Friendship that grows into commitment

It’s been exactly five years since we launched our very first public meeting in Kairos.  It took a year previous to this for our team to work together putting the strategy in place of how we thought Kairos would look.  The beginning days were days of dreaming, and the realisation that history was being written made life very exciting!  We met daily in our Kairos office to pray for the miracles we needed to plough ahead with what seemed like something quite outlandish and impossible.  To try to change the culture of a country is in itself a huge dream, but with leaders and team members like we had, it seemed and still seems very possible. 

We’ve weathered many storms since then.  We’ve stayed together as a team – all five of us from the original days – meeting every week discussing the past, the present and the future!  It’s been quite a journey, and Sava and I are very aware of how privileged we are to have such a wonderful team of young folk working alongside us.  We barely knew each other at first - God put the most unlikely people together - yet we can see the hand of God changing each one of us as we walk alongside each other with a common dream.

The dream is becoming a reality and as days go by and years pass quickly, we can see God bringing the dream to pass.  Over the years we’ve cried together, we’ve laughed together and God in His mercy has grown us together.  Sometimes now we don’t even need words as we can read each others’ hearts.  Sometimes words are said that we wish we could withdraw but as time passes, those mistakes become more and more infrequent.  You see, our friendship has grown into commitment. We no longer strive to be friends.  We ARE friends.  There is no jealousy there, no malice, no back biting or striving for position.  We all know our place in the ‘pattern of Kairos’ and we’re working quietly away to bring the dream to pass. 

Is commitment easy? Not if it’s a life commitment.  Our team has been together almost every Sunday morning and night in almost six years!  Unless absent because we are not in the country, the team is there fully present, willing and able to take on any assignment given to further the Kingdom of God.  Church is planned in our meetings, preachers and messages are planned in our meetings, every detail of the Kairos plan is discussed together and agreed upon or it just doesn’t go ahead.  Think that’s easy with strong characters and weak characters together?  Only the grace of God can do this incredible work in all our hearts, and make us submissive to each other.  It’s been an exciting journey.  One we wouldn’t have missed for the world!

There will be days ahead when we won’t be so close.  When there are Kairos gatherings in all four corners of the city of Timisoara, we may not have time to be together so often.  So, we cherish the moments.  We pray together and believe the best is yet to be.  When friendship grows into commitment to God, commitment to a cause, commitment to each other, it will last the tests of time.  It will withstand the adversities that life will throw at it and it will grow until it encompasses everyone around who becomes committed to the dream.  One thing I’ve learned: if you don’t have a dream of your own, then find someone who has a large dream, is fully committed to it, and join them.  Walking with people as they fulfil a dream is exciting and invigorating, challenging and satisfying.  There’s nothing quite like it!

Don’t settle for the normal.  Don’t be satisfied with the status quo. Find a dream that scares you half to death and follow it!  In any realm, in any sphere, go for it!  Write it down and work towards it – find friends who share your dream – or who trust you enough to follow you as you dream – then I pray that your ‘friendships will grow into commitment’…into something greater than anything we can dream!  

 Wendy Tomin

Co-Pastor, Kairos Church Timisoara

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The importance of Community

If ever we begin to think we can make life on our own, we are sadly mistaken.  Should we ever have the notion that we don’t need anyone in our lives, we are on a slippery slope to isolation and loneliness.

I’ve never functioned very well on my own.   All of us are different, but however self-sufficient we feel we are, I believe there are times in our lives, many times, that we need people around us. Loneliness is a terrible affliction.

The most important thing we can cultivate is a circle of people around us to whom we can relate.  There are so many levels of friendships these days and the old term ‘forever friends’ seems to be something of a dying breed.  If we have people around us from childhood then we are blessed. But with the global movement of this present day, people are moving further and further away from their birth places, uprooting children and leaving family and friends behind.

One of the most wonderful things that I’ve found since I moved to Romania is the warmth of the people I have met.  I have been invited for coffee and to their homes for food and often I realise they don’t have very much to offer, but what they have – they’re willing to share with me!

In Kairos we try to apply an ‘open door’ policy – so that everyone knows that they are welcome at any time.  The most important feeling in the world is to feel loved.  The very worst feeling in the world is to feel rejected.  Our heart’s desire in Kairos is to create an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome – whatever their race – religion – or life choices.  We believe it is in the heart of Jesus to be accepting.  We realise it isn’t always easy to accept people who do not act or think the way we do. But Jesus did it all the time.  He went to the homes of those who seemingly worked against Him.  He ate with sinners and saints. He didn’t even preach to them. He drank water from the hand of a prostitute.   He visited and made His presence felt.

I could not survive if I were not part of a strong community. I need a group of people who continue to have my best interests at heart.  A group of people who do not wait until tears stream down my face, but who know how to read my heart.  A telephone call at the right moment, a card or message just to say they love me.  A flower wrapped in a paper – all equally important to a solitary heart.

I want to be predictable.  I want people to know exactly what I’ll do in any given circumstance.  I need them to know that if I say I’ll be there, I’ll keep my word, and I’ll be there for them.  I need to be a person of character so others can learn from me and become people who are dependable and trustworthy.  I can only do this by being a good example and building a community around me of people who feel the same.  Everyone longs to be part of a group where there is no need of ‘airs and graces’ where everyone can be themselves.  This does not happen overnight but comes through trust that is built up over time.  When we feel we can let down our barriers of fear and anxiety and allow ourselves to become vulnerable, then we find that we are surrounded by people who love us and expect nothing in return.

Community is what Jesus built with His disciples.  He worked with the same men day and night. He knew when they were sad and He knew when they needed encouragement or rebuke. He hasn’t changed and today He’s still looking for people who are willing to take a risk, those who are willing to come under authority and be there for others.

It starts with the first step.  Someone trusting someone.  Someone allowing themselves to be vulnerable.  Someone opening their heart to make room for someone else, enlarging the circle of love - until its arms encompass all who come near.  The only place this happens is home, yet if you’re far away from your biological home what can be done?  You start at the bottom and work up!

Our Kairos Community is not perfect - it is flawed because we are there.  But one thing is for sure, it is a welcoming place for those who are hurting.  It is a safe place for those in crisis and it’s a healing place for those who have been scarred.  There’s room in our community for you – unless you’re one of the tiny percentage who doesn’t need anyone.  We will still be here for you though – when the time eventually comes or the circumstances come crashing down and you need that someone who will be there without judging.  We extend our hand of friendship to you – we wait for you with open arms.

