The Power of Benedictions

THE POWER OF BENEDICTIONS

(Romans 15:5&6)

"Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be likeminded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."


The idea of a benediction is to speak a good word or a word of blessing.
Most of the biblical benedictions, but not all of them, come at the end of an epistle or the end of a section of Scripture. Each time I get a new Bible, I always mark all the benedictions with some distinctive color so they will stand out. I apply them to my life and use them to encourage others. Allow me to share some of my favorites over the next two or three weekends. I hope they'll encourage you.



This benediction from Romans 15 is one of at least three in Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Notice how it describes God-He is the God of "patience and comfort." Given what Paul is asking for in the Roman church, it's important that we see these qualities of God's character.He wants the Roman church to know like-mindedness, and that definitely requires patience and the willingness to comfort one another. God shows up-this God who is the God of patience and comfort-and empowers us to accomplish the "good word" Paul speaks into the Roman church and our churches.

Then, after describing God, Paul urges the Roman church, and our churches, to be likeminded on the basis of our unity in Christ Jesus.By allowing God's patience and comfort to work in our lives we can pursue a common mind and unity in our church bodies. By implication at least, Paul says we'll never achieve that common mind without God's work in us.

Then Paul tells us the goal of this "good word." As we live together in one mind with others who share our love for Christ, we communicate a common word before the world. We "glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" with "one mind and one mouth."

Think for a moment about how difficult it is to get most of our churches to speak with one mind and one mouth. Think about how hard it is to get followers of Jesus to share a common mind about the things of God and the good of the church.

Paul gives us the "good word" and lets us know what church can be if we choose to love our brothers and sisters with the patience and comfort of God. May God help us during this new week to think about how we can contribute to like-mindedness in our churches. That's a "good word!" - Pastor John is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 18; Isaiah 53-55; 2 Thessalonians 1

Think about this: The more a true saint loves God with a truly gracious love, the more he desires to love Him, and the more miserable he is at his lack of love to Him. The more he hates sin, the more he desires to hate it. The more he mourns for sin, the more he longs to mourn for it. The more his heart is broken for sin, the more he prays that it may be far more broken. The more he hungers and thirsts after God, the more he faints and fails in seeking after God. Forgetting those things that are behind, he reaches forth to those things that are before. He ever presses toward the far-off mark. -- Jonathan Edwards

Fantastic Opportunity: Many of you have been praying along with us about our finances. We had three special needs that we have been praying about: 1) a new water heater for the Raws Building 2) repairing the AC in the Raws Auditorium, and 3) the funds to reprint Pastor Bill's book,Monitoring the Movement of God. The total of the three projects was $15,100. Yesterday a donor dropped of a check for $15,100 requesting that it be made a matching gift to raise $15,100 for help with our past
due bills. If you'd like to be a part of this special matching gift fund, please let me know. Thanks for praying with us. God is sooooo good.