Christmas Greetings in Spanish

The title of this blog, Let's Go For it, refers to Christians being family in their own neighborhood. If you live in the city there probably are many Christians near you, those whom Jesus called "My mother and my brothers" (Luke 8:21). Even here in a rural town we are an international family. Last Sunday our little group represented 10 nations, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Holland, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, Sudan, and the US. Hey, that's 4 continents.
We share with you our singing of Silent Night:

The Essence of Christianity

Every Christian is a child of God

Our Father in heaven

How do we become children of God?

John 1:12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

This means that we are family. All Christians are brothers and sisters.

As family we are God’s representatives in the world.

hallowed be your name

Christians have a responsibility

Your kingdom come

Our prayers and our actions are directed toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ plan for this world.

Where do we carry out this responsibility?

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

We introduce God’s reign wherever we find ourselves on this earth.

How can we describe the essence of the Kingdom of Jesus?

It is all about the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers and the complete description of Christian Community in the world which we find in Matthew chapters 5 to 7.

Christians have huge resources for carrying out this responsibility

Give us this day our daily bread

We are taught to be directly dependent on God for everything we need. He has never been known to disappoint those who depend on him.

and forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors

When God applies his forgiveness to us (1 John 1:7), our enemy, Satan, cannot hold us back from powerfully carrying out God’s will

What is our source of power as children of God?

We have the Holy Spirit, who raised up Jesus from the dead, we have the Word of God which never fails and we have the right to make direct requests to God, an especially powerful resource when Christians join together to pray (Matthew 18:19). We have the power of love.

Jesus demonstrated this power, establishing his rule without the need for the world’s financial resources, military support or political intrigue. When we depend on these factors, we correspondingly relinquish our dependence on God.

We recognize the existence of a powerful enemy, but our Father is always superior in every way.

and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil

We have a guarantee of success

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen

Death did not stop Jesus. Empty pockets did not stop Peter and the apostles. In a divided world, the unity of genuine followers of Jesus is one of the greatest attractions that there is. We love one another. We speak well of each other. We help each other through our difficult moments.

The Essence of Christianity is more than a carefully crafted creed. It is the fact that we are one family, the body of Jesus, co-ordinated by our Head, to demonstrate to all the world what he is like and thereby become irresistibly attractive to those observing and as a result, those who are appointed by God will believe (Acts 13:48)

Christian Neighbors

Today I would like to share some thoughts about our neighbors. Probably most of you have neighbors nearby. In our case, our closest permanent neighbor is an elderly goatherd who lives about a 15 minute walk away. If our neighbors are Christians, no, let me restate that, if our neighbors say they are Christians, then we have a special responsibility to them, and they to us. Even if they don’t attend "our church". I really would like some feedback on the following statement: if your neighbor is a Christian then he is a child of God and is your brother and therefore you need to help each other to grow spiritually even if you don’t attend the same church. You also need to serve God together in your neighborhood.

Yesterday Sharon (who is American) went into town to shop, and after having coffee with two Spanish ladies, María and Vicenta, met with Kelly (Brazilian), the only (?) Christian lady in town. While praying with Kelly, Sharon mentioned the Argentinian neighbor upstairs. As she was praying for Eloisa, there was a knock on the door, and there was Eloisa. She knew that they were meeting, and wanted to join. So a Brazilian Pentecostal and an American rather conservative Evangelical can work together to evangelize an Argentinian neighbor in Spain.

We have seen where Christians of different backgrounds are willing to work together until there are enough of each kind, so they can form separate groups. Why? The question I am trying to raise here is, what right do we have to fellowship mainly in our comfort zone? Isn’t God calling us to serve him together with his children that he has placed alongside us? In the case of Israel in the Old Testament, God protected people by placing boundaries. My own Mennonite people have sometimes chosen or been forced to establish colonies within certain boundaries: in the Ukraine, Latin America, etc. But this is 2008. Most of us know Christians of different persuasions who, unless we happen to be together in some type of "parachurch" ministry, say to each other, "Hi, how ya doin’" and continue on our way.

The reason I changed my phrasing earlier to include those who say they are Christians, is because of what we learn from Paul. Certain actions are to be taken when someone claims to be our brother. In determining whom to separate from, we are told that in the case of "anyone who bears the name of brother" (1 Corinthians 5:11) their personal conduct has to be dealt with. We’re talking about neighbors in this discussion, people whom we see on a regular basis. Maybe we’ve already decided that they aren’t Christians because they belong to a certain group. Maybe we shouldn’t judge that quickly. Maybe we should take time to get to know them. Maybe we should continue this blog some other time.

7 reasons why we should be seen as one body

1. Jesus prayed "that they may be one"
2. We are members of his body. It should be the most co-ordinated body in the universe
3. This being one body is what it will take for non-Christians to recognize that we really belong to Christ
4. It seems that one of the highest priorities for Christians is to love one another. We are told,
   let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. If this happens, we will be a brilliant light to the world
5. We have the Spirit of God. Therefore we should be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
6. We will be happier and healthier all around if we promote one another's well being in a maximum way
7. Being united here on earth is good practice for eternity

Of course, we need to arrive at the difficulties which have kept Christians from really being one. Everything in its time. But how about if you aim at loving someone today.

Did this man have to die?

This past week (January 5) was the anniversary, noted in Wikipedia's "On this Day", of the death of Felix Manz. I think it is appropriate that most Christians who enjoy the things he died for do not know who he was. His name is written where it really counts. At the same time, we can be strengthened and encouraged by knowing about key people. I have been encouraged in recent years, for example, by re-reading about Hudson Taylor, 50 years after being introduced to "Spiritual Secret"

Manz, along with a few friends, was a pioneer in standing for separation of church and state, baptism of believers (in contrast to Martin Luther and John Calvin). He actually was baptized 3 times, first as an infant, then as a believer, and finally as a martyr in Lake Zurich. Killed by Protestants because he practiced believers' baptism. As part of his defense he said that he wished "to bring together those who were willing to accept Christ, obey the Word, and follow in His footsteps, to unite with these by baptism." Pretty serious offence huh? Definitely worthy of capital punishment.

Let's go for it

Let's go for it. This is for Christians. That is, people who are followers of Jesus Christ. I believe there was a time, centuries ago, when, if someone was known as a Christian, it may have meant ostracism or being subject to many kinds of injustice, but people didn't have to ask the question, What kind of Christian. Just like, if I say, I grow olives, the characteristics and uses of this product are well understood. Experts, of course, will distinguish between specific kinds of olives, or between trees that are well cared-for or abandoned, but you get what I mean. There are Christians of different sizes and shapes and cultures and levels of education, but being a Christian not only is something, but there are other things which it is not.

I would like to see the word "Christian" recovered. This not only has to do with movements toward "unity" (Read John 17 to get an idea of what Jesus has in mind), but with giving the world around us and those who call themselves Christians and are not a clear idea of what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We are his people. Let's go for it.