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The Links Daily Devotional is available at this site Monday through Friday each week. The
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Wednesday’s devotion (9/1/2010)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
MINISTRY OF PRESENCE
And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together,
as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25, NASB)
Some people have the wrong impression about golf ministry. They think it is about the golf.
In fact, like so many other ministries, golf ministry is about people. Groups of people, yes—but more
than that, the individual people who make up the groups. So the chief thrust of Links Fellowships is to do all we can to bring people together in the name of Jesus, for He is the one
“individual” who can unite them all.
Increasingly in our time, people assume that all that is needed for spiritual growth is Bible study, or
church attendance, or a prayerful walk with God under the shadows or along the banks of His creation. But some issues in life will never be changed by Bible study, church attendance, or even
prayer alone. God uses people. He wants us to grow together.
This is best described by Henri Nouwen in his book, Ministry of Presence:
More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes,
sit on their door steps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence.
Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something
significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the
streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress.
But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to
eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but you truly love them.
You cannot grow to Christlikeness in isolation. We must be around others and interact. We all need to be a
part of a Christ-honoring, people-loving community—not only for what we can get but what we can give.
Our local Links Fellowship is such a community. We happen to meet for breakfast in a restaurant, not a
church building or even a home, as the early Christians did. But make no mistake, it is a body of believers who meet and care and encourage each other. This morning we prayed together for a
wife who had cancer, a daughter who experienced a troubled pregnancy, one of our own who was just released from rehab, and for me. I was just released from a short stay in the hospital. I had
so many who prayed, called, brought food, and encouraged me along the way. I love these guys because I am with them, doing life. Eating together. Playing golf together. Laughing together.
Praying for each other. I mean, really praying for each other. I know their kids names, and they know ours.
This is the way the apostles told us it should work. Our ministry is our presence. It is not just a good
idea. It is a necessity. It gives life to life.
--
Randy Wolff
September 2, 2010
Copyright 2010 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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