When We Stop Being Selfish About Jesus and Start Working Together

"What is all this stuff?" someone asked as they attempted to walk into my office. (The photo above was taken before even more supplies arrived...)

"Supplies for personal care packs. We're having a packing party Thursday night," I explained as I looked around the room. The path from the door to the desk was nearly obliterated from the piles of bags and boxes. 

It was a beautiful sight. 

I tripped over a box of soap, stopped long enough to rejoice over the generosity of the body of Christ, and started moving the supplies to the conference room so I could get into my office without breaking a leg. It took one 6 foot table to hold all the bags people at Harrisburg Baptist Church have already assembled. Two more eight foot tables are now covered with supplies, as people continue to bring gifts for Jesus.

Thursday night is the first "personal care pack" packing party. We're gathering supplies and putting them together in plastic storage bags. They'll be distributed to homeless people, to those who've experienced a natural disaster and are temporarily out of their homes, and to people in less developed countries who are in need. The gift bags "buy" an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with the recipients. 

If your church is doing an outreach and needs personal care bags to distribute, let me know. If you're going on a mission trip and want bags to share, let me know. This isn't just a "Leanna project." It's a body of Christ project. We're all working together to get the job done.

So far, people from churches in Tupelo, Nettleton, Belmont, Starkville, Saltillo and more towns that I can't remember at this moment, have brought supplies. 

Thursday night, we, the body of Christ, will have a light supper and assemble bags. (6/29/17 6:00 pm Global Outreach offices at 74 Kings Highway, Pontotoc - just off Highway 6)

People from all over are coming. Men. Women. Children. Families. If you want to see the body of Christ in action, come and be a part. 

There was a time, not too long ago, when I worked as a "lone ranger" Christian. I had a private ministry that no one really knew about but me and Jesus. I loved it and, in many ways, I miss those sweet days. 

The problem, however, was that Jesus never intended us to be lone rangers. He intended us to work together to get the job done.

Truly, it's not good to be selfish about Jesus, but I was. I wanted people to know Jesus, but I kinda wanted to do all the work myself, because I wanted all the blessings. I know. It's not a very godly mindset. I've repented. 

God's done a major work in me, and I've learned to share the fun. I've embraced the idea of the body of Christ. It's more beautiful than I ever imagined it could be, more love than I thought possible.

It's really hard for me to believe, but, now, I have an "out loud" ministry that invites people to join in, and they do. It's infinitely better. When the body of Christ works together, in the way Christ intended, we demonstrate to ourselves and the world the kind of love Jesus intended. It's the kind of love that draws people to the Christ in us, and it's beautiful.

I hope you'll join us Thursday evening as we work together to accomplish more than any of us could do individually. We'll eat, laugh, pack, and pray. When we're done, we'll have another set of tools with which to share Jesus. What could be better than that?

I hope to see you all Thursday evening. It's not too late to join in the fun. Here's the link for the list of needed supplies: When the Body of Christ Works Together and Has Fun Doing It

(Amazon has supplies in bulk at greatly reduced prices)

Thanks for being a part, body of Christ! 

"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one... May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love Me...." John 17:20, 21, 23 nlt
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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: When the Blood of Jesus is Too Precious to be Treating Casually 

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line.
#bodyofChrist 

The Quick Work of God

It always surprises me that I can read the same passage of Scripture dozens of times, yet still find something new. That's what happened with the story of Hezekiah today. 

He became king when he was 29 years old. His daddy had been king before him, and he was terrible. He had closed the temple and cut up the temple utensils. 

Hezekiah, from the very start, was a king much like David. He reopened the temple and called the priests and Levites back.

When Hezekiah had assembled them, he told them an interesting thing. God had chosen them to stand before Him, minister to Him, to be His ministers, and to burn incense. In their "to do" list from God, standing before Him and ministering to Him came first. 

