After Jesus prayed (and his disciples found him), he told them it was time to get "back to work." Preaching...that's why he came. So, they began traveling around and Jesus preached the Good News and got rid of the bearers of bad news (demons) along the way. This is one of many ways that Jesus cared for people, empowering them to walk together with God.
"So guard yourselves and God's people. Feed and shepherd God's flock—His church, purchased with His own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders. (Acts 20:28 NLT)
As he cared for their physical needs (food, healing from sick, casting out demons) he always used these moments to point them straight back to God through his teaching. Feeding God's flock means teaching them. Looking more at his patterns, I realized that Jesus would need to "send them home" even before every person was healed of the ailment they came to have remedied. Jesus didn't cut back on his prayer or teaching to fill in more time healing the sick. There were simply too many people wanting too many things for him to serve them all - even though he is the Son of God!
This lesson has caused me to adjust one more time. In my last blog post, "Where's Pete?", I shared some of my personal process over this past summer. In it, I outlined my pattern of reading, praying, caring for people, then sharing on my blog. I'm realizing that this pattern never leaves time for me to share His Good News because there are always more people to care for than there are hours in the day. (My prayer list tops 425 now!)
Praying for people does not take nearly the time that caring for them does. The further away from God a person is, the more time it takes to serve them. That is why the Hebrew writer penned, "Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit." (Hebrews 13:17 NLT)
When we pray for people, we invite God to act in their lives. He can help infinitely better than I can. My desire to help is limited by the fact that I am human...and only one person at that. My prayers, however, can effect someone's life without ever making it to their physical location. My blog posts can provide teaching any time day or night to anyone around the world with internet access. These, then, allows me to serve more people more effectively. For this reason, I am making one (hopefully final) adjustment to my daily routine.
1) Read - I focus myself on Him by reading His Word first. This "filling up" also helps me be the man God wants me to be and helps me choose wisely each step for my day.
2) Prayer - Continuing my focus on Him, I continue our conversation that began with His Word. We talk about His priorities for my day. His Mission becomes my focus. His People become my focus. I pray for those He has entrusted into my care...by name.
3) Share - Realizing that "feeding" His flock means sharing His Word with them, I am now sharing through these blog posts again. This way, even those not demanding more time and effort are receiving "care" from me.
4) Care - This step really should be called "shepherd" in keeping with Acts 20:28 above. I always care for people. I simply cannot connect with every person all the time. Therefore, I build times into my week where I can care for groups of people. I schedule time to "connect" with people. I fill my days caring for as many as I can.
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