ROOM FOR JESUS – DAY 5 of 8 – Healthcare

Is there room for Jesus in your decisions about health and healthcare? Don’t worry, I’m not coming out as pro or anti vax. I’m certainly not recommending some kind of root or herb to replace going to the doctor, or vice versa.

Whatever your healthcare and wellness choices, we have one New Testament “when you are sick do this” scripture. One direct to do scripture. Go ahead and use a Bible search app and search the New Testament for the word “sick”. You will find that Jesus and the disciples healed the sick. You will find that we are told to visit the sick.

And then there is James 5:14-15 [NIV] 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

There you go. Call for the elders and have them anoint and pray over you.

The great thing about this is that it does not prevent whatever else you may need to do or feel that it is important to do. It works well when combined with seeing and MD or chiropractor or nutritionist or choosing not to.

This came to mind to me because I’ve been having trouble with my left hip as a result of an old injury and it hit me that I had not even told my husband about it, let alone asked him (he is an ordained minister) to anoint and pray over me.

Far too often, I make room for Jesus after, and not first, in my health journey. And that is just wrong – especially when I’ve got an “elder of the church” right there in my own home.

Now, to be sure, there are occasions when you’ll end up in the hospital first, like a wreck or heart attack. I get that. I encourage you not to take a risk like waiting for an anointed cloth to be mailed to you before having a broken leg mended. But most of the time there is room for Jesus first and other steps after.

Is anyone sick? I encourage you to make room for Jesus, as James instructs us, and then take the other steps you feel are best for your health and recovery.

I welcome your comments and questions along the way. You can write me in the comments/chat section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org

ROOM FOR JESUS – DAY 4 of 8 - Gifts of the Spirit

Is there room for Jesus in your spiritual gifts and talents? We all have them. [See 1 Corinthians 12:4-11] Every gift of the spirit is of the same value to God. Hopefully, since they are given us for the purpose of service to others, we all use them or seek to use them to serve.

However, if we are not careful, we can find ourselves guilty of edging Jesus out of our use of those gifts. Let me give you a recent example from my life.

I was asked to give a scripture-based seminar to a mixed group of adults. It is a presentation I have done many times before. But I always practice a couple of times before any presentation to ensure that it comes out smoothly and I don’t miss any important points. Even with written out notes in front of me, without practice I might stumble over words or points.

My first run through was way more difficult than I expected. I wasn’t “feeling it”. Didn’t feel like I was connecting to the message or that it was flowing. I knew that I had the right message. I’d put in the time to craft it. It was not unfamiliar territory. Why was I feeling unconnected?

I stopped and prayed, asking for Jesus to help me, to speak through me and get this message, which I had been asked to give, out with feeling and connection. I asked Jesus to speak through me – to connect to His brothers and sisters in a meaningful way.

I stepped aside and made room for Jesus to speak through me. And He did. The next run through felt perfectly aligned. And the presentation went beautifully.

What was missing was that I had assumed, given all my work on it, that I could give the message myself. I had neglected to make room for Jesus.

God gives us talent and gifts that He intends for us to use. But even a God-given gift will not serve its purpose unless we purposefully, specifically and with intent make room for Jesus in its use.

I welcome your comments and questions along the way. You can write me in the comments/chat section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org

ROOM FOR JESUS – DAY 3 of 8

Is there room for Jesus at your church? Seems like that last place we should have to ask that question. Right? But remember that when Jesus showed up at the temple, He did not look like, speak like or act like the religious leaders expected the Messiah to look, speak and act.

So, maybe the better question would be, “Is there room in your church (or fellowship group) for a follower of Jesus who looks, speaks and acts differently than what is ‘normal’ for your congregation?”.

Do you know the difference between inclusion and belonging? From a work perspective, Dave Wilkin, CEO of 10KC, a mentoring and networking platform for companies like Nike, GE and more, describes inclusion as having a seat at the table, but belonging is not only being at that table, but having your voice heard and valued. * 

Thinking about this from a church perspective, inclusion means that you allow someone to attend, let them sit in a pew and listen to the sermon, but never give them a voice, or responsibility or a real place in the congregation. Never make them feel truly welcome or that they have a part in the work of God.

I once asked a minister what would happen if a transgender person showed up at services. Someone who had already transitioned. He asked for some time to think about it. Clearly, it was not something that the leaders had discussed. Yet, if we are casting the net as fishers of men, we are going to be catching all kinds of fish. You think God will never call someone who had transitioned to the other sex? Why not?

With issues such as this – issues new to our current society – it is wise to take some time to consider what you would do if Jesus or an angel showed up in a form like this, specifically to see if the church could make room for such a beloved child of God.

Sisters in Christ, it is important that we consider it, pray about it, maybe even fast about it, and seek wise counsel from the Bible. We would do well to see what we can learn from how Jesus treated the unwelcome of His time - the lepers, adulteresses, tax collectors and others who were generally not given the gift of belonging at dinner tables, let alone in the temple.

I won’t tell you what the minister eventually said because I am asking you if there is room for Jesus in your congregation if He shows up looking so differently from most of the children of God in you group, or if it is someone who sins differently or struggles with different issues that are “allowed” or “acceptable struggles” in your congregation.

I’m not going to tell you what he said, because when it comes to something besides the question of restrooms (which seems to be the one that immediately comes to most people’s minds), the real question is about welcoming sinners and how that works in hearts and minds of your congregation.

It may seem like the one place we should not have to ask if there is room for Jesus is when it comes to church congregations.  However, congregations are made up of repentant sinners who are not done learning about their own sins, about God, about Jesus, about love, about the scripture and about our Christian walk. How do I know? Because I am one of those congregants myself, still learning and growing, and working to expand the room for Jesus in my own life.

I welcome your comments and questions along the way. You can write me in the comments/chat section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org

* https://www.worklife.news/culture/inclusion-and-belongi/