I immediately wondered what it meant to minister to God, so I looked at what these men did. First, they consecrated themselves. After they were consecrated, they cleansed the House of God of all the uncleanness. They removed the idols and prepared the temple for services. There was a good bit of repair work to do after Hezekiah's daddy's reign of sin. Then, the sweet work of ministering to God began. They sang praises with joy, bowed down, and worshipped Him.

If we are to be ministers (and, because of the priesthood of all believers, we are all ministers) we will begin with getting the sin out of our own lives. When that's accomplished, we'll be ready for the sweet work. Singing with joy. Praising Him. Bowing before Him. Worshipping.

That's the kind of ministry God wants first.

When that was done, the Levites and priests led the way in helping the people with their own sacrifices and worship.

Here's what's so astounding about all this. Scripture says: 

"And all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly." 2 Chronicles 29:46 nasb

Until today, I thought the "thing" that came about suddenly was the reopening of the temple.

This morning, I finally realized what God had prepared. It was astounding.

God put it in Hezekiah's heart to reinstitute the Passover and to bring all His people back to Him. By this point, many of the people from the ten Northern tribes had been taken into captivity by Assyria because of their terrible idolatry.

Hezekiah sent couriers throughout both Judah and Israel, inviting them to the Passover. He begged them to return to the Lord, and told them that their repentance could have a positive effect on those in captivity.

Most of the people in Israel mocked the couriers, but not all of them did.

"Nevertheless some men of Asher, Manassah, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem." 2 Chronicles 30:11 nasb

Spoiler alert: Here's the good part...

"The hand of God was on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the Lord." 2 Chronicles 30:12 nasb

What God gave the people so quickly was two-fold: one more chance and a unified heart.

They had a chance to repent and return to Him, but they also had a chance to restore the kingdom. He also gave the people of Judah a heart of unity that welcomed the rest of the nation back into the fold. 

For a moment, consider the father of the prodigal son, waiting at the end of the road, watching every day for His wayward boy to return. That's what God had done for Israel (and for wayward Judah). For a season, He also gave all the people of Judah the kind of heart He had toward His prodigals. There were no "older brother" hearts in Judah. They were ready to worship together and willing to welcome their wayward brothers home.

Just imagine what our churches would be like if we prepared for ministering to God by consecrating ourselves. Imagine what it would be like if God gave the body of Christ a united heart for worship and the welcoming of prodigals, just like Jesus prayed in John 17:21.

And He has. Jesus' prayer for unity was clearly within the will of God, so we can count that heart of unity already given. The only thing lacking is for us to receive it.

Today, let's begin to do the work of ministering to God by consecrating ourselves. 

Let's invite God to show us our sin and remove it. 

Let's embrace a heart of unity with all the body of Christ and make our churches a warm and welcoming place for those who've wandered away.

We, too, can rejoice over what God has prepared for His people. 

Because of His unfailing grace, He's given us another chance to be salt and light. 

Another chance to bring in the harvest. 

Another chance to honor Him.

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Prayers for Istanbul

#disciple #workofGod #Hezekiah #unity

                                                

We Won't Be Baptists (or Methodist) in Heaven

Mamie the Apprentice Wonder Puppy and I had a little adventure yesterday. The Preacher and The Preacher's Dog had come to work a few hours on the farm. The Wonder Girls and I had gone for a walk, not realizing they were there. Mamie, in her cute little puppy-ness, was running along beside me. I stopped to talk with The Preacher, and Maggie and Mamie stopped to visit with The Preacher's Dog.

I'm not sure what happened, but I believe the Preacher's Dog wanted to play chase. Mamie did not like this game. She took out running as fast as lightning, Preacher's Dog right behind her. 

Mamie was yelping like crazy. "Help! Help! I'm about to be killed! Come quick, Mama!"

As you can imagine, I came quick. I shouted for Jesus and started running, yelling "No" over and over again. I thought Mamie was about to be killed, too. My heart was pounding, but I was sprinting at top speed. 

