{"id":181,"date":"2019-04-06T21:40:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-06T21:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/?p=181"},"modified":"2019-08-03T14:25:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T14:25:32","slug":"contact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/2019\/04\/06\/contact\/","title":{"rendered":"Contact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I got a text from a good friend a little while ago saying,\n\u201cI was thinking of you. I\u2019d like to catch up. Do you have some time to talk at\n12:15 today?\u201d The message made me happy, but I was sad that I was not free at\nthat time.  I was busy<\/strong>. After that, I thought about how my friend is so busy\nthat he needs to schedule a call<\/strong>\nwith a friend.  I didn\u2019t consider or\nrealize that I am in the same boat; I am taking the log out of my own eye…  A couple of days later, we did have a\nconversation and it lifted me up<\/strong> for\nthe rest of the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore encourage one another and build up one another<\/strong>, just as you also are doing. <\/em> (1 Thessalonians 5:11)<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t believe that his call was\nexplicitly meant to encourage me.  But,\nit did.  Just knowing that he had thought\nof me and took the time to schedule me into his busy life and call made me feel\nloved.  He built me up in that moment. I received a blessing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then I got a call from a brother with some truly exciting news that lifted me even higher. He lives with some daily trials that most of us do not have to deal with.  I am grateful that I do not have his struggles.  But he experienced a life changing event that showed me (and him) that God is loving him and blessing him and showing him the Way, the Truth and the Life!  His struggles will not likely evaporate, but he does now and forever more have a powerful, effective, and everlasting tool to combat the spiritual enemy. While it is difficult for me to empathize with him regarding his life struggle, I can <\/em>share with him the joy of having God show up in such a vivid and empowering way. I had a similar experience in my life. A switch was flipped for him so that he now sees the love God has for him, the path God made for him, and the worth that he has. His great news was received by me with immense joy and relief<\/strong>. Once again, as the recipient of a contact, I received a blessing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How lovely on the mountains Are\nthe feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness<\/strong>, Who announces\nsalvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! Your watchmen\nlift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with\ntheir own eyes When the LORD restores Zion. (Isaiah 52:7-8)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we take, make, schedule the\ntime to connect with another member of\nthe Body<\/strong>, they get a real benefit. \nThey are lifted up. They receive joy. Their confidence and self-worth\nare increased. The contact is an expression of love, and we all want to receive\nlove. Afterall, we are made in His image, and that is all He wants\u2026 He wants\nHis children to love Him. There is even a reward for those who choose to give<\/strong>. Yes, making the effort\nto contact another is like giving a cup of cool water to a thirsty child.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For whoever gives you a cup\nof water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to\nyou, he will not lose his reward<\/strong>. (Mark\n9:41)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking the time, or making the\ntime, to call on a friend is a worthy and lucrative investment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Then the King will say to\nthose on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you<\/strong> from the foundation of the\nworld. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and\nyou gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked,\nand you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you\ncame to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see\nYou hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And\nwhen did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?\n‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will\nanswer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine<\/strong>,\neven the least of them, you did it to Me. (Matthew 25:34-40)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this analogy spoken by Messiah,\nthe water quenches the thirst, but that\u2019s not all that happens in the\ntransaction.  Messiah tells us that the giver receives a reward<\/strong>,\ninheritance of the Kingdom! There are also immediate, physical benefits to\nkeeping contact with brethren. These benefits are things like knowing what to\npray for, sharing joy, planning meetings, etc. \nBut there is another spiritual blessing that comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another<\/strong>, and the LORD gave\nattention and heard it, and a book of\nremembrance<\/strong> was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who\nesteem His name. “They will be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,\n“on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a\nman spares his own son who serves him.” (Malachi 3:16-17)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The children of God \u201cspoke to one\nanother\u201d and that pleased God. Do you suppose that us speaking to one another\nis simply us \u201ckeeping in touch,\u201d or sharing our news with each other? I do \u2013 I\nthink that this scripture is encouraging us to share our lives with one\nanother. We should be sharing things like what we are studying, what trials we\nare enduring, what our joys have been, how God has shown up in our lives, as\nwell as the mundane things like family, health, worries, work, and\nweather\u2026  This is how relationships grow\nand mature.  This is how the fabric and the being of Messiah\u2019s bride\nmakes herself ready<\/strong>.  This is how\nunity develops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am not sure if this \u201cbook of\nremembrance\u201d is the same book that is mentioned in Exodus 32, Psalms 56, Daniel\n7, Revelation 20, and others.  Surely God\ndoes not need to record things in a physical book, but whatever it looks like,\nI want to have my name in it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add iniquity to their iniquity,\nAnd may they not come into Your righteousness. May they be blotted out of the book of life<\/strong> And may they not be\nrecorded with the righteous. But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your\nsalvation, O God, set me securely on high. (Psalms 69:27-29) <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Now at that time Michael,\nthe great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And\nthere will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a\nnation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued<\/strong>. (Daniel\n12:1)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All who dwell on the earth will\nworship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of\nthe world in the book of life of the\nLamb<\/strong> who has been slain. (Revelation 13:8)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, please, do us all a favor.  Pick up the phone and call someone who would\nnot expect it. I assure you that both of you will be blessed by it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set\nyour mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (Colossians\n3:2)                        <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peace to you and glory to God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Nate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.paraklesis.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got a text from a good friend a little while ago saying, \u201cI was thinking of you. I\u2019d like to catch up. Do you have some time to talk at 12:15 today?\u201d The message made me happy, but I was sad that I was not free at that time.  I was busy. After that, … Continue reading “Contact”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions\/225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paraklesis.net\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}