This week we’re exploring this idea of “people of peace”.  Jesus sent his followers to various towns, and asked them find people of peace and go deeply in relationship with them, and not to go from house to house.  This was selective by design, and Jesus is okay with that.  Jesus focused on his 12 disciples, and sometimes even smaller groups, through much of his ministry.  Here he sends 72, not 72000.

Jesus sends them to focus on one family in each town.  Go deep into relationship with them.  He even says, if things don’t work out, move on.

But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. (Luke 10:10-12)

There can be all sorts of reasons why someone doesn’t want a close relationship with a follower of Jesus.  The authors of “The Art of Neighbouring” suggest they may be:

  • Too busy
  • Wary of certain people
  • Already relationally full
  • At a different stage of life
  • Afraid of exposure

They may not be your person of peace.  Not now, or ever.  They may be someone else’s person of peace!   But if they welcome you, are hospitable and friendly, invest in them, and they will invest in you.

Sometimes it’s obvious, but if it is not obvious, pray, and just dive in, meet people, see who pops up as generous, caring, patient, and hospitable.

Question: Who do you think might be a person of peace in your neighbourhood?

Ryan Sim - January 20, 2014

Monday - A New Idea - Reset: Goals

We’re recently started a new series called “reset”. Last week, we talked about how Jesus makes it possible to reset all of life, giving us a fresh start in life that impacts every key area. We’re going to look at many of these in depth, starting this week with how Jesus resets our goals. When my wife and I were having our first baby, we were encouraged to write birth plan. This is where you write down a plan for who’s in the room, and make choices about everything from epidurals to breastfeeding to how bright the lights should be. I know someone who works closely with an OB, and she has some wild stories about how people let some of the small choices get in the way of the big picture. In a perfect, routine childbirth, a parent’s ideal may be to have the lights just so, no pain with no drugs, and a favourite song playing at the exact moment the child is born. But when things don’t go perfectly, there are some people who forget the point, or the goal. They start to argue for their personal preferences, instead of arguing for a baby’s health. When my wife and I were writing up a birth plan, we decided to stay goal focused. The goal was to have a healthy child. All our personal preferences, hopes and dreams for the birth experience were going to be expressed, but we’d drop them in an instant if things were going wrong. That was a moment we reset our goals…to make sure they were focused on the right thing. It’s not a bad thing in life to regularly reset our goals, and ensure we’re focused on the right ones. Not just in childbirth. We can get so bogged down in day to day tasks we forget the point in our careers. Do we live to work, or work to live? I heard a TED Talk (attached) that shared the job description of a hospital janitor. It was what you’d expect – mop, clean, scrub, restock. It had nothing at all to do with hospital patients and healthcare. But some psychologists interviewed hospital janitors. They met one who told them about how he stopped mopping the floor because a patient was walking slowly down the hall. Another told them how she ignored her supervisor and didn’t vacuum the visitor’s lounge because there were some family members who were there all day, every day. In the drudgery of cleaning, these janitors remembered the real goal of the hospital, and perhaps even of their human race. They reset their goals to be about more than cleaning, but about caring for others. Question: When have you had to reset your goals? Why did you do it? Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community - so check out today's reading here. Reminder: The best way to grow spiritually this year is to join our Christianity 101 in the Cafe Course in Pickering starting this Wednesday, January 22nd. Register for you and a friend today!

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