Parakaleo

I send an excited and heartfelt greeting to you, the Beloved of Jesus the Lord of Heaven and Earth.

It was such a massive and refreshing blessing to spend the whole weekend with my Beloved family. It is an incredible joy to be a part of this amazing culture… I am not just the pastor here, this is the church that me and my family belong to and benefit from in an equal and humbling way, just as you are.

The testimonies that were shared with us on Saturday night during the “10TH Anniversary Celebration” are literally still going through my heart and mind. So many touched lives… in so many ways… by so many folks. What a humbling time and what an honor to be allowed to be a part of this by our God.

One of the images burned into my heart from our time together was the “Prophetic Activation” time on Sunday night where RUGGED and Pastor Bob ministered to the family in a very powerful and personal way that took some folks into new and unchartered spiritual territory. It was deeply touching for me to watch so many of you press into the gifts deposited inside by grace and releasing those precious divine things into each other. This is what the authentic church should look like… each of us, giving and receiving the glory of Heaven for the benefit of one another in unity and love. Wow… Jesus is so good to us!

Romans 12:3-8 (TPT)
God has given me grace to speak a warning about pride. I would ask each of you to be emptied of self-promotion and not create a false image of your importance. Instead, honestly assess your worth by using your God-given faith as the standard of measurement, and then you will see your true value with an appropriate self-esteem.

In the human body there are many parts and organs, each with a unique function. And so it is in the body of Christ. For though we are many, we’ve all been mingled into one body in Christ. This means that we are all vitally joined to one another, with each contributing to the others.

God’s marvelous grace imparts to each one of us varying gifts. So if God has given you the grace-gift of prophecy, activate your gift by using the proportion of faith you have to prophesy. If your grace-gift is serving, then thrive in serving others well. If you have the grace-gift of teaching, then be actively teaching and training others. If you have the grace-gift of encouragement,  then use it often to encourage others. If you have the grace-gift of giving to meet the needs of others, then may you prosper in your generosity without any fanfare. If you have the gift of leadership, be passionate about your leadership. And if you have the gift of showing compassion, then flourish in your cheerful display of compassion.

Please note, through these divine truths revealed through the Word of God, that these expressions of Heaven and the Father’s heart, through these grace-gifts listed above, have equal importance. If we truly agree with the way we, the local church, are called a, “body,” by the Holy Spirit, then we also need to agree that all of our functions, connections, and lives have the same infinite value as everyone else in our body. Maybe one could survive without an arm or a leg, but they will not thrive the way they were created to. In the same way, we as a church (ekklesia) can survive without some people… some grace-gifts… some heavenly blessings… but we will never thrive and fulfill all that our Father passionately desires for us to be.

One of the gifts annotated here is the grace-gift (divine empowerment and favor given freely without merit) for, “exhortation.” This is the Greek word parakaleo, which means, “to be alongside of someone to comfort, encourage, console, strengthen, exhort, and stir up faith.” This is also one of the words describing the person of Holy Spirit. This is what Holy Spirit is doing, without ceasing, in you as you read these words. When we do this for and with others, we are literally being just like Holy Spirit… that is called Godly.

Beloved, this is our calling today and everyday… be Godly. Be like your Father in Heaven!

Ephesians 4:24 (CSB)
And to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

You have this in you today. Now get out there, into your world, and let er’ rip!

I love you greatly and passionately anticipate our next gathering of the Body!
Steve