I read the first chapter this morning of a book by Gary Moon called “Falling for God: Saying Yes to His Extravagent Proposal.” The Author pointed out the story of Jesus’ first miracle. At the wedding banquet, he requested earthen vessels, and miraculously changed the contents inside from water to wine. After thousands of years with God, and thirty years here on earth, why did he chose this as his first miracle? To be honest, I never asked this question or even entertained the thought. Until this morning.
“Transformation. Jesus’ first miracle foreshadows all that will follow. It’s about radical changes to the contents of earthen vessels. Water to wine. Saul to Paul. You to Jesus.” Christ chose to show the power he has to transform one thing into something extraordinary. And he continues to show that power today. Amen.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Busyness vs. Fruitfulness
“Christians that have no sense of calling exchange busyness for fruitfulness” –Mark Driscoll
God has been drilling in me lately the importance of His call on my life. I have found my identity in being the go-to person who will serve in any and every way. I have taken pride in my ability to manage a never-ending “To Do” list without burning out. But God has been revealing to me lately that burning out isn’t the only sign you are taking on too much.
The staff where I work has been reading a book together called “Leaders Who Last.” Chapter after chapter, this book gets more and more convicting for me. The last two chapters we read addressed Pacing and Calling.
Pacing stressed the importance of resting, by not only observing a Sabbath day of no work, but also by taking sabbatical times where you study God’s word, spend time in prayer and just take time to rest in God’s presence. This is a discipline in which I have severely dropped the ball. I have taken so much pride in my ability to work and work without needing physical rest that I have completely ignored my spiritual need to rest.
I was especially challenged by a sermon I heard from Mark Driscoll on pursuing your calling, the one from which my opening quote is drawn. Amazing how a few words can pierce your soul with conviction from the Holy Spirit. One line from his sermon summed up the biggest struggle in my spiritual walk: “If Satan can’t make you sin, he’ll keep you busy.”
I have realized more and more that my busy ministry schedule has taken me away from personal time with God. Staying busy doing “God’s work” (work that is for the kingdom of God, but not the task or capacity to which God has called me) has hindered my own spiritual growth. Sure, I read God’s word every day and have hit-and-miss prayer sessions…but this is NOT the relationship to which I have been called. I cannot be a fruitful leader unless I am doing God’s will, and it is vital to remember that in the end, it isn’t our works that will please God, it is whether or not we know Jesus personally and intimately. Is your relationship with God suffering because you are too busy trying to earn his love and admiration? His love cannot be bought or earned; it can only be accepted and reciprocated. Take time to fall in love with Him.
Calling was the latest chapter in the book, and the perfect sequel personally from realizing I am taking on too much to trying to figure out what should stay on my metaphorical “plate”. When I watched Driscoll’s sermon, I made a list of the things that consumed my time, breaking it down into opportunities I am called to, stuff I do for my self and my own walk with God, and things I only do because I like to do them.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I love youth ministry. I have felt God’s definite call to pour into the lives of teenage girls. I have specifically felt called to a youth ministry, small group, and a person God told me to pursue in discipling and mentoring. Outside of these, everything (other small groups, ministries that I was involved in, serving opportunities) fell into the “Like To Do” category. I took my call to be a youth leader as a call to be involved in any and every area of youth ministry. Plus, I was fooling myself into believing that I was a great Christian because I love to do all these things. But a huge realization came in looking at the “For Me” category. There were three things on my list that I do for me. First of all, is my job. I put time into this in order to meet my physical needs. Second, Church Services. I go to the services for fellowship and to get fed spiritually. And finally, family time. A completely neglected area of my life, so much so that every time I come to visit my parents, they refer to me as the “prodigal daughter”.
Notice anything missing here? The time I spend with God in the morning/evening wasn’t consuming enough time to even make the list. I always thought it would be selfish of me to want my time to myself with God when I could be pouring into others…thinking they needed God more than me. As if whether or not I struggled with sin was an accurate reflection of where I stand with God. But really, my extreme selfishness came to light in robbing God of my love and relationship. I was letting a pat on the back from those around me (for giving all my time) satisfy me, instead of seeing the necessity of God being pleased with me (for giving Him my time). Let me tell you, WORSE TRADE EVER.
I want to close with an idea from our latest staff devotional. There are things in our lives that hinder our call, and if we don’t throw those things off (as “good” or “noble” as they are), they will distract us from God. He is the prize. He is the reason for running this race at all. Throw off not only the sin that easily entangles, but also anything that would hinder you from running the race with your eyes on the prize. Don’t selfishly try to make your call greater than it is. Focus on what it is you were meant to do: Bring God glory by doing His will. Nothing more and nothing less.
