GO, BLESS, AND PRAY
Read Time: 3 min 31 sec
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter."
Francis Chan
THE GOOD STUFF
4W LIFE DEVOTIONAL 05: WITNESS
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”
– Luke 6:27-28
Jesus challenges us to love our enemies radically. Notice the verbs that our enemies will presume upon us, “hate, curse, and abuse.” Despite their hostility towards us, Christ calls us to these actions towards them, “love, do good, bless, and pray for.” If this is what we are to do with our enemies, then all the more should we do this with our neighbors. After all, Jesus did tell us to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
How do we best love our neighbors? By going to, blessing, and praying for them. It is important that we are praying for our neighbors. Asking God to give you an opportunity and for them to be receptive to the Gospel. As we pray for them, it is important that we go and bless them. Blessing someone means buying them a meal, paying their bills, or doing physical labor for them. If we truly seek to be people who go, bless, and pray for our neighbors, our lives will be radically changed for God’s glory.
APPLICATION
Who can you go to, pray, and bless this week? How can you take a step of obedience in loving your neighbors (and your enemies)?
Reply here with your story of how it went!
Cory Freeman | Lead Witness Pastor
STORY
A FURNACE FOR CHRIST
Bradon and Erin Badger's furnace contemplated an early retirement back in 2019. They called a company to send out a technician for repair and they sent out Jeff. Jeff arrived at the Badger House and went to work, but Bradon stuck around to engage in conversation. They talked for a while as Jeff diagnosed and fixed the issue, and then off he went.
Two years later, the furnace thought about calling it quits again. Bradon called up the same company to send out a technician and Jeff was the one who came. As he walked up to the house, he immediately recognized Bradon, and his face lit up. He said, "I've been here before! It was right when I first moved to the area, was working a new job, and didn't know very many people. A lot of my other customers that I had serviced were rude and angry with me when I couldn't fix their problem right away, but you were nice and made me feel welcome." Bradon was blown away that such a small kindness could have stuck with this man for two years, but saw the opportunity to pursue deeper conversation with Jeff.
He learned that Jeff's mom is currently in a coma and is expected to pass away. Bradon offered to pray for healing for Jeff's mother and for comfort, and before Jeff left after fixing the furnace, he gave Bradon his personal phone number. He said he would love to hang out sometime and get to know each other better, and Bradon plans to reach out to him with the hope of being able to share the gospel.
You never know how a small conversation can impact someone. Be on the lookout for opportunities to positively influence a stranger, neighbor, or furnace repairman and ask for God to work through you. As Bradon loves to say, "You cast a bigger shadow than you realize."
Join us in praying that the Lord would continue to give Bradon boldness to speak truth to Jeff, and to love and bless him as a witness for Christ!
FACILITY TOURS
COME TOUR THE NEW FACILITY!
Come check out the progress of our new facility and sign up for a 30-minute building tour on Sunday, May 23rd. Tours will start at 1:00 pm and run every 30 minutes until 5:00 pm. Each walk-through will be limited to 20 people. Sign up now!