Prayer is Not Part of the Ministry

Prayer is not part of the ministry. That's right! Does that surprise you? Well, how about this: Prayer is not PART of the ministry. It IS the ministry!

That's something my husband and I heard at a conference we attended recently. And how true it is! We had blessings coming out our ears after that conference, and it had nothing to do with anything we did. It was all God working through the prayers being prayed that we didn't even know needed to be prayed.

Did you ever just KNOW someone had to be praying for you because of all the great things that were happening beyond your control? Thank God for those people and commit your ministry and witness to that kind of prayer because prayer IS the ministry!

The Purity Challenge

You know those little sins? The ones you don't even realize you've committed? Like a wrong motive or an innocent lie. Or the ones you remember only at the end of the day? Like avoiding people (ooh, what's the underlying problem there?!) or angry glances.
These little things might be getting in the way of God's plan for you. But what can you do about them if you constantly overlook them like the dirty clothes on your bedroom floor? Pray for conviction and watch out!
Simple to do? Yes. Scary to face? Absolutely. It's hard to accept the reality of a sin nature. Freeing? Oh, what bliss to know that the Lord Himself is cleansing you from the inside out!
Can you imagine what a different world this would be if all Christians were to pray the prayer David prayed:

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10, KJV)

In your next quiet time, take the time to read Psalm 51 and pray it as you are led. See what God will do when sin no longer stands between you and His plan for you!

Jeremiah's Burden

A friend and I were recently talking about how God leads us in our writing and other areas of life such that our ideas just *seem* to come from nowhere. I thought about how those ideas come gushing forth and can't be suppressed. It reminded me of Jeremiah's message, only his message cost him much turmoil.

O Jehovah, You have deceived me; yea, I was deceived. You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed. I am in derision all the day; everyone laughs at me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I proclaim violence and ruin; for the Word of Jehovah has been to me a reproach and derision all the day. And I said, I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name. But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary of holding in, and I was not able. (Jeremiah 20:7-9, LITV)

It's interesting to note in this context that the Hebrew word for "utterance" or "oracle" is the same as "burden". So, when Jeremiah was speaking the message of the Lord, it was truly a burden.

Has God ever given you a burden to speak an unpopular message or do something that might invite others to make fun of you? How did you know it was from God? Could you hold it back? What happened, if anything?

A Righteous Materialism?

A classic article from my favorite Christian magazine, Discipleship Journal, made me question just how attached I am to material things. No, I'm not talking about the house or the car. Granted, losing such things would pose a great challenge to anybody. What I'm talking about is my Bible and all my references. I'm pretty attached to those. I'd survive, but it's difficult to imagine life without them. I think I'd be counting the days till I could replace my wonderful Christian library!

But let's consider the alternative. What if I could care less that I lost my Bible or some references? What would that say about me as a Christian? Would it mean I'm not using them anyway? That I don't feel it's important to read and study the Word of God?

I guess that, as is true with so much of theology and life in general, there must be a balance. A balance such that 1) we're not so attached to studying the Bible that it becomes more important than the One who wrote it, and 2) we don't rely on ourselves to remember what we think the Bible says, or even neglect it altogether.

Where do you think you fall on a scale of one to ten? Where would God rate you?

Is our "big" big enough?

While meditating on this Bible study on stewardship of small things from Luke 16:10-12, I started thinking about the big things.

When we think about "big things" we can do for God, what kinds of things come to mind? Maybe things like being a career missionary, preacher, or speaker. All admirable positions in the service of the Kingdom.

But when I considered David's legacy as the forerunner of Christ's neverending reign, I started wondering if these things are too little. Maybe the "true things" God has in mind are way bigger than any of us dare to dream!