Spectating or Serving

The church is the Body and Bride of Christ, commissioned to carry the gospel into all the world, and especially in our local community. We reach out with the gospel of Christ to friends, relatives, work and hobby associates and neighbors (Mark 16:15-16).

We serve in one ministry in our local church as the Lord calls us to assist, working in an area in which we are interested, and remaining faithful to that calling until God directs us to serve in a new direction in our church body (Romans 12:4-5).

When we see a need, or something that is blocking the growth of our church family, rather than complaining, ridiculing and looking for another church, we put our hand to the plow and help to change things for the better.

This may require that we increase our financial giving, spend more time supporting the church leadership and ministries, taking the initiative to ask the leadership the ways in which we can be the most help to the Body and allowing them to equip us for this ministry.

We do not expect our church to have the personality, ministries, outreach and worship identical to every other church in town, because God gives each congregation His own unique flavor to meet the need for which He designed our particular congregation.

We faithfully pray to the Lord of the Harvest to bring workers into the field; and we serve as an example of a loving, outreaching, soul-winning, hardworking member of the local church where God calls us.

When we do this, we see God's hand faithfully supplying all the needs in our life and in the life of that congregation; and we feel blessed to be a part of His work in our community as we partake in the ministries of the family of God meeting in the facilities which God provided and for which we care and contribute towards.

Prayer:

Father God, raise up congregations across the nation that are committed to one another as Your family. It is so easy for a person to divorce a congregation and go across town to find one that better suits their needs, with no regard to Your will for them in service to that original congregation. Help us to covenant together in faith and to fellowship around the Gospel instead of the worship or preaching style, the size of the bulletin or the amount of lights and instruments used on the stage.

Teach us to agree on the central truths of Your Word and to live by these truths rather than by our personal preferences and carnal desires. Inform us about the true meaning of our spiritual gifts and help us to find a place to use those gifts for the mutual edification of the Body in which You call us to serve.

Remind us that contrary to popular belief, the church is not a gathering of spectators called to criticize the music, minister and ministries of a particular congregation. Before we were even conceived, You called us and placed us in a certain church in order to serve the Body in any needed ministry to which you call us (Ephesians 2:10).

Thought for the Day:

We do not discriminate in the fellowship of the church, but we include every race, nationality, dialect and personality; however, we do insist on members adhering to the primary principles of the scripture and living according to its dictates rather than the liberal, all-inclusive attitude of the world today; everyone is welcome to attend, but God only offers membership in His family to adherents of Biblical Truth.

Pure and Undefiled Religion

Too often we "play" church and treat it like a cruise ship rather than a battleship. We like to socialize with our friends and make new friends who will treat us nicely and care about us.

Yet, we waste our time on the flesh and the world, which makes us too busy to serve in church ministries, to care for the sick and infirmed in our church family, or to reach out into our community to make a friend and lead them to Christ.

When the offering plate comes around, we give God a tip from the change in our pocket rather than to give a tithe of our income, and we feel no remorse when we fail to give in the benevolence offering to help the needy in our church family and community.

We will not even bring canned goods to donate to the food bank in our area, or to join service organizations in our community who help to serve those less fortunate than we are.

We ignore those who are aliens in our community, who move here to find work to support their family; not knowing that if we did care for the needy, God could bless us in all the works which we find for our hands to do (Deuteronomy 14:29).

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is to take care of orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep our self from being polluted by the world (James 1:27).

We can help the poor by meeting their need for food, shelter and clothing (1 Timothy 6:8); aid the widows by meeting their medical bills and doing chores that overwhelm them; and we can visit the imprisoned (Job 31:16; Matthew 25:36).

We can give Christmas presents to children at local group homes, take some of them to our home for monthly visits or out on a picnic, or we can take them to the pizza parlor for supper once a month (Job 31:17).

The possibilities for ministry in our church family and out in our community are endless, and ignoring these needs is unconscionable and despicable in the sight of the Lord (Matthew 7:24).

Prayer:

Father God, help us to learn to do good, to seek justice, to defend the orphan and to plead the case for our widows (Isaiah 1:17). Teach us to reprove the ruthless who take bribes or look for a reward for their service (Isaiah 1:23). Remind us that when we clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the imprisoned, we do it as our ministry to You (Matthew 25:36). 

We do not want to live as hearers of Your Word only, but we want to put feet to our faith and to earn our righteous rewards by keeping Your law and serving our church family and community (James 1:22; Romans 2:13). Let us prove our faith in You by our works for You (James 2:14).

Thought for the Day:

The Lord protects strangers, supports single mom's and their children, and cares for the needs of widows; but He resists the wicked and thwarts those who "play" church rather than minister to the needy in their community. Let us join Him in His Kingdom work. - Psalm 146:9

Churches Have Personalities

Have you ever noticed that every church wants to emulate the details of success used by mega-churches around our country? They often try and fail even when they use the same formulas and ministries. 

The members are discontent if their church does not provide the same level of entertainment as these mega churches; yet, they are unwilling to serve in areas that would help their church to grow or to share the gospel with more people.

They criticize the leadership and nag the Senior Pastor about their pet peeves. They fail to give a tithe of their income and they go on more vacations and buy more "toys" than their lifestyle can comfortably support.

What people fail to realize, the leadership included, is that God gives each church a different personality, mission purpose and anointing. In Revelation, Jesus sharply criticizes most of the seven churches for not following His will for their ministry.

Unless the Lord builds the church, we labor in vain (Psalm 127:1). We spin our wheels and live in constant discontent, disillusionment and distraction. We get so caught up in the good things that we fail to fulfill God's purpose for our church life.

The church leadership needs a time of pray to develop their mission statement - not a catchy phrase to put on publications and electronic media, but an actual mission statement from God.

As a unified group, once they hear from God, they can equip the Saints for the work of their ministry (Ephesians 4:12-16). This allows the whole church to be on the same page with the same focus and the same passion.

If church leadership or ministries have divided or conflicting goals, the lack of unity will actually obstruct their prayers (1 Peter 3:7). We are also hindered by the end time mindset by which the love of many grows cold (Matthew 24:12).

However, there is still a remnant of authentic Believers hungry for doing the will of God with their individual and church family life. There is no price too great for them to pay in order to further God's Kingdom on the earth.

Prayer:

Father God, inspire Your authentic Believers who are gathered in local church bodies around the world to do Your will in their community. You may not want a particular church to be big; but You always equip it to be effective in reaching the people in its church field.

Help us to hear Your voice to know what You are calling us to do as Your local church family in the area in which You planted us. We do not want to spin our wheels, but we want to have traction to serve in the areas in which You created and called us to minister in Your name and according to Your will.

Thought for the Day:

God is calling us to put our time, talent and energy into true religion rather than programs and superfluous ministries that do not impact His Kingdom or change lives. - James 1:27