CityLight Church’s One Year Bible Reading Plan
Friday, June 24th, 2016
2 Kings 6:1-7:20
Acts 15:36-16:15
Psalm 142:1-7
Proverbs 17:24-25
For full text click here: http://bit.ly/1e2qnAk
Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” – Acts 15:36
Paul knew the importance of follow-up. We cannot simply lead men and women to Jesus Christ, and then leave them to their own devices. We must follow up and minister to them as they walk out Christian life. When you lead someone to the Lord, do you still talk with them six weeks down the road? How about six months, or six years?
Every surgery requires post-surgical therapy. Surgery is immediate; but therapy takes time. If you have a hip replacement, you will require months of physical therapy to strengthen the muscles and tendons around the site of surgery. If you have shoulder surgery, physical therapy will be required to regain your full range of motion. Receiving Jesus is nothing short of heart surgery: God exchanges your heart of stone, and gives you a heart of flesh (Ezek 36:26). So why do we think we can get away without follow-up care?
Follow-up is hard. It requires the one thing none of us can spare: time. Jesus gave people His time by always stopping to love those who needed it most. So should we!
Prayer:
Father, thank You for reminding me how important it is to invest time in the people around me. Nothing can replace a face to face interaction. Help me to realize that it is always worth stopping for the one; and then returning to him or her to handle any follow-up care required.
Archives
See commentary from this day in 2014: http://intelligentcharismatic.com/day-175-overwhelmed-by-kindness/
See commentary from this day in 2015: http://intelligentcharismatic.com/day-175-mandatory-participation/
© Michael D. White, 2016. All rights reserved.