FINE
Today was truly one of those days for me. I felt nerotic and emotional, homesick and overwhelmed. I questioned what God would use me for and why He would ever call me to such big things that require a big faith which I continuously doubt I have.
Luckily the Spirit moves great friends to share the right words at the right time. This word comes via my dear friend Emma in Uganda......
You were put on earth to make a contribution. You
weren't created just to consume resources -- to eat,
breathe and take up space. God designed you to make a
difference with your life. This is one of God's
purposes for your life, and it's called your
"ministry" -- or service.
The Bible says, "God has created us for a life of
good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to
do" (Ephesians 2:10b, TEV). These "good deeds" are
your service to the world. Whenever you serve others
in any way, you are actually serving God and
fulfilling one of your purposes. You were placed on
this planet for a special assignment.
The apostle John said, "Our love for each other
proves that we have gone from death to life" (1 John
3:14, CEV). If I have no love for others, no desire to
serve others, and I'm only concerned about my needs, I
should question whether Christ is really in my life. A
saved heart is one that wants to serve.
Another term for serving God -- one that's
misunderstood by most people -- is the word ministry.
When most people hear "ministry," they think of
pastors, priests and professional clergy, but God says
every member of his family is a minister.
In the Bible, the words servant and minister are
synonyms, as are service and ministry. If you are a
Christian, you are a minister, and when you're
serving, you're ministering. God has a ministry for
you in his church and a mission for you in the world.
Serving is the opposite of our natural inclination.
Most of the time we're more interested in "serve us"
than service. We say, "I'm looking for a church that
meets my needs and blesses me," not "I'm looking for a
place to serve and be a blessing." We expect others to
serve us, not vice versa.
But as we mature in Christ, the focus of our lives
should increasingly shift to living a life of service.
The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, "Who's
going to meet my needs?" and starts asking, "Whose
needs can I meet?"
Do you ever ask that question?
At the end of your life on earth you will stand
before God, and he is going to evaluate how well you
served others with your life. Think about the
implications of that. One day God will compare how
much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared
with what we invested in serving others.
At that point, all our excuses for self-centeredness
will sound hollow: "I was too busy" or "I had my own
goals" or "I was preoccupied with working, having fun
or preparing for retirement."
To all excuses God will respond, "Sorry, wrong
answer. I created, saved and called you and commanded
you to live a life of service. What part did you not
understand?"
If you're not involved in any service or ministry,
what excuse have you been using? Abraham was old,
Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was
abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was
codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair
and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal,
Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was
a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric to say the
least, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha
worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed
marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts,
Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid.
That is quite a variety of misfits, but God used each
of them in his service. He will use you, too, if you
stop making excuses;
His NAME BE PRAISED, AMEN AND AMEN
Luckily the Spirit moves great friends to share the right words at the right time. This word comes via my dear friend Emma in Uganda......
You were put on earth to make a contribution. You
weren't created just to consume resources -- to eat,
breathe and take up space. God designed you to make a
difference with your life. This is one of God's
purposes for your life, and it's called your
"ministry" -- or service.
The Bible says, "God has created us for a life of
good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to
do" (Ephesians 2:10b, TEV). These "good deeds" are
your service to the world. Whenever you serve others
in any way, you are actually serving God and
fulfilling one of your purposes. You were placed on
this planet for a special assignment.
The apostle John said, "Our love for each other
proves that we have gone from death to life" (1 John
3:14, CEV). If I have no love for others, no desire to
serve others, and I'm only concerned about my needs, I
should question whether Christ is really in my life. A
saved heart is one that wants to serve.
Another term for serving God -- one that's
misunderstood by most people -- is the word ministry.
When most people hear "ministry," they think of
pastors, priests and professional clergy, but God says
every member of his family is a minister.
In the Bible, the words servant and minister are
synonyms, as are service and ministry. If you are a
Christian, you are a minister, and when you're
serving, you're ministering. God has a ministry for
you in his church and a mission for you in the world.
Serving is the opposite of our natural inclination.
Most of the time we're more interested in "serve us"
than service. We say, "I'm looking for a church that
meets my needs and blesses me," not "I'm looking for a
place to serve and be a blessing." We expect others to
serve us, not vice versa.
But as we mature in Christ, the focus of our lives
should increasingly shift to living a life of service.
The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, "Who's
going to meet my needs?" and starts asking, "Whose
needs can I meet?"
Do you ever ask that question?
At the end of your life on earth you will stand
before God, and he is going to evaluate how well you
served others with your life. Think about the
implications of that. One day God will compare how
much time and energy we spent on ourselves compared
with what we invested in serving others.
At that point, all our excuses for self-centeredness
will sound hollow: "I was too busy" or "I had my own
goals" or "I was preoccupied with working, having fun
or preparing for retirement."
To all excuses God will respond, "Sorry, wrong
answer. I created, saved and called you and commanded
you to live a life of service. What part did you not
understand?"
If you're not involved in any service or ministry,
what excuse have you been using? Abraham was old,
Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was
abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was
codependent, Rahab was immoral, David had an affair
and all kinds of family problems, Elijah was suicidal,
Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was
a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric to say the
least, Peter was impulsive and hot-tempered, Martha
worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed
marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts,
Paul had poor health, and Timothy was timid.
That is quite a variety of misfits, but God used each
of them in his service. He will use you, too, if you
stop making excuses;
His NAME BE PRAISED, AMEN AND AMEN
posted by melissa at 11:11 PM
1 Comments:
Melissa,
that's a hard word and maybe a hard pill to swallow, but one that i needed to hear today and one that i hope drives us here at Tapestry Center. that we move people to service and we're not just a cool place for people to hang. thanks so much. it was good to chat with you the other day. missing you here in Chi-town.
Jer
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