PRAY FOR THOSE SERVING

Rom. 15:30 Dear friends, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me given you by the Holy Spirit.  NLT

      I wonder how often we join with others in their ministries by faithfully praying for them.  For most of us it's probably not very often.  Many people hand out prayer cards, make appeals through letters or the internet, and make personal appeals for prayer support.  Much of the time those appeals are soon forgotten.  I wonder how much different things would be for those who serve if they were to be supported faithfully by prayer.  I can't help but think that a lot of things would be different.

      We must never forget that those who are serving the Lord are human, too.  They struggle just like we do.  They are tempted by Satan just as we are.  They have bad days just like we do.  They have personal issues at home just like we do.  They have fears and doubts just like we do.  They are faced with the same issues that you and I face in our walk with the Lord.  Also, because they are more in the limelight than we usually are, they are more vulnerable to Satan's attacks than what we usually are.  In other words, those who are serving the Lord in various ways in leadership roles need our prayer support.

       Let us strive, with the Lord's help, to be better prayer warriors on their behalf.  Let us ask the Lord to hold us accountable for our commitments to pray for others.  Let us not be found guilty of saying one thing and doing another.  The servants of the Lord need our prayer support on a regular basis.  They need to know someone is praying for them.  Will you be a prayer warrior for someone starting today?

GOOD BOASTING

GOOD BOASTING

Rom. 15:18  I dare not boast of anything else.  I have brought the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I lived before them.  NLT

      The Apostle Paul was saved to be a witness to the Gentiles of God's saving grace through Christ Jesus.  It was what God commanded him to do.  It was what he did with a passion.  He was not very well-liked by his fellow Jews because of it.  He was often beaten, thrown into prison, run out of town, and falsely accused before the Roman council because of it.  Life was very difficult for Paul, but he could not be stopped. 

      Paul was a humble man and did not boast of his accomplishments.  He could have taken pride in his birth pedigree, but he didn't.  He could have boasted of his Roman citizenship, but he didn't.  He could have boasted of all of his successes in the churches he helped establish and preached in, but he didn't.

      The only thing that Paul pointed to was the fact that that he did what God told him to do.  He brought many Gentiles to God through his preaching, teaching and living.  His message was very clear and consistent wherever he went and he backed up his message with the way he lived. 

       The only real witness that we have that matters to the world is whether or not our living supports what we proclaim.  It's not too hard to notice a hypocrite and the world jumps on them like fleas on a dog.  The world may not agree with us when we live what we preach, but they do have to respect the fact that we live it.  Let us always strive to show by our example of living that the Gospel message is for real and that it indeed does change lives.

PATIENCE AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Rom. 15:5  May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other--each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.  NLT

      If you lack patience, don't let it bother you.  God gives us all the patience we need if we but ask Him to.  So often we struggle with patience because we don't go to the source of patience, God.  We try to no avail to handle things on our own and when we fail to do what we want or expect to do, we get upset and lose patience over it.  One of the biggest reasons why we struggle to get along with others is due to our lack of patience.  God can help us; He will help us, if we turn to Him and ask Him for it.

      Now I know that as we get older, patience physically becomes harder.  Our nerves are more on edge and if we use caffeine in our drinks and don’t get adequate rest, it makes it even harder.  Therefore, we need to try to work harder on helping ourselves as much as we can.  When we sense ourselves getting impatient, we need to try to pause and ask the Lord to help us through the moment and deal with things as we should. 

       If you get down and discouraged over things, turn to the Lord; He will lift you up as you focus on Him and all that He has done for you.  The Lord does not want you down and in a funky mood.  He wants to see you joyful, upbeat, feeling positive about things.  The Lord will help you when you are down if you will but turn to Him and ask Him to.

      When we deal with life patiently and positively, we find ourselves better able to live in harmony with others.  Loving one another with godly love and seeing one another as Christ sees us, is very doable when we let Jesus be Lord of our hearts and living.  When we keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Jesus, life becomes so much easier and enjoyable for us and those whom we share life with.

DIFFERENT CONVICTIONS

Rom. 14:23  But if people have doubts about whether they should eat something, they shouldn't eat it.  They would be condemned for not acting in faith before God.  If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.  NLT

      God dwells in every believer's heart through the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit guides us into all truth, helps us to understand the truth, and empowers us to live the truth.  He works within each of us in unique ways and we learn to apply truth within the context of our personalities and situations in life.  There are many things we differ in because of our uniqueness.  As long as we don't deviate from the truth of the Scriptures, it's okay to have different convictions about things.

