PASTORS' DAILY DEVOTIONAL
Mar
27

The Best Way We Know How

Jon Burgess

Scripture

4There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.5There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.6God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. 1 Corinthians 12:4-5

Observation

Using the metaphor of the body, Paul makes it clear that every part is needed and works in tandem with the Holy Spirit and each other to accomplish great things in this world. Just as our different parts have different functions so too each of us in the Body of Christ have been given different gifts with which to best serve. He points out the absurdity of one big eye or ear. Regardless of the size of the role, each person fulfilling their God-given purpose brings Glory to God in a way none of us could do on our own.

Application

One of my favorite Doing Church As A Team messages from Pastor Wayne is when he talks of how each of us, with our unique gifts, is preaching the Gospel of Jesus the best way we know how. Pastor Wayne from the pulpit is preaching the best way he knows how. Those serving our children, welcoming people with hugs, singing from the stage, running the lights, organizing our web page, administrating the details of massive events from behind the scenes, making coffee for our visitors. Just like the parts of the body, each of us has different functions and each of us is preaching the Gospel the best way we know how! That will certainly be true of our Easter services as Pastor Wayne gives the message but hundreds of volunteer servants gather to preach the Gospel with our gifts. Every hand raised this weekend is directly connected to a soul that was impacted through every person in the Body of Christ serving with their gifts. Everyone else may not see it, but God sure does. And sometimes we are given a glimpse of how the different parts of the Body work together in divine rhythm without even knowing it. This story from Carol Nakamoto, a member of our Production Team, reveals exactly what this looks like:

Dear Pastor Jon,
I call this, "Grateful For Tow-Day"! Today after 11:00am service, I took the shuttle back to my car at the Diamond Head Ramp. I tried to start my car, but, it wouldn’t start. I was grateful that I had car troubles at church, as there were some nice folks in the parking lot who were willing to help me jump start my car. However, after a few attempts with a couple of different cars, we concluded that my car battery was not the culprit.
I left a voicemail message for my friend, Tish, after my first failed attempt to drive home to ask for help from her husband. She called me back after I discovered that a pair of jumper cables wouldn’t work. I called my car insurance and they made arrangements to have a tow truck pick-up my car. Tish drove over to keep me company and suggested that we “unpack” today’s anointed message together until the tow truck arrived. She pulled down the back door of her SUV and we sat comfortably in her trunk. We prayed, then, we talked about the sermon points that hit home with us.
We enjoyed our impromptu bible study together, but, after awhile, we were concerned that the tow truck still had not arrived. I called my insurance company to follow-up. They said that according to their records, the tow truck had already picked up my car and dropped it off at the auto repair shop. I told him that I was looking at my car and I was pretty sure that it wasn’t my car that was towed.
A little while later, a very apologetic tow truck driver arrived. As he was rigging up my car he told me about his little “detour.” I told him I had heard about it, and his response was, “Awwww… she told on me?” We had a good laugh about it. I hopped into his tow truck and caught a ride with him to the repair shop. He asked me if I was heading home from work. I told him that I was on my way home from church. He said that he was just filling up gas at a gas station and struck up a conversation with someone from our church who was doing the same. After a nice chat, that man gave him an invitation to our Easter services at the Blaisdell. He reached into his pocket to show me his invitation. He said that he was working on Easter Sunday, so, he was planning to attend our Easter service on Saturday night.
My friendly driver mentioned that he was the new kid on the block at work. I asked him if he was new to the islands. He said he just moved here six months ago. Prior to living in Hawaii, he lived in Arizona. This is why he was familiar with New Hope Church. He was incarcerated for 23 years at the Saguaro Correctional Center. This is the penitentiary that our prison ministry has been partnering with. Wow… At that point I had forgotten about my 2-1/2 hour wait for the tow truck and knew that God had planned this divine appointment. He said the inmates there were very appreciative that New Hope consistently sent over a team of people to conduct church services for them each year.
Today I remembered why I love our church so much. I was reminded of our prison ministry’s outreach in Arizona and how they brought a message of freedom and hope to people who may have lost all hope and had no freedom. I experienced my church family loving on me and being there for me in time of need. And I also learned about a brother in our church who stepped out of his comfort zone, reached out to a total stranger, and invited him to our Easter services.
I thought that you would be blessed to hear how our church family has been living out their faith and impacting the people around them and the communities that God has placed on their hearts. Thank you for reminding us to love people and to lead them to the One who gave up everything for them.
Blessings to you and your ohana,
Carol Nakamoto
Prayer

Thank You, Jesus, for this glimpse of how you work everything together for good! My eyes began to tear up as I sat and read Carol's email this morning. Then to see how it lined up with this mornings reading was just further confirmation of how You work! I'm really looking forward to seeing how You use everyone's gifts this weekend to bring many to salvation! Thank You for this church! Thank You For The Cross! Thank You for The Resurrection that makes us new and makes us one through You!


Devotions for March 27

Judges 1,2,3
1 Corinthians 12
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