Over the past 4-months, I have been sharing with you things that I have been writing in my JOURNAL… things that the LORD has been teaching or taking me through. Well, it’s time to give you a break from reading my journal entries in order to share with you a few other things that are near and dear to my heart… hopefully yours as well :).
Over the next few months, I wanted to make use of these weekly devotionals to pull back the curtain as it were to all things GENESIS. Very specifically, I wanted to give you insight into our mission, vison, DNA, values and philosophy of ministry. I wanted to give space each week in these devotionals to answer questions like…
Why does GENESIS rarely talk about money (tithes & offerings)?
Why does GENESIS only have male elders?
Why is GENESIS Reformed… and what is Reformed Theology?
Why does GENESIS rarely ‘speak’ about cultural or political issues?
Who is on staff & how did they get that role?
How does GENESIS serve & engage the local community?
Honestly, if you have questions that you’d love answered through this upcoming series of devotionals, pass those questions along and I will do all I can to answer them.
But NOT to be missed is my heart behind this…
LOVING WHAT JESUS LOVES
Jesus loves the local church… or to say that another way, Jesus loves GENESIS. And, if like me, you are a disciple of Jesus, we are called to love that which Jesus loves. We are called to give ourselves to that which Jesus gave Himself to and for.
The church is the ONLY ‘organization’ that Jesus promised to build. See that with me in Matthew 16…
“Upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” Matthew 16:18 (NLT)
In the previous verses of Matthew 16, Simon, a follower of Jesus has just been given a new name by Jesus, Peter which means ‘rock’. And Peter, the ‘original Rock’ has just confessed that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Savior. Upon hearing this declaration… really, this confession of faith, Jesus tells Peter (along with the other disciples listening in) that He would build His church.
For sake of clarity, when Jesus said, ‘I will build my church’, it’s safe to say that we might hear that differently than they would have heard it. Meaning, when we read Matthew 16:18, we might think the ‘church’ to be a reference to a building or a denomination.
Church, or ekklesia, simply means, assembly, gathering, or called-out ones. So, for Peter and the disciples, they would have understood that Jesus promised to be build ‘the gathering of God’s people.’
I share all of this to say, the ONE thing that Jesus promised to build, the gathering of His disciples, the local church is near and dear to my heart, and I hope that it is to yours as well.
I love what Jesus loves, and Jesus loves His Church… the gathering of His people.
GENESIS is a young church… 16 years in.
We’ve learned a lot, but we have a lot to still learn.
We’ve seen God do amazing things already, but there is MORE that He has for us to see as we keep trusting Him.
I hope, actually, I’ll be praying, that in the coming months through these devotionals, you’ll be able to declare with even greater clarity and conviction than you might already have that you ‘LOVE THE CHURCH.’ And if GENESIS is your home ‘ekklesia’ that you’d be able to say with a smile that you love GENESIS as she is loved by Jesus.
