My sister in Christ and friend ###

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body​

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Chrysostom]

Your zeal for the unity of your flock is understandable, but beware lest this very zeal become a snare. You say you do not like this back and forth, yet consider: if her presence at the other church does not lead her into error or sin, why is her absence from your assembly for a few hours a wound? The body of Christ is not bounded by the walls of one meeting-place. You have said, “something in me doesn’t feel right about this”, test that feeling against the plumb line of charity. Does she still hold the faith once delivered? Does she still serve here with love? If so, you are fretting over a shadow while the substance remains.

You have asked her to make a decision. She has said she wants to remain in both. That may be weakness, or it may be a tender conscience that finds nourishment in two gatherings. I have known divisions that were good, and agreements that were evil. The builders of Babel agreed together to their hurt; sometimes separation, even unexpected, brings gain. But if you press her with decrees made in the name of the Lord, you risk dividing what Christ has joined. A decree uttered in irritation, however pious the words, can fracture the spirit of a weak brother for whom Christ died.

Remember that rebuke, to be healing, must be paired with consolation. You have convicted her in your heart, but where is the oil poured upon the wound? She has been your comrade for ### years, a sister in Christ, a help to you. Why then speak of decreeing that she stop attending that other church? Is she a servant to be commanded, or a free member of Christ’s body to be won by patience? The priest who rules with a hard hand often bruises the sheep he sought to protect.

Let me put this plainly: if her attending another church causes scandal, if it draws others into division or idle talk, then in season and out of season you must gently correct her. But if the scandal is only in your own unease, examine that unease. Do not let a fear of losing her lead you to tighten the cord so that it snaps. She rushes away at the end, so do many who must meet obligations. If her heart truly holds your church as home, then teach her that home is not lost by visiting other courts. The coat of Christ was woven from the top, seamless, and the soldiers did not divide it. Will you tear at that coat by forcing a choice where Christ has not commanded one? Pray rather for wisdom to shepherd with a wide heart, and let the Spirit convict where conviction is needed. You will give an account for every idle word, even one spoken in prayer. Trust God with the timings of her heart, and keep your own peace.

 

[Silas]

You’re carrying a real weight, and I can hear the mixture of love and hurt in what you’ve shared. Thirteen years of walking side by side in ministry isn’t something small. It forges deep bonds, and it’s natural to feel unsettled when someone you’ve trusted and served with seems to be pulling in two directions. What you’re describing isn’t just a matter of logistics or schedules; it touches on loyalty, calling, and the ache of watching something precious feel strained.

Yet I’d gently urge you to consider that the body of Christ is far wider than any single gathering. The Scriptures never speak of the church as belonging to a place, a pastor, or a particular fellowship. Jesus alone can say “my church.” The rest of us, as deeply as we love the local family we serve, are simply part of the larger, universal church of God. Your friend may be trying to hold onto that larger reality, even if her way of doing it feels fragmented to you. I wonder if the unsettled feeling you have might be less about her attendance pattern and more about the fear of losing a dear comrade.

You mentioned you’ve already asked her to make a decision, and she hasn’t. That hesitance might be a sign that pressing the issue further on your own could only deepen resistance. Conviction that leads to a changed heart is always the work of the Holy Spirit, not the product of our urgency. I think of Felix in the book of Acts, trembling under Paul’s words yet putting off the decision. Emotional stirring and even a shaking sense of conviction are not the same as conversion or full surrender; they require a willing response from the person. Your friend will not be settled by being rushed. She will be settled as she purposes in her own heart before the Lord.

That leads me to encourage you to step back and release her into God’s hands more fully. Not in a cold or dismissive way, but with the kind of love that refuses to grasp. The church of Ephesus was commended for not tolerating evil, yet the risen Christ held this against them: they had left their first love. A church can be doctrinally vigilant, busy in works, and faithful in structure, and yet still miss the heart of Jesus if love is absent. When the Spirit is quenched, it’s rarely due to a lack of clear policies; it’s often because we’ve let something like resentment or possessiveness share space with our devotion.

Ask yourself honestly: is the core of this struggle your sister’s divided attendance, or is it a deeper fear of being left or undermined? That kind of heart examination hurts, but it can clear the way for the Spirit to move again. If she is truly still calling this her home and serving alongside you, then choose to trust that the Lord is able to guide her steps perfectly. Your role as the pastor isn’t to hold her in place, but to love her, pray for her, and keep pointing her to Jesus. The unity we share across different congregations is more precious than any one building’s roster. The early church in Corinth was far from perfect, yet Paul still called them saints and addressed them as the church of God that happened to be in that city. God’s church isn’t confined to one visible group.

Spend your energy asking the Lord to guard your own heart from bitterness or a sense of betrayal. Ask Him to fill you with a love that wants His best for her, even if that best looks different from what you’d prefer. When you pray, don’t simply decree her return; ask that she would be led by peace, that she would have wisdom, and that your friendship would remain steady through the uncertainty. God is not anxious. He’s not pacing heaven’s floor over this situation. You can rest in that.

And if the time comes when she chooses to plant herself fully elsewhere, grieve honestly but don’t interpret it as failure. The kingdom does not lose a single soul when they move from one faithful fellowship to another. We belong to Christ, not to any pastor or ministry. Stay open, stay tender, and keep serving where God has placed you. The same Spirit who knit your hearts together over thirteen years will continue to work in ways that outlast this season.