Wendy Tomin

Co-Pastor, Kairos Christian Centre

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The Call of God...and my bucket and mop

Photo: Alan Levine (Flickr: cogdog)

I’ve often heard folk pray for God to ‘call them’.  It really should be the desire of everyone who has found Christ as their Saviour to do more for Him than we do in our everyday lives.  In whatever situation we are in, or whatever age we are, we should be aware that we could be doing a bit extra than normal. 

Life kicks in and it’s hard.  Jobs are stressful and life is busy.  Our families and our churches take up lots of our time and eventually our missionary call (whether it be at home or abroad) loses its lustre and we forget we ever heard it. 

I’m not sure exactly when I felt God had called me, but I do have a vivid memory of when I was around nine years of age.  My father was the pastor of a local church and we had always been encouraged to participate and do all we could do for the family of God.  Our home was always open to strangers and friends alike, and I remember how many hundreds of times my mother made food for complete strangers who turned up at our door.  We gave up our beds on many occasions so that people who were homeless could have the best room in the house.  This was our upbringing and I’m grateful for it to this day!

One of my early recollections is going to clean the church, which was quite sizeable for me at such an early age.  And to make matters worse, we didn’t have a car and I remember distinctly walking across our town to the church with a bucket and mop in my hand.  I would take as many back streets as I could so nobody would see, but the main street was inevitable as it was directly linked to where the church building stood!

Embarrassed wasn’t the word.  I used to cringe when people would pass me by and stare unbelievingly at this young girl walking with a mop and bucket.  Little did they realise that it wasn’t just any mop and bucket – but it was obedience to  parents who were also serving God with all their means, and it was my service to God and to man.  I can’t remember how many times I walked it but I know I did it quite a lot.  Once there, the task seemed mammoth, but I had decided that I would follow Jesus and do whatever I found needing to be done – and my mother had taught me that no job was too low, if someone else had to do it – we had to lead by example.

Such were my memories.  Peeling a whole bag of potatoes into a huge bin for weekend visitors.  Washing 30 pairs of sheets just so people could stay two nights.  Hoovering the house which had five flights of stairs several times a week so people could be blessed and hear the gospel by staying in our home. 

If you’re looking for my pedigree, you’ll find it easily.  I offered myself to God and He used me.  If I found something to do – I did it.  Whether it was raising funds to send trucks overseas to Romania with humanitarian aid – or washing the toilets in our large complex at New Hope – if it needed doing, and nobody did it – then it was my challenge and I did it.

I’ve no doubt that all of that – was for all of this!  I believe God sees our hearts and our willingness to serve.  I have never regretted anything I’ve done to help others see God in action – whether it was in a practical sense, or leading praise and worship in church.  My heart has always been – and I pray always will be – willing to do whatever He calls me to do.

Don’t wait for a ‘lofty’ calling.  Do what you need to do now to touch people’s lives.  We are the hands and feet of God in this world, and it may be that we are the only Jesus that people will see.  Our lives can affect everyone we meet – whether it’s a hairdresser, an office colleague or a taxi driver. 

Do whatever you find to do in your hand.  Talented or otherwise, God can use your smallest offering, and turn it into a work of art for His glory.  I’m glad for that – as my talents are few – but my desire to be used of God – is great!  

Wendy Tomin

Co-Pastor,

Kairos Christian Centre

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Iron that dress!

By Palmer, Alfred T., photographer. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

We all dream about making a change in someone’s life.  We think that perhaps if we did this or if we did that, we could alter their whole outlook on life.  In our parenting years, we believe that if we set enough rules we can save our children the heartbreak that we ourselves went through, or protect them from the world or from some of our personal fears. 

But actually, being on this side of parenting, I realise that actually there’s very little I can do to save my children or indeed anyone else’s children from doing exactly what they want to do.  I can guide, teach and beg, but the end decision is that of the said person. 

The only true answer to our problems is to love.  Judging doesn’t work.  It only alienates and separates.  The single sure way to win someone’s heart is to love them and to live by example so they want to follow.  No quick fix, it takes time and patience and above all…LOVE!!

When my mother, also called Wendy, was a young girl, she was brought up by a single uncle, her father's brother (her father had divorced her mother and remarried).  This uncle later married a Godly lady, but they themselves never had biological children, instead struggling to bring up two beautiful little girls, my Mum and her sister Christian, two years her junior. 

It wasn’t easy to make decisions for someone else’s children, but this was their lot and they did it bravely.  Yolande, as her Aunt was called, never preached to Wendy.  She tried to live her life by example.  It couldn’t have been easy as the girls grew and developed their own personalities.  My mother was a fiery redhead who had learned to fight for her little sister against all the odds. Although brought up with a distant knowledge of God, she had no relationship with Him as such. 

But, she loved to dance.  It was just after the war and there hadn't been much happiness around, but the release that dancing brought made life a bit brighter.  Of course, Yolande, as a devout and strict Christian in those days, did not believe in dancing.  But wisely she never criticised my Mum when she left for the dances in the small local halls. The lads all dressed up and the girls made great effort to be as beautiful as they could be with the limited resources they had.  My mum told me often about how the girls dyed their legs with the colour in tea and drew a straight line up the back of their legs to give the appearance of wearing tights.  In those days, a much stricter dress code was observed and everyone tried their best to keep up the tradition. 

On many nights, when my Mum came home from work, my Aunt Yolande would be getting my Mum’s clothes ready for her to leave as quickly as possible.  She would iron her dress to make sure she was the ‘belle of the ball’ and polish her shoes.  My mother, being young, often took it for granted, but one night as she hurriedly painted her legs for the dance, she looked at the older lady and inquired, “Why are you ironing my dress to help me go to a dance, when you yourself do not believe in going to them?”  Yolande quickly responded, “I want you to look your best and to enjoy every moment you have there, as it’s the only heaven you’re going to have.”  Those words pierced my mother’s young heart and all night as she danced around the hall, she kept hearing the words, “this is the only heaven you will have”. It wasn’t said out of spite, or to make her feel bad: it was said out of a heart of love.  Her aunt kept preparing her clothes and ironing her dresses, but her words penetrated my mother’s heart.

What if this was the only heaven she would enjoy?  What if there was nothing else after death?  Suddenly she began to search and ask questions of this lady who was showing such kindness.  Yolande never spoke much regarding her beliefs, but when asked could give a sure and steadfast account of what God had done for her and how He was willing to do it for all who came to Him in sincerity. 

It led of course to my Mother finding God and living her life for Him, bringing us all up to know Him as our own personal Saviour.  How could ironing a dress have had this possible consequence?  How could someone show that God was real just by the way they lived their life?  It was only through the manifestation of love.  If preaching were to save the world, everyone would be saved by now.  But love is the key. 

