Growing up as an avid Yankee fan, and wanting to emulate our favorite players, my friends and I played neighborhood baseball every day in the summer. We quickly found out who were the best players to pick. We learned that the best way to keep winning was for the best players to support and teach the weakest. Eventually we found out what each was capable of and put in the best players in each game. We were rewarded with 1st place awards quite often. So you say, what does this have to do with my Christian journey?

In Jesus ministry, He put together a team. He called a team of 12 men with different careers and skills: some shady like Matthew the tax collector, one with anger issues, Peter. This team would teach that the way back to the Father was through Jesus. They would open God’s new covenant of unconditional love and forgiveness. Eventually Jesus sent them to the known world as the team known as the Nazarenes. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were successful at spreading Gods message of hope to all the world, promising forgiveness to all who confess their sin and profess their belief in Our Lord and Savior.

Even now, Christian churches have stronger team members, some who are weaker and a smattering in between. In the scriptures, St. Paul showed that we all have gifts from God our Father. He encouraged His followers to use whatever gifts the Spirit has granted to them, whether small or great, to spread the Good News of salvation, to feed the hungry, to heal the sick, to take care of widows, to pray for all the world, to visit the imprisoned, to be kind and fearless, to encourage all members to live up to their full potential. Remember teamwork in our Church and throughout our Christian life. Wherever we go, we can accomplish God’s purpose and help to save all who don’t yet believe.

We do this because we know God loves us unconditionally. Yes, He loves YOU unconditionally.

“Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” 1 Corinthians 12:14

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Posted in January 2018 by our dear friend Joey