Finding Good Advice Part 2

Finding Good Advice Part 2

Proverbs 3:5-6  

It is amazing to see how many sources the average person will consult when faced with making a decision and where they turn first. God wants us to make wise decisions. He wants us to follow His guidance. Proverbs 3:5-6 shares a simple formula for living a successful life.

I.      The Object Of Trust “Trust in the Lord…”

Trust is to be in the Person of God - not His commands or His church or its leaders.

Myth: God’s will is hard to discover. 

When we follow the 95% of God’s will that we know, the other 5% become easier to understand.

God can be trusted even when we don’t understand all His dealings with mankind.

The more senseless life becomes the greater our need to trust in God.

II.    The Extent Of Trust - "... with all your heart"

Half-hearted trust is like whole-hearted doubt.

The heart at rest is the heart at God's harbor. Inner peace comes with single commitment.   

III.   The Misdirection Of Trust – “and do not lean on your own understanding”

Stop trying to be in CONTROL!

Myth: God wants us to know everything about the future.

Our minds are limited by scope and corrupted by sin. 

There are things in life that we will never understand. 

IV.  The Fellowship Of Trust - "In all your ways acknowledge Him..."

This is a command to guard against only acknowledging God in times of trouble and acts of worship.

To "acknowledge" God in a situation is to open the door for His intervention, support, and His direction.

How Do I Know What God is Leading Me to Do?

Listen to the Spirit of God within. 

Listen to His Word from the Bible.

Listen to Godly counsel.

Take the Next Revealed Step.

V.    The Results Of Trust - "…and He will make your paths straight."

Myth: God’s greatest goal for my life is my HAPPINESS. 

God is more concerned about your character than He is about your comfort.

Though the path may be straight it will still lead through valleys and deserts and over mountains and rivers. 

VI.  Conclusion 

God reveals His will as we trust and obey Him day by day.

God’s will is a way of adventure and abundant life.

God wants us to know his will.

God will match our gifts and skills with His calling.

God gives new opportunities to do His will.

Living Well With Your Thorn

Friday, July 29, 2022

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.  Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.  I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.   Philippians 4: 10-13

Living Well With Your Thorn

The Apostle Paul provides us many opportunities to learn some great lessons from his life.  He was a persecutor of Christians until He had a blinding salvation experience and became a life on fire for God.  One of the most memorable passages about Paul is the passage where he speaks of having a thorn in the flesh – something we can all relate to.  We all have things in our lives that can defeat us if we let them, and trials are a pretty regular part of life.  That is why it is important for us to learn how to live a life that glorifies God regardless of our situations in life.  

Paul learned the secret of living life well with his thorn. A thorn is a little different than a trial that comes and eventually is over. A thorn is an ongoing trial that sometimes never ends. These are the trials that really wear us down – the longtime, over and over, continuous stress in our lives that can take it all out of us. If we don’t pay attention and make sure we get filled, we will find ourselves completely empty. 

What Paul learned was that even in the hardest of times, if we can focus on what there is to be thankful for, and take the focus off our pain, it helps. Also, a sacrifice of praise is sweet to our Heavenly Father’s ears. 

Paul found reason to be thankful while in dire need. He learned to be content in his situation because he was grateful for God's strength that would enable him to do whatever God wanted him to do in every circumstance. God's wisdom strengthened and encouraged Paul.  

Spiritual insight allows us to see the good and bad in our lives with the realization that God blends them together for our good. As James wrote to troubled Christians, he reminded them that every good and perfect gift came from God (James 1:2-4, 17). However, I believe that their good and perfect gifts from God were spiritual rather than physical. Trials have a way of stripping away the superficial and making it easy to see the really important things in life. We must realize how all things—good and bad--fit together to make life what God intends for it to be. It is then that we discover gratitude that leads to contentment.

As you read this maybe you are in a dry spell.  Maybe you are sick, or have marriage/family problems, or financial issues – or all of the above.  Try to focus on what God has done for you, because honestly, sometimes in the midst of hardship we forget all He has done.  Pray about your situation and thank Him for the work He is doing even if you don’t feel like He is doing anything.  Trust Him, give it to Him and live expectantly, waiting on Him to blend everything together for His perfect goodness.  Pray for your eyes to be opened so you can see there is much to be thankful for.   

