Continuing
The Lord wants us to view people not as projects but as ones created in His image. We are to care about and love people for as long as the Lord has them in our lives. If the Lord should allow us to influence someone to become a Christ-follower, then we should continue with them by offering to disciple them. In other instances, there will be people we care about and attempt to connect and converse with who are not favorably responsive to us or the Lord in the least. We should continue to pray for them and be friendly to them.
We should follow the example of Barnabas who came alongside of Saul to help him connect with the disciples in Jerusalem.
He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him (Barnabas) and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. – Acts 9:27
In The Art of Neighboring the authors ask the question, “What if God wants His followers to take the Great Commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” to really mean to love your “neighbor.” Then they use the remainder of the book to describe how believers can practically and intentionally care about, get to know, and genuinely love their neighbors in a manner that fulfills Christ’s Great Commandment. This book is a great read for the many believers who realize that they have overlooked their neighbors through the years and they want to change and learn to love their neighbors.
The Foundations studies are designed for a disciple maker to use to follow-up a brand new believer. There is a Leader’s Guide for the discipler and four sessions which are for both the discipler and the new believer. The topics of the four sessions are:
– Confidence (Gospel/Assurance of salvation)
– Acceptance (New life in Christ/Fellowship with Christ)
– Empowerment (Spirit-filled living)
– Development (Growing in Christ/Spiritual disciplines)
The sessions are to be studied together by the discipler and the new believer and as a result there is no homework. The resources can be purchased or downloaded and printed.
Bless Every Home is a free online neighborhood prayer ministry that enables a believer to pray daily for the 50 neighbors that live closest to his house. He will be given the first and last names and the addressees of these 50 neighbors. He can choose to increase or decrease the number of his neighbors that he prays for. Each day the believer will receive an email with the names and addresses of five of his neighbors for him to pray for that day. There is even a biblical, sample prayer to use if one so chooses. The ultimate goal of this ministry is for every residence in our nation to be prayed for by name by a godly believer. The threefold purpose of this ministry is …
Prayer: The Lord will change us when we pray for our neighbors.
Care: The Lord will show us how to care about and be friendly to our neighbors.
Share: The Lord will provide opportunities for us to have spiritual and gospel conversations with our neighbors.