Is There Ever A Time To Quit?

Pardon me while I think out loud for a moment. There is something from Acts that has me thinking but I am not sure of the answer. Is there ever a time to move away from unproductive ministry? The reason I am asking myself this is not because of my current situation but because of my character. I am stubborn. Some may call it determined but my mom calls it stubborn. Sometimes I wonder if I am too stubborn and stupid to quit, even ignoring the Spirit in order to "stick to it".

The portion of Scripture that provoked this thought is found in Acts 18. Paul was in Corinth waiting for his team to catch up. It says that every Sabbath he would go to the synagogue and try to convince the Jews about Jesus. When his team arrived, he set aside his work and went at the ministry full time. The results weren't great. Scripture says they opposed and slandered him. After a lengthy period of ministry Paul shook the dust from his clothes and stated:

"You are responsible for your own fates! I'm innocent! From now on I'll go to the Gentiles!" (Acts 18:6)

Were the hard hearts Jesus' way of getting Paul to step into his calling to the Gentiles? At the end of the chapter we read about Apollos successfully debating with these same Jews, so was Paul in the way of successful ministry? But here's the thing. When Paul made this decision to shake off the dust, he started meeting with success, or I should say, the Spirit started to produce a harvest through him:

Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household came to believe in the Lord. Many Corinthians believed and were baptized after listening to Paul. (Acts 18:8)

So is it possible that our "determination" could be blocking a harvest where we are at and missing a harvest where we are suppose to be? I already think there is too much self-direction and self-determination in the Church and not enough sensitivity to the Spirit. I find we are too busy pursing wrong stuff to foster and live within a sensitivity to the presence of the Lord, so like Cain, we bring the offering of service we are interested in and expect it to please the Lord. But he is looking for obedience. Already knowing this I now wonder if my "determination" is contributing to the problem.

An interesting question to meditate on today.

2013: A Year Of The Encourager

As I read through various blogs and facebook pages I see many people are hoping to have a good new year. It is natural for us to desire to have a better year than what we just experienced, desiring peace and prosperity. But I want to challenge you on something as we stare into the dark abyss of this mysterious brand new year. I challenge you to be determined not to look to what you desire in the new year but instead to desire to make it a good year for other people. I challenge you to be an encourager this year.

It's easy to get caught up in the dramas of our own life. It's easy to focus on our desires and our needs. It's easy to lose sight of what is important to Jesus and thus important to us. So I am challenging you to take the more difficult path this year. Take the path that shows your trust in our Father to look after your needs, set aside yourself, and concentrate on what is important to Jesus, which is people. One of the most powerful and lacking ministries in the Kingdom is that of the encourager, yet it doesn't take much; just a few words will do it:

For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. (Colossians 2:5)

We spend a lot of time complaining about people but what if we were to put that energy into lifting people up. Paul pointed out two strong aspects of the Colossian church; they were a people who were orderly and they were firm in their faith. Imagine how those words must have impacted that church. Imagine the next time they faced opposition how those words would have encouraged them to remain strong. Imagine how those words prevented some of the weaker Christians from giving up. Now imagine what your words could do.

To be an encourager is to be a person who understands God's grace. If all you can see in a person is what they do wrong then you do not understand grace. If all you can do is pull a person down and see no value in lifting them up then you do not understand grace. If you can't find two things about a person that are worthy of your praise then you are in need of a refresher course of God's grace. An encourager understands what our Father has done for us through Jesus Christ. An encourager is able to apply that same grace to everyone around them. An encourager sees past the failings to the things God is doing.

We need a lot more encouragers in the Body of Christ. We need people who lift others up, who remind others what God is doing, who remind others who they are in Jesus. We need people who can speak the right words into people's lives, words that inspire, encourage, and cause people to keep on keeping on. Encouragers are selfless, setting aside their own needs to speak into the lives of others. They give of themselves in the same way that Jesus has given to us.

Stop chasing after the things that the world chases after and instead seek the things of the Kingdom in 2013. Make others the priority. Put their needs above your own. Trust the Father to look after you, set aside your complaining spirit, let the words of your mouth only be things worthy of the name of Jesus, things that bring life and not death. Focus on this in 2013 and it will be the most incredible year of your life. Our greatest desire is to be used by God so set your heart on being an encourager and watch what God does. May your 2013 be a wonderfully blessed year as you grow strong in your service to the King.

The Only Person Qualified For Your Calling Is You

There are a lot of people who have been called by God to do great things for the Kingdom but they are sitting on their hands. Too many of us live in the shadow of other Christians who seem to have it all together, who are charismatic, who seem so important to God. We have this built-in thing about being star struck with the talented people of this world. We are so busy gawking at the "successful" people that we forget what we are suppose to be doing. Those who are effective workers in the Kingdom do not allow other people to affect what they have been called to do.

We see this in Paul's letter to the Galatians. It may seem rude but Paul was not being rude. He respected people but he didn't overly concern himself with position when it came to his calling:

As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message.  (Galatians 2:6)

If you remember from yesterday, Paul had gone to Jerusalem to share his revelation about the gospel of grace. Paul was not awestruck that he was meeting with the great pillars, Peter, James (brother of Jesus) and John. As important as these apostles were, Paul was not about to let their importance diminish his own. Paul knew that appearances are only appearances and God judges the heart. Paul knew his own heart and relationship with God and he knew his calling was separate from these other men. It didn't really matter what they had to say, Paul would continue on his obedience to the Lord.

In fact, as Paul persisted with his revelation and his calling to the Gentiles, he soon discovered that the others also recognize his calling. Sometimes what we are called to is not recognized by others because we do not persevere in it; we hide in the shadows of those who are more established than we are. Yet, there is something fundamentally important for us to recognize. We have to stop making people's callings about personality and get back to focusing on the most important element: God's anointing.

For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.  (Galatians 2:8)

There is too much work to be done for us to have people neglecting their calling because they think there are others better qualified. No one is better qualified for your calling than you. We have to stop being awestruck by people's talents and abilities. Just as Jesus is working in them and through them, he is working in you and through you. You have to stop thinking that you don't matter and that you will never be center stage. If anyone is center stage they are in the wrong place. The only one who is suppose to be center stage is Jesus. The rest of us are supporting cast, playing secondary roles to highlight his star performance. However, our roles, our calling, are important because they were given to us by Jesus and God is working through us.

It doesn't matter what you think and what you want to do. It is the Spirit of God who calls us and equips us. Our role is one of obedience, not giving a second thought to whether we can do it or not, or how we will look doing it, or what other people will say. We are important to Jesus and he has been given us a work to do and he needs us to be obedient in doing it. If every Christian in this world would do what we are suppose to do, in obedience to Jesus, the world would be a much different place, all glory to God.