To You (Us) Who Are In The Ministry

Please be reminded,

While it is true that busyness doesn't always mean productivity, it can also be very true that having a ministry doesn't always mean spirituality.

We are apt to think that when a person is being involved in ministries, he is becoming more spiritual. While this can be one of the many manifestations of growth coming from the desire to serve God, having a ministry doesn't guarantee spirituality.

You can be leading others while your own spirit you cannot control and lead. You could be singing in the choir and yet not having a heart that is really praising God. You could be teaching others while you yourself aren't learning from what you are teaching. You could be winning souls but behind it is that subtle desire to be admired. You could be preaching already but are failing to practice that which you preach. You could be so busy doing that you forget, the ministry is also about "being."

You could look so spiritual with all your public ministry performances and yet so carnal within your private life's allegiances.

This is one of the most dangerous pitfalls of having a ministry: forgetting that the heartbeat of it is in its motives of glorifying God. And when the motive isn't right, anything done, no matter how beautifully they were performed, is but a mask hiding the reality of what is happening inside the heart.

What could be happening inside one unexamined heart while in the parade of its ministries?

The worst.

It could be at its worst state of self-deception believing that he is still pleasing God when the truth is, none of his works, when they go through the fire of God's furnace of testings, will count as gold but will be burned to nothingness as they were but impurities.

It could be at its darkest state of blindness towards its spiritual decay thinking he's still running on the race he was called to when in reality, he is competing carnally for an earthly trophy of men's applause. He could win it, but what gain will it be compared to a reward eternal?

It could be at its soul's scarcest drought, being deprived of the abundance of the real blessedness that comes from an intimate fellowship with his God. He is so busy with his accomplishments he forgot that the real accomplishment of one's soul is God Himself, not his fruitfulness, not his usability, not his legacy, but having the reward of each of life's unhurried moments alone with God.

It could be that person you actively see in church, it could be you.

It could be any one of us if we will not be careful to remind ourselves from time to time that just because you have a ministry doesn't mean you are living a life of spirituality.

Let's make it a rule to ourselves to always view our spiritual progress and productivity not by our accomplishments, but in the light of our intimacy towards the One whom we tend to forget to be the heartbeat of our ministry - that above all, we stay in love with our God.

Because anything that is done in love for God remains.

 

some people are just SO GOOD with words...

 

reminiscing...

 

from Donna Ashworth

As time goes by,

You will loosen your grip on that rock,
The one you always thought was home,
And you will realise that home is not a place,
It’s a state of mind.
Let it go.

As time goes by,
You will learn to see yourself more clearly,
The girl who was always too much of one thing,
And too little of another, was actually
Everything she needed to be.
Let her out.

As time goes by,
You will let the simple things become the big,
And you will allow the big things to become the simple,
And that readjustment will be,
The day you really start to live,
Let it be.

As time goes by,
You will be forced to say goodbye many times,
And your soft little heart will shatter but,
It will still beat and that will bring you,
All the purpose you need.
Let it beat.

As time goes by,
You will stop choosing wealth over peace,
You will stop choosing money over time,
And you will see that the treasures you need,
Are in the smiles and the laughter.
Let them in.

As time goes by,
The moments you remember when your life flashes past,
Are never the awful memories my friend, it’s the joy,
The summer nights, the lazy days with loved ones,
The midnight chats and the morning hugs,
Let them happen.

Let them all happen.

From ‘The Right Words’:

this comforts my heart...

Don’t feel sorry for or fear for your kids/grandkids because the world they are going to grow up in is not what it used to be. God created them and called them for the exact moment in time that they’re in. Their life wasn’t a coincidence or an accident. Raise them up to know the power they walk in as children of God. Train them up in the authority of His Word. Teach them to walk in faith knowing that God is in control. Empower them to know they can change the world. Don’t teach them to be fearful and disheartened by the state of the world but hopeful that they can do something about it. Every person in all of history has been placed in the time that they were in because of God’s sovereign plan. He knew Daniel could handle the lions' den.
He knew David could handle Goliath.
He knew Esther could handle Haman.
He knew Peter could handle persecution.
He knows that your child can handle whatever challenge they face in their life. He created them specifically for it! Don’t be scared for your children, but be honored that God chose YOU to parent the generation that is facing the biggest challenges of our lifetime.
Rise up to the challenge. Raise Daniels, Davids, Esthers and Peters! God isn’t scratching His head wondering what He’s going to do with this mess of a world. He has an army He’s raising up to drive back the darkness and make Him known all over the earth. Don’t let your fear steal the greatness God placed in them. I know it’s hard to imagine them as anything besides our sweet little babies, and we just want to protect them from anything that could ever be hard on them, but they were born for such a time as this.

~Alex Crave

The Clothesline...

Having grown up in the days when we still hung our clothes outside to dry, this is especially poignant...

A clothesline was a news forecast to neighbors passing by,

there were no secrets you could keep when clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link, for neighbors always knew,

if company had stopped on by to spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the fancy sheets and towels upon the line,

you'd see the company tablecloths with intricate design.

The line announced a baby's birth to folks who lived inside,

as brand new infant clothes were hung so carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could so readily be known, by watching how the sizes changed, you'd know how much they'd grown.

It also told when illness struck as extra sheets were hung,

then night-clothes and a bathrobe too, haphazardly were strung.

It said "Gone on vacation now" when lines hung limp & bare,

it told "We're back" when full lines sagged with not an inch to spare.

New folks in town were scorned upon, if washing was dingy grey,

as neighbors raised their brows & looked disgustedly away.

But clotheslines now are of the past, for dryers make work less,

now what goes on inside a home is anybody's guess.

I really miss that way of life, it was a friendly sign,

when neighbors knew each other best by what was on the line.