Pastor's Corner

We Are His Hands

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

During the Second World War, a church in Strasbourg was destroyed. After the bombing, the members of this particular church went to see what was left and found that the entire roof had fallen in, leaving a heap of rubble and broken glass. Much to their surprise, however, a statue of Christ with outstretched hands that had been carved centuries before by a great artist was still standing straight.

It was virtually unharmed except that a falling beam had sheered off both hands. The people hurried to a sculptor in town and asked if he could replace the hands of the statue. He was willing, and he even offered to do it for nothing. The church council members met to consider the sculptor's proposition - and decided not to accept his offer.

Why? Because they felt that the statue without hands would be the greatest illustration possible that God calls his people to be his hands in this world to do the work he has given. And not only our hands, but also our feet, our lips, our eyes, our ears, our intellect, our abilities, our resources - God has given all of these to us to carry out his work. God has nobody, but us.

Have you ever thought of yourself this way? Well, this is an opportunity to examine your hands, take a very good look at your hands. Have you ever thought of yourself as the hands of Jesus? Here is a wonderful thought I would like to share with you, there are three important elements that occurs in "Worship" (when we gather together in our sanctuary for worship).

First, is our Exaltation of God in thanksgiving and praise with hands and voices.
Second, our Encouragement of one another, in prayer and fellowship, and
Thirdly, Worship is our basic Witness to the world that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish. Therefore, when we get excited about our faith in worship it shows in our witness of Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus chooses to do his work through your hands. Maybe they seem to be the frailest of hands, weakest hands, maybe not the most beautiful hands, maybe they ache with arthritics pain, wrinkled with age, the least potentially successful hands, or the least qualified hands -- but you know what!
Those are the hands God uses.

Some of us build, some are teachers, some can sing like angels. But all of us can love like God loved us --- -- pure, and simple with our serving hands. Throughout Scripture God chose simple people to be His hands from the greatest to the least. God is not looking for ability, but availability. Are our hands available?

God has called each and every one of us to play in God's orchestra and each instrument is very important. When one link in the chain is weakened, the whole chain is susceptible to breaking. God made it that way so that we could help that weak link. God made it that way so we would be forced to depend on one another. Remember you are a most important link in the chain great or small. This is the gift of grace, the gift of Pentecost. Take care and God richly bless and keep you in His peace.

Be blessed,
Pastor Samuel King-Kabu

Editors' Reflections

Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" (1 Chronicles 40:9-10)

Last month I invited you to pray Jabez' prayer....... Great, I hope some of you took me up on this invitation! So what's next?

In London, 1871 from the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Charles Spurgeon ends his sermon about the prayer of Jabez with this paragraph "Now, I send you away with these three words: "Search." See whether the blessings are blessings indeed, and be not satisfied unless you know that they are of God, tokens of his grace, and earnests of his saving purpose.

"Weigh"--Whatever thou hast, weigh it in the scale, and ascertain if it be a blessing indeed, conferring such grace upon you as causeth you to abound in love, and to abound in every good word and work. And lastly, "Pray." So pray that this prayer may mingle with all thy prayers, that whatsoever God grants or whatever he withholds thou mayest be blessed indeed."

So as we keep praying the prayer of Jabez in full confidence that our faith is an incredible & awesome faith that has no bounds because God is boundless and the creator of all, remember Spurgeon's words....Search, Weigh & Pray!

I think that's what's next!

Rosemarie

The Train of our Life:

Life is like a journey on a train, with its stations, with changes of routes, and their accidents!

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and we believe that they will always travel on our side, but at some station they will get down leaving us in this journey alone. In the same way, other people will board, and they will be significant: our siblings, friends, children and even the love of our life. Many will get down and leave a permanent vacuum. Others go so unnoticed that we didn't realize that they vacated their seats! This trip will be full of joy, sorrows, fantasies, expectations, goodbyes and farewells.

Success consists in having a good relationship with all passengers, giving the best of ourselves. The great mystery to everyone is we do not know at which station we will get down, so we must live in the best way, love, forgive, offer the best of ourselves ... So, when the time comes to get down and leave our seat empty, we should leave beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life!! I wish for you that the journey on this train for the coming year is better, every day, reap success and give lots of love, and especially thank God for the journey!

...and I thank you for being one of the passengers on my train.

Contribution by Jette Blair

Web Page prepared by:
Roger Kenner & Jette Blair.
Content-New Topics Last Updated: 2014/03/04
St. Ansgar's Lutheran Church - Montreal