Be the Example

Have you ever felt too young, to do something of significance? Or possibly even too old, to do something important? Regardless of your age maybe you feel too small for that all-important big job?

Maybe you get a sense that you are too inexperienced to contribute something meaningful? Or possibly even too underqualified to make a real difference?

In the book of 1 Timothy, which is a God-inspired letter from Paul to his “son in the faith,” Timothy, Paul equips and encourages Timothy in things like doctrine, leadership, and living out the ways of God.

He writes: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” ‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭(New International V‬‬ersion)

If you’ve ever felt too young, remember that God has purposefully put you where you are, at this specific time in history. He desires to use your passion, drive, vision, energy, and ideas to magnify His glory. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that is a great thing.

If you’ve ever felt too old, remember that God has purposefully put you where you are, at this specific time in history. You have grit, wisdom, leadership, and the gift of life experience. You see things from a unique vantage point, and that is a great thing.

The thing is, you and I are never too young, or too old, to be used by God.

Victor Biennoury, Samuel Anointing David
French, 1842
Paris, Ecole nationale superieure
des Beaux-Arts

For those of you who feel that you are too young – Maybe you need to be reminded that God used a young shepherd boy called David, to greatly impact the world. He was the youngest of his brothers and was not even included in a special sacrificial observance arranged by Samuel in Bethlehem. Nevertheless, he was the one that God had chosen to be king, a man after God’s own heart, and so he was summoned from the field where he was tending the families flock to be anointed king. (Refer to 1 Samuel 16:1-13). 

And for those of you that feel as if you are too old – Maybe you need to be reminded that God used a person who, by today’s reckoning, would have been a tad too old. At the age of 80, God appears to Moses in the form of a burning bush and commands him to go to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let his people go (Refer to Exodus 3, Exodus 7:6-7, and Acts 7:30-34). He then leads the Hebrew people for another 40 years through the desert towards the promised land.

The thing is, no matter our age, God has empowered each and every one of us to live a life that points people to know Him, and to love Him.

So, how can you do that?

You can set an example – in the way you talk, in the way you act, in the way you work, in the way that you love, in the way you live out your faith.

For Colossians 3:17 reminds us that “whatever we do or say, (we are to) do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.”
(New Living Translation)

You and I have been given an awesome privilege and responsibility to represent God. He chose you and I, as sons and daughters, to represent Him well. To be an example of what it means to love Him and love others. To follow His ways and teach them to those that follow us. We are to be an example!

So, what kind of example are you being?

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Creating a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest

If you’re involved in church ministry I’m sure that you can relate to the following couple of statements that Josh Reich* shares in his article, which was posted on Sermon Central on the 23rd of November 2022, entitled ‘Creating a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest‘.

“I have too many things on my calendar” or,

“At the end of the day I don’t have energy for my spouse, kids or the people who matter most to me.”

As we come towards arguably the busiest time of the Christian calendar we are all feeling a tad tired, overwhelmed and rundown. The Covid-19 pandemic, what with its lockdowns and societal restrictions that were placed on us and now for some the uncertainty that we are now living in, have taken their toll. The upheaval of constantly having to adapt, change and morph has caused us to question just about everything, and the turmoil that surrounds us (economic concerns, war, failing systems etc.) has become almost unbearable.  

It’s as if we are hanging out for the Christmas / New Year holidays to begin and we can take a much needed rest after the Christmas Day service, even if all that means is to shut the doors for a while, breathe, clean up and gather our thoughts long enough to figure out what we can start doing next year and when.

Josh goes on to state that; “God calls us to be healthy. Healthy spiritually, physically, relationally, emotionally, and mentally. God created us, and all of us are meant to glorify Him” and asks a pertinent question, “Am I living in a way that is sustainable and will help me thrive tomorrow?“

This is something that I have had to come to grips with big time, as I constantly deal with the effects of fatigue brought on by Interstitial Lung Disease, which is associated with a rare autoimmune disease called Scleroderma.

One day I can literally feel right as rain and get a myriad of things done, the next I can barely make it out of bed.

I’ve been on a steep learning curve over the past year and a bit, as I learn how to pace myself, both in the area of my overall health and well-being – and also in the area of mission and ministry.

Looking at what I am able to contribute and accomplish, now that I’m living with an invisible disability. 

I have had to learn the importance and practice of Sabbath Rest. 

But what does that look like practically on a day to day basis?

Creating a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest

Josh provides the following five ideas that can help:

1. Let go because Jesus has this. 

As our Sabbath rest, we need to let go and give Jesus our burdens, stress, and anxiety and rest in Him. We know we will have burdens, stress and anxieties because Jesus tells us we will, and we are to give them to him.

Because of Jesus’ work, coming from heaven to earth, we are able to accept our limitations. Because Jesus is limitless, we can rest in Him. Not only that, seeing Jesus as our rest is about trusting and enjoying Jesus as better than what we are running from or running in.

2. Schedule rest and recreation. 

It won’t just happen. Hebrews 4:1-13 tells us that we are to enter God’s rest and Exodus 20:8-11 tells us to;

“Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.”

There is an active move on our part as it relates to rest. Sabbath throughout Scripture is an intentional thing, not something that is thrown together at the end.

The reality in being intentional also comes into play when it comes to our calendars and how we spend our time.

Our lack of rest, while we often blame others, really comes down to our problem of stopping, trusting God and being okay with not doing certain things.

Everytime you say yes to one thing you say no to something else.

The number one complaint [many of us] hear from people is, “I don’t have time. I don’t have time for hobbies, sleep, my marriage, relationships, kids, reading my Bible.” You do, you just gave that time away.

You give your time to the things that matter most. So what gets your time is what is important. This is why taking control of your calendar matters. If you don’t control your calendar, someone else will.

