Day 165: You Are Father God’s Gift to the Body of Christ!!!
Finally, we reach the end of our journey together. Not THE end, but just a conclusion to these readings. If you have made it all the way through with us, you should feel a real sense of accomplishment. This may be the end of our readings, but it is only the beginning of the next steps of your journey with and IN Christ. We hope what you have learned here will give you a solid foundation for the journey ahead, wherever the Lord Jesus may lead you.
Read and think about the following Psalm:
Psalm 139:1–24
O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
139:2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
139:3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
139:4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
139:5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.…
139:13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
139:14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
139:15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
139:17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
139:18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.…
139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
139:24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
I have known people who have been worried that they did not have a spiritual gift or that would never discover their spiritual gift(s). As we close this whole study, I believe that it is critically important that you understand that YOU are the gift that Father God has granted to us all to build up the Body of Christ.
In the Psalm above, King David reflects on His own life and His own relationship with the LORD. Father God knows us deeply and personally; He knows us better than we know ourselves! David also meditates on the fact that the LORD had made him, formed him in his mother’s womb. This leads to his joyous exclamation: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made!” We have each been fearfully and wonderfully made!
You are truly a unique individual. There will never be another you. There is no one else who has lived your life exactly as you have. There is no one else who has your Life-Story. You have been created to reveal an aspect of the LORD God’s limitless and multifaceted wisdom and grace and love in a way that no one else can! Think on that for a minute. Be amazed. Wonder at the reality of your life.
If you have worked through all the previous MilktoMeat readings (and we hope you have), we have come a long way together. We covered a lot of truths and ideas. The reality is, however, we have only scratched the surface. We do believe that have given you all the necessary tools and topics that you will continue to use and develope as you continue your life with Christ. We hope we have been able to help you lay a firm foundation of HOPE that is rooted in the Truth of The Scriptures, FAITH/TRUST that is focused on Jesus Christ, and LOVE that flows out of your relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit.
In light of this, let us offer some suggestions that will give some direction as to where you can go from here:
1) Be rooted in The Larger Story of Life that has been revealed to us in The Word. As a member of God’s New Priesthood you can help those who are still “lost” deal with the core questions of life: 1) Where did we come from? 2) Why are we here? 3) How will it all turn out?
2) Always be prepared to share the The Story of the Gospel. Remember it is the Gospel that draws the smaller stories of our lives up and into the larger work that Father God is doing.
3) Always stay grounded in Your Own Life-Story. As you grow spiritually, others will be impacted and affected as you share what Father God has done in Christ through the presence and power of the Spirit in your own life. All you have to be is the person that Father God has created you to be.
4) In Hope and Trust, Follow The Lord Jesus wherever He leads you to be an instrument of His love. The Lord will lead you to live together with His people, building one another up. The Lord will also lead you to walk with others as a community reaching out to the World who does not yet know Him. All He asks you to do is Trust Him wherever He leads.
5) As the Lord leads you, He will lead you to fellowship in a local assembly (church) of believers. There you will unite together with a “team” for support and encouragement in all that the Lord calls you to do. These local fellowships/churches take many different forms. You may already be a part of a believing and following community. The important thing is to follow the Lord as He leads you to a group of people who will support and encourage you as you all work together in the great Vision and Mission that has been entrusted to us.
We are so glad that you have taken this journey with us. Some of you, we have met face to face in classes. Others may have used this material on your own and we may have never met. If we don’t meet you in this world, we look forward to meeting you in The Kingdom.
Until then, we pray these praises and prayers for you:
Ephesians 3:20–21
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 3:21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:24–25
Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and to cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before his glorious presence, 25 to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
