KONOMALA

It is profound how our perspective can be affected by the unknown, the unfair, the uncontrollable, the uncomfortable, and all of the other “un” things that we experience in life. 

We are studying through 1 Peter with the church right now. As we’re considering the things that the believers of that time were going through, it makes Peter’s words carry immense weight as we apply different truths to our own lives. Peter was writing to people who were facing extreme consequences for their association with Jesus. Many were facing life & death situations. Many others were stuck in seemingly impossible circumstances. What Peter was bringing to the forefront of their minds doesn’t minimize the hardships they’re facing, but it has far reaching effects into all corners of the mind & heart.

Since the very beginning God has had amazing plans for His people. He signed a contract in blood and promised that ultimately His people would not be put to shame and would receive all the good things that He planned to give. In the resurrection and elevation of Jesus above all things, He set the stage for the final revealing of all that He wants to do. The entire creation — from the earth to the angels — is waiting for God to unveil His family. 

Just like Peter’s original audience, we’re still living in the in-between part of the story. None of us have seen Him, yet as we love Him and confidently hope in His inevitable promises, supernatural things happen. As we give ourselves to Him and wait, He actively works in us with an unexplainable peace & joy in the midst of every kind of circumstance. And as others look into our lives, He continues to offer them the same chance to know Him, start to experience His life today, and eventually receive everything in perfect fullness.  

the CHURCH

As God led Peter to write to these churches, He certainly didn’t seem very worried about how modern their churches looked or how well attended their programs were. It’s amazing how even out here, it’s a battle in our minds not to become honed in on how things “feel” and what the optics are with the church. Our flesh wants to feel validated in some way that what we are doing is making a difference … preferably an immediate difference. So when it’s time for the church to get together and only two people show up 2.5 hours late … the fleshly (self-centered) perspective certainly doesn’t lead to very nice feelings. Then on the days where the place is packed, the fickle feelings easily get inflated and lost in the other direction. 
Our flesh is so deceptively evil and our feelings so easily manipulated. 

As people in the church are enduring miserable marriages, receiving constant accusations in the community, or feeling lost in how to deal with their out of control teenagers at home … it’s an intense battle for everyone to recognize the natural, learned ways of coping and instead to re-align those fleshly thoughts with God’s thoughts. 

We are waiting for the day when this is all made right: when all faithfulness will be rewarded; when all injustices will be avenged; when all pain will be permanently healed; when all promises will be fulfilled. 
What a day that will be! Now let’s lock our eyes on that future reality because this place is not our home. There is meaningful work to be done in this short time in between. 

Keep Praying 

Keep praying offensively for us all as a church in Konomala. The battles being fought in our hearts are very real and consequential to peoples’ lives. 

Pray for faithfulness among us men as God has given us responsibility to lead well in our families as well as in His family.

Pray for an active growth among the ladies in the church as they feel the full array of emotions and burdens within their own marriages, families, and community. 

Pray for the broader relationships in the community as there are some who seem to be slowly opening themselves up to the truth … and there are others who are actively opposing the truth and even causing disputes over our very presence in the community.