THE JOURNEY

We’ve been here now for about a year and a half.  We’ve enjoyed this time of settling in, meeting people, and finding a church.  Now my thoughts turn to ministry.  What am I supposed to be doing now, to serve the Lord and build His kingdom?

When we first arrived at our church I tried out a few things I had done in past churches – helping in VBS, teaching Sunday school, working in women’s ministry.  Each was an opportunity to fill a need for a season, but for a variety of reasons, I am no longer involved in any of them.  

For the last seven weeks I have been on a journey of prayer and Bible study to draw closer to the Lord and seek His will for my life.  In the past, whenever I’ve been involved in some aspect of ministry, the work itself keeps me so preoccupied that at times I end up neglecting my relationship with the Lord Himself – my source of power, wisdom and strength for the ministry!  If you’ve even done this, then you know how easily it happens.  So, for the first time in a long time, I’m doing nothing but enjoying the fellowship of the Lord and waiting.  And it has been sweet.

Jim is gone for some hours two days a week and I’ve been jealously guarding that time alone with the Lord.  I’ve been trying not to only talk with Him about my longing for His will.  Instead, I spend that time worshiping Him for who HE is, thanking Him for the obvious ways in which He is working in and around me, and then I pray for my church, my family, my neighbors, our country, and anything else the Lord brings to my mind.  If the Lord has nothing else for me to tangibly DO, EVER, then these times with Him will be enough.  On the other hand, I do hope that there are adventures yet ahead, beyond all I could ask or even imagine, that the Lord still has for us to tackle together.

With that in mind, I have been working my way through Henry Blackaby’s study, “Experiencing God”.  His premise is that the Lord is, and always has been, at work around us and that He gives us the privilege of joining Him in that work, but we often miss it.  Why?  Because we’re so busy going about our OWN plans for serving God that we don’t wait for Him to reveal what He’s ALREADY doing around us so that we can join Him!

I have engaged in a lot of ministry over the many years since the Lord called me into relationship with Himself.  I confess, I think a lot of that ministry was self-initiated.  I got an idea, thought, this is a great idea, I think I’ll do it!  I never sought God’s direction first, I just asked Him to bless what I had planned to do all along.  It wasn’t unsuccessful, or fruitless, but it also wasn’t necessarily what God was up to around me.

A decade ago now, I had just resigned from Bible Study Fellowship International and found myself, for the first time in many years, clueless about what I was “supposed” to do next. As I looked around in my church, I didn’t see any ministry opportunities on the horizon, but we were in the process of looking for a pastor, so the Holy Spirit inspired me to begin praying about that.  That’s what I did for close to a year, until we had finally identified a pastor to whom we wanted to issue a call. It was during that time that I first read Blackaby’s book, “Experiencing God”, and was beginning to look at ministry differently, not just thinking of filling needs, but waiting for the Lord to show me what He was up to, so I could do that.

From that point on, as I continued to pray for God’s “what next”, He began to come to me with ministry opportunities.  I was approached to teach 3^rd and 4^th grade Sunday school.  I had been praying, so I knew this was not just a need, but God’s opportunity to serve Him where He was at work.  What came out of that was a wonderful experience team teaching with a woman who became a sweet friend, and foundational spiritual relationships with kids I would encounter later in other ministries.  

In a Wednesday night prayer meeting, it was announced that a female chaperone was needed for the senior high missions trip to New Orleans to help with rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.  I had never done anything like this before.  I knew it would require working in the heat and humidity (it was early August), working with teens, dormitory living in an abandoned school, long hours, and demanding physical labor.  BUT, it was as if the Lord spoke to me and said, “Dot, this is for you!”, and I went.  As a result, I had the privilege again of spiritually investing in the lives of senior high students.  What a huge blessing!

The biggest and most profound invitation from the Lord to join Him in what He was doing was to donate a kidney to a woman from our church.  Through that there were opportunities to talk with psychiatrists, doctors and surgeons, TV reporters, and our church family about the wonderful grace of God in clearly leading us, and then going before Jennifer and me as we took each step together.  The morning of the surgery we could not contain the joy of what lay ahead of us!  Only heaven will reveal the impact this work of the Lords had on those to whom we witnessed during those days.  

This week I found myself in chapter 7 of Blackaby’s study.  Chapter 7 is all about the cost of following God when He invites us into the ministry in which He is currently engaged around us.  I know about that.  Each time the Lord made an opportunity to serve Him available there was a cost. 

I knew teaching Sunday school required time and preparation I couldn’t use for other things.  I knew kids could be talkative and occasionally disinterested and I would have to deal with that.  I knew that the missions trip would stretch me, in relating to teens, working hard (at 61 years!) in high heat and humidity and less than ideal conditions.  I knew that donating a kidney might garner some opposition from my family (which it did), would result in some pain and a few weeks of recovery, possibly even complications (which never happened!).  I went in knowing, at least to some degree, what to expect.

At the end of the 3^rd day of this 7^th week of the study, Blackaby makes a statement, and follows it with a question that makes me uncomfortable.  The statement was:

“Lord, whatever you ask of me today, or in the future, my answer is yes!”