 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  James 1:2-4

LC

Living Afraid

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

Living Afraid

Stepping out in faith is scary. In fact, most of us are probably not living the abundant life that God has for us because of fear. Fear is a normal human emotion, and it can be good and bad. It can warn us when danger is near, so that’s good. But it can also torment us, paralyze us, and hold us back from all the goodness God has for us. Not knowing what the results will be or what comes next is often what keeps us living afraid. 

God never really lets us see how it will all work out until we take the step and see it all work out! He gives us one step at a time so every step we take requires us to depend on Him. If we were so certain about it all, then we would not lean on Him so much. He keeps us tethered to Him with the unknowns, for our own good. It’s His plan, His way, and He knows exactly what we need as we need it, including the directions for our next steps and last chapter of the book. 

We can trust Him. He is our safe place and anything He leads us to do in life will be for our very best. It won’t always be easy, and at times we will be afraid. Out of that fear we can find freedom in trusting Him, because living afraid was never His plan for any of us.

One of my favorite stories is that of the Children of Israel on the banks of the Jordan when they were finally ready to go into the promised land. The promised land was just across the river, but the river was a flood stage and running rapidly. Everything God had promised was just on the other side - but they had to cross the river first. Joshua’s message to them was that the living God is with you, and He will not fail, and because He is with you He will part the waters and make a way. 

And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.” Joshua 3:10-13

We may not have the ark of the Lord, but we have the living God with us every second of every day. I cannot imagine what it would have been like to see the waters part, and though we may not get such tangible examples in our lives day to day, God is parting waters for you and I all the time. 

What is it that keeps you living afraid? What do you need to surrender to Him so you can live freely and abundantly? We don’t have to live afraid because we can trust. We don’t have to fight the tether that keeps us bound to Him but be thankful for it. When we seek Him, His plan, and His will for our lives and surrender freely, we can live in the security and safety of His love. 

LC

Half-Hearted Trust

 Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Half-Hearted Trust 

Trust can look like a whole lot of different things depending on our circumstances. Sometimes trust is quietly sitting in the Lord’s presence in peace and rest. Sometimes trust is confrontation. Sometimes it is taking the tiniest step, just to dip our toe in the raging waters - because we trust Him. Sometimes trust involves action on our part, and sometimes trust involves being still and quiet. 

Whether we are in action or waiting, true trust means trusting with all our hearts. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 We cannot be halfway devoted to God if we are really trusting Him. He wants us to trust Him with all our devotion and being. We cannot feel secure and confident in our trust if we do not fully trust Him. 

Half-hearted trust is like whole-hearted doubt.  You either give Him 
all your trust or none at all. – Van Houser

We also must trust God alone if we are to fully trust Him. If we are not trusting God, and God alone, it is not total trust and it is ineffective. We do this all the time when we lay our burdens down, but then pick them back up again. We also do this when we trust something or someone other than, or along with God. We can’t ask God for help and then turn to something that we think will give us a quicker answer or the answer we want.

Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word. 1 Kings 18:21

The entire nation of Israel, along with nearly 1,000 pagan prophets gathered on Mount Carmel for the showdown between the One True God, Yahweh, and the pagan god Baal. The evil King Ahab had established idol worship in Israel and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kins of Israel before him. 1 Kings 16:30  Because of Israel’s turning away from God there had been a 3 year drought and now Elijah had them present to see just which god was real. To make a long story short, Yahweh showed up and Baal was nowhere to be seen. Elijah soaked an altar on top of Mount Carmel and called on Baal to bring fire to consume it and nothing happened. Then he called on the One True God, and He rained down fire from heaven and consumed the water-soaked offering. 

Like Baal, our false gods boast of power they do not possess. They may promise to solve problems, but they cannot. They may seem to bring joy or help us forget our problems, but they really create more problems for us. Trying to keep our allegiance split between two (or more) gods will keep us off balance. We must choose who we want to trust. 

