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Friday focus: Serve knowing what you’re made of.
Hello and Thank you for reading. It is my goal to give you encouraging content. I was thinking of what to share with you for our Friday focus. Did you know that you are loved? You are not an accident. You have a purpose. God loves you. He want’s to let you know that in his son, Jesus, you are a champion. You can find solutions and make things happen.
This is your turn to do what you do best. All the prayer and training prepared you for this moment. You take your place with meekness that only a seasoned warrior can exude. Powerful yet gentle. A fierce warrior, yet strategic as an army general, poised for victory.
When we are in positions to help people, that is our moment to serve knowing what you are made of.
I reflect on my life, It is not the victories that speak the loudest. Its the cries of defeat that have taught me how to do things better; with intention. Whether I’m leading a small group or even one on one discipleship moments with a brother in Christ, I try my best to give it my all because people are worth it! Christ thought so, enough to die for. When we are in positions to help people, that is our moment to serve knowing what you are made of.
Do you know what you’re made of? Or better yet, what ingredients make you the minister/leader you are today? Can you name them? Do you serve with compassion? maybe you can identify how those whom you help are feeling? What grounds me is the fact that I remember the joy the lord gave me when he removed all the dumb things I have done. I remember the moment that Jesus gave me a second-third-fourth chance. Would you know it; Jesus still loves me. What moves you? For Jesus, it was seeing people scattered with no shepherd.
So when it comes to helping others what is your theme music? Would it be “no weapon formed against me, shall prosper? Or would it be “nobody knows, the trouble I’ve seen”. This week take a moment to inventory what brought you in ministry and evaluate if you are still on course. If you are, then great, tuck this away for the lean times or share this with a friend who could use it?
Although, you may find yourself a bit off. Your compassion has hardened. You have been taken advantage of and suffer from unforgiveness so you put walls up, not to hurt again. Sooner than later those walls should come down. The Holy Spirit can help you with that as well with a team to pray with you through it. Don’t beat yourself up. Evaluate the plan to get back on course and do it one step at a time. Perhaps you could be feeling burnt out. this is common for strong leaders. Take a break, think of ways to scale back your service or even take a week off from serving. I know you can’t take a break from being a Christian (though many create a case for it) try doing what you can. Teresa and I are praying for you.
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Friday Focus: come with it…….
Friday Focus: Come with it……
Psalm 103:1 At the end of a powerful church service when the congregation goes home feeling empowered, the man of God comes from the platform, more often than not; drained. Feeling the need to be refreshed he looks to his team members to encourage him or her.
“When the last prayer has been prayed and the person has been ministered to, who will minister to the minister?”-The Spirit of Armorbearing, Earma Brown.
There is nothing worse than having to “pump-up” your OWN cheering section which is why I say “be that minister that brings it”!
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Psalm 103:1 ESV.
Your Spiritual leader has now passed the baton to the Body of believers. Where most would go on with out thought you see you Pastor needing to be refreshed. This is where you should be at your best to minister. not the time to have counseling. Serve them with a song in your heart, a smile on your face and gentleness in your spirit. All fruit of the spirit should be concentrated as you redeem your man or woman of God’s time by taking care of the little things so that our Pastor can spend time with his family. This is not the time where you need to critique his/her message. Nor is it the time to shout from the roof tops of how great of a communicator he is please, just listen to them and tend to what they need. There will be time to honor your pastor but directly at the end of his ministry is not the time. You should be listening and attending to what he or she requires; even anticipate his or her needs with time. Set the atmosphere so that your Pastor can be refreshed. They will thank you for it!
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Think Bigger……………….
I took this photo during my travel to Mallorca, Spain. I marveled at the decoration atop what appears to be the third floor of this building. I admired the mosaic design as it distinguishes itself from the adjacent buildings not only in color but design. The building immediately caught my attention. I noticed the character of the building, the iron balconies becoming the centerpiece for this building made me think of something. The building made me think bigger!
” For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts. ” Isaiah 55:9 KJV
The architect decided that the artwork should not just be on tables and chairs. He or She decided that the best way to protect the occupants from falling should be the iron balcony. The architect thought bigger. he took the design to the next level. He/She counted the cost and thought bigger which caught my attention, and it worked.
A particular area that includes risk taking for the cause of breakthrough is leadership. As a leader, you may feel you’re alone, but you are not. Our Lord and savior Jesus is always there with us going through it.
As leaders, we must think bigger in our realms of influence for his glory. That’s why God created us to be the salt and light of this earth- to bring about a change in those we lead as we disciple them ( Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen NKJV).
Thinking bigger could mean you have to build depth in your ministry or organization. You might restructure your organization to better focus on your core strengths. It may require something personal. Something worth doing usually isn’t free anyway. It requires your time and sacrifice, so get to a quiet place just you and the Lord and allow him to help you think bigger.
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