His question was this:

How will you respond to God when He calls you to a sacrificial commitment? 

Will you respond, Yes, Lord, OR No, that costs too much?

In the past, I was okay when the Lord gave His invitation to join Him in the work He was doing because I knew in advance something of what it would cost me BEFORE I said yes.  What Blackaby, and the Lord, were asking of me now was to say YES in advance of knowing what the assignment might be, regardless of the cost.

In my heart, I want to be able to affirm Blackaby’s “whatever you ask of me today, or in the future” statement, and give a resounding, confident, YES to the Lord!  But I know already that the only way, ever, that I can do that is by God’s grace.  I’m not adventurous enough, or courageous enough, or faithful enough to say YES unless, Lord, you lavish me with your grace!  I can though, and I do say, yes Lord, I trust that when I get to wherever You want me to go, do whatever You want me to do, You will enable me to follow through, without hesitation and with abounding joy.  

I don’t know exactly where this journey will take me.  I can’t SEE a thing on the horizon, but that’s part of the wonderful adventure of following the Lord, walking by faith in what I cannot (yet) see.  

I do know this, whatever He has in mind will be beyond my wildest expectations and all I will need to follow Him is the confidence of His leading and the grace He always gives in abundance.

I have 6 more weeks of Blackaby’s study ahead.  Can’t wait to see what the Lord is up to!  More later. . . . .

COLOSSIANS 1, PART 5

Have you ever been alienated from someone?  Is it possible for people to escape it, I wonder?  Alienation can begin so easily.  Angry or hurtful words are exchanged or actions taken, feelings get hurt, anger is stirred up, grudges nursed, and the next thing you know months, maybe years, have gone by without speaking. After a while you can’t even remember what it was that caused it all.  But the damage has been done and life goes on without that other person in it.  Even if you regret it, it’s hard to make it right.

What about alienation from God?  Sometimes things happen in life that we don’t like and can’t explain and we blame God – illnesses, premature deaths, divorces, disabilities – a host of things can happen that cause people to turn from God.  We choose alienation out of anger or confusion.  That is a subject for another blog!

Paul says something in chapter 1, verse 21 that might surprise you.  He tells the Colossian believers:

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”

Paul is addressing ALL the believers in Colosse in his letter.  I’m guessing not all of them were previously alienated from God because of the unexplained and tragic things that happened to them.  If he’s speaking to all of them, then he must have something else in mind when he speaks of alienation from God.

Webster’s Dictionary defines alienated as: “to feel isolated, or estranged”.  Synonyms include: divided, distant, cut off.

The truth is that what Paul says of the Colossian believers before they knew Jesus, is what he would say of us as well.

What would cause people to be estranged, distant or cut off from God?  The answer is simple - SIN.  

God is holy, perfect and sinless, but we are surely NOT.  Adam and Eve demonstrated that in the garden of Eden when with all the blessings of God at their disposal, they chose to do the ONE thing God had forbidden – eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  And they passed their sinful DNA down to us so that we cannot NOT sin!  And its sin that has alienated us from God.  The Israelites knew that when at Mt. Sinai God’s presence was so evident and they would not even go near the mountain out of fear of what God might do to them!

We are strangers to God’s way of thinking.  Sin corrupts our thinking about God making us “enemies in our minds”.  Wrong thinking leads to wrong actions.  When we’re out of harmony with God, alienated, divided and distant from Him, our natural condition is to be hostile to Him and to His standards.

Paul’s letter to the Romans has a lot to say about that.  

What may be known about God is plain to anyone who has eyes to see, because God has revealed Himself in His creation.  But men suppress the truth about this – and so are without excuse when they say there is no God.

Though, because of what God has revealed about Himself through what He has made, they KNOW He exists, they neither glorify Him or give Him thanks – so that their thinking becomes futile and their foolish hearts darkened.

So because they refuse to acknowledge God, He “gave them over” to live the way they choose, without Him, and to a depraved mind and all the actions that come with it.

What a terrible plight alienation from God causes.  This is where the Colossians were before they heard the gospel.  And it’s where everyone is today apart from faith in that same gospel, the gospel of the perfect life, substitutionary death, and resurrection of Jesus for sinners.

Though they were once alienated from God, these Colossian believers responded to the gospel by faith and are now related to God in an entirely different way.  Colossians, chapter 1, beginning with verse 22:

“But now, he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.  This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

I love those verses that begin with the words, “but now”!   Alienated and enemies are no longer words used of the Colossians to whom Paul writes, because of God’s grace. 

Now, through the death of Jesus, a righteousness from God, the very righteousness of Jesus Himself, has been imputed to them.  Their sin credited to His account; His righteousness credited to theirs!  The result:  reconciliation instead of alienation through faith in the gospel!

Romans 3:22 says:

“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.”

Unlike the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, the author of the book of Hebrews says this about those who have been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus:

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

And in Romans 8:1:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. . .”

Because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, proclaimed to them, which they believed by faith, the Colossian believers, who used to be alienated from God were now reconciled and declared righteous.  They were accepted by God and no longer condemned by their sin. 

