Our Prince of Peace is at the center of our world and communities of believers. What would it look like if we made a daily practice of letting Christ’s character show up in our lives by abiding in His Word and God’s Holy Spirit, choosing to simplify our routines and making a point to include in every day a few select followers of Jesus and one or two specific non-believers, genuinely praying as we focus on those encounters, asking the Lord that the found would be encouraged and the lost would encounter some aspect of Jesus through us again that day. We have our responsibilities already in many cases, so we could pray at the start and then throughout each day knowing who we will likely encounter and then praying as we encounter those the Lord gives us opportunity to love and serve.

This is a grid I’ve been praying on a lot for both personal life and business life. What a glorious thing it would be if this Jesus-centered world-view was adopted by more of those who profess to be following Jesus but curse His name with the fruit being born in their lives. That said, let’s praise the Lord Jesus for the good fruit being born in the lives of many genuine disciples of Christ whom I’m sure many of us know and have encountered! Finally, let’s seek to be Jesus’ genuine disciples ourselves, resting in the Spirit, trusting in the LORD, receiving Jesus’ death as for us, abiding humbly with other Jesus followed and simplifying our lives enough to actually encounter God’s abundant grace for salvation and purification and unity among a few other genuine followers of the Way Himself, the Messiah, our Master and ransom-paying Jesus!

Holy God, be glorified as Your children encounter this world and as we learn our purpose to be in relationship with God, Jesus’ followers, and the lost… It’s so simple and pure! Teach us to love and serve and be less self-oriented. Teach us to find our purpose and our how-to bits of wisdom centered around and from focusing on YOU and YOURS. May many non-believers come to follow You as they see Your children loving one another!

This morning I’m soaking in Romans chapter five as I prepare to encourage one of our two little Jesus communities in the Word of God. Our home is the hosting site for five adults and our two kiddos and it’s a tender and exciting new church plant! The other church plant is hosted by Dave and Geri Simmons in their home and holds around ten adults and four kiddos. Dave will be leading this other church plant in soaking in God’s Word today.

This is our second Sunday gathering in two homes and we are experiencing increased intimacy and getting into each other’s lives by growing in smaller gatherings. It’s staggering to think that most of Christ’s impacting of believers and non-believers has been through the Holy Spirit working the message of the cross into hearts through little poolings of Jesus’ followers simply and genuinely engaging with God’s Word, Spirit, and children and then reaching out in love to a hurting dying world all around them.

There is such harmony available to us as much as we may wrestle with God’s Word and each other’s personalities, because it is God Who is ultimately on the move and reaching the lost and found. This grace we have received from the LORD is astounding because it’s sufficient and fully pleasing both to us and to the LORD!

What overwhelms me is that God both requires righteousness and then provides it in His Son’s atoning, ransom-paying death for all who believe! Then, God provides us with the Spirit and provides us with one another to bear witness to His grace and give us physical revelation of His abiding presence and real, consistent kindness. God gifts us with one another that we might love one another and build up the church, enduring together until Christ’s return!

May the Lord return soon, but may He find us faithful and laboring on more committed and more genuine and engaged than ever before in our walks! LORD God, we trust in You and know You to be faithful and sufficient! We are satisfied in You and praise Your great name! You are worthy, God!