Jesus helped me and, somehow, I managed to get between Mamie and The Preacher's Dog and rescue Mamie. (I know Jesus helped me because there is no way I could run that fast on my own.) She was terrified, trembling all over and whimpering, but she snuggled into my arms and finally settled down. 

The Preacher's Dog had to go to the truck for time-out. 

For some reason, Mamie was confused about who chased her. When I put her down, she walked up to Ole Lou, stopped, and growled at him. She gave him her meanest look and backed away. 

"Mamie, it wasn't Lou."

She didn't care what I said. She was mad at Lou and any dog that looked like Lou. (Preacher's Dog and Lou are both black, but...)

Afterward, I had Mamie in my arms and The Preacher was leaned against his truck, watching His Dog. Mamie looked at The Preacher's Dog and growled every once in a while. She wasn't through with her mad.

"You can tell she's a Baptist dog," he said. 

"Why's that?"

"She's mad and not letting go." (That might not have been what he said. I can't remember exactly what he did say, but it was similar.)

"Well, you're a Baptist preacher. You ought to know."

"Yeah. My dog is non-denominational."

I can't remember why his dog was non-denominational, but I kinda expected a preacher would do a better job of converting his dog. (If that kind of thing happened. Which it does not.)

Anyway, that started a discussion about denominations and non-denominations.

"You know there won't be any Baptists in heaven, right?" I told The Preacher.

"There won't be any Methodists in heaven, either." He knows I've always been a Baptist, but I like the Methodists a lot, too.

We were both right. As far as I can tell, we'll all be non-denominational in heaven. The Revelation tells us that there won't even be a church building there because heaven is, in a way, one giant church and we all belong to it. 

That's right. Every single person in heaven belongs to the same church because heaven is "church".

"And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple." Revelation 21:22 nasb

As disciples of Christ, we are the church. It has nothing to do with church buildings, the signs in front of them, or the names on the signs. 

We, the disciples of Christ, are the body of Christ, and He only has one body.

If you want to know which church I belong to, I'll tell you. I belong to the Body of Christ Church. I'm equally a part of the Body of Christ that meets together all over the world, because we all belong to Jesus. 

It doesn't matter which "church" group I currently attend, because I'm a "member" everywhere. People who keep the roll books may not see it that way, but I'm pretty sure Jesus does. I have "family" everywhere, and so do you.

One of the last things Jesus prayed for his followers was unity so that the world would get a picture of God through us.

"That they may all be one, even as Thou, Father, are in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.   John 17:21 nasb

The only way we can present a picture of the unity of God is by being unified. We may meet in different buildings, but we're all kin, and it's important that we act like it. 

If the disciples of Jesus work together, we can change the world. That's what the first century disciples did, and we can, too. 

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Friday Night Friends has a terrific guest blogger tonight. 6 pm. You don't want to miss it.

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In case you missed one of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Friday Night with Friends: Sara Foust, Hand Washing and Heart Cleansing, The Wonder Dogs Run In Circles, Cutting Edge Prayer: The Power of Fasting,  Changing the World: The Example of Kid President, The View from the Inversion Table: When Christ Upends Your Life, and A Royal Priesthood: Preparing to Serve

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#Therewon'tbebaptistsormethodistsinheaven #LinesfromLeanna #LeannaHollis #bodyofchrist

The Temperament Test and Married Oneness

It was a crazy idea, but I was desperate. 

The characters in my fiction needed greater depth, and my editor had assigned me a variety of books to help. One of those books suggested a Temperament Test to help me get to know my characters. Give yourself the test first, it suggested.

I took the test. My temperament is present in only 1% of the population. Readers will never be able to identify with a character who has my temperament, because so few people do. 

It was a dilemma. 

Each of my characters took the test (well, I answered the questions using their supposed mindset) to learn their category of personality. As you might imagine, this has been a peculiar process. I could understand their general category, but still couldn't visualize how it would play out in their lives.

