tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253506665415753283.post7459506762261854880..comments2023-12-18T16:47:45.600-08:00Comments on my church journey: Getting over that wilderness feelingNorma Hill - aka penandpapermamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02034679415355279691noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253506665415753283.post-44656832606848854192011-09-23T14:29:37.437-07:002011-09-23T14:29:37.437-07:00Yes Norma, I agree. I agree there is a lot of o...Yes Norma, I agree. I agree there is a lot of overlap between Christ's church and Christ's kingdom. I think where I'm at I get very confused by how the word church gets used. And I'm tired of trying to figure out how to best do church or best be church. So for now I'm resting in the idea that it's not my job to figure out and plan.<br />However living under the reign of God seems very clear to me (yet a daily challenge to maintain focus). And I pray that as I follow my Lords lead he will provide all that I need, including fellowship or a tribe of some sort.<br />God bless!Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01266729238990589293noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253506665415753283.post-13834471022200703092011-09-23T11:42:42.513-07:002011-09-23T11:42:42.513-07:00Thanks, Jonathan.
I know that we only find the wo...Thanks, Jonathan.<br /><br />I know that we only find the word "church" twice in the gospels, but are you sure that means the Kingdom is more important? In his recent Epic Jesus talk (linked to in this post), Frank Viola says the following:<br /><br />We cannot separate the King from His kingdom. Wherever Jesus is, that's where the Kingdom is.<br /><br />But we also make a mistake if we separate the Kingdom from the ekklesia.<br /><br />Jesus talked a lot about the ekklesia - on almost every page of the gospels. Even though the word "church" is only mentioned twice in the gospels, that little group of 12 men and a few women living as a community with Jesus Christ, with Him as the Head ... you are seeing the embryonic expression of the ekklesia. And that is the community of the King, the new society that Jesus was constituting while He was on this earth. And all those references to the salt of the earth, to the vine and branches, etc : He's talking about the ekklesia.<br /><br />To separate the church from the Kingdom is to separate light from visibility.<br /><br />Anytime a group of people are enthroning Jesus Christ as their head, King, Lord - there in the midst of that people is the Kingdom of God. And you will have peace, righteousness and joy among them.<br /><br />In Jesus Christ, God's future has broken into time. We as Christians live in the presence of the future. The Kingdom is already but not yet. "My kingdom is not [of] this world." The Greek is actually "My kingdom is not FROM this world." And it is certainly FOR this world. "Thy Kingdom come... on earth as it is in heaven."<br /><br />SOOO... It really does come down to living indwelled by Christ and as you say, resting in His plans ... just walking with Him and repeating what He says (as He repeated what Father said to Him) and doing with Him what we see Him doing already. (Lots more about that in the Epic Jesus talk, as well!)Norma Hill - aka penandpapermamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034679415355279691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4253506665415753283.post-36998050301452827232011-09-22T18:47:27.127-07:002011-09-22T18:47:27.127-07:00Hi, I found your post encouraging.
I've been...Hi, I found your post encouraging. <br /><br />I've been realizing lately it is not my job to figure out and build Christ's Church. He's doing that despite all of our misguided efforts.<br /><br />I'm also recognizing the Jesus spoke way more (50 x more?) about the kingdom than He did about church. So I may need to refocus my desires some. If I learn to focus on living under the reign of God, maybe I can rest in His plans for myself and my world around me. Maybe I can let Him worry about building His church.Jonathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01266729238990589293noreply@blogger.com