What If No One Showed Up?

If you were to go to church Sunday and were the only one there, what would you do? Would you say, "Well, I'll just go home" or "There is no point in me being here by myself"? If you went to a worship event and no one else came, would you still worship?
The answer all lies with why you were coming in the first place. Who is this "church" thing for? You? Did you come expecting to get, or give?
Where is the focus? And this extends outside of "church" (the meeting on Sunday morning). Who is today about? Who is your life about?

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will find it. What will it benefit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will reward each according to what he has done.

- Matthew 16:24-27

Jesus is who it is all about, and grabbing that mind set is the key to worshiping, serving, and glorifying Jesus even if no one shows up.

In Christ,
jon walton

Encouragement...

Sunday, I was pulled aside by someone at church who gave me a lot of encouragement. She told me how much she appreciated what I did at the church, the impact I was having on the lives of the youth, and how I just seemed committed to what God has called me to. I can't tell you how much that helped.

Open honesty time: We all wonder at some point if what we are doing is making a difference. For those of us who know Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as our Savior, we want to know that our work is bringing Him glory. Even those who do not know Christ still want to feel needed or important. They want to know what they are doing matters somewhere! Everyone wants to have a sense of self worth. This encouragement came at one of those times for me.

We just finished a series on dating with the youth and that is a favorite topic for them, right? At the end I couldn't help but wonder if any of them really "got it." I needed that encouragement. I have no doubt that God sent her to me. God knows when we need to be lifted up and He knows how to do it whether it be directly from Him or from one of His servants.

So, here is my challenge to you: Encourage those around you. God set this challenge to you as well:

No rotten talk should come from your mouth, but only what is good for the building up of someone in need, in order to give grace to those who hear.

-Ephesians 4:29

Take a moment to examine your day. Do your words and actions encourage and build up, or do they discourage and tear down? Make an effort to be an encouragement to all around you. You never know just how much it may help someone.

In Christ,
jon walton