Being Consistent in Truth
Good evening sisters!
We are rejoicing for all the witnessing opportunities that have been put in our life lately. We always pray God will open doors and we see that happening in the most awesome ways. I hope that encourages you knowing that there are people listening to the Word, not everyone rejects it right out. We don't know what those people are doing with it but the hope is there that they repent and come to the truth.
I wanted to share with you about being steadfast / consistent in our lives because not only the world is watching but you have no clue what sort of influence you are on others who might be either new in the faith, seeking or the Spirit is stirring something in them and they don't even understand it yet.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
If we are strong in the Lord, our lives will be a consistent, steadfast, unmoveable witness to those around us. Brethren will draw strength and encouragement from the life of a saint continuing forth in truth, not allowing anything to drag them back.
I'm sharing this because we have seen how believers can be stumbled by an inconsistent witness. For example, we know of a 'professed' brother that was in ministry. At the time he had good fruit of coming out of the world, shedding sin, striving in truth and started an online ministry. Then after a period of time he turned back into sin and his ministry sat there dead.
We've also seen people start online ministries and although they start out with a flourish, they just dwindle and every once in a while they will post something.
Both cases could stumble other believers who were gaining encouragement from those ministries. Now they wonder what happened to them, did they get too busy to encourage the brethren? Did they fall into sin? It's disappointing and discouraging and could cause a weak believer to fall back.
I have the sisters blog as part of my ministry (the main part is helping brother Jim in his) and I take it very serious because I know it's encouraging others (so they say). I stepped out to shine the light for others, not that I know everything or am the strongest Christian woman but to simply show an example of an every day godly woman striving in the things of God. I'm just being a voice of encouragement to show you there are other sisters in the truth. If something happened and I couldn't do this any longer or couldn't post as often, I would make it known and explain what was going on so as not to stumble another. And to note, I look at this as my love offering for you sisters. I love you even though I don't know you, never saw you or may not even know if you are reading this.
Edited to add: Apparently I caused some confusing in the brethren. My point was that if you have a public ministry that you be as consistent in it as possible. For instance, the examples I used was that these people were posting very frequently each week, sometimes daily then they went down to a couple times a month, then nothing. I try to post a few times each week, someone else might have a sisters blog that they post on once a week. That's fine too, just be consistent when possible because other sisters might be used to being encouraged at those times, that's all. I recall as a babe in Christ (not discerning yet) reading what I thought were Christian sisters blogs and when they just out of nowhere stopped, I was so discouraged wondering why they didn't care to continue helping other sisters or maybe they got sick or died. (I have matured since and have reached out to them to try to share truth with them that I see they are lacking and they want nothing to do with it.) Anyway, our living witness in life is something we should do every single day though.
Your witness might not be an online ministry, it could be that your witness is your every day life. Your neighbors are watching. The cashier at your local grocery store, the gas station attendant, the people in your community that see you out and about, those are all people that you could be affecting without knowing. You must be consistent in your walk, unwavering in the truth, letting the world see the power of God in your life, striving on regardless of the world around you. This life is not about us, it's about bringing glory to God and serving others. It's important that you realize your witness affects people, your ministry affects others and we have to treat that seriously. If God has blessed you with gifts that you can use to edify others, you will be held accountable for them.
I'm passionate about this because it's personal to me. There was a time in my life before Christ that I was on the edge of insanity and I wracked my brain to think of one person that I could call for help. Someone that wasn't like me, someone who knew why we were here on this earth, someone who could show me if there was any hope, someone consistent on truth. I wanted answers but could not think of one person out of the thousands of people that had been in my life.
Today I am that person I was looking for then. You may be that person as well, shining a light of hope and truth. Pointing the way for the lost and hurting who are looking for answers to this life. I find that when I go through troubles that if I share more light and truth with others that it brightens my life as well. We are not to be about ourselves but instead giving to others and a consistent life in the Lord is one way of doing that.
I pray this has blessed and encouraged you to strive on consistently, growing in the Lord.
Have a joyous evening.
