Praying with Love for the Lost

 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only   Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9  NIV

    

   

   This week's SPA contains a very simple idea to help us grow in our love for the lost.   It's written by Margaret Snow, my friend from Community Alliance Church.

Scripture is very clear about God's love for every person in the world.  Help your love for people to grow by praying for the first three people you see when you leave your house each day this week.  It may be the mailman, the driver of the car beside you or your neighbor.  Whoever these three people are, pause for a moment and ask God to help them discover his love and put their full trust in Him.

Deciding to See the Harvest

Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.     John 4:35  NIV

     

    This whole month we have been working at opening our eyes to see the harvest of people that God wants to bring into his family.  There are billions of lost people all over the world who need to hear and believe the message of Christ or else they will spend eternity away from God and separated from all goodness.  It is typical for all of us to keep our eyes looking down on our situation.  It takes an intentional decision to lift up our eyes and see the harvest before us.

   What intentional step can you take this week to see the  potential harvest of lost people near you or far away from you?  Could you pause to pray for people who do not trust God who live in nations which make the news this coming week?  Could you pause each day to look at a world map and pray for another country?  Could you memorize this verse above so that you have a frequent reminder to see the lost people around you?  Set aside a few moments this week to ask God to help you take a practical step see the harvest of people who need Christ.

What If Jesus Didn't Rescue You?

Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.      James 5:20  NIV

   When we think about the Jesus saving us from our sins, we usually think about the sins from our past.  What about the future?  What path were you on when Jesus saved you?  What would your life be like today if Jesus had not rescued you and changed the direction of your life?  When we think about these questions, we begin to see that part of Jesus’ saving work is to protect us from sins we may have committed if we had not come to know him.

   This week, set aside some time to do two activities with God.

1. Answer the question above:  “What would your life be like today if Jesus had not rescued you and changed the direction of your life?”  As you consider what could have happened, thank God for changing the direction of your life so it didn’t happen.

2. There is likely someone you know that is headed down a path that will be very destructive to them if their direction does not change.  Take some time to pray for them to be rescued by Jesus so that their direction is changed and they begin to travel on the path of God’s life.