| Serving the Lord with all humility of mind ... | ||
| Acts 20:19 | ||
| Paul’s gifts were great. His abilities were mind-boggling. Intellectually, theologically, oratorically, the guy was incredible. Yet he said, ‘I served you with humility of mind’, because he knew every ability he had was a gift from God. Humility of mind means truly esteeming others better than yourself (Philippians 2:3). Humility of mind means not finding fault with a brother or sister, but finding fruit — approving those things which are excellent within them. Humility of mind means realizing it’s the grace of God, not our own merit, which allows us to know Him and walk with Him. I recall driving Highway 42 from San Bernardino to Twin Peaks where I was to address a group of spiritual leaders. As I wound my way up the road, I found myself praying, ‘Lord, I want to be like You when I talk to my brothers at the conference.’ I thought it was a pretty good prayer — until the Lord spoke to my heart so clearly that I literally had to pull of the road. ‘You want to be like Me?’ He asked. ‘Yes,’ I answered. ‘Why do you want to be like Me, Jon?’ ‘Well, Lord, because You’re so awesome.’ ‘Did you ask to be like Me when you were with your kids two mornings ago?’ ‘No.’ ‘But you’re asking to be like Me now — when you’re about to talk to a group of pastors?’ I was busted. I had prayed that prayer hundreds, if not thousands of times before. It was a noble request, but, you see, my motivation was amiss. I didn’t necessarily want to be like Him so I could serve my kids humbly. No, I wanted to be like Him so I could minister powerfully. Watch out for those times when you think you are being spiritual, lest an entirely different form of pride surface. Instead, be like Paul. Serve the Lord with humility of mind. | ||
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
| April 25 | ||
| ... At all seasons ... | ||
| Acts 20:18 | ||
| In ministry and in service, you will inevitably go through various seasons ... There is the excitement of spring when you get new understandings from the Word and fresh insights into the Lord. Things blossom and bud; new growth abounds. Spring leads to the fruitfulness of summer, when you start to see ministry opportunities open. The Lord uses your life and you say, ‘Wow! Fruit!’ Then comes fall when the Lord says, ‘There are some dead leaves that need to be knocked off.’ The winds blow, trials come, and you wonder what’s going on. Fall is followed by winter — long periods where you feel nothing and hear very little. Early in my walk, not understanding the necessity of seasons, I used to freak out when winter came. ‘Oh, my,’ I thought, ‘I must be backsliding. I must be doing something terrible because I don’t feel the Lord’s presence.’ In reality, however, it was in the wintertime that the Lord was giving me the opportunity to walk by faith and not by feeling. What are we to do during the winter times in our lives? Worship. Praise. Sing. Why? Because in the wintertime, we have unique opportunities to worship the Lord without immediately receiving more than we give. As I sat in the Sanctuary in early morning worship, I saw a brother in the winter season of his life come towards the Communion table, and go to his knees in prayer while lifting his hands in praise. A few hours earlier this man’s wife had been taken home to Heaven, yet he didn’t call for counseling; he didn’t ask for pity; he came to worship. How I pray we will walk in this kind of maturity.. | ||
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