God Can Use You  

Honestly, I sometimes get tired of having people over.  What I want is to lay around on the couch and play games on my phone. My flesh wants to let the dust bunnies grow in the corners and leave the kid’s fingerprints on the glass door. But once a week, for the past 20 years or so, my husband and I have held small group bible studies in our home and I don’t see that ending anytime soon!  Every Thursday has become our cleaning day: vacuuming, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, preparing snacks, and making coffee. Not that we don’t do those things already. It’s just that when we’re hosting people we want to make sure they are comfortable. Through the years, we have seen a lot of people come and go in the faith. We’ve had times when the floor was the only available seat and we’ve had times when it was just us.  Why? Because we prayed that God would use us! Have you ever prayed that?

Until Sunday

Some of those evenings, I could barely keep my eyes open. But I came alive when there was a knock at the door.  With shared hugs and smiles, there was (and still is) genuine happiness to see my brothers and sisters in Christ. They were willing to come over during any type of weather to spend time in the company of other believers.   I may have been tired to start, but at the end of our time together I was encouraged. I also get a re-filling of the Spirit of God enough to go on until Sunday!  

Every one of these people holds a special place in my memory. So many have become friends and some are as close as family.  Some have gone on to hold small groups in their own homes.  There are those that have graduated to Heaven before us. And those who have left our fellowship for one reason or another. I am so thankful for each one that God has entrusted to our care. Even if only for a very short time.  This is what we are called to do.   To disciple one another.  It’s one way that God has chosen to use us.

The heart behind the action

It doesn’t matter how much you have or how big your home is. It’s about sharing the resources God has entrusted to you.   Times are a little different now than they were in the days of the Book of Acts. In Acts 4:32, all of the believers shared all of their possessions with each other.  Times are different, but the principle is still the same.   We can open our hearts and homes for fellowship.   We can share what God has given to us. Don’t worry about whether or not your guests are impressed by the generic cookies and sweet tea you serve.   It is the heart behind the action that people see and need.

Giving our time to encourage and teach one another is discipleship.  Even when we are tired and don’t find joy in the preparation of it.   Discipleship is really just another word for denial of self.   It’s becoming less of me so that God can shine through.  In this denial of self, we give up our ‘lazy’ time. Instead, we pour love and encourage growth into our fellow believers. 

Nobody special

We don’t need special degrees.   We don’t have to be extraordinary in any way.  It is, however, a good idea to be rooted in a church body. One where you are also being fed the word and disciplined yourself. Having solid leadership and being willing is all that is needed.   God can use us, just like He did with Peter and John, who were just ordinary men who were unschooled.    “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished, and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”  Acts 4:13  

That is the testimony we should strive for, “they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”   Besides straightening up our actual home to prepare for spiritually hungry friends, we also need to “straighten up” ourselves by spending time with Jesus. When Christians, young and old in the faith, come to your home for the study of the word they are coming because they want more of what God has for them. They are coming to surround themselves with other believers. You, being willing to open your heart and home to them will do wonders for their spiritual walk. You will also become encouraged and re-filled over again.   Remember, it’s not about what you have to offer, it’s about what God can do with what you have. 

Ask God to show you how to encourage and love others as his disciple.  Maybe it is opening your home to lead or host a small group bible study.   Or maybe it’s meeting up with fellow Christians for coffee and conversation.   As we lean into Him, He will show us how to live out our faith. 

3 simple things you can do to make opening your home for fellowship easier:

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_{What I’m reading now:  Ruth Chou Simons When Strivings Cease}