True Identity Ministries Blog

1 John 4:21

“And he has given us this command:Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

A few mornings ago, I was sitting on the front porch sipping some coffee and spending some quiet time with God. As I sat there, I began to notice my neighbor’s homes through different eyes. Two houses down from me, a friend is grieving over the death of her father. Three houses down, an elderly man lives alone, now that his wife had gone to a nursing home this past winter. On the left of us lives a family where they continue to need to have the joy of Lord sprinkled on their marriage, and four houses down on the right, there is a busy mom of four who has way too much on her plate. My attention was drawn to these homes differently this time; it wasn’t the beautiful new hanging plant they had just put out on the front porch or the freshly mowed lawn that caught my eyes, but this time the Lord seemed to take my eyes a bit further inside…to the hearts who live in those homes. To the lonely, hurting, grieving, helpless, and fearful hearts. What can I do, Lord, besides pray?

“Be there, Me with skin on,” he responds in a gentle voice. My next thought moves to the home on my left. The Lord had showed me last summer to give the young man a book, The Purpose Driven Life, but time stole that away and I never did. Procrastination is such an obedience-stealer.

A meal for the grieving or offering a helpful hand to the elderly… people feel and experience the love of Christ through actions…..not just words. We say, “I care”…then show me, “I’m sorry”...then help me, “I’m sorry you’re lonely”…then take 15 minutes to sit and talk with me. These are the ways the Lord is impressing on my heart to reach out and to move past my own mailbox.

What I mean by moving past my own mailbox is this: biblical priorities for me are and should be God first, my husband second, children third, others, home, ministry, etc. Sometimes it can become too easy to stop after the top three, or even more so, and get them all jumbled up. For me, juggling a home of six along with other commitments can be a struggle at times and I can become near-sighted without even really seeing the depth of the needs of those who are so closely positioned around me. Yes, it is vital that we keep first things first, but I strongly believe that as we follow the Holy Spirit’s lead (not our emotions), He is not going to ask us to do anything that will be hurtful or neglectful of our families. It all begins with simple acts of obedience.

An insert from a book I’m studying, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, says “The love of Christ compels us to choose obedience. Jesus, whose amazing love compels us, said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32). The truth is the name of Jesus that causes us to pause and redefine ourselves. The truth is the love that compels us to embrace the calling to be Jesus’ ambassador. The truth is the freedom to soar above this life and learn to live beyond ourselves and our circumstances.”

The following week God impressed on me to take a card over to the grieving friend, my three-year old and I took some cookies to the lonely man, I prayed for the busy mom of four and had her kids over for a play date so she could have some much needed time alone. You may be wondering about the book for the young man who was searching for purpose in his life- yes, I gave him the book and it spoke volumes of love to both him and his family! In Proverbs 11:25, the writer tells us, “He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” This is so true! As we step out in obedience to God, a supernatural refreshing takes place in our own lives. I want to be interrupted in the middle of my busy life to see God, hear God and pursue God. I want to be compelled by love.

Lord, I pray today that you would fill my heart with your love for others. Help me to see others past their exterior, to seeing their hearts. Reveal their needs, hurts, and desires so that I can better pray for them, stop and listen to them, help them out, whatever you desire. Lord, help me to obey you, as I do want to live past my mailbox, not so caught up in my own busyness, that I overlook the needs of others. In Jesus' name, amen!

Stephanie Lammers