Ministry 101 – Power

A lot of the people have almost any appliances that they need in their homes. It may not be everybody, but you have basic stuff that you use every day. They sure make your life easy to live. Can you imagine a life without the refrigerator or lights on the ceiling? All those things you live with every day, not really thinking they are in the house, are useless if they have not plugged into power. The things that have to use with power are meaningless without power.

Your Christian life and ministry life is the same way. It’s powerless and meaningless when you have not plugged into the power source.

The power of praise

Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, you his servants;
    praise the name of the Lord. – Psalm 113:1 NIV

The Bible commands you to praise the Lord! Do you know the power of praise? If the Word of God commands you to do so, there must be a reason for it.

Do you always feel like to praise God or worship Him? None of us do. Life is not easy, sometimes, like you want it to be. You have worries, concerns, challenges, and troubles. Even then, the Bible commands you to praise God. King David said, “ I WILL praise the Lord.” He had to decide whether he will be sorry for himself or choose to praise God during pain. How about you?

Ministry 101 – Is that your problem?

Who doesn’t want to be successful when you are in ministry? If God called you to do something for His Kingdom, you want to be your best and do outstanding work to bless God and His people. There’s nothing wrong with that.

But the problem sometimes is you don’t always see the results or outcome of your ministry right away. You would love to see what you did was practical and made an impact on somebody’s life. You might even feel that what’s worth if you can’t see the result. Let’s stop for a second and think.

Is that your problem?

What about him?

“What about him?”

Children often redirect parents or teachers’ attention to someone else when they get caught doing something that they shouldn’t be. Your sin-nature doesn’t like to carry any responsibility that you need to answer for it. It’s much easier to put it on someone else and make yourself look better. From the first man and the woman, Adam and Eve, human nature doesn’t like to take responsibility to yourself, but blame others or make them the center of the problem.

Jesus spoke strongly to his disciple, John, about this when he questioned.

I believe it when I see it!

“I believe it when I see it!”

How many times many of us said that in our daily lives? Some people say, “Seeing is believing.” Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, was just like many of us. He spent many days following Jesus, talked with Him, ate with Him, and ministered people with Him. But that was the exact words he said.

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” – John 20:24-25 NIV

He said unless he can see Jesus with his eyes and touch Him with his hands, he won’t believe it. But that’s not what the bible says about faith. After he had close fellowship with Jesus, what did sweep him away to unbelief?

Ministry 101 – Feeding yourself encouragement

Have you noticed that the more you carry a more significant responsibility in the Kingdom, you lose more people to pat on your back? We all need encouragement sometimes. But the more you become a leader of some sort, and then you encourage others more than you receive. You are the one to feed others with encouragement. How about your needs?

As a leader, you must learn and find a way of feeding yourself encouragement.

It’ll be nice if you could find at least one close friend that always there for you when you need to be encouraged. But it’s not always promised. Sometimes God removes all those types of your people from your life. Why?

Don’t be offended!

Life happens! But don’t be offended! Have you ever dreamt of not having trouble, struggle, pain, fight, and frustration in life? All of us have. Wouldn’t it be nice if you can go through a few days without any of the trials and breathe peacefully? But that’s not the reality we see. If you and I wrote the bible, probably it’ll look like this.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. In him, you say, Yes, and he comes to live in you. Therefore, you have no trail in life forever and more. Amen. – You and I Wishing version

Ministry 101 – Know-it-all

Have you ever had a person in your life who seems to be “know-it-all?” It could be a person in your family, a friend, or a co-worker. I hope you are not “the one.” How did you feel about the person if you had one?

You can’t say any opinion you have.

You can’t share your thoughts or ideas.

You have to walk around on the eggshells.

You have to fear the attack after you say something.

You don’t want to say anything anymore.

“Know-it-all” cuts off many things that God wants to do in life. There’s a reason why the bible says this.

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. – Psalm 25:9 ESV

Some people miss out on their potential to bloom because they rejected other people’s input. Some people repeat the same mistakes in life because they have no room to hear other people’s viewpoints. Some people lose friends because they can’t communicate on the fairground.

Your Father in heaven has a heart for you to experience ALL that He has for your life. But it takes your attitude adjustment. “Well, I’ll listen if God says so.” You might say that. And yes, of course, the Holy Spirit can speak loudly in your heart. But often, He uses people in your life to deliver His message. You “know-it-all” is refusing God-Himself If you reject that opportunity.

“Know-it-all” might be a personal problem. But it can creep into your ministry life. It will, indeed, limit your ministry to grow. Ministry is given to you by God, who created you. But at the same time, He provides and surrounds you with people who can make you better and help you expand your ministry. But “know-it-all” has to go for you to get to your full potential.

How do you get rid of the “know-it-all” attitude from your life?

1. Pride

Acknowledge your pride. God can’t bless when the pride is blocking your way to be blessed. God gives you much grace you need when you get rid of the “know-it-all” attitude toward Him or His people.

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” – James 4:6 ESV

2. Submission

Submitting to God begins when you decide to submit to your leaders and authority over you. There’s not even one authority that wasn’t permitted by God.

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. – Hebrews 13:17 ESV

3. Prayer

Prayer is more powerful and anything else. You and I have to have an attitude of “Show me, God.” When you learn to humble yourself before God, it’ll change the viewpoint of you and others.

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar. – Psalm 139:1-2 ESV

God, have your way in us…

Ministry 101 – Danger of comfort

Nobody likes discomfort, pain, or stretch. But everyone loves comfort. If nothing changes and stays the same, every outcome is predictable, and under your control, that would be a perfectly comfortable life. As you know, that’s not realistic. You will wish the same in your ministry as well. But do you know how dangerous comfort is for your ministry?

Conflict in your heart and spirit begins when God does something unpredictable in your ministry life. You want to stay at the same place, you want to work with those you are comfortable with, and you want to keep doing what you know how to. But God often surprises you with a new direction in your ministry that you need to adjust your mind. When that happens, guess what?

Ministry 101 – Don’t fret!

Doing the ministry in God’s kingdom isn’t always easy. Not only do you have to deal with your weakness and shortcomings, but you will face those people in your family who don’t believe God you serve or what you stand. It’s a disappointment that you will sense time to time when that happens in your ministry life.

It might be your spouse who has a different belief.

It might be your children who don’t follow after steps of your faith.

It might be one of your family member who doesn’t see a value in what you do in ministry.