Many of us struggle with the fear that maybe some of our loved ones will miss the call of God.  They seem to have turned their backs on Him and are living according to their own plan for their lives. But, take courage, where there’s life – there’s hope!

If you feel despair, if you think your love for someone isn’t having an effect, then just keep on going.  It may take longer than we hoped, maybe longer than we can understand, but my simple hope is that if we keep on loving, God will do the work and ‘restore’ the years that the locust has eaten.

Keep ‘ironing the dress’, keep ‘polishing the shoes’. Do all things possible to live the gospel.  Leave the rest up to an ‘all knowing and powerful God’. 

Wendy Tomin

Co-Pastor, Kairos Christian Centre

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In this world... but not of this world

So often, we think that when we become Christians, we need to totally denounce all our friendships, our relationships and separate ourselves from all that we've known so far.  We are indoctrinated into believing that the least possible contact with ‘the world’ is what’s needed for us to be holy and to purify ourselves unto God.  The only thing is that by doing this, we minimise the power of God in our lives.  His power is strong enough to sustain us through every difficulty and trial that we will go through.  What we don’t realise is that God’s desire is for us to live our lives with our fellow men and learn to overcome the circumstances that come our way. 

It’s so amusing and sad to see Christians almost isolating themselves from people, won’t eat at the same table, won’t mingle with anyone who is not in their church and to be honest this is the very opposite to the teachings of Jesus.  I have known groups of Christians who set a different table for members of their very own family if they had not ‘converted’ into their church.  The ‘Christians’ insisted that this was God’s will – not to ‘fellowship’ with the world.

But how then can we be light in the middle of the darkness in the world?  How can we influence the lives of the people around us, show them the way to Christ and love them into the Kingdom… if we isolate ourselves from them?

I wonder… how far have we come from understanding the heart of God?

Wendy Tomin

Co-Pastor, Kairos Church

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Frica întâlnește Credința

Ca și ființă umană, ai experimentat deja frica și vei mai avea momente în care o vei experimenta.  Frica este ceva cu care ne luptăm încă de mici.  Poate să îți fie frică de întuneric, frică să fii singur, frică de clovni, frică de insecte, sau frică că ceva rău o să se întâmple unei persoane pe care o iubești. 

Când eram copil, îmi era frică de întuneric.  Ca și copil, îmi aduc aminte că mama tot timpul avea o veioză aprinsă în timpul nopții că dacă cumva ne trezim să mergem la toaletă să putem vedea și totodată să nu ne fie frică.  Ideea era că dacă ne trezeam și era beznă și ne era frică să mergem la toaletă o trezeam pe ea să vină cu noi.  Era benefic pentru ea ca să putem merge la toaletă singuri.  Un alt motiv pentru care aveam o veioză aprinsă în timpul nopții era că la vremea aceea dormeam cinci într-o cameră și era important să putem vedea să nu călcăm unul peste altul.  Sunt amuzat și nu mă pot opri din zâmbit în timp ce-mi amintesc de aceste momente.

Ție de ce îți este frică?

Am auzit pe cineva spunând că îi este frică de oameni, pe altcineva că îi este frică să ia o decizie, pe altcineva că este paralizat de frică când este vorba să se gândească la viitor, pe altcineva că îi este frică că va ramâne singur și nu va gasi pe nimeni care să-l iubească, și pe altcineva că îi este frică că nu este acolo unde ar trebui să fie, că este prins ca într-o închisoare din care nu mai poate ieși...  Oh, suntem cuprinși de așa de multe frici!

Dumnezeu știa că noi ne vom lupta cu acest lucru numit frică și s-a asigurat ca acest cuvânt să fie menționat în Biblie de peste 300 de ori.  De nenumărate ori Dumnezeu spune: „Nu te teme.”

Nu te teme?  Cum poate fi posibil acest lucru când trăim în fiecare zi în nesiguranță și tot ce auzim, de la știri până la conferințele de presă ale guvernului, parcă sunt făcute să cauzeze frică, teamă și o oarecare instabilitate.

Lumea noastră este plină de frică.  De ce să nu ne fie frică?  Pentru că Dumnezeu spune să nu ne fie frică...

Isaia 41:10 (NTLR)

„Deci nu te teme, căci Eu sunt cu tine!

    Nu te înspăimânta, căci Eu sunt Dumnezeul tău!

Eu te voi întări, te voi ajuta

    şi te voi sprijini cu dreapta Mea izbăvitoare!”

Dumnezeu este cu noi indiferent de frica cauzată de provocările vieții, de sistemul în care trăim și de știrile pe care le auzim.  El ne promite că până la urmă totul va fi OK!  De ce?  Pentru că El este în control, El este suveran și nimic din ceea ce se întâmplă nu se întâmplă fără voia Lui.  Pentru că viitorul meu este în mâna Lui, pentru că viața mea este în mâna Lui.  Pentru că El este Dumnezeul meu și eu sunt copilul Lui.  Și atunci când El spune să nu mă tem, ar trebui să fac bine să nu mă tem chiar dacă mă tem, pentru că asta arată credință; și atunci când îl cred pe Dumnezeu pe cuvânt, Îl onorez.

Am auzit spunându-se că frica nu este altceva decât neîncredere sau lipsa credinței.  Dacă Dumnezeu mă încurajează și îmi spune prin Cuvântul Său să nu mă tem și să nu mă înspăimânt, înseamnă că El știe mai bine ca mine ce urmează.  El vede ceea ce eu nu văd... de aceea ar fi bine să mă încred în El.  El vede mai departe decât mine!

Frica înfrânge mai mulţi oameni decât orice altceva din această lume. - citat din Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dumnezeu ne ajută.  Noi nu putem singuri.  El ne dă Cuvântul Lui ca să locuiască în inimile noastre atunci când suntem speriați, Duhul Lui să ne mângăie, să ne învețe și să ne conducă, prieteni care umblă cu Isus să ne ajute cu rugăciune și prietenie.  Noi, liderii voștrii suntem aici ca să vă susținem, să vă ajutăm să mergeți înainte chiar dacă vă este frică – nu negând frica, ci acceptând-o și acționând în ciuda ei. 

Noi, liderii voștrii, suntem aici să vă conducem prin exemplu.

Sava Tomin

Pastor, Centrul Creștin Kairos

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How far will we go?

These words have been coming to me all morning. The question raises its head over and over again: How far am I willing to love people into the Kingdom?  Am I willing to lay aside the long-standing mistaken beliefs that I was brought up with?  Am I able to overcome my own prejudices of who can or who cannot come to our church?  Can I lay aside my judgemental thoughts about who is acceptable to God? 