Love to you in Christ,
Sister Deb
We are rejoicing for all the witnessing opportunities that have been put in our life lately. We always pray God will open doors and we see that happening in the most awesome ways. I hope that encourages you knowing that there are people listening to the Word, not everyone rejects it right out. We don't know what those people are doing with it but the hope is there that they repent and come to the truth.
I wanted to share with you about being steadfast / consistent in our lives because not only the world is watching but you have no clue what sort of influence you are on others who might be either new in the faith, seeking or the Spirit is stirring something in them and they don't even understand it yet.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
If we are strong in the Lord, our lives will be a consistent, steadfast, unmoveable witness to those around us. Brethren will draw strength and encouragement from the life of a saint continuing forth in truth, not allowing anything to drag them back.
I'm sharing this because we have seen how believers can be stumbled by an inconsistent witness. For example, we know of a 'professed' brother that was in ministry. At the time he had good fruit of coming out of the world, shedding sin, striving in truth and started an online ministry. Then after a period of time he turned back into sin and his ministry sat there dead.
We've also seen people start online ministries and although they start out with a flourish, they just dwindle and every once in a while they will post something.
Both cases could stumble other believers who were gaining encouragement from those ministries. Now they wonder what happened to them, did they get too busy to encourage the brethren? Did they fall into sin? It's disappointing and discouraging and could cause a weak believer to fall back.
I have the sisters blog as part of my ministry (the main part is helping brother Jim in his) and I take it very serious because I know it's encouraging others (so they say). I stepped out to shine the light for others, not that I know everything or am the strongest Christian woman but to simply show an example of an every day godly woman striving in the things of God. I'm just being a voice of encouragement to show you there are other sisters in the truth. If something happened and I couldn't do this any longer or couldn't post as often, I would make it known and explain what was going on so as not to stumble another. And to note, I look at this as my love offering for you sisters. I love you even though I don't know you, never saw you or may not even know if you are reading this.
Edited to add: Apparently I caused some confusing in the brethren. My point was that if you have a public ministry that you be as consistent in it as possible. For instance, the examples I used was that these people were posting very frequently each week, sometimes daily then they went down to a couple times a month, then nothing. I try to post a few times each week, someone else might have a sisters blog that they post on once a week. That's fine too, just be consistent when possible because other sisters might be used to being encouraged at those times, that's all. I recall as a babe in Christ (not discerning yet) reading what I thought were Christian sisters blogs and when they just out of nowhere stopped, I was so discouraged wondering why they didn't care to continue helping other sisters or maybe they got sick or died. (I have matured since and have reached out to them to try to share truth with them that I see they are lacking and they want nothing to do with it.) Anyway, our living witness in life is something we should do every single day though.
Your witness might not be an online ministry, it could be that your witness is your every day life. Your neighbors are watching. The cashier at your local grocery store, the gas station attendant, the people in your community that see you out and about, those are all people that you could be affecting without knowing. You must be consistent in your walk, unwavering in the truth, letting the world see the power of God in your life, striving on regardless of the world around you. This life is not about us, it's about bringing glory to God and serving others. It's important that you realize your witness affects people, your ministry affects others and we have to treat that seriously. If God has blessed you with gifts that you can use to edify others, you will be held accountable for them.
I'm passionate about this because it's personal to me. There was a time in my life before Christ that I was on the edge of insanity and I wracked my brain to think of one person that I could call for help. Someone that wasn't like me, someone who knew why we were here on this earth, someone who could show me if there was any hope, someone consistent on truth. I wanted answers but could not think of one person out of the thousands of people that had been in my life.
Today I am that person I was looking for then. You may be that person as well, shining a light of hope and truth. Pointing the way for the lost and hurting who are looking for answers to this life. I find that when I go through troubles that if I share more light and truth with others that it brightens my life as well. We are not to be about ourselves but instead giving to others and a consistent life in the Lord is one way of doing that.
I pray this has blessed and encouraged you to strive on consistently, growing in the Lord.
Have a joyous evening.
Love to you in Christ,
Sister Deb
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