With - Me

Church at Prayer                 WITH - ME                         October 13, 2015

This is one of my very favorite verses in the Bible, “He (Jesus) went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him.”  (Mark 3:13)

While Jesus continued to speak to large crowds and heal those whom He encountered, at this point in his ministry He began to “focus on a few.”  We can apply that to our own lives because you and I also have the opportunity to focus on a few, no matter how many our many may be.

Our “few” are the people we spend more time with, invest our lives in, and trust our Lord to be working in their lives.  If we say that we invest ourselves in everyone we know, the probability is that we are not investing enough of ourselves in people deeply enough to actually change their lives and our own lives in the process.

The process Jesus used is both simple and intensely profound.  We call it the ‘with-me’ principle.  Jesus called twelve to be with Him in order to send them to serve.  As we spend time with Jesus, we discover ourselves growing to know, love and become more like Jesus.

At the same time, if Jesus invited a few to be with Him, so we, too, may practice the with-me principle as we invite family members, friends, church people and others into our personal lives –
that we might grow to know and love not just one another but also our Lord who invites us to be with Him.

So, the next time you attend worship, go to a movie, go out for supper, or watch some special event
on television, whom will you invite to be with you?
                          Joy to you – E. Stanley Ott, February 11, 2014  Vol. 13, No. 4, WITH-ME

Prayer Suggestions

•    Give thanks and praise to God Our Father for the unequaled gift of His Son, the supreme invitation for us to be with Him.
•    Pray for those who share our lives with us.  Give thanks for their kind support, as we support them.
•    Pray for those who touch your lives daily – spouses, family, neighbors, friends, the waitress who served you breakfast, the mechanic who fixed your car, the trash collector, the mailperson – unsung heroes, all.
•    Pray for insight in finding ways to more closely follow Jesus, to be a better foot-soldier for Him in this earthly kingdom.  The world cries out for hope and peace.  An outstretched hand can be the conduit.  Let it be yours.
•    Lift up the lost souls fleeing their beloved homeland of Syria.  Ask for their protection and acceptance in new lands, especially for the children.
•    Give thanks for the Teen Challenge program.  Pray for strength and courage for these boys, that they will walk a better road in their future, knowing Jesus walks with them.
•    Pray for those in our congregation who face hard challenges – physically, mentally or emotionally.  Lift up those facing serious surgery, and for their families.
•    Pray for Claire and her children as she ventures out onto new pathways.
•    Pray for Pastor Jeff and our church, that we may be led by the Lord’s assurance of a safe and certain future in His service.