First impressions so easily cloud our minds.  The style of clothing, the hair, the make-up, the piercings, the tattoos… but in God’s eyes He doesn’t even see these things. He sees the heart that is lost - maybe even not seeking after Him, but a soul nevertheless.  If we are to be God’s eyes and ears, surely our borders will have to broaden somewhat.

We judge by what we see, but how much worse are the things we don’t see!  Yet they go unnoticed by the human eye.   One of our main values in Kairos is to be “fara masca” – without a mask – and to be as blatantly honest as possible.  Things that run “under cover” cause so much pain in the long term.  They cannot be dealt with and so they fester under the surface, causing so much more damage.  I believe the devil tries to use our “secret” sins as blackmail, which is such a devastating experience for everyone concerned.

As Christians we are called to be like Jesus.  Jesus never lied. He did not walk in deceit, nor pride. We are all sinners in various degrees. Hidden sins are binding on so many levels.  As long as nobody knows, we are held in bondage by the very “sin” we are called to leave behind.  The devil then has free access to use it against us as blackmail, which totally holds us in captivity. I’m glad it says in the Bible in Matthew 5:25 “Agree with your adversary quickly.”  Secret sin leaves us feeling dirty and empty, and causes a vicious circle which in turn ensnares us even further!

It seems such a simple thing, but actually Christians are held in so much bondage with secret sin. When it comes down to brass tacks, we’ve all done the same thing, though maybe in a different way.  Perhaps we thought about doing it, or we did it, but both of these are sinful, so we need to be released. The good news is that full forgiveness and release is available through the blood of Jesus – and it’s offered freely to all!

Who are we willing to accept in Kairos?  Anyone who comes through the door, be it sinner or saint - of any persuasion, of any religion, of any colour, of any minority, of any inclination. Then what do we plan to do?  As Jesus would do, we plan to love them.  Will it be easy? Was it always easy for Jesus?  He dealt with some odd characters, but love them He did, and we will too.  By His grace and strength, everyone will be welcome.

Wendy Tomin

Co-Pastor, Kairos Christian Centre

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Unde vrei să ajungi?

Cei care își amintesc de trupa creștină „Born Again” și de melodiile lor de prin anii 2000, s-ar putea să cunoască melodia genială, numită „Aleg”.   Prima parte din versuri sună așa:

E frig, e noapte, e târziu, stai în stație, tramvai trec multe, dar... în direcția opusă.

Te-ai gândit s-o iei pe jos dar ți-e „nu știu cum” fiindcă e departe, e frig, e greu.

Dar unde vrei tu să ajungi... nu se merge cu tramvaiul.

Ți-ai dat toți banii pe-un bilet și stai în stație de 30 de minute.  Nu vrei să pleci, nu vrei să stai, nu vrei biletul să-l arunci, ocazii-o să mai ai.

Dar unde vrei tu să ajungi... nu se merge cu tramvaiul.

(Versuri copyright Born Again)

Melodia vorbește despre decizii și alegeri.  Folosește exemplul unei decizii banale - dacă merită să aștept tramvaiul sau nu - pentru a atrage atenție asupra întrebării fundamentale care ne bântuie de fapt pe toți: unde vrei să ajungi?  

Există o vorbă destul de cunoscută, atribuită lui Zig Ziglar, care spune așa: „Dacă nu vrei să țintești nicăieri, totuși vei reuși.”  Este adevărat.  Fără o țintă clară, ne va fi aproape imposibil să luăm decizii și să facem alegeri în viață - și nu vom ajunge nicăieri.  

Poate știm că vrem o schimbare în viață.  Poate am identificat faptul că nu ne este bine, sau că lucrurile nu merg așa cum vrem.  Însă nu este destul doar să constatăm situația de fapt. Înainte să pornim pe drumul ascendent de schimbare, trebuie să cunoaștem destinația dorită.  Trebuie să îndrăznim să visăm și să ne imaginăm acel viitor în care sufletul nostru tânjește să ajungă. Iar în acea destinație, așa cum spune melodia, „nu se merge cu tramvaiul...” 

Dumnezeu a pregătit pentru fiecare dintre noi o destinație glorioasă și un viitor plin de speranță.  El ne așteaptă cu brațele deschise, însă El nu forțează pe nimeni să accepte darul dragostei Lui.  Întrebarea ne este adresată fiecăruia: unde vrei să ajungi? 

Tu cum răspunzi?

Rebecca Mace

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A Broken Vessel

Very often, things that fall or are dropped shatter and lie in pieces on the floor.  If they're of value to us, the feeling of loss can overwhelm us as we realise that something that was very precious to us is gone forever in its original form.  We've all tried to glue a piece of an ornament back on, but very seldom with success, as even if it's a hairline crack, it's still visible to the naked eye. Most times we pick up the pieces and throw them away, to save us the pain of seeing it on the shelf in a form that it didn't have before.  I'm so thankful God isn't like that!

At various times in our lives, we unwillingly – and often undeservedly – go through experiences that crush us to the core.  We are unfairly dismissed, unkindly judged, used and sometimes threatened, till nothing of ourselves is recognisable. It takes us every inch of our diminished dignity to crawl under a stone until the storm passes us by, broken and battered by circumstances in life that we just didn't see heading our way. Often we are wrongly accused, and this makes the pain even deeper.  Anger, unforgiveness, disappointment, disillusionment, betrayal… emotions too abundant to mention kick in.

But – and it’s a big but – from personal experience I know that if we can throw our pain and our loss onto God, He can take our desperate calls for help and turn them into a great testimony of His mercy and grace!  He takes the broken pieces and He holds them in His hand. We have but one thing to do, and that's to yield totally to Him. As king David said, it is better to fall into the hands of a mighty God, than into the hands of any human being.

The only thing – and it's not a small thing – that can stop the healing process in our lives is if we do not accept the fact that we have made mistakes. If we are unwilling to ‘own’ our sin, if we continue to blame others for our misdemeanours, we will be like the children of Israel who walked for forty years and only covered a small area of land.  None of us have forty years to waste going in circles, and the quicker we can recognise our mistakes, the better it will be for ourselves ultimately, although excruciatingly painful in the present.

In my long(ish) lifetime, I've been at both sides of this argument.  I've sinned and been accused, fought for my rights, argued, complained bitterly, eventually realising that unless I repent, I have no hope of reconciliation with God, and actually He is the only important Person in this equation.  Through a very long and painful process, after ‘being dropped’, ‘broken into a million pieces’, the Grace of God reached down and picked me up.  I will never be the same again.  I have many ‘hair line cracks’ but He put me together again and gave me a new opportunity to learn to know Him all over again.  Disappointingly, I've also discovered that while it's bad enough to have sinned and to know you have sinned, it's even more painful to be in a place of total brokenness because of the actions of others, accused of something you haven't done.  Yet God also lives there.