     We sin when we go against what the Spirit has convicted us of.  If we sincerely believe something is wrong and we go ahead and do it, we sin.  We are responsible for our own convictions.  It doesn't matter whether or not someone else holds the same convictions that you do or not.  Unless the Lord clearly shows you that what you are convinced of is wrong, you sin when you go against what you believe to be true.

      We need to have a clear grasp on what we believe about things so that we will live it.  We need to examine the Scriptures and ask the Lord to give us clear understanding of it.  We need to ask the Lord then for the strength and willpower to live by our convictions.  We must have a clear sense of right and wrong and live by it.  God holds us accountable for the choices we make.

THE GOAL OF HARMONY

Rom. 14:19  So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.  NLT

      Let's just do it.  Let us aim for harmony in the Church and try to build each other up.  Being a part of church life would be so much more pleasant if we were to do it.  If harmony becomes our goal, the issue becomes how we can do it.  Let me offer a few thoughts.

      Harmony can be achieved if we were to set aside our personal agendas and expectations of others.  We need to quit insisting on having things our way all the time.  When there is a general consensus on what to do or how to do it, we submit to what the majority believes to be right.  As long as there is not a doctrinal issue at stake, it doesn't matter if we get our way or not.  We need to have a humble spirit and work together for the common good of the body of Christ. 

      Harmony can be achieved when we are united on our common goal, the exaltation of Christ and the evangelism of the world.  All believers in Christ should share in these two goals for the Church.  When we do, getting along and working together becomes so much easier.

      Harmony can be achieved when we are united together in prayer.  Prayer should overshadow everything we do in the Church.  When we ask the Lord together to guide us and help us relate to each other in a Christ- like way, we will be more apt to live and work peaceably with each other.

     Harmony can be achieved when our mutual goal is to try and build each other up.  When we are looking out for the interests of others, self doesn't get in the way nearly as much.  When we are seeking the good of others, we won't be so hard to get along with. 

      Harmony can be achieved when we work together to achieve it.  Let us always strive to get along with others and work together for the good and the glory of Christ.  It is what pleases God.

DON'T BE AN OBSTACLE

DON’T BE AN OBSTACLE

Rom. 14:13  So don't condemn each other anymore.  Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not put an obstacle in another Christian's path.  NLT

      When we condemn others, we are putting obstacles in their walk with the Lord.  We are hindering their progress by dragging them down with our words.  Instead of building them up and encouraging them to go further with the Lord, we halt their progress. 

      Living godly lives is difficult enough the way it is without someone pointing out to us all that we are doing wrong.  Granted, sometimes we do need correction so that we can stay on the right path to God, but we don't need to always be put down to the point where we are discouraged and defeated.  Negativity breeds negativity and we need to be careful that we are not an obstacle in another believer's path.

      We need to be positive contributors to one another's walk.  We need to come alongside of others and gently prod them on to a deeper walk with the Lord.  We need to always offer guidance with love and tenderness.  We need to ask the Lord to guard our hearts so that we don't sit in judgment over others.  We need to ask Him for self-control over our tongues.  We need to ask Him to teach us how to be positive and not negative influencers in the lives of others.

     Pride in our own righteousness is often the root cause of why we condemn others.  Ask the Lord to strip you of your pride, forgive you and keep you humble before Him.  Ask Him to keep you from being an obstacle in another Christian's path. 

CONDEMN ANOTHER?

Rom. 14:10 So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God.  NLT

      This truth should haunt every believer who has every condemned another believer.  It is so easy to set ourselves up as better than someone else.  It is easy to notice what someone else does wrong and not see what we are doing wrong.  It is easy to have closed minds about things and not try to understand what is really going on in others’ lives.

      We ought to embrace one another in the love of Christ.  We ought to seek to understand why people do what they do and help them to understand why it may be wrong.  We ought to exercise grace towards those whom we may disagree with. 

       Condemning others rarely does any good.  It creates harsh feelings and causes us to be very defensive.  It creates within us a sense of self-righteousness and pride.  It also breaks down fellowship within the body of Christ.  Our goal as believers should always be edification and restoration, never alienation.

      There certainly is a need for accountability in the church.  We can never condone sinful and disruptive behavior.  But when the time comes for the church to deal with those things, it should always be bathed in love and done with much prayer.  We should never forget that each of us is going to stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account before Him as to how we have lived and treated others.  We should always look inward at ourselves before we look outward at someone else.

      If you tend to look down on others because of what they do or say, ask the Lord to help you change your attitude.  We are to walk humbly before God and be gracious to all.  May the Lord help us to have the heart of Christ towards each other.