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When You Find Yourself at the End of Yourself

Wasn’t Freddie’s story from yesterday’s video great? That’s what God’s Good News is all about. Freddie is the result of people living out the Great Commission. We’ve done a lot together, haven’t we? We’ve talked about our co-mission with Christ. We’ve narrowed down Jesus’ two greatest commandments: to love God with our entire body and soul and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We’ve gleaned from the Good Neighbor story not just who our neighbors are, but how to neighbor. We’ve heard five helpful principles from Pastor Craig and watched stories of regular people living them out.

But we’re not just taking all this in. We’ve invited the Holy Spirit to speak to us and empower us to live it all out. Maybe some of us already set a date for a neighborhood cookout. Maybe we’ve gotten to know a coworker. Maybe we’re becoming caring regulars in the places we go. Maybe we’re sharing meals with people outside our comfort zone. Maybe we moved some chairs from our back porch to our front porch. Maybe instead of just giving a dollar, we stopped and got to know an individual. Maybe we reached out to a local organization about volunteering. Maybe we asked a neighbor to borrow something, or maybe we just asked to know their name. We’re starting to see people as people, not needs, and we’re offering our ears before our ideas.

Or maybe we’re not. Maybe you’re overwhelmed by the vastness of need or disaffected by how you’ve seen the Church treat her neighbors in the past. You’re not alone. You’re experiencing part of neighboring. When you neighbor, you’ll find yourself at the end of yourself in situations requiring more than you have to give. It’s in these places where our God actually becomes your God. It’s in your weakness—in the Church’s weakness—where He is made strong. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed, but don’t stay there. Take the first step to do what you can, with what you have, for the people in front of you.  It’s worth it because whatever you’ve done to your neighbor, you’ve done for Jesus.

When you step out your front door into this unknown—into the Great Commission—God’s promises will become believable, because they’ll become necessary. Our faith will no longer have a scarcity mindset. We won’t fish all night and come up empty. We’ll go where Jesus calls us because we serve the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who fills our nets, and refills our jars with oil. But we won’t do it alone, we’ll empty and refill together with a group of friends who believe. This is how we’ll neighbor because we were made for such a time as this.

Today’s step: Watch the How to Neighbor anthem. Get pumped to start where you are with what you have. Then, ask the Holy Spirit to make up the difference.

How to Neighbor Principles:

1. We go big on help for body and soul.
2. We're all broken in some way.
3. Relief and restoration are different - but they both matter.
4. We don't reinvent the wheel, we roll with it. 
5. We come with questions, not answers.

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