Daily Dose #62 (Monday, May 25, 2020)
Hey church family – welcome to Daily Dose Episode #62 for Monday, May 25.
Thank you for those who have responded to the Elders request for feedback regarding discussions we are having about re-launch plans. If you took time to read the document from the Province of Alberta about “Guidelines for Places of Worship,” no doubt you will have recognized that any re-launch plans are very complicated and restrictive at this point. We as Elders are very thankful for your prayers for us as we continue to seek the Lord for wisdom and guidance moving forward. And we’ll endeavour to keep you posted on decisions as we know them in the days to come.
For today, let me turn our attention briefly to Acts 15:28, which says the following – “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us….”
This text comes in the middle of something known as the Council at Jerusalem. This was one of the most significant gatherings of the infant church in the book of Acts. Sides were being drawn. Opinions were being expounded upon. No doubt people were claiming to speak for God on both sides of the issue. There was great potential for conflict and division. And under these gathering storm clouds, the leaders of the early church gathered together to seek a resolution and a way forward. And eventually they did.
But do you ever wonder if there were people who didn’t agree and parted ways with the local churches represented? We don’t really know how it played out, other than the fact that the church continued to experience explosive growth and expansion all over the known world.
I like the verse I highlighted for us earlier – chapter 15:28 – because there was the God component in it. The people really did care what God had to say about the issue at hand and their conclusion. But there was also the people component in it – it really mattered that the people agreed on the decision and conclusion of the issue at hand. And it was so important that they agreed with one another as they moved forward.
I believe, as I said last week in Wednesday’s Daily Dose, that there is real potential for division in our society between those who would handle the post-covid reality differently. But I do know what we read in Ephesians 4:2-3, and I think these are good words for us to consider in these days as a church family. This is what these verses tell us – “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Look at the words we are called to be as we “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” going forward.
· Be completely humble
· Be completely gentle
· Be patient
· Bear with one another in a loving way.
Again, as I said last week, let’s make those our abiding values as we move forward in the coming months. Let’s be humble around each other – let’s be gentle with one another – let’s be patient with one another – and let’s bear with the differences one to another in a loving way.
And as we do this, we trust the Lord will allow us to keep the unity we have as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Have an amazing rest of your day church family – and I eagerly look forward to the time we can gather together again soon.