I've discovered something wonderful, and I can say it with assurance. God painstakingly takes the broken pieces of our lives, our dreams, our relationships, our ministries, and He rebuilds us into a different person than we were before: a more gracious, understanding and merciful person. He makes us more patient, longsuffering and wise, using our pain to shape us into the image He wants us to be.

If we could only learn from those who tell us to walk uprightly, to keep as far away from sin as we possibly can, we would save ourselves so much injury and pain.  We often learn when it's almost too late and we've lost our dreams and our most precious jewels.

My emphatic desire is to walk before God in as much sincerity as I possibly can. To be ‘without a mask’, so that all double standards are utterly destroyed, and for those around me to see me as a ‘broken vessel’, cracked and bruised but eternally grateful for a second chance.  Only He can hold me lovingly enough to make me whole again.

Wendy Tomin

Co-Pastor, Kairos Church Timisoara

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E atât de ușor să faci o diferență!

Sunt atâtea nevoi în lumea noastră.  Sunt mulți săraci... mulți oameni fără adăpost... mulți copii care nu au îmbrăcăminte și încălțăminte... multe mame care se luptă singure.  Privind toate aceste nevoi, putem foarte ușor să ne lăsăm pradă disperării și chiar resemnării, gândindu-ne că nu avem cum să ajutăm; că nu putem rezolva problema.  Într-un fel, am avea dreptate, fiindcă nu vom reuși să rezolvăm problema sărăciei la scara globală.  (Chiar și Isus ne spune că întodeauna îi vom avea pe cei săraci lângă noi.)

Uneori ne uităm la alți oameni și ne așteptăm ca ei să intervină și să rezolve problema.  Ne uităm la liderii comunității, la politicieni și la liderii religioși, și ne așteptăm că ei să vină cu soluții.  De cele mai multe ori, vom rămâne dezamăgiți, fiindcă aceste persoane nu pot să rezolve în întregime problemele oamenilor. Nu ar trebui să așteptăm doar ca alții să intervină.  Fiecare dintre noi poate să facă o diferență reală  - chiar dacă aduce bine doar în viața unui singur om.

Cum putem face o diferență?  Prin lucruri mici.  Majoritatea dintre noi, deși nu suntem bogați, totuși avem destule resurse financiare pentru a putea cumpăra o pungă de fasole în plus în fiecare săptămână, pentru altcineva.  Sau un kilogram de făină.  Sau un litru de ulei.  Iar cu toții avem în dulap haine pe care nu le mai purtăm (fie că ne-au rămas mici, fie că pur și simplu ne-am plictisit de ele), care ar mai putea fi purtate de cineva.

Cum ar fi dacă fiecare dintre noi am pune câte puțin de-o parte, pentru oamenii care au nevoi?  Cum ar fi dacă la fiecare loc de muncă, școală, biserică sau instituție, ar fi un loc în care membrii comunității aduc mâncare și haine pentru cei săraci?  Cum ar fi dacă fiecare dintre noi și-ar face partea?

Eu nu cred că vom reuși să vedem o lume fără sărăcie aici pe pământ, însă cred că putem vedea o reală schimbare.  Putem pune un zâmbet pe fața unei mame care nu știe de unde îi vine următoarea masă. Putem ajuta un copil să meargă la școală, cu rechizite noi și un ghiozdan frumos.  Putem să ducem o pătură caldă unei bătrâne cu pensie mică.

Așa cum ne-a încurajat pastorul asistent Răzvan Lupșescu într-o predică recentă, haideți să „Fim schimbarea pe care vrem să o vedem în jurul nostru!”

Dacă vrei să donezi haine sau alimente și nu știi unde să le duci, le poți aduce la  Cămara lui Iosif, la Kairos.  Toate donațiile primite sunt distribuite oamenilor cu nevoi.

Rebecca Mace

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Închinare prin... citire!

La Kairos, închinarea înseamnă mai mult decât muzică.  Pentru noi, închinarea înseamnă a-L glorifica pe Dumnezeu prin vocile și inimile noastre.  De aceea, la programele noastre de duminică, cam o dată pe lună momentul de închinare are loc prin citirea Cuvântului lui Dumnezeu, Biblia.

Eu personal sunt pasionată de citirea Cuvântului lui Dumnezeu în biserică.  Eu cred că trebuie să punem accent tot mai mare pe lectura Bibliei în programele noastre - bineînțeles, să fie citită clar, rar și cu intonația potrivită!  Iată de ce pun atâta preț pe acest mod de închinare:

1. Închinarea colectivă prin citirea Cuvântului lui Dumnezeu este... Biblică!
Atunci când Neemia și Ezra lucrau la restaurarea Templului lui Dumnezeu, au strâns tot poporul pentru o zi întreaga de închinare... ascultând citirea Cărții Legii lui Moise. Toți oamenii - bărbați, femei și copii - au stat și au ascultat cuvintele lui Dumnezeu și I s-au închinat.

2. Biblia ni-L revelează pe Dumnezeu
Cum ne putem închina lui Dumnezeu dacă nu știm cum este El?  Dacă nu știm caracterul Lui, sau cât de puternic este?  Aceste lucruri le aflăm din Biblie.

3. Biblia ne învață tot ce avem nevoie pentru a trăi în relație cu Dumnezeu
Închinarea are de-a face cu apropierea noastră de Dumnezeu, cu dezvoltarea unei relații mai apropiate cu Dumnezeu.  Modul prin care putem trăi în voia lui Dumnezeu ne este prezentat în Biblie.  Cuvintele Biblie ne ajută să ne apropiem de Dumnezeu.

4. Cuvântul lui Dumnezeu este puternic!
Dumnezeu a creat totul - absolut totul - prin cuvintele Sale.  Cuvintele lui Dumnezeu au puterea de a crea, de a distruge, de a aduce în ființă lucruri care încă nu sunt, de a vindeca, de a muta munții,.. Cuvântul lui Dumnezeu are puterea de a ne schimba viețile - dacă suntem gata să ascultăm cuvintele Lui și să trăim conform lor.