The difference between the One True God and a false god is that one will answer, and one will not. One will be faithful and true, and one will let you down every time. One will bring fire from heaven, and one will not, and one will consume the other. The One True God will consume all other gods. 

Are you seeking truth from the One True God - or from something else that you are expecting to bring fire in your life that only God can bring? Are you off balance, wavering, right now because you are trusting something else besides God? Get rid of all the idols and false gods. He alone is God in our lives, or He cannot be our God at all. We will only experience His blessings for us and His power in our lives when He alone is seated on the throne of our hearts. Exchange your half-hearted trust for wholehearted devotion today.

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in people. Psalms 118:8

When Trusting God is Difficult

 Tuesday, July 26, 2022

 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

When Trusting God is Difficult

Trust in God can sometimes be difficult. We may struggle to trust Him and when it doesn’t seem that He is hearing us, we struggle to keep trusting Him when we don’t get an answer fast enough. 

 

What exactly makes trusting God so difficult? 

 

Trusting God means we believe in that which we cannot see and sometimes may not understand. We may never understand many of the things that happen in our lives. We cannot comprehend with our human minds how and why some things happen, and the hard part is that we need to accept that we won’t be able to understand. But we can still trust. We can trust God without having to understand it all. 

 

Trusting God is literally against our human nature. We like to have control and when something goes wrong, we instantly start trying to fix it. Trying to fix our own problems can literally exhaust us. Just the weight of carrying it in our hearts and on our minds can crush us over time. And we don’t have to. He wants us to give it to Him.

 

Trusting God means that we have to admit that we are not in control of our lives. We can admit that we cannot do this and we can let go. We can trust Him to be the Sovereign Heavenly Father that He wants to be to us. 

 

Trust is found in our unswerving belief that the God of Heaven will indeed work on our behalf to bring His perfect will for our lives into being. – Van Houser

 

Just Trust God

We hear people say all the time “Just trust God.” If you are in the middle of a long season of waiting, and you have absolutely been trusting God with every breath, those words feel anything but comforting. In fact, these very words that were meant in love can make you feel that maybe you have been doing this trust thing all wrong and maybe this hardship or trial, or long season of waiting is all your fault. Maybe other people on the outside looking in think you are doing this all wrong. Maybe they think you are not really trusting Him because you are where you are, and it must be your own doing. 

We need to be careful when we tell others to “Just trust God” so flippantly. We need to not assume that they are not trusting Him. It is entirely possible to trust Him with every second of the day, for days on end, and still be in the middle of a difficult season. 

Suffering does automatically mean that someone is not doing what they are supposed to be doing or that they are not living their life right or seeking God’s direction. For many reasons, God allows us to go through difficult passages in life and sometimes remain there. Maybe it is for our growth – or for someone else. During this time, we usually develop a whole new understanding of trust and leaning into Him. 

 

Trust is not something we close our eyes, turn around three times, and open our eyes expecting something magical to have happened. Trust is an ongoing, day by day, moment by moment, breath by breath thing. Some seasons will be easier to rest in that trust. Some seasons will tether us tighter to Him. 

 

All seasons of trust are about what happens in us during that time, rather than waiting on what God will do for us. Seasons of waiting and trust are seasons of transformation and growth. 

 

With every moment of trust, we put in Him, our faith grows and even if our requests or desires are not granted, if we burrow deeper and deeper into who God really is, we will find so much more than we could ever want or imagine. He is everything we need and trusting in Him, resting in Him and running to Him will give us peace we cannot find anywhere else. 

 

If you are trusting and waiting, don’t stop believing. He is faithful to work all things out for your good. I like to say that there is no “earthly way” for these problems to be worked out, and there is not. But there is a heavenly way and God’s got this. He has resources and ways that we cannot imagine, and He wants to work it all for our good. Trust Him.  

Who Do You Put Your Trust In?

Monday, July 25, 2022

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Who Do You Put Your Trust In? 

Making decisions are a part of life and decision fatigue is a real thing. We can get exhausted from having to make so many decisions, not to mention that the choices can be overwhelming. For example – trying to decide what you want from a coffee shop with 1,000 different flavors and drinks. 