I thank Jesus for helping me realize my need for Him. If I do anything apart from my love for Him and desire to please Him by doing His will, it will and should fail miserably. Is it twisted that failure is good thing? How else would we realize that we must really on God’s salvation, strength, and wisdom? I have resolved to spend less time doing empty works, and more time meditating on the goodness of God, and spending time sitting at his feet. Why be a Martha to please people when you can be a Mary to please God? I will achieve my purpose to serve and my call to youth ministry. But I don't want to achieve anything else, unless it is God will for me. Is your devotion to being busy and accomplishing as much as possible, or being fruitful and accomplishing what God has called you to?
God has been drilling in me lately the importance of His call on my life. I have found my identity in being the go-to person who will serve in any and every way. I have taken pride in my ability to manage a never-ending “To Do” list without burning out. But God has been revealing to me lately that burning out isn’t the only sign you are taking on too much.
The staff where I work has been reading a book together called “Leaders Who Last.” Chapter after chapter, this book gets more and more convicting for me. The last two chapters we read addressed Pacing and Calling.
Pacing stressed the importance of resting, by not only observing a Sabbath day of no work, but also by taking sabbatical times where you study God’s word, spend time in prayer and just take time to rest in God’s presence. This is a discipline in which I have severely dropped the ball. I have taken so much pride in my ability to work and work without needing physical rest that I have completely ignored my spiritual need to rest.
I was especially challenged by a sermon I heard from Mark Driscoll on pursuing your calling, the one from which my opening quote is drawn. Amazing how a few words can pierce your soul with conviction from the Holy Spirit. One line from his sermon summed up the biggest struggle in my spiritual walk: “If Satan can’t make you sin, he’ll keep you busy.”
I have realized more and more that my busy ministry schedule has taken me away from personal time with God. Staying busy doing “God’s work” (work that is for the kingdom of God, but not the task or capacity to which God has called me) has hindered my own spiritual growth. Sure, I read God’s word every day and have hit-and-miss prayer sessions…but this is NOT the relationship to which I have been called. I cannot be a fruitful leader unless I am doing God’s will, and it is vital to remember that in the end, it isn’t our works that will please God, it is whether or not we know Jesus personally and intimately. Is your relationship with God suffering because you are too busy trying to earn his love and admiration? His love cannot be bought or earned; it can only be accepted and reciprocated. Take time to fall in love with Him.
Calling was the latest chapter in the book, and the perfect sequel personally from realizing I am taking on too much to trying to figure out what should stay on my metaphorical “plate”. When I watched Driscoll’s sermon, I made a list of the things that consumed my time, breaking it down into opportunities I am called to, stuff I do for my self and my own walk with God, and things I only do because I like to do them.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I love youth ministry. I have felt God’s definite call to pour into the lives of teenage girls. I have specifically felt called to a youth ministry, small group, and a person God told me to pursue in discipling and mentoring. Outside of these, everything (other small groups, ministries that I was involved in, serving opportunities) fell into the “Like To Do” category. I took my call to be a youth leader as a call to be involved in any and every area of youth ministry. Plus, I was fooling myself into believing that I was a great Christian because I love to do all these things. But a huge realization came in looking at the “For Me” category. There were three things on my list that I do for me. First of all, is my job. I put time into this in order to meet my physical needs. Second, Church Services. I go to the services for fellowship and to get fed spiritually. And finally, family time. A completely neglected area of my life, so much so that every time I come to visit my parents, they refer to me as the “prodigal daughter”.
Notice anything missing here? The time I spend with God in the morning/evening wasn’t consuming enough time to even make the list. I always thought it would be selfish of me to want my time to myself with God when I could be pouring into others…thinking they needed God more than me. As if whether or not I struggled with sin was an accurate reflection of where I stand with God. But really, my extreme selfishness came to light in robbing God of my love and relationship. I was letting a pat on the back from those around me (for giving all my time) satisfy me, instead of seeing the necessity of God being pleased with me (for giving Him my time). Let me tell you, WORSE TRADE EVER.
I want to close with an idea from our latest staff devotional. There are things in our lives that hinder our call, and if we don’t throw those things off (as “good” or “noble” as they are), they will distract us from God. He is the prize. He is the reason for running this race at all. Throw off not only the sin that easily entangles, but also anything that would hinder you from running the race with your eyes on the prize. Don’t selfishly try to make your call greater than it is. Focus on what it is you were meant to do: Bring God glory by doing His will. Nothing more and nothing less.
I thank Jesus for helping me realize my need for Him. If I do anything apart from my love for Him and desire to please Him by doing His will, it will and should fail miserably. Is it twisted that failure is good thing? How else would we realize that we must really on God’s salvation, strength, and wisdom? I have resolved to spend less time doing empty works, and more time meditating on the goodness of God, and spending time sitting at his feet. Why be a Martha to please people when you can be a Mary to please God? I will achieve my purpose to serve and my call to youth ministry. But I don't want to achieve anything else, unless it is God will for me. Is your devotion to being busy and accomplishing as much as possible, or being fruitful and accomplishing what God has called you to?
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