On the Team

     It is always nice to be part of a team.  I remember back as a teenager, I was never very good at sports.  I was about as uncoordinated as could be.  I couldn't play basketball and when you are from the state of Indiana, you have to be able to play basketball.  At the time I went to school, basketball was the only team sport that our school could participate in in.   Well, I couldn't play basketball.  So, I became the "team manager."  That meant that I carried the towels and the uniforms and the aspirin and the stuff you painted on blisters on feet.  We won the regional tournament that year and so the team got its picture taken.  And, there I was right in the front next to the coach.  I was a part of the team even though I couldn't get the basketball through the hoop.  Teams are always important.  The Apostle Paul realized it also.  Romans 16:1-3 says, "I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:  That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.  Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:"  
       Now, I have only given you the first three verses of this chapter, but you should read the list of workers that were part of the Apostle's team.  If Paul had a Polaroid camera, this would be his mission picture for the local newsletter.  He doesn't want to forget one member and so goes on through this final chapter of Romans to list each and every one.  Today, we are still part of a team.  The team might only be 2, but it's still a team.  One person helping another is a team.  It's opening doors, or praying for needs, or giving out the gospel, or singing in the choir.  It's all about being a part of the team.  The church is not the building that stands in a certain place but it is the group of people that make it up.  It's men and women; boys and girls who are working to spread the gospel message so people can be saved.  Praise God today that you are part of the best team and when the final picture is made for the Heavenly Gazette, you will be in it.