When we are faced with making big decisions in life it can be scary. What if I make the wrong decision? What is the right decision? What is the best decision? How will this affect my life? The lives of my loved ones? Will this change my relationship(s)? It can be overwhelming. Where do we turn to find the best advice? 

Today, there is so much information available to us that it can be very confusing when we start randomly seeking information. Some people consult the internet for advice about important decisions. Some people consult friends, others consult perfect strangers. God wants us to make good decisions. He gave us the very best source of advice we could ever need - His Word. In good times, in hard times, in all times, the Bible has everything we could need right between its covers. He gave us the very best advice and examples to live by in the gift of His word. 

For every experience or circumstance or decision we struggle with, the Bible has what we need. If we filter everything through His Word, and align our life to what He says, it will make things more clear - not always crystal clear, but clearer.

Not only do we have the Bible as our guidebook, but we also have a Heavenly Father who knows all things, sees all things, and loves us. He wants us to seek Him and trust Him. He wants us to release our burdens and lay them at His feet. And when He speaks, He wants us to trust and obey. When we don’t have a clear direction, He wants us to stay close to Him and listen. 

 God is faithful and we can trust Him above all. He is true and He keeps His promises when the world will disappoint every time. To trust Him is to declare we understand exactly who He is. When we know God and understand His love for us and His omnipotence, then we understand that there is no other person, no other source of information, no article, or book, or anything that can lead us better than He can. He certainly does use people sometimes to help us, but He wants to always be our first source. Even good people with the best intentions can lead us astray. He loves us and we can completely trust Him with our lives.

Do not trust in noblemen, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.  Psalms 146:3

Finding Good Advice

Finding Good Advice

Proverbs 3:5-6

It is amazing to see how many sources the average person will consult when faced with making a decision and where they turn first. God wants us to make wise decisions. He wants us to follow His guidance. Proverbs 3:5-6 shares a simple formula for living a successful life.

I.      The Object Of Trust “Trust in the Lord…”

Trust is to be in the Person of God - not His commands or His church or its leaders.

Myth: God’s will is hard to discover. 

When we follow the 95% of God’s will that we know, the other 5% become easier to understand.

God can be trusted even when we don’t understand all His dealings with mankind.

The more senseless life becomes the greater our need to trust in God.

II.    The Extent Of Trust - "... with all your heart"

Half-hearted trust is like whole-hearted doubt.

The heart at rest is the heart at God's harbor. Inner peace comes with single commitment.   

III.   The Misdirection Of Trust – “and do not lean on your own understanding”

Stop trying to be in CONTROL!

Myth: God wants us to know everything about the future.

Our minds are limited by scope and corrupted by sin. 

There are things in life that we will never understand. 

IV.  The Fellowship Of Trust - "In all your ways acknowledge Him..."

This is a command to guard against only acknowledging God in times of trouble and acts of worship.

To "acknowledge" God in a situation is to open the door for His intervention, support, and His direction.

How Do I Know What God is Leading Me to Do?

Listen to the Spirit of God within. 

Listen to His Word from the Bible.

Listen to Godly counsel.

Take the Next Revealed Step.

V.    The Results Of Trust - "…and He will make your paths straight."

Myth: God’s greatest goal for my life is my HAPPINESS. 

God is more concerned about your character than He is about your comfort.

Though the path may be straight it will still lead through valleys and deserts and over mountains and rivers. 

VI.  Conclusion 

God reveals His will as we trust and obey Him day by day.

God’s will is a way of adventure and abundant life.

God wants us to know his will.

God will match our gifts and skills with His calling.

God gives new opportunities to do His will.

Doing Our Part

Friday, July 22, 2022

 …from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:16 

Doing Our Part

Being a part of a special group is a wonderful experience.  No man is an island and the groups and organizations that we attach ourselves to or connect with often make our lives more meaningful.   But being a part of an organization is most beneficial to our lives when it is a give and take situation.  There is much to be gained from being a part of a group but there is more to gain from putting some of ourselves back into that group, especially with a church.  Giving of ourselves to the ministry of others is not only rewarding but helps us grow spiritually and, contributes to the mission of the church.  

