Dear friends!

Usually I express my thoughts in poetry.

But now I expressed them in prose.

If you have 5 minutes, I would like to share with you with my thoughts about practical Christian life.

Today many preachers and simple people speak a lot about importance of prayer and faith. It is true – without these two things life of Christians is not full and they possibly would fall away from God. But James wrote in his epistle, that “faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone”.

We have not only to pray for other people, but practically reveal others God’s love – both, to brothers and sisters in Body of Christ (first) and to people around us in world and to let God use us as instrument for answer to prayers. Lord Jesus Christ has left for 33 years His place on the throne next to Father and was serving to people. In the end of this period He has sacrificed His life and was suffering on the cross. His message was practical – He has proven it by His actions.

How we can practically correlate this fact with words of James? What it means for us?

That we have to sacrifice part of our lives, strength, property or finances to other people, who are needier than we are.

Yes, today there are lot of scammers and cheaters, who make up different stories in order to move people to pity and get a profit out of it. But if they do it through social networks – in 90% of cases it is very easy to find the truth. Usually their profile was created recently, they don’t have many “friends”, they have just a few publications in network and there is only theme – money. Also, if a person claims himself as church member, you can ask him/her to get a confirmation from church leadership or ask the name of church and ministers and ask this information personally from them. If someone ask you for money for food – offer to buy a putty or burger. If person is not honest or wants to use money for alcohol – he will refuse.

Besides that, our support – it is not only money. For lonely old lady buying food in market or medicines in drugstore, house cleaning, repair of running tap could be a real support. For a lonely mother time spent with her kids is a real support. It is very important for lonely people, especially for aged people to find someone who would just listen to them. Doing all this, we could softly speak to people about God and His love. And success of our message would be much more effective than just words.

I would like to finish with idea that everyone has his own understanding about prosperity and richness. People in Western Europe, America, Canada have cars, dishwashing machines, buy new clothes and consider this to be normal. For them these things are not attributes of richness.

People in Africa or New Guinea live in thatched huts, often eat only vegetables and fruits. Don’t have opportunity to visit a doctor. But they rarely think about that and not always amire their poverty. Personally, I think that I am poor. I rarely buy fruits, rarely go to other towns, buy new clothes and shoes only to kids. But ones we had a guest – a small girl from family with five kids. Her mother was a lonely mother. She was talking to my elder daughter and said to her: “you life is good, you can eat potatoes every day”. I just went to other room because could not say a words and was afraid of crying…

I am a member of Baptist church. Definitely, I don’t think that this confession is the only right one. But very often, when you need prayerful and practical support and brothers and sisters from charismatic churches say to you: “In the name of Jesus Christ you are healed! I proclaim financial improvement into your life!” – it annoys me a lot. Nobody calls to sell out houses and all property as it was happening in first apostolic church. But we all could help each other – as I mentioned, giving out our time, strength, sharing with our knowledge or finances. This especially important now – when many people become more poor than before, often afraid to visit others and have much less opportunities for medical treatment…

I am sure that God Himself wants us to be sacrificial. Even if we do just a little, He will appreciate this anyway. May Lord bless everyone who is reading these lines!