What a great feeling to be in the company of friends or in the fellowship of the believers and hear encouraging words. Believers will embrace each other, firm hand shakes are exchanged among the men and the women will express their joy at seeing another friend or member they haven’t seen in awhile.Outside the comfort zone.
It easy to be in the safety of the numbers and within the four walls of the church building and say how much you love someone. The real ministry (service) is on the other side of the front doors of the church. When was the last time you prayed with someone? You don’t have to always send the pastor or announce to the church to pray for someone, change the routine. What about you missionary? How about you preacher, elder or evangelist? Why can’t (or won’t) you show up at someones door and spend 5 minutes with them? Prophet or prophetess, must their always be a crowd for a prophetic word? Must their always be a prerequisite for a prayer or word of encouragement?
How easy it is to stand before the congregation and say how much you love the Lord and the people of God when you love and the demonstration of it, is confined to church services. Jesus Christ loved sinner and saint, prayed for believer and non-believer, healed those whom were sick and He died (and later rose again) for the sinner. (Romans 5:6-8) When was the last time you reached out to someone other than another believer, expecting nothing in return? Believers will often pray for someone or even help someone and boast of it during testimony service. When was the last time that you went out of your way to make someone feel the love of Christ? Its easy to only speak the those whom you know and associate with. Its easy to say “I Love You With The Love Of The Lord” that to demonstrate you love for another.
Love Is
Love is an action word, it is something you do, not what you make. Love is what Christ demonstrated to mankind by laying down His life. Love is what God demonstrated by sending His Son. Love is something you demonstrate. When you live someone, you don’t want to see them hurt, suffering or lacking. When you love someone it is demonstrated by your actions and the recipient of your love will feel it and know they are loved by you. Church, how can we love God whom we cannot see and we say that we love each other whom we see daily (or weekly) and we say it more with words than in demonstration. Taking notice from an old movie live..”Love is never having to say your sorry…” Think about it? Love is so proactive that if my actions or words will hurt, I will not do them simply because of my Love.
Out Of Your Way
Missionary, Church member, Elder, Minister you real ministry is outside the church. Its easy, very easy (and inside your realm of comfort) to go church and minister to the same people Sunday after Sunday. (They that are in health need not a physician, but they that are ill. Matthew 9:12)
When was the last time you when out of your way to pray for a family, pray for a fallen comrade or fellow believer? Everyone in the church seems to have a place to go and things to do and all the while families, husbands and wives are in need of someone that will pray with them. Its easy to pray for someone, how about having someone hear “your voice” praying with them?
How refreshing it was to have visit from my sister and her husband who pastor a church in New York, to be in my home and pray with me and my family before they departed and no one from my former church has bothered to stop by to pray or encourage when it was needed (and they are seven miles from my home).Busy Waiting and hoping.
I would venture to say that while the church is waiting for people to come to them and join their church; people are waiting for the church to stop by and rescue them from their dilemma by praying with them. Simply stopping by someones home (whom you already know) would probably be enough to encourage them in the Lord. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves (Romans 15:1). You don’t have to, bring your anointing oil and an army of believers (as if your performing an exorcism); how about a personal one -on- one conversation with the person without the showmanship we see in the church.
People in the church as well as outside of the church are waiting for those believers that stake their claim in loving The Lord with their heart should and mind, to venture out of their comfort zones, seek out people in need of your presence to pray for and with them. If the military will not leave a fallen solder behind, the church could learn a great lesson from this by not leaving a fellow believer behind either.
To the reader (church member, former church member) let me go out of my way and end this post here with a passage of scripture that I have found encouraging many times over:
” Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. Psalms 34:19″
Going Against The Grain
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