of this sentiment as he once wrote:

"By yourself you’re unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped." - Ecclesiastes 4:12 (Message)

What do you feel about this?

Living in grace

D3LM3

Bound together during crisis

                                                

The one thing that Covid-19 has certainly done for us is to remind us that we are connected to each other in many ways. The fact that we are all experiencing some suffering and hardship during Lockdown makes us a little more sympathetic to our fellow human beings.

Reinhold Neibuhr wrote a beautiful prayer that captures our deep sense of community and how we should seek to deepen our understanding of one another. Enjoy this prayer:

"O God, who has bound us together in this bundle of life, give us grace to understand how our lives depend on the courage, the industry, the honesty, and integrity of our fellow men; that we may be mindful of their needs, grateful for their faithfulness, and faithful in our responsibilities to them; through Jesus Christ our Lord."

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:27

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Sizonqoba

Sizonqoba - 'together we triumph.'
This was the motivational slogan for Comrades 2019 and I felt honoured to be running in this years race. My experience of running in this awesome event is that it brings all sorts of people together, all with the same common goal - to finish the race!

Of course we can draw a wonderful parallel with our Christian race and if Jesus spoke isizulu he may have even told his disciples - Sizonqoba! As a Church community the more we learn to rely on each other and to help each other, then the more we will all triumph in the end. God is glorified in the collective Body of Jesus.

2 Thessalonians 3:1 -Finally, dear brothers, as I come to the end of this letter, I ask you to pray for us. Pray first that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and triumph wherever it goes, winning converts everywhere as it did when it came to you.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

It stopped me in my tracks!

It stopped me in the my tracks.... literally!

I was walking along a path this morning when I saw a familiar sight, but this time it had the power to stop and make me stare. It was a team of tiny ants carrying a massive insect to their nest. The insect was at least 100 times bigger than one of the individual ants, but TOGETHER they managed to carry the larger insect.

This all to familiar story reminds us of the power of working as team. We can try and do things by ourselves, but in the end, it doesn't work. We need each other and the support of friends, all pulling in the same direction.

What are you doing at the moment that needs a 'team of friends' to help? Are you going to ask for help, or are you just going to try and tug at the 'huge insect' by yourself? The one thing you will get with that option is a sore back and a depressed outlook.

Try the TEAM option. Jesus did - and it worked for Him.

Luke 9:1 - "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases..."

Mother Theresa -  “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

Living in Grace
D3LM3