Hello Bill and Klaus and all CU listers,

May Jesus be glorified in all that we do and say!

Forgive me for combining my reply to both of you, Bill and Klaus, in this 
one email, but I'm pressed for time right now.

I agree with everything you say here, Bill, and I had to stop what I was 
doing for just a minute and comment on some of the posts here lately by you 
and Klaus.

>ministry far and away
>always means service and the Christian community has always thrived when 
>all,
>especially leaders, saw their commitment of Christ as service to one 
>another.
>Jesus gave the clear example in the washing of the feet, but in practice 
>this
>is not easy to follow.

This is so true for all of us Christians.  We are called to do what is so 
hard for us, to wash each other's feet, which I think so obviously means to 
forgive one another's sins, in order to find unity in God's love for all His 
children, of every denomination and group.  And also to give our lives for 
one another as Christians, regardless of denomination, which to me means a 
life used up in "service to one another" as you so correctly phrased it, not 
just to our own denomination or group, but to the whole body of Christ.  And 
also the sacrifice of that carnal self which causes divisions, which is a 
self-sacrifice we Christians should be more than willing to make, 
considering the one Jesus made for us all, right?

1 Corinthians 3:3  For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you 
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

Romans 6:6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the 
body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

1 John 3:16  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his 
life for us: and we ought to lay down  our lives for the brethren.

If we actually come to know the truth of the matter, that we do in fact have 
brethren in all those other Christian denominations and groups, outside our 
own, then we must include them all in the group for which we lay down our 
own lives.  Failure to know that, is how we became so scattered in the first 
place.  We must all realize we all are the sheep that are not our own, but 
His; not of our own denomination or group only, but of a larger flock.  We 
must love and care for the most remote who believes in Jesus, as He loves 
and cares for them, though we have strayed apart into disparate Christian 
groups and denominations.

John 10:12  But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the 
sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and 
the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the 
sheep.

Matthew 18:10  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I 
say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my 
Father which is in heaven.
11  For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
12  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone 
astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, 
and seeketh that which is gone astray?
13  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more 
of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
14  Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one 
of these little ones should perish.

Mark 9:42  And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe 
in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and 
he were cast into the sea.

It's like the trade we make for our grace.  Here me carefully here.  There's 
nothing we can do to deserve God's forgiveness; of course we all know that.  
But if we believe God is willing to forgive us, we must consequently believe 
he is willing to forgive all Christians, of every denomination and group, 
and we must do the same.  We can't lay claim to His forgiveness to us in our 
denomination or group, if we refuse to admit our own sometime failure to 
forgive other denominations and groups in the body of Christ, then repent, 
and go on together in His grace and love.

Matthew 7:2  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with 
what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Mark 4:24  And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure 
ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be 
given.

Luke 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, 
and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For 
with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

John 1:16  And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

The grace we receive is the grace we give, both as individuals and as 
Christian groups and denominations.  The sacrifice of Jesus that we truly 
believe in, is the self-sacrifice we live and give out of ourselves, to all 
other Christian denominations and groups.  It is not a "quid pro quo"... 
this for that.  But it is a "sine qua non"... without which, nothing.

It is our own self-sacrifice to all other Christians, in all Christian 
denominations and groups, that is a necesary part of the covenant of 
Abraham, by which we all become, as one family together, the children of the 
promise.

Romans 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not 
the children of God: but the children of  the promise are counted for the 
seed.

James 5:7  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. 
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath 
long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
8  Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord 
draweth nigh.
9  Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, 
the judge standeth before the door.

Zechariah 10:1 ¶ Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so 
the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every 
one grass in the field.
2  For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and 
have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way 
as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
3  Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: 
for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath 
made them as his goodly horse in the battle.

Zechariah 7:9  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true 
judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
10  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the 
poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
11  But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped 
their ears, that they should not hear.
12  Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear 
the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by 
the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

John 15:12  This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have 
loved you.
13  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his 
friends.
14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his 
lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard 
of my Father I have made known unto you.
16  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye 
should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that 
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17  These things I command you, that ye love one another.

Psalms 50:5  Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a 
covenant with me by sacrifice.

And here is the part of this I pray in Jesus' name, Klaus, that you can read 
and take no offense from me.  I love you in the love of God for all His 
children.  I honor you and am proud and happy to call you my brother in the 
Lord, for all that you do, and all that you are.  But you seem sometimes to 
want to prove how we should follow the guidelines of communal living.  You 
freely admit that such things as communal ownership are not commanded, but 
you offer them as things to be preferred.  I accept them as such in you, and 
I am glad you choose to glorify the Lord in so doing.

I appreciate that you share your beliefs with us on that basis.  But if we 
all believed and did exactly that kind of communal ownership, it would be 
the unity of faith in understanding of the Bible.  I don't think we can yet 
get to unity of faith until we start together in recognition of the unity of 
the Spirit who is common to us all, inside us all.  And moving in the unity 
of the Spirit, on to the unity of love which Jesus commanded.  Maybe then, 
later, we can approach the unity of the faith in such issues as communal 
ownership.

Not you, or the Bruderhoff, or any other group of Christians living in 
community, not any sub-group of Christians anywhere, or any righteous mode 
of living any group of us can do and show, is greater than the unity of love 
of all Christians, of every Christian denomination and group, in Jesus, who 
is, Himself, the Father's love for all Christians, in every Christian 
denomination and group.  What is important, is God's love given once to the 
world, and God's love given forever to all Christians...,"whosever".

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life.

It's good to stop and ask, "Whosever believeth in Him as what?".  Whosoever 
believes that Jesus is God's love, if you ask me.

That is how the world will come to see His love to them in us all, and to 
know that His righteousness is the only one any of us can claim.  And I 
think that is the overiding commitment of us all to one another, here on 
this list, isn't it?

Love in Jesus,
Tim


________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com