Faith, Works, Unity, etc...

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:9-10 NKJV Is it just me? Do others of you grow weary in your efforts to minister to "the least of these" as directed by our Savior? The demands of life, work, family & church sometimes feel like weights, pulling me downward & wearing me out in my struggle to continue forward--reaching for the prize. As I reflect back on my life, I wonder sometimes if what I do & have done really matters. Yet, I know that is Satan working on my mind, trying to render me ineffective for the ministry GOD has called me to. That ministry is, for now, a part-time endeavor because I must work to support myself. I pray that GOD opens doors for me to make it a full-time ministry at some point in the near future. Still, at times I wonder--Lord, where is the harvest? Am I impacting this world for You? Must I wait til I reach Heaven to see the results of my efforts?Is there something in me that is hindering the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those I am trying to reach? I pray daily for those in ministry & missions. I know the task is a difficult one. I know we must all maintain faith & intercede on one another's behalf. At the same time, we must hold to our faith and continue working for the Kingdom. Am I saying works gets one into Heaven? NO! What I am saying that is out of a heart of gratitude to our Lord & for our own salvation, we "work" to spread the Gospel because of our faith in The One who saved us by His grace. In the book of James,(2:17 NKJV)--we are told "faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." Then, there is "the household of faith" thing. Oftentimes, church people shoot their wounded. We tend to treat those outside the church body better than those in our own family of faith. We criticize, we gossip, we judge. Fact is, each & every one of us is accountable to GOD alone. That is not to say we are not to hold our brother accountable--we are. We should address our concerns to the individual rather than talking about them behind their backs to others. Matthew 18:15-17 gives instructions on how to deal with church disipline, however, many an issue can be resolved without the involvement of others and restoration can be accomplished one on one between two brothers/sisters. On the other hand, there are some who appear to thrive on being offended. They wear their emotions on their sleeves & wait for someone to say or do anything that can be taken as offensive. Many a friendship has ended, many a church has split over seemingy trivial instances where someone got offended. The offending party may be totally unaware they have done anything--then again, it is best to address things one on one to restore the relationship to avoid a festering fued. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity!" Psalm 133:1 NKJV Unity is yet another issue. Various churches & denominations look down on one another & speak ill of one another. What we seem to miss is that we are all on the same team, the same mission--bringing lost souls to salvation. We should work together to accomplish that rather than in direct opposition to one another. Our goal should not be to steal members from one another--there are far too many lost people out there in the world! If we are fulfilling the Great Commission, all our churches in every Christian denomination will be filled to capacity & the need to build more churches will then become necessary in order to minister to all those we are bringing to faith in the Lord. Ephesians 4:11-13 tells us, "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;" Lord, my prayer is this--Fill us with your precious Holy Spirit & help us to realize that Satan is our enemy, rather than one another. Draw us together in Christian unity in order that the world might see & be drawn to You. Grant us wisdom, Lord. Help us to overlook one another's faults & shortcomings and be a true family of faith, working to build your Kingdom rather than our own. AMEN. Are you working for the Lord? He has a place that only you can fill. Surrender your will to Him & allow Him to use you for His purposes. That is my goal! Blessings! Tony