Last night was a typical Saturday night with waking multiple times to pray for pastors. Holidays can be hard for a pastor with fluctuation in church attendance. Many people take vacation over holidays. Even if they stay home many will forego going to church due to holiday activities. We cannot take it personally when people choose other things over church. Although as a pastor I strive to lead my people to realize the importance of gathering together as a church body. It is important to be together with other believers. We gain spiritual strength together. We also learn from one another and encourage one another. The words of Hebrews 11 are ones that encourage us to be confident in our relationship with God through Jesus. I love the word picture verses twenty-one and twenty-two give. Jesus death and resurrection give us an open door to be in relationship with Him. For our hearts have been sprinkled with blood to remove impurity, and we have been freed from an accusing conscience. How are clear, unstained, and presentable to God inside and out! (TPT) Woo hoo! Verses twenty-three through twenty-five show us how to live in His hope. We cannot share Him with others if He is not in us. We cannot encourage others with His love without His love in us. Our spiritual tanks get filled in many different ways. Our time in prayer, staying His Word, seeking to live a Christ-like life, etc. are all ways we get filled. Another way is gathering together with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must remember we are to go out into the world and share Him with others. That means we cannot be with just other believers. We must spend time with those who do not follow Him too. I remember hearing one lady in a church say all her friends went to church when her church was encouraging people to invite people. That statement saddened my heart. If we do not have people in our lives that do not follow Christ, how are we suppose to share His love with them? It can't happen unless we do life with them. I took this picture last evening after a day filled with time with friends from church but ended at a party with many who I'm sure are not followers of Christ. I did not have an opportunity to verbally share Christ with them but many knew I am a pastor. Me being there, doing life with them for a short time was a witness in itself. You do not have to participate in the ways of the world but we all do need to be Christ every opportunity we are given. I am reminded of Brandon Heath's song "Give Me Your Eyes" this morning...
Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Dear Jesus, Thank You for the opportunities You gave me yesterday to love with Your love and for the ones ahead in this day! Thank You for Rickey and I having time with Darrell yesterday and then with Will and Sandy! Thank You for our time at the water front and for meeting a new neighbor yesterday afternoon! Thank You for the opportunity You gave us to be at the party and for the laughter last night! You filled my day with blessing after blessing. I pray I blessed You throughout the day. Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me. May my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts flow from You today. Lord, just as I prayed during the night for pastors I come to You once again and ask You to encourage them. Today is going to be a 'tough' day for many as churches will have low attendance due to the holiday. May we not focus on the negative but keep our focus on You. May we all realize Your love in a mighty way today as we gather with our church body. I pray for Your love to come down upon those going through 'tough' days. My Momma; my sisters Linda, Sally, and Mary; Ben; Ben and Colleen; Elaine's son; my high school friend Jack as he recuperates along with another high school friend going through medical testing; four friends going through career issues/changes; Jack and Paula; Carrie and Chris; Chrissy; Melanie; and so many others. May Your peace come down upon each one and may Your love surround each one. Thank You for being My Example To Follow! Amen.
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