At last, I had a brainstorm. 

Admittedly, it was a crazy idea, but I thought it might work. I would recruit my friends, give them the test, find someone with the same categories as each of the people in my novel, and use their personalities to help me craft my characters.

It seemed sensible at the time.

I have the greatest friends in the world. Eight of my friends joined me last night for a "test party". We had a blast. As each one arrived, I gave them the "Love Language" questionnaire. When they finished the Love Test, they moved to the Temperament Test. 

I had to beg people to leave their tests and eat dinner. Everyone wanted to help, but, I think, they also wanted to see their "category".

I still can't believe this, but none of the eight people had the same temperament as the doctor, the shooting victim, or the FBI agent. 

I learned something interesting, though. One of the couples had exactly the same love language and exactly the same temperament score. No, they didn't cheat.

"What's up with that?" I asked.

"We've been married so long, we've changed to be just alike." 

In fact, the two have become one. 

I should have anticipated it. These two people have overcome tremendous odds to have a marriage that glorifies God in every way. They laugh together, love together, and serve God together. Their marriage is a rare and beautiful example of the grace and power of God.

I didn't gain what I expected from the test party, but I did gain a glimpse into the plans God has for His children. 

When He first joined husband and wife, He meant for them to become one. When they do, it is a beautiful testimony to the God we serve.

After everyone left last night, I pondered the improbability of two people becoming so "one", and realized that this joining of hearts and minds is a miracle only God can do. 

If you're married, you, too, can have this kind of "oneness" by the power of God, so dedicate yourself to becoming all God meant you to be. (No. Not everyone will demonstrate unity by having the same temperament test scores and the same love language, but unity will be evident to those who know you.)

If you're not married, take heart. Before God knit my friends together, He drew each of them to Himself, and that's the biggest miracle of all. It's a miracle you can experience, even if you are never joined to a spouse.

"For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." 

                                                         Genesis 2:24 nasb

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men... But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name."

                       John 1: 4, 12 nasb

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Kathy McKinsey wrote a beautiful article for Friday Night with Friends, New Beginning. If you haven't read it yet, you can click here. You can read more by Kathy at her blog. 

In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  The Tree That Preached a Sermon, The Wounded Deer and the Unsaid Words, Being Angry Without Sin, Starting Over: It's Not as Easy as It Seems, Behavior That Demonstrates Belief, Answered Prayer: The Bulletproof Vest, Bringing Good from Tragedy: Wives of Warriors Make a Difference, and Friday Night with Friends: New Beginning. 

#marriage #twobecomeone #temperamenttest #lovelanguage #unity #JesusChrist

The Body of Christ

John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you." (Luke 9:49-50 NASB

The disciples had seen a man effectively casting out demons in the name of Jesus, causing harm to the kingdom of darkness and great benefit to the kingdom of God. Because this man was not part of their "group" and had not been known by them to be following Jesus, they tried to stop him. Jesus rebuked them and instructed them not to hinder him. 

"He who is not against you is for you," Jesus told John. We will look at this in more detail over the next few days, but this word "against" is an interesting word and we do well to look at it a little closer. The word translated as "against" is kata and is used 328 times in Scripture. It is translated as "against" 58 times and as "according to" or "after" 168 times. Perhaps what Jesus was saying is that there will be believers who see things and do things that are a little different from the way you do it, but that does not mean they are not part of the kingdom of God. It does not mean we have the right to criticize or condemn nor to exclude them from fellowship. 