North Side Baptist Church Mission Statement

Through Worship, we will praise God's greatness! 

Through Education, we will prepare God's people! 

Through Evangelism and Missions, we will proclaim God's message! 

Through Ministry and Fellowship, we will prove God's love! 

The question is, "How do we best accomplish our mission?  Every living organism exists by the proper functioning of a system. When that system is disrupted or impaired, the entire organism is affected. 

A physician, a veterinarian, a botanist or any other individual concerned with the health of living things will seek to restore the God-created system in order to restore health. This principle holds true in regard to organizations.  The purpose and success of any organization will be directly related to the system by which it operates.  

This does not mean that any system can be successful in the operation of an organization.  The proper system must be implemented based on the purpose, values, size, experience and resource of the organization.  Yet, the base principle holds true; no organization can succeed if the system if disrupted or impaired.

God has given us our system - The Church System

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13

In regard to the function of living things, it is not necessary for any organ or cell to necessarily know exactly how it fits in the system so long as it performs its allotted role.  Such is not so, in an organization.  While not everyone in the organization may understand how it all works together, there is a need for each one to realize their significant impact on the whole of the organization.  What is it that enables a system to work when each one is merely doing their part and not directly connected to all of the other parts?  It is COMMUNICATION. The cell must communicate.  The organ must communicate.  The person must communicate.  

Being a part of any group requires communication and participation for the members to get the most from it, and also to make sure we work and do the job that the group is supposed to do. Where can you join in to do your part? 

So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;  Colossians 1:10

The Best Way to Wait

Thursday, July 21, 2022

A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread? When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, My heart will not fear; Though war arise against me, In spite of this I shall be confident. One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice, And be gracious to me and answer me. When You said, "Seek My face," my heart said to You, "Your face, O LORD, I shall seek." Do not hide Your face from me, Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not abandon me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up. Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a level path Because of my foes. Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.  Psalms 27:1-14

The Best Way to Wait

The beginning of a trial often brings trauma and the end may bring relief. It’s the middle of the trial that brings the real test of our faith.  How do we handle waiting?  

Our culture is not patient about much of anything and waiting for God to answer our prayer is certainly not something we are good at.  Our realization that God can do anything just complicates things more.  Why does He not answer when we so earnestly plead with Him?  Why must we wait?

One thing that we are good at is worry.  We find ourselves focusing on the problem and our limited resources.  Mulling over options, we weary ourselves trying to figure out how we can resolve our issue.  Our minds whir and spin and we are distracted from our life and relationships.  And we can do this for hours, even days and weeks.  Yes, we are good at worry.

It’s prayer that we are not good at.  Prayer is focusing on God and on His resources and power.  Prayer is recalling the promises of God and resting in them.  Prayer is releasing the problem to Him and waiting for His instruction and deliverance.  How do we do that?  In Psalm 27, David points us to prayer over worry.  

All of the emotions you may have felt while waiting for God to answer in a desperate situation are probably addressed in his song to God. Reread the Psalm and see if God won’t begin to quiet your spirit and guide your thoughts away from the chaos and toward His peace and promise.

More often than not, we fret and worry over the unknown. God does not show us the future, but His presence in it.  He IS LIGHT and STRENGTH.  There are those whose focus on themselves and the problem causes them to “feel a thousand deaths in fearing one.”  There are some to whom nothing has to happen to be defeated, for just the “possibility” of trouble creates the experience of trouble.  

David shows us the way to preparing to pray – getting a proper perspective of who God truly is. Focus on God and see Him in His power. Get a realistic perspective on yourself and your enemy as you bow in prayer.  

 

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May He send you help from the sanctuary And support you from Zion! May He remember all your meal offerings And find your burnt offering acceptable! Selah. May He grant you your heart's desire And fulfill all your counsel!  Psalms 20:1-4

 

Everyday Ministers

Wednesday, July 20, 2022 Some material taken from Everyday Ministers

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36 NASB 

Everyday Ministers

As believers, Jesus has called us to be ministers all the time, wherever we are and to whomever we are with, or cross paths with. We should have our eyes, ears, heart, and hands open, ready and willing to rise to the occasion when the opportunity presents itself. And it will present itself through the orchestration of God. On any given day we can find it all around us if we are paying attention. 

