What would help you take what you have learned over the years and DO ministry?
Would short term classes on witnessing? Would more Biblical knowledge classes help? Would accountability groups help? Would small groups encourage you?
What would get us over the hump of learning to DOing?
The Bibles says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 - 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man (or woman) of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
At what point are we thoroughly equipped for every good work. Many of us are not only lazy Christians but fat Christians as well. We have years and years of knowledge, but have rarely put that knowledge to work for Jesus.
What would help us DO every good work.
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When Quoting Scripture Inflicts Harm
6 years ago
1 comments:
I think the biggest hindrance to serving Jesus is fear. Laziness and consumption of spiritual comfort food are mere symptoms.
If you work for the government (city, county, state, federal) or for those who don't know the Lord, there's a sense that you have to keep your faith to yourself. If you don't, maybe someone will sue you or you'll lose your job. How does a Christian, who has God-given responsibilities to family, be true to the Lord under circumstances like that?
If you believe the Lord has chosen you for a ministry that is "outside the box", but you believe that your family, friends, and brethren (especially your brethren) will think you're crazy, what do you do?
If you work with and for those outside your circle, you might get insulted, hurt physically, or hurt emotionally. Your life might change in ways you don't expect. Change is scary. As Eric Peters put it, "There's a place inside of me where I've never quite believed/that change was something good and always welcome..."
It's far SAFER to do nothing, far SAFER to immerse oneself in the Word, in Bible studies, in "Christian activities" than to go out there and take risks. Being safe is status quo. Knowing when to play it safe and when not to, that's the hard part.
Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18). Ignorance breeds it. Lies feed it. Jesus said that the truth will set us free and that he would be with us to the very end of the age. Paul exhorted us to provoke each other to good works. Therefore, we need the truth of God's word, reassurance of His presence, and encouragement from our brethren. In short, we need to be authentic, bold, and heart-wide-open enthusiastic.
For the church, I'd suggest:
1) studying the lives of "heroes of the faith," including missionaries, to inspire action, 2) small groups service projects, designed and executed by the small groups themselves (maybe this is already done?) as a training exercise and potential long-term ministry of that small group, and 3) an "Office of Brainstorming and Information," where people can go to dream aloud, without fear of reprisal or ridicule, get counsel from church exhorters, and information from those in-the-know.
Recommended: "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris, Christian teens who've written a book for teens against our culture's low expectations - something adults should read, too.
Also, this perceptive quote from Nelson Mandela, as found on the website of Aaron Tate, of Caedmon's Call fame:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It’s our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves: Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be--you are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone, and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
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