This does not mean that you can believe anything you want or do anything you want. There are areas, however, that bring great controversy but should not. One example is worship style. In most of the churches I've attended, the worship style is to sit in your seat and be both quiet and still. This is pretty confining for me, but unless God moves me to join another part of the body of Christ, I'm sticking it out. I will have plenty of time to move around and shout in heaven. (Just so you know, we will all be doing that in heaven, according to Scripture) 

I have much loved friends and brothers and sisters in Christ who have a freer style of worship. Clapping and a lot of motion is distracting to me, but they are accustomed to it. Neither of us is "wrong". I have a friend who dances while she worships. She doesn't call it dancing, but it looks like that to me and it is beautiful. She has a graceful, flowing motion before the Lord that is in time with the music and is beautiful to watch. It is a form of prayer for her, and I wish I could have the same freedom of motion. Again, neither my stillness in prayer nor her movement in prayer are "wrong" and Christ would not have us restrain either. 

 It was Jesus who said, "He who is not against you is for you." It was not the world at large to which He was referring. It was to fellow believers. The body of Christ is one body. There is not a Baptist body of Christ, a Methodist body of Christ, a Pentecostal body of Christ. We are ONE body, and as such we should function in unity, regardless of which sign is on the building where we worship.

Not in the Club

John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you." (Luke 9:49-50 NASB)

When John went to Jesus with this information, he probably thought he had done a good thing. Someone had heard Jesus teach or had learned of His teachings, believed what He said, and had acted on His words. Remember, Jesus told His disciples that they would do greater things than He had done. This particular believer had believed and had begun to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. 

Just to be sure we all understand, the man wasn't "trying" to cast out demons, he was actually casting them out in the name of Jesus. To be perfectly clear, the demons understood that this man had the authority to cast them out in the name of Jesus, and, when he commanded them to leave, they left. There was nothing wrong with his theology nor with his discipleship. There was nothing wrong about his casting out of demons. In fact, he was helping people to find freedom in Christ in a way that the disciples had failed to do. 

John was upset about the fact that he wasn't in "the disciple club". "He doesn't follow along with us", John complained.  The problem, in John's mind, was not that he followed, but that he followed in a different group. When we read these words, they seem pretty silly, don't they? The only thing wrong was that he didn't belong to the First Disciple Church. That was it. 

There's a tendency to shake our heads at  John's prejudice but it is no laughing matter. John's attitude persists today and it is not only divisive, it is destructive to the body of Christ. It turns the Baptists against the Pentecostals and the Church of God against the Presbyterians. It puts one denomination in competition with another, one denomination convinced that their theology is better than another's. It sounds an awful lot like pride in disguise, doesn't it? 

Friends, this should not be. There is a harvest of souls that is not gathered, partly because the body of Christ is divided into so many territorial groups. Some of my favorite ministry efforts have been with non-denominational groups in which the gospel is proclaimed with only one label, the label of Christ Jesus Himself. When we work together, we can do much more than when we divide into territorial groups. 

In Heaven, there will be no denominational badges. The only thing that will matter is our relationship to Jesus. We will eat together, worship together, and live together for all eternity, and we will do it in perfect harmony. Since we will be together forever, why not practice unity now? If the body of Christ served and worked as one unit, despite worshipping in different buildings, just think what we could do! We could change the world, help the hurting, and bring a little bit of heaven to earth. We are one in the Spirit. Let's live like it! 

Lessons from the Battlefield, part 14: One Heart

The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded by the word of the LORD. (2 Chronicles 30:12 NASB)

Obedience doesn’t always come easy, does it?  God’s chosen people had proved that truth over and over again.  Consistent obedience was impossible for them.  Impossible, that is, unless God Himself helped them.  Scripture tells us that God gave them a heart to obey the king. He gave them "one heart", a unified heart, so that they could not just obey, but obey together, as one. 

Oh, what a difference it would make if we had obedient hearts willing to do whatever our King required of us. 

Imagine what it would be like if the body of Christ had one heart, one unified heart, that was obedient to the Word of God. 

Imagine what our world would be like if those who claim to be Christians had a united, humble, obedient heart ready and willing to do whatever our Servant King commands.

May God give us one heart that beats with His...

To serve as He served

To love as He loved

To obey as He obeyed

So that we could live like the One we say we believe.