Journal Entry ~ 05/24/18

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, - Ephesians 4:11-13

So, we are the saints - it is our jobs to do the work to build up the body of Christ. It is our job to care for one another, to pray over one another, to mature one another. 

I am so blessed to be in a small group that puts this verse into action.  There is never a hesitation to jump in when care is needed, when encouragement or prayer is needed, when a meal is needed. Our community goes beyond just the encouragement and support, we confront one another with the hard truths, and continually challenge each other to live according to God’s calling - even when it’s painful or hard. We understand the purpose of His trials and we continually point each other to Him when life is at its most difficult. 

I consider myself truly blessed to be in community with such a Godly group of women. It exemplifies the meaning of mutual ministry of the saints - living my life out loud along side a group of women has grown me and encouraged me in my faith more times than I could possibly count. I have been personally built up by my small group in ways that simply would not and could not have happened on my own. 

But it’s important to remember our job doesn't stop here - we are to continue to mature and continue to do the work until we ALL attain unity in the faith. ALL doesn't mean just our comfortable small groups. While it’s easy to just remain in the comfort of a familiar small group, this verse is meant to stretch us outside of that comfort zone. 

We are not called to be consumers, but doers of the Word. That means we should forever be challenged to continue to grow ourselves and the Kingdom. It’s the work of the enemy to grow stagnant and stay in our comfort zones - we need to continue to ponder and take the next step in our faith. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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