Everyone has a tribe. We're all born into a tribe--a family. Families are what God designed for babies to be born into. Ideally, when a baby grows and learns the ways of life, he has a family of those who care about him to nurture, teach, and guide him throughout his life. He will grow into an independent adult and find his place in the community, eventually expanding his tribe to include some people outside of his family. Individuals are placed in families, families in communities, and communities in regions and nations.
In Mark 2 we read the story of the paralyzed man whose four friends tried to get him to Jesus so he could be healed. They couldn't get through the crowd so they took him up on the roof, tore up the roof, and put the man down through the roof next to Jesus. Jesus was impressed with their faith. The man was forgiven of his sins and healed. He was free to find and fulfill his destiny.
This story shows the importance of being connected to a tribe who will help you get closer to Jesus so you can be healed of whatever is standing in the way of you fulfilling your destiny. His friends were not part of the crowd which was blocking the path to Jesus--where his destiny awaited him. No, they helped him get through whatever obstacles were in the way so he could fulfill his purpose in life. These are true friends.
Each family, group, or tribe will develop its own personality. Each of us have individual gifts and personality traits, but the groups we are a part of also have their own traits, or ethos. Merriam Webster defines ethos as "the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution." Together we have a certain character.
Of course, there are challenges in relationships. There always are. We are constantly sanding the rough edges off of each other. In 1 John we read that when we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. As each of us individually walk in the light of the Lord, we will be able to walk in fellowship, not only with the Lord, but with each other.
A corporation is usually made up of at least three people, yet it has its own purpose. Its own character. Its own bank account. Its its own entity. Jesus said where two or three gather in His name He is in the midst (Matthew 18:20). His presence is the ethos that manifests as we gather. The Holy Spirit can also be the ethos that manifests as we gather. And the purpose He gives us as a group contributes to this ethos. Just like a good bowl of chili is made up of individual ingredients which blend together and make a unique taste, so does a tribe of people develop a taste of their own through the individual people that make it up.
How is the Lord manifesting Himself in your group? How is He revealing Himself? As a teacher? A Healer? A prophet? A leader? Its not always about the good feeling 'goosebumps' where His presence is very thick and obvious and makes you want to melt into a peaceful blob. Sometimes there is work to do, and He wants us to roll up our sleeves and get going. Read. Pray. Study. Seek Him. Intercede. Fast. Do something. Your group is unique and He will reveal Himself to you, and lead you, according to your ethos--the corporate purpose and call of your group. Find the purpose of your tribe(s) and it will help you find your purpose in life.
The Lord showed me an assignment for 2020. Its to counter the toxic words--lies--which have been spoken over America, especially the last few years. Lies are overcome by truth. The Word of God and Spirit of God are truth. I am speaking the Word of God--the entire Bible--over America from November 1, 2019 until the end of October 2020. Join me! More information here.
In Isaiah 55 we read that the Word of God which goes out of His mouth will not return to Him without having accomplished what it was sent to do. Those who believe in Jesus are His body in the earth. His Words spoken out of our mouth are powerful, when we breathe them/speak them from a heart filled with the Holy Spirit. Like a seed that gets planted and produces a harvest, the Word of God does something when spoken. It does what God intends for them to do. Jesus told His disciples that they were clean through the word He'd spoken to them. The spoken Word of God cleanses people. (John 15:3). Join me in speaking His Word--the Bible--over the nation in the twelve months leading up to the 2020 presidential election.
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