2nd Notes from “The Core Issue” by Christine Caine

3.  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  God created me; He loved me; therefore, I was to love me.  We must learn to love ourselves today, not sometime in the future when we get it all together.  We cannot give away what we don’t already have.  Believe and receive God’s amazing love for you.  And then as freely as Jesus gave His love for you, freely give that love to someone else.

4.  Go therefore.  As the builders of a magnificent house for God faithfully laid each stone, their purpose was never about the bricks and mortar, but about the people who would be impacted and changed once the cement had set.  These men wanted to inspire people by using this building as a reflection, a glimpse of the excellence and majesty of God.  The purpose of the ornate building was to attract people to God, not to the building.  Today though, while 100′s of people were taking pictures of this church, we could no longer see evidence of the power and life of God’s Spirit working in His people.  Why were people no longer worshiping God in this place?  A church loses its life and effectiveness at the point it stops being the church that God created her to be, and instead starts going through the motions of doing church.  As long as a local church is actively involved in its community and in the lives of people, it remains alive, dynamic, vibrant, and healthy. 

You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth.  Salt does 3 things:  adds flavor, preserves and heals.  This is why it is so important that we ourselves be personally transformed from the inside out.  If we have not been changed, we cannot bring out the “God-flavors” of this earth.  The church, as God’s hands and feet on the earth, is called to operate in the realm for which she was created, namely, a lost and broken world.  We move from being the Church to doing church when we stop salting and seasoning the world.  Every aspect of our church experience should actually empower us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).  We must be the church 7 days a week.  He has placed us in our environments to help people who are lost reroute their lives.  Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost, and we as His Body are to continue this mission.  We get to influence the people around us who have not yet chosen to believe in Jesus. 

People do not get lost on purpose.  Often they simply get caught up in the turmoil of day-to-day life, just trying to survive, pay the bills, and raise their kids.  We need to be like the shepherd, willing to do whatever it takes to find the 1 sheep.  Like the woman looking for the lost coin, we as the Church must be prepared to light the lamp and leave no corner uncovered until we recover that which is lost.  When a lost person comes home to be reconciled with Jesus, we the Church must always have a Welcome Home sign ready, the doors wide open, and the table prepared with the finest feast.

*My own thoughts:  Take VBS, etc…. to where the kids are?  parks?  schools? etc…Worship where the people are?  campgrounds?  games?  motels?  etc……

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