Rebecca Mace

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După înviere

Imagine: Waiting for the Word

Anul acesta, m-am surprins gândindu-mă mai mult la experiența ucenicilor la primul Paște.  Mi-am dat seama că aceștia au trăit cu totul altceva decât simțim noi când ținem această sărbătoare. Ei au trăit emoții puternice precum teamă, dezamăgire, deznădejde, disperare, tristețe - sentimente străine nouă în această perioadă.  Problema este că noi știm deja cum se termină povestea.  Atunci când vorbim despre moartea lui Isus, aproape întotdeauna continuăm cu „...iar după trei zile a înviat!”  Noi știm că suferința lui Isus a făcut parte din planul lui Dumnezeu - dar ucenicii nu au înțeles acest lucru decât mai târziu.

În duminica de Paște, ne amintim faptul că Isus S-a arătat ucenicilor Lui, spulberând orice umbră de îndoială și dovedind învierea Lui în trup.  Știm că în următoarele 40 de zile, El a umblat pe pământ și a petrecut timp cu ucenicii Lui, până S-a înălțat la cer. Este foarte ușor să ne gândim că, în acele săptămâni după înviere, toate problemele ucenicilor au fost rezolvate, că au fost plini de bucurie și nimic nu le-a mai fost greu.  Însă nu cred că a fost așa de simplu.

În Evanghelia lui Ioan, citim că Isus S-a arătat ucenicilor Lui în duminica învierii, dar apoi abia peste opt zile li S-a arătat din nou, când Toma a fost împreună cu ei.  Apoi, după ceva timp, șapte din ucenicii lui Isus s-au dus noaptea la pescuit.  Când se pregăteau să plece acasă dimineața, au observat că este cineva la mal care îi urmărește.  Acest om strigă către ei și le spune cum să facă ca să prindă pești.  Abia după ce ascultă de el și prind o mulțime de pești, își dau seama că este Isus.  Urmează un grătar pe plajă (sunt convinsă că nu au uitat cât au trăit momentele acelea), și discuții de suflet cu Isus.

Ceea ce m-a impresionat la aceste pasaje este faptul că ucenicii au fost încă dezorientați - deși știau că Isus a înviat!  Ei erau obișuiți să umble cu Isus zilnic, și probabil că s-au așteptat ca după învierea Lui, Isus să Își reia vechile obiceiuri.  Dar El nu a făcut acest lucru.  Nu S-a întors la lucrarea Lui de a călători din oraș în oraș, predicând Evanghelia și vindecându-i pe cei bolnavi.  Nici nu știm dacă El S-a arătat altor persoane decât ucenicilor Lui în acele 40 de zile.  Cred că a fost o perioadă foarte grea pentru ucenici. Au trăit cea mai puternică durere - urmată de cea mai mare bucurie - însă a urmat un timp de întrebări, de căutări, și de dezorientare.

Eu sunt bucuroasă că astăzi cunosc întreaga poveste.  Sunt bucuroasă să știu că învățăturile lui Isus și lucrarea Lui nu s-au pierdut, ci au continuat prin biserică, peste ani, până chiar azi.  Sunt bucuroasă că știu că Isus este prezent cu fiecare credincios prin Duhul Sfânt care ne-a fost dat.  Dar cred că îmi este de folos și să mă uit înapoi din când în când, și să încerc să înțeleg ce au trăit ucenicii în primul Paște. Oarecum și datorita lor, suntem noi astăzi!

Rebecca Mace

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The darkest day

Today, in Romania and the rest of the Orthodox world, it is Holy Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday. Today, many people are busy preparing for the celebration of Easter - cooking, baking, ironing clothes, getting haircuts, etc.  Easter here is an important event for most people, and thousands will be out at midnight for the traditional Resurrection service, where everyone lights a candle as a reminder that Jesus, the Light of the World, was raised from the dead and now shines forever!

I can't help thinking, though, how different our preparations for Easter are, compared with the experiences of Jesus' followers, on the day before His resurrection.  I imagine that was truly the darkest and longest day for them.

On the previous day, they'd suffered the shock and trauma of seeing their beloved Master, Teacher, Miracle-Worker and Friend betrayed, falsely accused, beaten to within an inch of His life - and then put on a cross and killed.  They'd seen it with their own eyes - and yet it was impossible to take in and understand.  They'd had high hopes that He was the Messiah, the One who would restore God's rule to His land, who would reign as King in Jerusalem.  They'd imagined years ahead in which sickness would be eradicated through one single word or touch, when corrupt religious leaders would be silenced and dethroned, and when all would come and bow in worship to Him, the Holy One.  They'd believed that peace had come to earth and that all would be well.  But in just one day, their dreams and beliefs were shattered into a million different pieces.

What went through the disciples' minds on that Saturday?  Were they replaying in their minds every word that Jesus had said to them, trying to make sense of it?  Were they angry that He had just let it happen - when He obviously had so much power that He could have stopped it all with His words?  Or were they just gutted, torn apart with grief and mourning for the One they had come to love so much?

I believe that, during that dark, dark Saturday, in the middle of their grief, Jesus' followers remembered that He had told them He would rise again on the third day.  After all, they knew that Pilate had ordered soldiers to guard the tomb, just in case.  Yet, I believe there was a battle in their minds and hearts - a battle between belief and doubt.  I imagine they desperately wanted to believe that Jesus would come back to life - yet it was such an unimaginable idea!  True, Jesus had raised people back to life - but He had done it with His words and His touch.  Who could do that for Him now?  Also, it was clear to them they had misunderstood Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God.  What if they had misunderstood this too?

I believe there are many times when we too are caught in a struggle between faith and doubt.  When we desperately want to believe that God is in control, but it is so hard for us to accept what we see around us. Let us take courage from the way Jesus accepted and reassured His followers after His resurrection, and pray, together with the father of the sick child healed by Jesus:  "Lord, I believe: help my unbelief!"

Rebecca Mace

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Ca un joc de puzzle

Imagine: Curt Smith (www.flickr.com/photos/curtsm)

În ultimele săptămâni, m-a prins „virusul” de a face puzzle - și nu orice puzzle, ci puzzle-uri cu 1,000 de piese!  Am descoperit din nou satisfacția de a lua o grămadă de bucățele - care nu par a avea legătură una cu alta - și de a le potrivi încet-încet, până formează o imagine completă.  

Acest joc de puzzle m-a făcut să mă gândesc și la viață.  De multe ori, viața noastră se aseamănă cu grămada de piese vărsate pe masă la începutul jocului.  Ne simțim frânți și confuzi. Nu înțelegem cum se vor putea potrivi vreodată toate gândurile, problemele, emoțiile și întâmplările din viața noastră.  Însă Dumnezeu ia toate aceste piese - toate aspectele vieților noastre - și ne duce într-un proces de întregire.  Ne conduce să Îl cunoaștem pe El și să ne cunoaștem pe noi înșine.  Ne ajută să găsim un scop în viață și ne face cunoscută chemarea Lui pentru noi.  Ne arată calitățile, talentele, aptitudinile și darurile pe care El le-a sădit și cultivat în noi.  

