Autoinvite

I was disappointed last week when I logged into the system I use for scheduling groups of people into groups for my prayer time.  The system had a notice telling me the developer were no longer going to support this software and I needed to move my data out of there.  It was a bummer, because I use that system to purposefully pray for over 500 people.  Now what am I going to do?

The software company was kind enough to suggest other alternatives to their product, so I began checking them out.  I also checked out alternatives I knew about but they didn't suggest.  One of the products I tested out kind of surprised and disappointed me as well.  I no more than signed up for their free trial and they took my contact list and automatically invited everyone to connect to me on Linked In - a business networking software.  Now, I have a Linked In account and don't mind connecting with people there.  But I didn't want the software to autoinvite my whole address book!

Throughout the week I had times that reminded me of this automatic-invite process in the church.  I watched as people were asking one another for prayer.  It was amazing.  Prayer requests for physical and spiritual problems in people's lives.  Praises rang out when they saw God at work.  Prayers were being lifted up in an "autoinvite" kind of way that worked throughout the body this week.  This time "autoinvite" brought me joy.

Here are just a few of the Scriptures I saw being lived out in the Body of Christ this week:

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39 NIV)

Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord's message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 NLT)

Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:14-16 NLT)

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT)

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:11-13 NIV)

Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet each other with Christian love. All of God's people here send you their greetings. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:11-14 NLT)