I’m just thinking this morning about the wonderful ways God
works in our lives. My wife and I have prayed for quite some time about our
ministry and our future life as traveling evangelist. But we also pray about
our work at home. We don’t want to be looking to the future work so much that
we neglect the present work. We remember the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8. He
said “beginning at Jerusalem…” We can understand this to mean that the
spreading of the Gospel begins at home. And our ministry begins at home. Yes,
as the ministry grows it will spread throughout the land wherever God leads us.
But we can’t just wait for time to leave. We must be faithful while we are
waiting at home. We do have some plans to continue working in our community
until time to go on the road. But Discipleship is not limited to telling
unbelievers about Jesus. It includes things like working with our church,
learning and growing ourselves, promoting unity in the Body, and…helping new
believers grow in understanding and becoming firmly rooted in the Faith.
In this area we have been particularly blessed. We teach a
Sunday morning class that though it may be small, the attendees are hungry for
God. And we have a new Christian of less than a year who has befriended us. She
comes to us with questions. She comes to us seeking Godly advice and Biblical
counsel. And she puts her trust in us for honest answers to some tough
questions. It is a blessing to know that God has trusted us with guiding her.
And it is a blessing to see how she continues to grow in the image of Christ.
As she grows we see her sharing her faith. We see her compassion for the lost.
We see her sincere desire to do anything to serve God. This is an important
part of evangelism. In Acts 14:22 we are told to exhort (to urge or encourage)
disciples to continue in the Faith. This is where evangelism often falls short.
We don’t just lead them to Christ and then leave them to figure the rest out
for themselves. We must follow up. We must take new Christians under our arm
and help them along as they start their new journey. Bernie and I have been
greatly blessed by this whole process. Yes we look forward to the near future
and all the things it holds. But we praise our Maker for this present ministry.
What a blessing it is to serve the Living God.
Peace and blessings to you all,
Shannon
