May 3, 2017
May 3, 2017
1 CHRONICLES 7-8
Focus Verse: Their father Ephraim mourned many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.
1 Chronicles 7:22
Ministry responds to need. That is the best definition of ministry that I have ever heard. We talk a lot about how in the church world, people trump programs, but very few churches operate this way. We are so program oriented. I know that this is an area that Jesus is constantly working on with me.
I tend to be a very task oriented individual. I have my to-do list and want to get as many of those things checked off as I possibly can. This means that when needs present themselves from the individuals around me, the majority of the time I am too focused on the tasks I need to get done to respond to those needs. Sure, I do hospital visits and graduation parties and birthday parties and stop to see newborn babies occasionally, but actually responding to immediate needs around me – I need Jesus to keep working on my heart.
This is a very simple verse that can be pretty easy to skip over in the long list of genealogies here in 1 Chronicles, but it is so vital to recognize. Ephraim’s child just died, so his relatives come to comfort him. It seems like such a common sense thing…then why isn’t the church doing more of it!
I don’t mean to come down on everyone. Some people are very good at this, asking God to keep their eyes and hearts open to those whom are hurting around them. Others, like myself, need to keep working on this. Fact is, we cannot see a need to minister to if we are not paying attention.
So if you’ve never prayed that prayer before, ask God to open your heart and eyes to those hurting around you. Ask Him to help you respond to their needs. AND KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN! If you see someone sitting alone, go sit with them! If you see someone crying during worship, go pray with them! See the need and then RESPOND!
No trackbacks yet.