Însă în cele mai multe jocuri de puzzle, la un moment dat se ajunge la un impas.  Poate sunt foarte multe piese negre, și pur și simplu nu le poți găsi locul!  Sau poate este o porțiune mare de iarbă, și orice piesă verde pare că s-ar potrivi oriunde.  

Tot așa, și în călătoria noastră prin viață cu Dumnezeu, uneori dăm de perioade dificile când - deși imaginea întreagă este aproape clară și știm unde ne este destinația - totuși nu putem vedea rezolvarea situației în care ne aflăm.  Nu reușim să ne găsim liniștea sufletească.  Nu putem birui acel păcat, care parcă stă lipit de noi.  Relația cu acea persoană apropiată nu este cum trebuie.  Pot fi o sumedenie de asemenea situații.

Eu cred că Dumnezeu îngăduie aceste momente grele în viață pentru a ne învăța să ne încredem în El.  Toate piesele vieților noastre sunt în mâna Lui, și El știe cum să le potrivească.  Dar în acest proces, vrea să ne punem credința în El și să lucrăm împreună cu El.  

Iar la final, când puzzle-ul va fi rezolvat și imaginea vieții noastre va fi completă, ce vom vedea?  Vom vedea imaginea chipului Lui - exprimat prin unicitatea vieților noastre.

Să ne încredințăm viețile în mâinile lui Dumnezeu, fiindcă doar El poate face din ele o capodoperă pentru gloria Sa!  

Rebecca Mace

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Without a mask

None of us enjoy being exposed. We all have things or experiences in our lives that we are ashamed of. Things we've done. Places we've been. People we've hurt. But when we come to God, we come as we are. We often forget that He knew us before we were born and that there’s simply nothing He doesn't already know about us. Yet, we continue to hide behind our past and guard it like it we are the only person in the world who has ever been in this mess.

If we could only realise that our healing would be so much faster if we could open our hearts and mouths to let things go! Not just ‘willy nilly’ but to those who are there to help us. We have all heard the saying from Ecclesiastes "...there’s nothing new under the sun..." and when we lay out our paltry lives with all the anxieties and worries that we carry, we realise that we are joining an army of people who have done almost exactly the same. With a few tweaks, we’d be carbon copies!

One of the hardest battles we struggle with is being honest. I know it’s hard to even admit that, but it’s true. We want everyone to love us, and we think that maybe if they knew ‘the real me’ they would have reservations - but that isn't true of real friends. It isn't true of God. He hates the sin, but He loves the "me". It’s a great relief to be free from having to hide, and from covering up. Deceit causes all kinds of sicknesses, and yet we all live with it.

I’m grateful that it is possible to be free from this bondage. I’m grateful that is possible to find healing from fear. It isn’t easy to ‘come clean’, but the feeling of freedom is exhilarating. In my relationship with Sava (because we were mature and came into this marriage both carrying baggage from the past - good and bad), we realised if we were to survive and have a successful life together we would have to be sure all our secrets were on the table. It ensures the demons from our past have less power over our lives, and it frees us from blackmail (in however mild a form).  It allows us to walk confidently forwards without the manipulation that sometimes we have brought on ourselves.

When God called us to open Kairos, we brought this principle with us. One of our core values in Kairos is "fara masca" – ‘without a mask’. These days so many people try to hide their failures – especially in church. If they smoke, they try to hide it from the pastor. If they drink, they try to never be seen with a glass in their hand. If they take drugs, they do their best to appear "normal" especially around anyone from the church. We seem to have missed the point. We’re only hiding from people, but we’re not hiding from God.

"Fara masca"- without a mask – does that mean we are liberal or agree with everything that goes on? Not at all. But we have learned through personal hard experience, to draw a big circle of love. So often churches try to ‘clean the fish’ before it’s caught! We don’t encourage anyone to continue with bad habits, but we do want to draw them into our circle of love. We believe God extends His hand to help those who are in trouble. We believe there is nothing too hard for Him to fix. We believe we need to draw bigger circles of love and to be inclusive.  People who are struggling already know what they need to do - we just need to love them into doing it!

Living without a mask isn't easy. It makes us vulnerable. It leaves us exposed to criticism. But if we want to be free and whole, it’s what we need to do. There’s nothing worse than living a lie. And none of us can criticise, as we all do it. Pride hinders us from being ourselves and allowing God to change us.  Sometimes we enjoy what we’re doing, but forgiveness is what we all need, repentance and then change. I am in no position to think badly about you. I am equally guilty, if not more guilty than most. God is big enough to extend healing to each and every one of us. If only we will remove our mask.

Wendy Tomin

Co-pastor, Kairos Church

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5 pâini și 2 pești

5 pâini și 2 pești.

De atât a fost nevoie ca să hrănească mulțimea de oameni care venea după El. Minune.

Oamenii Îl urmau pe Isus pe când Acesta trăia pe pământ; văzând mulțimea înfometată, lui Isus I s-a făcut milă de ei și le-a spus ucenicilor: „Dați-le să mănânce!”  Ucenicii au răspuns: „N-avem aici decât  5 pâini și 2 pești.”

El a luat pâinile și peștii, a privit spre cer, a binecuvântat, a frânt pâinile și apoi ucenicii le-au dat mulțimilor să mănânce.

5 pâini și 2 pești. De atât a fost nevoie ca să hrănească mulțimea de oameni care venea după El. Minune.

De o minune ca aceasta am avut și eu parte. Eram prin clasele I-V, era seară, stăteam cu toții la masă  și în mijlocul mesei … o bucată de pâine, uscată parțial. Eu, sora mea cea mare, mama și tata. Nu știu dacă ai mei s-au rugat înainte pentru o minune dar știu sigur că am trăit s-o văd.

Mama a început să taie bucata de pâine: o feliuță pentru tata, o feliuță pentru mine, o feliuță pentru sora mea și o feliuță  pentru ea.  Apoi… Mai vreau o felie!  Eu de colo, că doar eram în „creștere” J și mai un rând de felii a trecut prin fața noastră și bucata de pâine nu se împuțina.

Numeste-o cum vrei, iluzie optică, efect placebo, nu știu, tot ce știu este că am mâncat cu toții, ne-am săturat și a mai rămas. Minune.

Te încurajez astăzi să te uiți în urmă la viața ta, a familiei tale și să cauți să recunoști minunile pe care Dumnezeu le-a făcut pentru tine la un moment dat. Adu-I mulțumire pentru minunile pe care le-ai trăit. Amintește-ți de binecuvântările din viața ta, spune-I „Mulțumesc!” și dacă azi ai nevoie de o minune, te încurajez să aduci puținul pe care-l ai înaintea Lui și El - doar El - îl poate înmulți.

