At the end of this post is the list of "one anothers". I encourage you to read over these passages for the next few days. Pray specifically which "one anothers" you are doing already and either expand on that, or add another one. Consider reaching out not just to those closest to you, but those who you may not know well. In a larger body this would be easier, but even in many small churches we organize ourselves into little cliques. I don't believe, if we honestly think about it, that the Lord would be pleased to know that we fellowship only with those that are our same age, same interests, but rather that His body, His church would be united around the head, Jesus Christ.
The challenge- Each week, select a family in the local body to pray for. In the instance of hospitality, I would use this example taken from a letter I wrote to a friend regarding hospitality:
"Friday evening, invite a family(or2) that you have prayed about throughout the week either to your home or to stay after on Sunday at the church(if there are facilities)to have a meal that you will prepare for them. If they choose to bring something fine, but be prepared to do all the work. Do this for the next 8 weeks. The purpose is to get to know them, encourage them, and to show the love of Christ for these other members of His body, your family in Him.
We have seen this work wonders in our own personal experiences. We have seen people come to trust us more, be more invested in each other's lives, and reach out with the Gospel, too. We have intentionally made the discussion not just small talk, but trying to get to know each other, help meet needs, and let people know that we love them as family, and not just as people we see on Sundays and Wednesdays.
We love you and miss you all. This is a way we feel that we can continue to help the body there your local church even from afar. We look forward to hearing how God works, remember more than anything that you are God's ambassador, speaking and showing His love for His people in the same we He loves you"
Another recent challenge to a brother reads like this:
"My brother, you are an encourager. I know this firsthand as you have shown me Scripture from the Lord, prayerfully considering a passage and then applying it to my situation and my life to remind me of our Savior. This helped bring me closer to the Lord. I believe this is something we should all try to do. But I am taking it a step further. I would like your permission to share results with others to encourage them also. I will be doing this type of thing with believers all over the country and some other parts of the world where I know folks personally.
The challenge- in your daily prayer time, ask the Lord to lay on your heart 1 person that you don't normally talk to regularly. Pray for this person and consider what passage God would have you share with this brother or sister. Then, call them or write them just to share that message. Do this once a week for the next 8 weeks and let me know the results."
The "one another" passages are below. Some seem repetitive, but I would think that they are more emphatic and important if they are repeated so often. Love one another is often the sentiment, brought out in many different venues. Love like that our beloved Jesus has for His church, sacrificial love that points not to ourselves but to our Savior. I do not make any assumption that anyone is doing none of these, nor that this is an original idea. Rather, it is my prayer that we seek to please the Lord in all things, to bear one another's burdens.
When we live like this, sharing the Gospel is more genuine. When we think of all God has saved us from, the gratitude of our hearts should spur us to tell others of the consequence of sin and what a great price Jesus paid to reconcile us to God. If we do not love each other, and are constantly berating other believers, how can we expect the Lord to bless our seed sowing. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. If we sow discord and selfishness, we will not reap the bountiful blessing of sweet fellowship around the Lord Jesus.
So, will you take the challenge? If so, please write and let me know. I will be keeping track and would like permission to share results with others. I would keep names out of it for privacy sake, but just want to see what can happen when we act like we are commanded to act. This is not just a command, but a privilege.
There is much more to this, and it goes outside the walls of the church, reaching out with the Gospel. I pray that you will take this challenge seriously, bathe it in prayer, and step out to see what God can do when His people obey Him in all things.
(Mark 9:50)(John 13:14) (John 13:34)(John 13:35) (John 15:12) (John 15:17) (Rom 12:5) (Rom 12:10) (Rom 12:16) (Rom 13:8) (Rom 14:13) (Rom 14:19) (Rom 15:5) (Rom 15:7) (Rom 16:16)(1Co 11:33) (1Co 12:25) (1Co 16:20) (2Co 13:12) (Gal 5:13) (Gal 5:15) (Gal 5:26) (Gal 6:2)(Eph 4:2) (Eph 4:25) (Eph 4:32)(Eph 5:21) (Col 3:9)(Col 3:13) (Col 3:16) (1Th 3:12) (1Th 4:9) (1Th 4:18) (1Th 5:11) (Tit 3:3) (Heb 3:13) (Heb 10:24) (Jas 4:11) (Jas 5:9) (Jas 5:16) (1Pe 1:22) (1Pe 3:8) (1Pe 4:9) (1Pe 4:10)(1Pe 5:5) (1Pe 5:14) (1Jn 1:7) (1Jn 3:11) (1Jn 3:23) (1Jn 4:7) (1Jn 4:11) (2Jn 1:5)
Mark and Sara Cowperthwaite
oneanothering@gmail.com
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