Such Very Good News!

Well, my mind and heart are at it again, so I'll try to share them with you. I was taken to church as an infant and have spent most of my life in it since then. My desire is not to tear down, but to try to build up the Church of Jesus Christ...His Bride that He is coming back for! I was introduced to Holy Spirit in my 30's and didn't feel comfortable talking about Him until my 50's. No, I'm not a slow learner, I just wasn't hearing enough about Him to hear Him often and I had little knowledge of His power. His presence was real, but His power was not recognized or acknowledged and I thought the people who professed to walk in that power were a little weird, anyway. I often wondered why we, The Church, were not seeing and doing the same types of things that Jesus and the apostles did. Why weren't we seeing the transforming, healing power that sets others free in all areas? The more I studied the Word the more hungry I became to know Him and to follow after Him. During those years I had two very close friends die when I believed Jesus had healed them. In a gutsy, but desperate move for this Baptist-raised daughter, I even took one of them to a Benny Hinn meeting to get her healed. She died and less than a year later my other precious friend passed suddenly from a liver disease. Both of them left young children and husbands behind and one very discouraged and confused friend...me. I decided I wanted nothing more to do with His "supposed healing power" since it had not worked for my two friends. That's how I lived for awhile. Not seeing and recognizing the power of the risen Christ and seeing how the Church was filled with hurting, ill and dying people, I began a journey to try to find this Risen, Victorious Christ the Word conveys instead of settling for something less than He! That journey is ongoing and never-ending, but I am finding The One Whom I have sought! I am much less concerned about church activities than I am about learning to live as The Church! The early Church cared for one another and no one went without. They operated under a true understanding of Christ's resurrection and ascension that empowered them to go about doing good as Jesus did...healings, miracles and abounding in grace and love. His Spirit dwells in us. His heart is our new heart, therefore it's a good heart. My hands touching someone are filled with the same power and love as Christ's because He lives in me! WOW! The Church is not "like" family, it is family! We sure aren't taking great care of our family and yet, Jesus said that the world would know we are His because of the way we (the Church) love one another and that it would draw the world to Him because of that love. The Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ - His death, burial, resurrection and ascension that leads to a life more abundant than anything we can think or imagine! Let's live that truth. Let's be the Church! Let's lay hands on the sick and see them healed. Let's offer love and grace wrapped in truth and see the lost, lonely, downcast and abused start living as the favored of their Abba, 'cause that's who they are! Let's start living and moving in the power of Holy Spirit who is breathing a fresh breath over the Church! Let's!