You may not think of yourself as a minister. Here are some definitions of a minister that would apply to all Christians: a person or thing used to achieve or convey something; attend to the needs of (someone); act as a minister of religion. We are ministers in all of these ways. We convey something very important when we share the gospel with others – family, neighbors, friends, etc… We most likely attend to the needs (spiritual, physical, and emotional) every day. Mommas, taking care of your children and spouse is ministry. If you are in that season, that is your most important job as an everyday minister. We also act as a minister of religion when we share the Gospel, teach, pray, and walk with people through difficult times. So, yes! We are all everyday ministers in some capacity – or we should be.

What does an everyday minister look like? 

Here are some characteristics of everyday ministers:

The HEART of Jesus – Compassion - All ministry begins in the heart, not the head.  You can minister – or meet needs – without engaging your heart, but true ministry engages your heart. Caring about the ones we minister to will bring about an authentic ministry.

The EYES of Jesus – Sympathy – An engaged heart will lead to open eyes. There are opportunities all around us every day, but it is so easy to miss them because we get caught up in the chaos of our own lives. Jesus exampled for us how to be attentive to the needs and circumstances of those around us. When we have the eyes of Christ, we see the needs around us. If we see and choose to look the other way, our heart is not engaged and not guiding our eyes. 

The HANDS of Jesus – Service (acted out their love) Love is a verb and if we are to really wanting to serve, we will serve out of love for others. This can get tricky. We may be ministering to someone who is participating in sin. Not to be cliché but it is important in ministry to love the sinner, not the sin. Jesus did all the time – and He still does it every day with you and me. He loves us, but not our sin. 

We can love others with the love of Christ. What that means is that we care about those in need, and we show the love of Christ to them. If we take the privilege of ministering seriously, then we will treat those we minister to with concern, care, and give them the attention they deserve. We will show them that they are important and worthy of our concern. We are all so unworthy, yet Jesus says we are worthy of His love and concern. This is what we are to pass on to others in our everyday ministry. If we are committed, we must open our hearts, our eyes, and our hands to be willing and ready when we get the opportunity.

Ministry out of convenience seldom accomplishes the proper end.  There must be a willingness to let your life be interrupted for another.

LC

 

Whose Responsibility Is It?

Tuesday, July 19, 2022 Some material taken from Everyday Ministers

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Matthew 25:35-36

Whose Responsibility Is It? 

Sometimes real ministry is not convenient, and we want everything in our lives to be convenient. We can even justify not doing something God is leading us to do by telling ourselves that it is not our responsibility.

If we pray for eyes to see, how can we turn away? God will put people with needs in our path. It may be physical needs, spiritual needs and/or emotional needs. If we walk on by because we feel like it is not our responsibility, we miss the blessing. God may send someone else to help them, but we will have missed an opportunity for growth that He wanted us to have – because it is our responsibility. If God puts it in our path we need to seriously evaluate how He would want us to respond.

The opportunities for ministry are discovered in the everyday places of our lives.

They are right under our noses, in our own homes, in our neighborhoods, in the workplace, on the bus, in the grocery store, etc.  They are there and if we have eyes to see, we will see them. 

Not only are there opportunities for ministry in our daily lives, but there are disasters happening all around us where we can minister to people.  Whose responsibility is it? When we see disasters, we can be the people helping to pick up the pieces and cleanup. We can minister and show God’s love to hurting people in a very tragic time. 

Ministry – real ministry – is not glamourous. We won’t find real ministry on a big stage with bright lights. You can reach people that way, but real ministry happens in the trenches. It happens in the streets, in the food banks and homeless shelters, as well as in the everyday grind of our own lives. While we wait for someone to call us to some specific service, it is possible we walk by the very ones God has placed in our lives for our care. Is it your children? Is it your spouse? Is it the man you pass on the corner everyday on your way to work? 