So who are you alienated from?  If there is some person you need to reconcile with, then do that.  

But the far more important question is:

Are you alienated from God, doing your own thing, going your own way?  Maybe you don’t even think you’re that bad a person, but the reality is, according to the Bible, everyone without a relationship with God by faith in His Son Jesus IS alienated and an enemy of God because they refuse to take God on His terms.  

The good news is: you don’t have to STAY alienated.  Jesus is the way of reconciliation and restoration with God.  Put your faith in Him.

Romans 5:1

“Therefore, since we have been (declared right with God through faith in Jesus), we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into (His) grace. . .”

DO THIS, OR DO THAT? How a personal mission statement can help you choose between two good ministry opportunities.

Maybe you’ve been there.  Two perfectly good opportunities have arisen to be involved in ministry at your church, but even after praying over them, you’re still having a hard time deciding which one to choose.  That’s exactly where I was a couple of weeks ago and where the benefit of having a personal mission statement comes in.

Back in May I wrote two blogs about this, one general “how to” about formulating a personal mission statement, and a second entitled, “Moses – A Man with a Mission”, in which I talked about the mission God gave Moses in Exodus 18.  It would be very helpful to read those two blogs before you read this so that all the thoughts are tied together for you.

Three years ago, while I was spending time in prayer for the Lord’s guidance for ministry, He gave me a passion for the women in our church who were crying out for connection.  We had a day time ministry for those who could attend, but nothing really for those who worked.  So, although my primary ministry up to that time had been to teach the Bible, I sensed that God was leading me to put any lengthy teaching assignments on temporary hold while I gave my time to women’s ministry.

As a result, we formed a women’s ministry team and for the last three years we have planned and executed a variety of ministry opportunities for women.  We hosted outreach teas and dinners, held a weekend retreat, hands on ministry project nights, and a yearly Soup and Seminar event using women from our own church as seminar leaders.  All of these were well attended and much appreciated.

Then this year a couple of things happened which caused me to begin to wonder what the Lord was up to. Our ministry leaders began to drop like flies - one of them relocated to Washington DC, another was called to lead the day time women’s group, a third enrolled in nursing school full time.   Finding myself the only leader still standing, I began to wonder what to do.

Then, in July, after returning from Nassau where I’d served as a chaperone for the senior high mission’s trip, I learned that our senior high youth director was leaving.  Our junior high youth leader had already given notice that he would be leaving at the end of August.  Their departures would effectively leave our youth program with only a skeleton crew of helpers.

Immediately, I thought, “Well, I have some relationship with the youth of our church, I’ll make myself available”, and I did, not really having any idea where it would lead.  A week later, attending a meeting of the committee that oversees youth ministry at church, I realized just how great was the need.   

Sunday school teachers were needed for both senior and junior high; youth leaders were also needed for both groups’ evening activities; chaperones were needed for weekend retreats.  I began to realize that if I was going to help with youth ministries I was not going to be able to do all we had planned in women’s ministry as well.   But how was I going to decide between them?

That’s where my personal mission statement comes in.  Back in the “Moses – A Man with a Mission” blog, I shared that the mission God gave Moses in Exodus 18 was MY mission.  Stated simply, as a mission statement should be, it reads:

As God is with me, to intercede for others, to teach God’s Word, to be an example of godliness and godly leadership, and to choose and train others to carry on God’s work.

Although three years ago, I had chosen, as I believed the Lord had led me, to set aside my primary ministry of teaching to focus on women’s ministry, I believed that God was now changing direction to return me to His foremost mission for me, which is – to pray, teach, be an example of godliness and godly leadership, and train others to carry on God’s work – only this time with youth instead of women.  (See “Philip: A Man with a Mission” for another illustration of this penchant God sometimes has for changing our direction!)

I was doing that to some degree while leading the women’s ministry team, but primarily my role was that of facilitator, mustering a team and providing spiritual and practical leadership for them as we worked together.  It was very satisfying work that I believe blessed the women of our church with deeper fellowship with the Lord and one another – which was our goal.  It is still a needed work, but it is not as critical as the crisis we currently have in youth ministry, and so I decided to put women’s ministry on hold for a year, while at the same time inviting any women desiring to carry it on to do so.

So, with a clear mission statement to guide me, it was surprisingly easy to make the decision to teach junior high Sunday school and help out with senior high youth group.  

I’ve already begun to pray for the students the Lord has entrusted to me this year, and can hardly WAIT to begin teaching them!  The Lord has given me a passion for teaching His Word and that is where I find my greatest joy!

Being an example of godliness and providing godly leadership is always a challenge!  Knowing that the students will be watching how I live, to see if it backs up what I say, is very humbling - but also a privilege!  

Then there is the GREAT blessing of observing the personalities and looking for the unique gifts the Lord has given to these students so that I can encourage and affirm them – and so influence another generation to carry on God’s work.  Does it GET any better than that??

So, I encourage you!  If you don’t have a personal mission statement already, ask the Lord to help you determine why He has put YOU here, and how He would have you use the time and talents He has uniquely bestowed on YOU to advance the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ!

And then get busy and write that mission statement!