Wednesday, December 10, 2008

A Word For Living--Pleach

A Word For Living

December 10, 2008
Pleach

The word “Pleach”, pronounced “playch” is a great word for Christians. It means to interweave the branches of individual plants so as to form a single entity such as a hedge; or to create a decorative shape. The word “plait” is derived from the same source as “pleach” and most of us understand how individual strands of cord are plaited together to add strength and durability. Genuine Believers come from a myriad of backgrounds, but when they are “pleached”, they become strong, resilient, decorative, and extremely useful for the society in which they dwell.

So, how does this “pleaching” take place, seeing that each individual has different natural tendencies, and since his salvation, different spiritual gifts? How do these individuals, who are not like the vines which have no will, become molded into this useful instrument called the local church? It is a process called “discipleship.”

Discipleship is the nitty gritty part of the Christian Life. It is not the Praise and Worship which so effectively lifts us to another level of intimacy with Our Heavenly Father, nor is it the sermons which challenge and provoke us to an examination of our walk with Him. Rather, it is the disciplined study and application of Biblical truth learned in Sunday School and Small Group time that prepares us to deal with life’s treacherous paths.

Jesus discipled the twelve by sitting down to teach them in intimate settings. Should one really desire to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and thereby “pleached” into harmonious unity with the local body of Believers, he should determine to become a learner in his local church Sunday School. If that local assembly doesn’t have such a learning environment, he and his family would be well served to search out a local New Testament Church which has a thriving Bible Study program where dedicated teachers help them explore and understand God’s Word systematically.

In Psalm 133:1 David says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!” Unity and union are entirely different concepts. One man said, “You can tie two tom cat’s tails together and you have union, but you sure don’t have unity.” Discipleship is learning how to utilize one’s individual gifts, talents, and natural tendencies within the whole of the body in order to present a beautiful, strong, and durable local body which effectively represents Jesus Christ to the society in which he lives.

http://mrponderings.blogspot.com

© 2008 Mike Rasberry

6 comments:

bzemeski said...

Hi Mike this is a nice thought, but where in Scripture is this word used to describe your thoughts?

Yours in Christ,
Bob Zemeski

Mike Rasberry said...

I guess I don't understand what you're asking. As far as I know the word "pleach" is not used in Scripture. It is a word used to describe a process. The word "Trinity" does not appear in Scripture, but it describes the Godhead.

bzemeski said...

Mike you give one Scripture in Ps 133:1 for unity but there is no Bible for the origin of your post. There is no Bible reference as to the basis of your thought. If you are going to use a Hebrew/Greek word where is it found? It seems you had a thought then searched for a Scripture to illustrate it. Not trying to give you a hard time, just was looking for where you were coming from. It seems you were already somewhere in thought and then decided to talk about it. All the best, Bob

Mike Rasberry said...

Bob,
"Pleach" is not a Greek or Hebrew Word. It is a contemporary word I used to describe what I think should happen within the Christian Community.

bzemeski said...

Thanks Mike, but my point is still the same. You start with a word (though a biblical concept) not from Scripture that would have been better served coming from the Bible (using a Greek/Hebrew word) and then illustrating it. I good verse(s) would be Ehp. 2;19-22 and Eph. 4:15-16. Thanks for your labour. I am not looking to debate - thanks. It has been a long time for me to remember back to December.

Jeff said...

Mike, This is a great article. I am not sure what the problem would be with it.