There is some level of responsibility that each one of us has 
for every other person on this earth.

Jesus’ love was the same for everyone and His compassion soared when He encountered the needy. He spent time with the sinners and the outcasts, the poor and the hungry. He gave us an example with His very life of how we are to love and minister to others.  Every one of us has the capacity to minister to someone in need.

What or who has God placed in your path? Where is He calling you to minister? Do you need to get the spiritual needs in your home and in your heart taken care of so you are ready to minister in whatever way He leads? Pray for Jesus vision to see those around you that you can reach out to with a kind word, a casserole, a prayer, or even a bottle of water. He gives us the opportunities and He speaks to us. We will hear and see if we open our hearts to be everyday ministers right where we are. 

LC

The Work of the Body

 Monday, July 18, 2022 Some material taken from Everyday Ministers

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Matthew 25:35-36

The Work of the Body

What does church mean to you? Is it a social club or a place you come just to get your needs met, and then go home? I have heard all my life that the church is not the building. The church is the people, the body of believers. Church is a place where we can find fellowship and get our needs met – sometimes physical needs, prayer, and education to help us grow in our relationship with Christ. But if that is where it ends, then we will become stagnant in our growth. 

We are called to “fishers of men” not “keepers of the boat. " Van Houser

We can learn and grow but if we are not careful, we can become like a plant that has outgrown the pot it is in. It can only grow so much before its growth is stunted by the pot or it dies. We can grow and continue to learn but there is more. When we go out and put the things we have learned into practice, our faith grows so much more. There is fruit.

A believer who does not seek to perform the mission of the church never truly understands what they possess in Christ and who they are in Him.  – Van Houser

As believers we often fail to see the gifts we have been given, and Satan works hard to conceal them and make us feel completely unworthy and incapable of serving in any capacity. We are all broken in some way and God uses us in our brokenness and unworthiness because only in Him are we worthy and whole. We were never supposed to go in our own power, but in His power. 

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

We were meant to take His word, the gospel, outside the walls of the church. We are to be His hands and His feet to the world. We will be equipped inside the walls of the church, but we can only make a difference when we take all that we have been equipped with outside the walls to the world. Being His hands and feet is the manifestation of His love through our actions to the world. It is love in action, not just empty words. Don’t stunt your growth by settling into a comfortable seat in the church. Go and teach. Go and serve. Take Jesus to the world because they are seeking and yearning for the answer, and you can introduce them to what they are looking for. 

 

Everyday Ministers

Everyday Ministers 

Mark 2: l-12

North Side Baptist Church Mission Statement

Through Worship, we will praise God’s greatness! 

Through Education, we will prepare God’s people! 

Through Evangelism and Missions, we will proclaim God’s message! 

Through Ministry and Fellowship, we will prove God’s love!

The church exists as the body of Christ and His love, not the symbol of Christ and His love 

What was it about these men that caused them to make a difference in a paraplegic’s life?

They Showed Responsibility for Their Fellowman. 

The opportunities for ministry are discovered in the everyday places of our lives.

There is some level of responsibility that each one of us has for every other person on this earth. 

They Showed Love for Their Fellowman. v.3

Things we don't know about these men:

·      Their names

·      Their relationship to the man

·      How they knew him

Things we do know about these men: 

·      They had the HEART of Jesus - Compassion

·      They had the Eyes of Jesus - Sympathy

·      They had the HANDS of Jesus – Service

·      They had the PURPOSE of Jesus – Ministry

Ministry out of convenience seldom accomplishes the proper end.  

They Showed Determination for Their Cause. v.4

No one can say they were not given determination, for it is an act of will and commitment.

A person without vision will be a person without determination.

They Showed Great Faith in Their Lord. v.5

Note: When Jesus saw THEIR faith, He healed the man.

This is known as "vicarious faith" – believing what God can do for another.

Believing for another cannot save them but it can certainly move heaven into earth for them to see theirneed.

Their Reward Was Satisfying.  v.12

Their names were never known because the glory went to Jesus.