How to minister to others - Part 3

So Ive been thinking on my mini-series about ministering to others in everyday real terms. This brings me to my third installment. And I think that this one might be the most difficult one yet, but at the same time, one of the simplest. Here goes. If you say it, mean it. And this is a two parter. Part one is this. People get all cleaned up, pile the family in the minivan and head to the ol' meetin' house on Sunday morning. They sit attentively in Sunday School, some-what attentively during the sermon, sing some hymns and most of all socialize with other believers. And during that social time everyone puts on their "Church Face" and seem real loving and concerned about everyone that they meet in the hallway. But ya know, that's usually about as far as it goes. Being a good Christian that loves their neighbor and is willing to give you the shirt of their back is real easy for about three hours a week. It's the other 165 hours that remain that are usually reserved for work, taking the kids to dance recitals, grocery shopping and being generally all around too busy to give a damn. Well I say, if you can say it on Sunday you need to be able to do it on Monday. Or any other day of the week. What a novel idea for you to actually put all the Jesus stuff into practice in your everyday life. And for tips on doing that, please refer to my previous two posts. Now part two. One of the things that absolutely drives me crazy is to hear a press release after a terrible tragedy or an unexpected death of an athlete or public figure and someone says drops the cliche', "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family." Really? Now don't get me wrong, I know that people are concerned and actually do care when disaster strikes a family or community, but are they really stopping and getting on their knees and talking to God? And how many times do you get on the phone with a friend or a co-worker and they tell you about a really difficult time they are going through and you reply, "Well, I'll be praying for you." Or you meet in a small group book club or bible study and everyone takes a few minutes and goes around the room to bring up their prayer requests. And everyone sighs and listens and shakes their heads as people share what's on their hearts and a list is made and that's about the last time anyone ever thinks about it again. Believe me, I'm guilty of all of this. But because of the medical drama that I have been going through this last six month, I have had so many people tell me that they are praying for me. And that has really made this so much easier on me and my family. But then one day I thought, are they really praying? Do I actually really pray for the people I say that to? Do I ever say a prayer for the people that send out email updates on missionaries, or the people that post pleas on Facebook about the loss of a job or a loved one? Do I ever actually mean what I say? So I have tried to make it a point lately to actually stop what I am doing and take a few seconds to actually pray for the people that I come in contact with each and every day. And do you know how much of my daily schedule I have to rearrange to fit in all of this special praying that I am doing? NONE. I just take a few seconds to lift the people up to my God in a quick, simple prayer. And do you know what? I feel great doing it. And I'm pretty sure that the people on the other end do as well. And it allows me to connect with God on a personal level during my crazy and hectic day. So minister to others by simply saying what you mean and meaning what you say.