Greetings from the manse in the name of our Risen Lord and Saviour, who has loved us to the point of becoming sin for us to become the righteousness of God.
I praise God for each and every one of God’s children who are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image in Christ Jesus. God is building us into Christ, the Cornerstone, so that we live out the glory of God in this world. The bond of the blood of Jesus and the Word of God cements us into a dwelling of God. The Psalmist sings “Behold how good and pleasant it is for sisters and brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious consecration oil poured on the head, coming down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron, coming upon the edge of his robes, consecrating the whole body. It is like the dew of Mount Hermon, coming down on the hills of Zion, for there the Lord has commanded the blessing: life forever” (Psalm 133 Amp). I can imagine this picture of Church being a reality among us as Church. This is the dream and Plan of God for His Church and he has sent the Holy Spirit upon us to enable us to become a dwelling place of God.
As the stones taken from the rubble, a picture painted by 1 Peter 2, we have been cleansed by the blood of the lamb and the Word and are being built into the Stone that has been rejected and now after resurrection has become the Cornerstone for the beautiful dwelling place of God. We become special stones that can be used because of the grace of God given to us through Jesus Christ. We are not anything special apart from Christ, Peter reminds us saying “Once you were not a people” (1 Peter 2:10).
Out of this dwelling place (US), a river is flowing and wherever the river goes “it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. (Ezekiel 47:9). We each have to play our part in supporting each other, holding each other’s hands if we are to be an effective Church as God intends us to be. No one stone can become a dwelling place. We need each other as God’s people for the sake of the Kingdom.
You and me are a place in this building and God determines in which place we are going to be placed and next to which other rock. The assuring thing is that we are all being built into Christ Jesus. Take your place and nourish those around you with the life eternal invested in you by God the Father, through Jesus and confirmed by the seal of the Holy spirit. Amen
Andrew
