Mandarin Baptist Church

How do we orient our lives around the living Christ and define our identity in who we are in Him? Jesus is wisdom from God for us. The only thing we can boast in, is in the Lord.

The church is a community of Jesus-followers who are becoming perfectly one. We should be asking ourselves if we are surrounded by a group of people who are orienting their life toward the things of Christ and living that out in this world. The story upon which we take our stand; by which we are being saved; of which we hold fast, is the story of Jesus crucified, Jesus resurrected. Nothing and no one else. 

As we begin this journey through the first letter to the Corinthian church, we see Paul approaching this church with love rather than pointed fingers. Eventually he will address their struggles, inward fighting, and sinful lifestyles but something to take note of is how he is calling out what's within them, and how God sees them. Like Christ does with us, he sees past our sin and guilt, and brings us out of where we are found. We too, have a calling to speak the future into the present, based upon your confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ and His commitment to confirm the works of His hand. May we grow in confidence of this calling and see the confirming work of His hand.

There is a beautiful letter to the Church at Corinth written by Paul. We see as we read, that he loves the people who make up this church and longs that they live with Christ as their center. As those that he loves stumble and struggle on this journey called life, they find themselves surrounded by an abundance of struggles, many by their own poor choice in path taken. Paul does what a loving leader always does, he comes to them with open arms, not pointed fingers. He invites them into the heart of the gospel. He elevates Jesus as the central figure in this unfolding story. And, he invites them to a life abounding in the gospel. This letter is a journey of the spiritual work among spiritual people in the midst of a beautiful mess. Let’s venture in to the love of God in Christ for His people.

One of the many tragedies of sin is the fractured friendship between God and man. But the beauty of the Gospel message is Jesus steps into our mess and is Himself the way for true and real friendship with God. He then invites us into His work of reconciliation, ministering to the broken world around us.

The picture we see of Jesus is one whose love for his people causes him to run toward the broken, desperate, sin-stained, guilty. He steps into the darkness and says there is so much more I have in store for you. Dane Ortlund said, "The intercession of Christ is his heart connecting our hearts to the Father's heart."

Dane Ortlund said "It's impossible for the affectionate heart of Christ to be over celebrated, made too much of, exaggerated. It cannot be plumbed. But, we should surely give great effort." When you look at the life of Christ, you will see the way He lives truly proves His heart. His heart, is one full of compassion that moves toward the ones in need. Do you know who you're talking to?

In Matthew chapter 11, Jesus gives us a glimpse of his heart as he calls himself 'gentle and lowly'. Unfortunately people often overlook the very heart of Christ as they emphasize other characteristics. But this is who HE says he is. The next question we need to ask ourselves, is 'who do we say that he is'. When we answer that question correctly, we will be able to look over our lives and see his hand, and his heart moving toward us constantly.

God allows us to go to places where the weight of desperation presses against our hearts. God is drawing each of us back into the center of what is on His mind and His heart. Perhaps, we are those who breathe life into weary and dry souls.  We have experienced hopelessness and doubt so that we will speak life into those He brings us who are experiencing the same things. We are witnesses to the redemptive work of the gospel. He whispered life into our soul, so that we may do the same for others.

Do you wonder about what God has already completed in your current circumstance that we don't yet see? We shall anchor our souls in truths of God. Let us put what we do know about God above what we do not know about the days ahead.