3. Learn how you rest best. 

What does enjoying God look like? I think there are some basic principles, but each of us will do this in unique ways. If the goal of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, Sabbath rest is a great way to do this.

For all of us, this will also include the reality of place. Place matters when it comes to glorifying God, enjoying God and resting in God.

Place is all throughout Scripture. Adam and Eve were given a garden, the nation of Israel was given a land, the church is given a city in Revelation.

There is a place where rest, connecting to God, feeling closer to God happens for each of us, and it is important to think through that. For some it is a farm, the woods, a mountain, a city, a beach, but figure it out.

4. Fight against technology. 

A few practical things [can] help: resting from social media once a week, not having phones at the table so I can enjoy family time and conversations with friends, not checking email at night or on the weekends.

The sad thing is that study after study says that as we become more and more technological as a culture, we become more and more distant and lonely.

5. Review your day and week. 

In his helpful book The Rest of God, Mark Buchanan says that at the end of your day ask: Where did I feel most alive, most hopeful, most in the presence of God? And where did I feel most dead, most despairing, farthest from God? What fulfilled me, and what left me forsaken? Where did I taste consolation, and where desolation?

This helps you to see where God is moving and at work. Part of Sabbath rest is celebrating that God is in control, resting in that, but also celebrating God’s goodness in our lives.

For me personally one of the things that I have instituted into my monthly routine, which has become a non-negotiable, is to take a respite day once a month and go to a place where I can relax, enjoy nature, and focus on what God is saying to me in the moment.

How about you? What do you need to do to “Create a Rhythm of Sabbath Rest” in your life? I pray that you spend the time you need to work out what works for you, so that you can live in a way that is sustainable and will help you thrive tomorrow and in the days to come.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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* Josh Reich is the Lead Pastor at Community Covenant Church in Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Their mission is to help people take their next step with God, and his personal blog is all about inspiring people to be more!

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Small Groups are an Integral part of the Church

As mentioned in my previous post (Small Groups are Vital to the Health of the Church) throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and its associated lockdowns, church leaders around the world have identified Small Groups as one of the integral areas of the church that we need to remain focussed on as we return to larger scale in-person gatherings.

You see, small groups, cell groups, life groups, cell meetings, house churches – call them what you will, are one of the greatest tools for creating true Christian community within the church.

According to Tim Koster & John Wagenveld in their book ‘Take your Church’s Pulse’ “If we want the church to grow holistically, we need to recognise the missionary purpose of the Christian community… we can never underestimate its impact on the unbelieving world. In a world that suffers isolation, loneliness, separation, and violence, the church provides a community of love, reconciliation, grace, and forgiveness. These qualities, which are difficult to find in other places, contribute to the growth of the Church of the Lord.”

Building community is something that is at the heart of the Scriptures.

God has always been calling people out to be in relationship with Himself and with others.

They go on to say that “it is evident that the Christian faith should not be lived in solitude or isolated.”

Gareth Icenogle, author of Biblical Foundations for Small Group Ministry identifies that “The small group is a generic form of human community that is trans-cultural, trans-generational and even transcendant. The call to human gathering in groups is a God-created and God-directed ministry, birthed out of the very nature and purpose of God’s being… The natural and simple demonstration of God’s communal image for humanity is the gathering of the small group.” 

In Exodus 18 we see Jethro (Moses’ father-in-law) visiting Moses and during their get together he provides some valuable counsel to Moses around the importance of lightening the load and getting the people to gather in smaller groups.

“But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.” Exodus 18:21 (New Living Translation)

In this instance the Scriptures relate to sorting out issues that arose in the life of the larger community – But it is something that we can adopt within the church to not only lighten the load for our church leaders, it can also create a more meaningful community within smaller groups where people connect on a deeper level that they would not necessarily find in larger gatherings.       

You see, small groups allow for people to minister to one another, supporting and encouraging one another in the faith, using their spiritual gifts, and to be discipled in the teachings of Christ.

Andrew T Holm has written an article in which he outlines the 5 reasons why participating in a small group is vital for us today!

• Small groups create FRIENDSHIP within the body of believers.

• Small groups allow us to have FELLOWSHIP within the body of believers.

• Small groups provide an opportunity for DISCIPLESHIP.

• Small groups provide a COMMUNITY of growth.

• Small groups create a healthy atmosphere of ACCOUNTABILITY.

And according to Peter Block “Small groups are an essential building block to any future you want to create.”

Bill Donahue & Russ Robinson in their book ‘Building a Church of Small Groups‘ also write that “Small Groups offer Christians the rare opportunity of studying the Bible, then holding each other accountable to grow in Christ and the fruits of the Spirit.” 

Both aspects of group life, studying and growing are essential if we are to see holistic  transformational growth happening within those gathered.

The thing is, that when those that are part of these kinds of small groups adopt what they are learning and experiencing, they start to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit in their spheres of influence, and people recognise that there’s something different about them.

Therefore Small Groups can (and should) be also evangelistic in nature, as it is often a lot easier to invite someone to a small group of friends that are gathering than it is to church on Sunday, especially in this day and age.

Some larger churches have recognised this throughout the pandemic and have shifted their thinking from having “a church with small groups” to being “a church of small groups”.

That way if they are to experience any further lockdowns or restrictions of in-person gatherings going forward, they are able to continue growing in more ways than one and see people coming to the Lord. 

This train of thought is something that Graham Cooke & Gary Goodell also conclude in their book ‘Permission Granted to do Church Differently in the 21st Century‘; “The local church does not do small groups; the local church is a small group.”     

So, may we start to recognise not only how vital small groups are, but how they can be integral to the life of the church.

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