Consolation

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  Luke 2:25

When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Psalm 94:18-19

Dear Sisters,

A belated Merry Christmas to you and yours.  This holiday had me busy with family and travel so posting a Christmas "hello" was not at the top of my to-do list.  But I think we all understand the busyness of the holidays and chose to have family as a priority.  The inspiration for this post did come after a long day of travel to stay with my parents for Christmas.  Last year was the first time I wasn't with my family for the holidays and I wasn't going to repeat that set of circumstances this year.

During my many hours drive, I passed through a few towns and in those towns are churches and in front of many of those churches are signs.  Because of the season many of those signs might say things like "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" or "Merry Christmas" or "All we want for Christmas is your Presence."  As I got closer to my parent's house, I passed a church with a sign that read "Jesus is Our Consolation."

I admit that when I first read that sign my thoughts went to the idea of consolation as in consolation prize.  The dictionary defines consolation prize as a prize that is given to someone who has not won a contest.  I was like "wait a sec, Jesus isn't a second best prize! He lived a sinless life and died so that I may have eternal life.  Jesus isn't a consolation; He's the best prize a person could have; He's the grand prize."  Maybe your thoughts go there as well when you hear people referring to Jesus as a consolation.

I rolled the idea of Jesus as our consolation around in my head some more.  If I looked that the phrase "Jesus is Our Consolation" from a different side, Jesus as a consolation prize is a great thing.  Why?  Romans 3:23 tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Taking this information and combining it with Romans 6:23 which says "the wages of sin is death."  According to Scripture, the grand prize that I deserve as a sinner is death.  Since what I deserve is death, then the last part of Romans 6:23 explains why Jesus is our consolation: "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I thought about the idea of consolation some more.  The dictionary defines consolation as the act or an instance of trying to make (someone) feel less sadness or disappointment.  A synonym for consolation is comfort.  Digging into my Bible dictionaries I found that the Greek word for consolation and comfort is paraklesis (Strongs 3874).  Paraklesis means an exhortation, admonition, or encouragement for the purpose of strengthening and establishing the believer in the faith. 


Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.  2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.

Think about the comfort that we receive from God.  We know that the comfort doesn't always mean that the struggles go away but we do know that He is there for us to hold onto during the struggles.  We know that His purpose is being worked out in us; that the things taking place in our lives are not random.  Personally I find comfort in this.  Yes, we will have sufferings but we will have comfort as well.

Yes, initially my brain went in the wrong direction when I saw the sign.  But after more thought and study, we can see that Jesus IS our consolation, our comfort.  His sinless life, death on the cross, and resurrection are the best consolation for which a person could ask.  That consolation prize is a free gift too! (Romans 6:23) 

Sisters, I pray that you will cling to the fact that Jesus is our consolation and comfort as we head into a new year.  Take sometime today to thank God for the comfort He has provided and will provide us.

Sincerely,
Sister Jane
Ps 18:30

ps: It's been awhile since I've shared some creature photos with you.   Here you go!

T was helping me while I worked on this post:

 

 I was packing for a trip a few months ago and S jumped in the suitcase thinking she could go with me.  :)

Part of a Body

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

I Corinthians 12:12-19

Dear Sisters,

Have you ever sat in the sanctuary at church, looked around, and thought about the different functions people have at church?  There is the pastor(s), the musician(s), the choir members, the music leader, and the sound people.  Those are the people that we notice most often in the church because what they are doing is very visible.  But have you thought about the "behind-the-scenes" people?  Someone had to prepare the coffee that you picked up from the fellowship hall that morning.  Someone folded the bulletin that you picked up as you walked in the church doors.  Someone arranged the decorations in the sanctuary.  Someone is taking care of the babies and young ones during the worship service.  The worship service that you participate in wouldn't be possible without ALL of the behind-the-scenes and in-the-scenes people doing what they do.

I recently finished a study on Spiritual Gifts with a lady from church.  We discovered that the gifts given to us by God can be broken into 2 basic categories: speaking and serving.  In the early church the elders soon realized that they couldn't do it all so they needed to have people designated to serve and those designated to teach and preach (Acts 6:1-6).  The study went on to look at more gifts but without more study, I wouldn't do a good job of discussing those specific gifts here.  My goal in this post is to talk generally about spiritual gifts.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.  To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good... All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills. 

1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.  Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.  

Romans 12:4-6

Sisters, it is important to remember we have all been gifted by the Spirit with different gifts.  All of the gifts work together to make the church body what it is.  One gift is NOT more important than another (Romans 12:3; 1 Corinthians 12:29-30).  The person who sings special music is not more important then the person who helps out in the nursery.  The preacher's spiritual gift is not more important than the hospitality gift of those working in the kitchen during a potluck.  As long as they are using the gift(s) God gave them, they are doing what they are supposed to do. (As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. I Peter 4:10-11) 

If you are not sure what gift(s) God has given to you, there are a few resources I can recommend.  For most of these, you can fill them out online or on the computer and get a result but unless you are a member of the church from which the resources came I would recommend that you not submit your final results.

• Spiritual Gifts Assessment from Brook Hills
• Ministry Giftedness Survey from Bethlehem Baptist
• Gifted to Serve Spiritual Gifts Inventory

Definitions of the gifts can be found here: 

• Spiritual Gifts Descriptions from Brook Hills
• Gifted to Serve Spiritual Gifts Definitions

...We are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15-16

Complete a survey or 2, ask a friend or 2 to fill one out based on what they know about you.  Compare the results to see what your likely spiritual gift(s) are.  Your task doesn't end here though.  Once you know the gift(s) with which God has blessed you, thank God for those gift(s) and then you MUST put the gift(s) to use in and for your church body.  Talk with the leaders at your church to see where your gift(s) may best be used.  If you have a gift that doesn't appear to have an outlet in your church, ask about starting a new ministry that will best use your gift.   Remember that your gifts are about bringing glory to God, not yourself. 

This post is not a complete study of the spiritual gifts given to us by God.  Doing a study on gifts with a friend or two would be a great idea because you can hold each other accountable to use your gifts in and for the church.   Brainstorming together for ways to use your gift is a great idea.

Please comment about what you've learned about your gift and how you've been able to put the gift to work to glorify God.  Remember that in order for a body to work properly all of its different parts are needed.  In the same way that a body is more than just a set of ears, we can't all be the piano player at church.  :)

Sincerely,
Sister Jane
Psalms 18:30