5 pâini și 2 pești. De atât a fost nevoie ca să hrănească mulțimea de oameni care venea după El. Minune.

Luizi Lupșescu

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In the beginning

Timisoara is a beautiful City in the west of Romania, situated not too far from the Hungarian border.  It is a very Westernised City and because of the thousands of foreign guests that poured into it just after the Revolution, it has become a contradiction in itself to the rest of Romania.  The first time I came here in 1990, with humanitarian aid, I was overwhelmed by the poverty and lack of everyday items, such as sugar and milk and a whole lot more.  I came back many times during that period with different teams, and we often stayed in one of the main hotels in Timisoara. I recall many times when we could not find food or drink – the water was undrinkable – and life was very hard for the people.

Although now times have changed for most people in this city, there is still a great divide between those ‘who have’ and those ‘who have not’.  The poverty is hidden by the huge amount of expensive cars that are driven around the city, but the poverty is still here for many thousands of people. But this is the city God called us to plant our church in, and so here we are. It has around 400,000 inhabitants with a student population of around 40,000 from all over the world.

There are so many wonderful churches here in the city and one would wonder why God had called us to plant another – but call us He did, and we’re so thankful for the opportunity to serve Him.  Sava and I have needed much grace.  We realise that people expect Pastors to have always been ‘saintly’ and ‘holy’, but nothing could be further from the truth.  Just like everyone else, Pastors are in need of the grace of God in their lives, and we are no different.  For many years – in fact since Bible School days – Sava had been writing out the format for the church that he would one day pastor – he even had the name chosen - Kairos - believing that somewhere in the world God would place him to lead others into a fuller knowledge of God. The last place he expected God to call him to, was back home to his very own city of birth!  But God doesn't make mistakes.

We walked through several doors thinking they might be the right ones, but eventually we realised that God had called us to launch a new church altogether.  Both of us trembled at the very thought – what if nobody would join us – what if we failed – what if we hadn't really heard from God? There were many anxieties in the early days until we walked along with God and saw His hand open doors that no man could shut!  We launched on Facebook – something that was quite unheard of.  We had no team, no financial support, no building and no backup – but we took a step of faith that God would provide all that we needed and leaped into the dark!  It wasn't too long before God began to send us the most unlikely and wonderful people.

Rebecca Mace – an English girl who had worked for many years in the city doing an incredible work with hundreds of children – was inspired by the vision that God had placed in Sava’s heart and felt that God had spoken to her to join us.  Then, Luizi and Razvan, a young couple who were both brought up in Christian homes, came alongside us.  They helped us to paint the very first building we rented for our church and as soon as we spoke of the vision God had given, they felt it was something they could function in and grow closer to God. 

We now had five in our team and we felt that was enough for us to move ahead.  We met for prayer daily and were overwhelmed at the incredible miracles God wrought in those early days.  He showed us clearly that we were in His perfect will – despite the opposition that inevitably goes with taking blind steps of faith! 

God added to us slowly and surely.  A lovely young English couple called Lindon and Sam Craven felt God call them after reading our posts on Facebook, and enquired if they could possibly come and help us for a year.  They were an answer to prayer and on their arrival they clicked immediately with our team and brought their talents to the table, giving God their all. 

There have been many mountain top experiences since then and a few valley experiences too but we can truly say we have never had one day’s regret as to the call of God for us to be in this wonderful city at this pivotal time in the history of Romania.  We believe that the best is still ahead and we look forward with great anticipation as to where God will lead us. 

Please continue to pray for us as we endeavour to bring change in our city – a spiritual Revolution in a city that knows the consequences of change from the previous Revolution.  God can do it again!! Thank you for standing with us – financially and in prayer.

Wendy, Sava & the Kairos Team.

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Ce fain e când mă cheamă la biserică!

„Ce fain e când mă cheamă la biserică!” 

Cam așa aș parafraza eu primul verset din Psalmul 122. 

(În traducerea Cornilescu, sună așa: Mă bucur când mi se zice: Haidem la Casa Domnului!)

Mă întreb: cu ce sentimente mergem (sau nu mergem) la biserică?  Când sună ceasul duminică dimineață, oftăm adânc la gândul că trebuie să ne trezim, să ne îmbrăcăm și să traversăm orașul ca să ajungem la timp la biserică?  Mergem pentru că simțim că trebuie să mergem?  Sau avem într-adevăr o bucurie, o fericire în suflet când ne gândim că mergem să ne întâlnim cu frații și surorile - și cu Dumnezeu?

Când mie îmi este greu să mă trezesc duminică dimineață, îmi aduc aminte de ce merg la biserică:

• Merg la biserică pentru a mă închina lui Dumnezeu.

Da, putem să ne închinăm și acasă - și trebuie să facem asta!  Însă, închinarea colectivă este foarte importantă!  Însuși Isus a spus că atunci când ne rugăm mai mulți împreună (chiar doi sau trei sunt de-ajuns), El este prezent și ne ascultă rugăciunile.  Închinându-mă lui Dumnezeu alături de alții, scap de perspectiva mea egoistă, în care toate rugăciunile se centrează în jurul nevoilor și sentimentelor mele.  

• Merg la biserică pentru a-i sluji pe alții.

Indiferent care sunt sarcinile pe care le am de îndeplinit la biserică duminică dimineață, eu sunt acolo pentru a-i sluji pe alții - pentru a-i ajuta să se apropie de Dumnezeu.  Fie că predic, fie că conduc închinarea, fie că reglez sunetul, fac totul pentru a sluji celor din jurul meu.  Chiar dacă nu sunt implicată în cadrul programului de biserică, voi căuta să spun o vorbă bună celor de lângă mine, să îi întâmpin pe cei care vin cu un zâmbet sincer, și să mă rog pentru cei care suferă.  

• Merg la biserică pentru a fi slujit.

Suntem Trupul lui Cristos și ne slujim reciproc.  Eu am nevoie de o îmbrățișare caldă.  Am nevoie de rugăciune atunci când am probleme.  Am nevoie ca cineva să mă primească, să mă asculte și să mă iubească.  Iar toate aceste lucruri se întâmplă în familia lui Dumnezeu - biserica!

Ce sentimente te încearcă atunci când primești invitația de a merge la biserică? Duminica aceasta, amintește-ți de ce mergi, și s-ar putea să spui și tu:  „Ce fain e când mă cheamă la biserică!”

Rebecca Mace

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