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People who refuse
to say it’ simpossible,
they transform the world.
Opposites attract,
but diff’rences do also.
We’re stuck together.
Anticipate the
changes long before they come
because they will come.
Do your job the best
you can whatever it is;
blessings will happen.
You improving the
quality of one life will
improve yours as well.
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?” ~Ida B. Wells
When will color fade
so that hues are blurred and
there is only none?
The Word functions to
uplift and connect people.
Re-membering Christ.
Christianity
is not a personal thing;
it’s community.
Do God’s will and work
and God will provide and
what you need, you will get.
Church is a verb.
Not somewhere you go; something
you are a part of.
We may hear with God’s
ears but dont see with God’s eyes
and God’s hands are tied.
Sharing the Gospel
begins with passion but is
express’d with action.
In life we need great
partners; many hands make what?
a huge difference.
Rebuild and renew
then you have to sustain it;
then something happens.
The ability
to sustain comes from within:
the Holy Spirit.
Talking about a
diff’rnce is a lot diff’rent
than you making one.
Colossians 4.2-18
At the end of many of Paul’s letters, he closes with individual instructions to people that we often dont meet anywhere else in Scripture. There are two in particular that always peak my curiosity wheneven I read the close of his letter to the Colossians.
“Send my well-wishes to the brothers and sisters of Laodicea, especially Nympha and the church that meets in her house”(Col 4.15, The Voice).
Again, we dont know much about Nympha. As far as I know, she appears only here in all the NT. But to be lifted up, among all the believers of Laodicea is high praise.
She is most likely one of the wealthy widows that were drawn to the burgeoning Jesus movement. Jesus’ continuation of the prophetic imperative of caring for the widow and orphan attracted them, and in return, they tended to fund the operation of the early Church.
Nympha must’ve either had a wealthy dowry from her family, or a husband that left her a sizeable inheritance, even if only the house. For indeed, the house is hers, not hers and her husband’s, and she has offered it for the use of an ekklesia of Jesus followers. Her generosity, Paul knows, should be noted, and so ever the perceptive apostle, he makes sure to give a shout out to her while lifting her as an example to others who may be in a position to do the same to help the continuation of the Jesus movement.
And there is an interesting translation history with Nympha, for some scribes were so shocked for a woman to be lifted up like this, that they added a masculine ending to her name (different times, those Middle Ages).
“Tell Archippus, ‘Take care that you complete the service you received in the Lord”(v.17).
Archippus—you wonder what service it was that he was rendering in Colossae. Was he a preacher, a teacher, a healer? Perhaps he was in charge of the ekklesia’s finances. Or a song leader. In the only other reference to him, Paul only refers to him as a “fellow soldier”(see Philemon 2). Whatever service it was, Paul knew that Archippus needed to be encouraged to see it through, to the end.
Nympha inspires us all to find ways to offer what we can to the Lord. Maybe it’s opening our homes to host a Bible Study; maybe it’s loaning our churches our gifts to help with fix-it projects, tending the nursery, singing in the choir. Nympha may not have been able to offer anything else—maybe she wasnt an eloquent speaker, couldnt hold a tune—but she offered what she had for the service of the Church.
And Archippus … Paul’s challenge to him is a challenge to us all: Finish what the Lord has called us to do. Finish writing that novel. Finish painting that painting. Follow through on an idea to start a soup kitchen. Follow through on reading through the entire Bible, becoming a Discussion Group leader. Finally start that prayer service you’ve wanted to see at your church.
No one is insignificant when it comes to what they can offer and the work God has given them to do. Nympha, Archippus—these are names you wont find anywhere else, not even minor supporting characters in the Story, but they were important enough for Paul to encourage and lift up as examples. And what they did in opening their home and completing their service was incredibly important to God.
Just like everything God asks of such an insignificant person as ourselves.
Mark 8.1-10
When did the miracle actually take place?
Was it when Jesus blessed and broke the bread?
No, it was when the bread was passed, one to another.
It was when the people served one another.
That was the miracle.
And what was the result?
By one person serving another, not only was everyone fed, but there was an abundance.
Thousands of people, serving one another—that was a miracle in itself.
How often we simply serve ourselves, maybe our families, or those entrusted to our care.
But a thousand complete strangers?
That was the miracle.
With much to spare.
How can we serve those thousands of complete strangers we see everyday—on the bus, in the hallways, on the streets?
How can we participate in the miracle of community?
We all work in the service industry.
Bread. Fish. Laughter. Love.
Abundance.
“I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm achieved salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me.” ~Isaiah 63.5, tniv
WANTED: Persons to help an omnipotent, all-powerful God. The Kingdom is looking for good workers to carry love, build faith, and send hope to as many people as possible. No qualifications are needed. Only a willingness to serve. And egos must be left behind. You can work from home, if you like, but occasional “business” trips will be required into foreign lands, among those different than you. Interested applicants can apply by applying themselves to prayerful actions of limitless kindness to those around them on behalf of their employer and creator.
