Restoring a Brother

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." Galatians 6:1

Church goers are not perfect. In Galatians Paul tells us that there are sinners in the church. Not only are there sinners, but there will be those that get caught in their sin. 

Now I do not know about you, but there is nothing more awkward than stumbling upon a situation that you wish you could un-involve yourself with. Sometimes in the church we witness someone else fall, and as much as it might make us uncomfortable, the Bible tells us that we have a responsibility not only to God, but to our fellow brethren. While recognizing that we ourselves are not perfect and recognizing that we have our own struggles, it is our duty to restore that person back to the right path. Easier said than done right? Right. 

There are several factors that could explain why we shy away from this role. What if the person isn't receptive of our help? What if the other person's struggle is too similar to our own and we end up being tempted as well? How do we even approach such a situation?

Above all, Paul tells us that such a person should be restored GENTLY. Our focus should be on Jesus. We need to make sure that we have a spiritual connection with Christ before we approach an erring brother. If we do not have our own connection with God, we will probably come off as self righteous instead of concerned. Secondly, we ned to remember to restore and not shame. Thirdly, remember at some point in time, the roles could easily be reversed. In putting yourself in the other person's shoes you won't treat them in any way that you wouldn't want to be treated. 

As Christians, our goal is heaven and while we are in earth we are a community. Let's make it a point to restore and reach out to one another while we are here to ensure that we all meet one day at those gates of glory.                        

  by Rebecca Coleman, Pioneer Midweek Editor 

Least of These Ministries

WHO ARE WE?

    The people that are involved in this ministry are primarily college students from Andrews University. The group has a wide range of people studying different professions and coming from different cultures, but are all united in the service that God is calling us to do.

WHAT DO WE DO?

    Our group goes out once a month to Chicago to give sack lunches, hygiene items and Adventist literature to those who are homeless. By breaking down social barriers, we have formed relationships with good people and always end our time in prayer. They often have questions on their hearts about the Bible and other spiritual topics, that we try to answer to the best of our ability. With God’s help we are trying to plant seeds in the hearts of the people we come in contact with.

WHY DO WE DO IT?

    Matthew 25:35-40 is the premise of why we are doing this ministry. There are people in the cities that are often overlooked because of how they are dressed, how they smell, or because we think they made the wrong choices to put themselves in that situation. We are throwing away all those negative thoughts and giving these people a little bit of joy, hope and love, just as Jesus would do.

• For more information or to get involved, please email lotministries@hotmail.com or follow us on Facebook at "Least Of These Ministries"

by Florence Counsell, Least of  These Ministries

Does America Still Believe?

On Tuesday the Pew Research Center released its 2014 Religious Landscape Study, a survey of over 35,000 Americans. Coming seven years after Pew’s previous such study, the new survey offers some intriguing comparisons.

According to Gregory Smith, Pew’s associate director of research: “‘We should remember that the United States remains a nation of believers with nearly 9 in 10 adults saying they believe in God’” (USA Today 11-14-15). But that statistic represents a three point drop from 92% in 2007 to today’s 89%, leading Pew on its website  to ask: “Is the American public becoming less religious?” In response to its own question Pew offers a two-part answer. “Yes, at least by some key measures of what it means to be a religious person. [This] new survey . . . finds that the percentages who say they believe in God, pray daily and regularly go to church or other religious services all have declined modestly in recent years”. . . read more

by Dwight Nelson, Lead Pastor