Putting It Into Practice
January 16, 2005
Dear Friends:
“Humbly welcome the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls. But you must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves. Anyone who listens to the Word and takes no action is like someone who looks at his own features in a mirror and, once he has seen what he looks like, goes off and immediately forgets it. But anyone who looks steadily at the perfect law of freedom and keeps to it, not listening and forgetting, but putting it into practice, will be blessed in every undertaking.” (James 1:21-25 NJB)
What can you do to serve God this year? Here are some suggestions:
- Introduce the Gospel to a neighbor, friend, coworker or just someone off of the street.
- Send a card to a sick, elderly or isolated person who could use cheering up.
- Start that outreach program you have been talking about for years.
- Work with some young person who is trying to find their way.
- Volunteer your time in a soup kitchen, hospice, orphanage or other worthy charity.
- Take someone to lunch who you know is having to tough time just to be there for them.
- Tell someone that may not know that you love them.
- Turn off the TV, stereo and computer for a night and spend it playing a board game with your children or grandchildren.
- Dig into your pocket a little deeper and support your ecclesia and a charity.
- Forgive someone with whom you are holding a grudge.
- Spend at least one week of vacation in the Lord’s service.
- Think of the thing that you complain about most and thank God for it (even if it means just thanking him for the opportunity to grow in trials).
- Encourage your ecclesia to take on one major service project this year and then do more than your share of the work.
- Pray more.
- Join a foster care program.
- Visit a nursing home.
- Read your Bible faithfully every day.
- Go on a foreign mission trip.
- Start a youth group.
- Host a neighborhood Bible class and invite your neighbors.
- Baby-sit for a young mother so she can have an afternoon or an evening out.
- Pass out tracts in your neighborhood or in the area in which you meet.
- Call someone who hasn’t been to meeting in a while and see how they are doing.
- Learn a new skill this year that will not benefit you specifically but will help you help someone else.
- Give up one “luxury” and put the savings aside for the work of the Lord.
- Organize a group of young people to sing hymns to the elderly.
- Do at least one menial ecclesial job that needs to get done and don’t let anyone know you did it.
- Be the peacemaker between two unreconciled parties.
- Tell the people who have worked so hard to serve you “thanks.”
- Invite someone at meeting over to dinner that you don’t know very well.
- Sit with a child in the nursery so that the mom or dad can sit in meeting.
- Have a conversation for an hour or two with an elderly shut-in.
- Drop to your knees and give heartfelt thanks to God for all of the blessings in your life.
- Do something special for children of divorce to let them know you care.
- When people ask you how you are doing, think of something to say that is spiritually uplifting (such as “My cup runneth over!”) rather than just saying “fine.”
- Send this to list to at least one person you care about and thank them for their love and friendship.
“And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.” (Matt. 9:36-38 NJB)
Have a great week!
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