Geri, I think you have raised some really important points in your message to Patricia that all Christians need to hear. We are all in ministry in some way or another and all have been given different gifts by the Holy Spirit and ideally we should be operating in unity within the body of Christ. The ministry of prayer is of vital importance within the body of Christ and I believe that if someone who is engaged in a more tangible or visible ministry views their ministry as more important than someone else then there is a serious issue of pride going on. God does not operate, judge or reward along the same lines as we do. He is not constrained by our economic philosophies or merit based thinking etc. When I go out on the streets my lovely wife Rachel continually prays for me and I consider it a vital part of my ministry and in no way inferior to it. I recall an Old Testament picture of this principle when King David rescued his family from the Amalekites after they had made a raid on Ziklag. 400 men went into battle and 200 stayed behind with the baggage. After the battle the 400 did not want to give any of the spoil to those who stayed behind. (I bet they were praying !!). King David, an Old Testament model of Jesus, had other ideas and rewarded them. 1 Samuel 30:23-25 New King James Version (NKJV) 23 But David said, “My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. 24 For who will heed you in this matter? But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” 25 So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. Many God bless us all in the particular gifts that He has given us in the days that remain. David PS: I am new to this forum and cant see how to edit a post after I have submitted it. I posted yesterday and lost the last paragraph when I submitted it. Maybe I got timed out or something. Can anyone help ? In agreement, David. The entire body of Christ whether they are on the front lines of the battlefield preaching, teaching, out soul winning, show their musical talents or those who work behind the scenes with the sound system, the prayer warriors, those who check on people and make meals for the sick or drive them to their appointments, the person who orders the Sunday School material, the lawn maintenance crew, carpenters/plumbers repairing things, the janitorial crew, the nursery and kitchen workers, etc. All are important and the Lord will honor and reward their faithfulness. Sadly a lot of times those who work behind the scenes never received the recognition but the Lord keeps perfect records and will remember them at the Judgment Seat. Here’s an example. In our old church there was this one deacon that was “in charge” of the moving crew since a lot of new members relocated to the area and the church wanted to help them out as well as members whose job transferred them out of state. The head honcho guy that oversaw the moving crew was nothing but a lazy bum because all he did was show up, nosy around from room to room in the house and whistle while watching the other men transfer the boxes off the truck or onto the truck and struggle with the heavy furniture. Then on Sunday morning the pastor would praise ONLY him with the successful job well done. I saw my dad and a few other men just glance over at each other and shake their heads ... while the deacon wouldn’t even correct the pastor and mention those who actually did all the work. And it got even more pitiful because my dad was faithfully helping others move, but when it came time for our move ... it was a no show ... nobody volunteered to help. So he asked 4 unsaved former co-workers if they wouldn’t mind. They were glad to help and only took less than an hour to load up the truck since we were bringing stuff up a little at a time. He wanted to pay them but they weren’t looking for money so I quickly ordered a few pizzas and picked up sodas and they were satisfied with lunch. Good word David. At the top of the box wherein you write there is an edit button. But it must be used fairly quickly after the submit button is used. Good luck! TR Thanks for the tips, people. I find Bible prophecy to be immensely helpful when sharing my faith. Prophecy being the word of God albeit yet not fulfilled, should still capture the hearts of all believers! Sad that we humans pick and choose whenever we want to bury our heads into the sand, especially with regards to the truths of God! TR
