God Has Work for Me

In Ephesians 2:10 I read, "It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives helping others." (TLB)

God calls me to a service far beyond anything I could ever imagine. I was put on Earth to make a contribution.

God designed me to make a difference with my life. I wasn’t created just to consume resources—to eat, breathe, and take up space. I was created to add to life on Earth, not just to take from it. God wants me to give something back—to help other people.

The Bible says, “It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others” (Ephesians 2:10 TLB).  

Whenever I serve others in any way, I am actually serving God. As Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Do your work willingly, as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your earthly master. In fact, the Lord Christ is the one you are really serving, and you know he will reward you” (CEV).

In one of his parables, Jesus said, “The king will answer, ‘Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me’” (Matthew 25:40 CEV).

And the apostle Paul shared the same message: “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Ephesians 6:7 NLT).

God said it this way to the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament: “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work” (Jeremiah 1:5 NCV).

When most people think of this “special work,” they think of pastors, priests, and professional clergy. But God says that he expects every member of his family to minister. In the Bible, the words “servant” and “minister” are synonyms; “service” and “ministry” are synonyms too. As a Christian, I am a minister. And when I’m serving, I’m ministering.

Why didn’t God just immediately take me to heaven the moment I accepted his grace? Why did he leave me, his children in a fallen world? He leaves me here to fulfill his purposes.

Once I am saved, God intends to use me for his goals. God has a ministry for me in his church and a mission for me in the world.

In summary, God calls me to a service far beyond anything I could ever imagine. I was put on Earth to make a contribution. God designed me to make a difference with my life. I wasn’t created just to consume resources. I was created to add to life on Earth, not just to take from it. God wants me to give something back—to help others. Whenever I serve others in any way, I am actually serving God. God says that he expects every member of his family to minister. I am a minister. And when I’m serving, I’m ministering. He leaves me here to fulfill his purposes. God intends to use me for his goals. God has a ministry for me in his church and a mission for me in the world.

I became a Christian through God's unmerited grace, not as a result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice, or act of service on my part. Out of gratitude for this free gift, I should seek to help and serve others with kindness, love, and gentleness, and not merely to please myself. While there is no action or work I can do that can help me obtain salvation, God's intention is that my salvation results in acts of service. I am not merely saved for my own benefit but to serve Christ and build up the church. I am God's work of art and workmanship. My salvation is something only God could do. It is his powerful, creative work within me. If God considers me his workmanship, then I dare not treat myself or others with disrespect or as inferior work.

I Can Heal from Pain, by Helping Others

In 1 Peter 4:1 I read, “Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power.” (TLB)

When I’m experiencing pain, who’s the person I think of the most? Myself! It’s my nature to be self-centered, because I’m human. When I’m suffering, I want to be comforted. When I’m sick, I want to be cared for. When I’m sad, I want to be held. Pain makes me self-centered.

But God says, if I’m going to learn how to love like he does, I’ve got to try to see other people’s pain, even when I’m in pain.

Jesus is the greatest example of this. When he was hanging on the cross, he was in enormous physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. He was carrying all the sin of the world! But in his dying moments, he noticed the pain of other people. He prayed, “Father forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34 GW). And he said to the guy next to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43 GW). He also made sure his mother would be cared for. He wasn’t thinking about himself, even when he was in agony.

God’s Word says to have the same attitude as Jesus (Philippians 2:5). This means, when I”m in pain, I should look around and see who else is in pain. I should think of others, even as I care for myself. That’s a hard one. How do I look at the pain of others when I’m in pain?

“Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power” (1 Peter 4:1 TLB).

With God’s grace, I can look past my own pain. And when I do, sin loses its power and I become more like Jesus. With God’s grace, I can help others who are in pain, even as I carry my own deep hurt. Because of this, God will give me purpose in my pain so I can help many others to move forward in healing. God can use my pain, too, to help others struggling with the same pain.

In summary, since Christ suffered and underwent pain, I must have the same attitude he did and be ready to suffer as well. For when my body suffers, sin loses its power. When I’m experiencing pain, I think mainly of myself. It’s in my nature to be self-centered. When I’m suffering, sick or sad, I want to be comforted, cared for, or held. Pain makes me self-centered. So if I’m going to learn how to love like he does, I’ve got to try to see other people’s pain, even when I’m in pain. Jesus when he was hanging on the cross, was in enormous physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. He was carrying all the sin of the world! But in his dying moments, he noticed the pain of other people. He wasn’t thinking about himself, even when he was in agony. When I'm in pain, I should look around and see who else is in pain. I should think of others, even as I care for myself. So how do I do this? With God’s grace, I can look past my own pain. When I do, sin loses its power and I become more like Jesus. With God’s grace, I can help others who are in pain, even as I carry my own deep hurt. God will give me purpose in my pain so I can help many others to move forward in healing and to help others struggling with the same pain.

I would do anything to avoid pain, yet suffering helps me to be like Christ. I should be willing and prepared to do God's will and to suffer for it if necessary. I can overcome sin when I focus on Christ and what he wants me to do. Pain and danger can reveal my true values. If I suffer for doing good and still faithfully obey in spite of suffering will help me be more like him and make a clean break with sin.

Father, thank you for this reminder and I ask that with the help of the Holy Spirit in my life that I can live it out. I also ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my training for a future job role and learning a small group. I ask these things through you Son Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Learning to Serve God and Others

In review of 1 Peter 2:5 I read, “Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.” (GNT)

What are the "spiritual sacrifices" I offer to God. Obedience from my heart is most important. God wants me, his "holy priest" to offer myself as a living and spiritual sacrifice, daily laying aside my own desires and following him, putting all of my energy and resources at his disposal, and trusting him to guide me.

In the Old Testament, priests did two things:

1. They had the right, privilege, and responsibility to go directly to God. They could pray and talk to God, worship, and fellowship with God. Everybody else had to go through a priest.

2. The priest had the privilege and responsibility of representing God to the people and ministering to the needs of other people (serving).

Those are the very two things that are true of me when I become a believer.

The Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross, there was a veil in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies, where God’s Spirit was, from where man was. Only priests could go behind that veil once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, God ripped that veil—about 70 feet—from top to bottom, symbolizing that there no longer was a barrier.

I now have direct access to God. I don’t have to pray through anybody else. I don’t have to confess through anybody else. I don’t have to fellowship with God through anybody else. Read my Bible, talk with the Lord, and fellowship directly with him.

I have also been gifted for ministry to serve others. Every Christian is a minister, not a pastor, but a minister. Anytime I use my talents and gifts to help others, I’m ministering.

The Bible says, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT).

One of the reasons God saved me is so that I could serve him and others.

To know what my ministry is, look at my talents, gifts, and abilities. When I use those talents and gifts to help others, that’s called ministry, nothing fancy or scary about it. It’s just helping others.

No matter what my work is, anytime I’m helping others in God’s name, I’m ministering.

In summary, I am to be a living stone, used to help build the spiritual temple, where I’ll serve as a holy priest to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God, through Jesus Christ. The "spiritual sacrifices" I offer to God is Obedience from my heart. I am to offer myself daily, laying aside my own desires and following him. I am to put all of my energy and resources at his disposal, and trust in him to guide me. In the Old Testament, priests did two things: They had the right, privilege, and responsibility to go directly to God. They could pray and talk to God, worship, and fellowship with God. Everybody else had to go through a priest. They had the privilege and responsibility of representing God to the people and ministering to the needs of other people (serving). Those two things that are true of me when I become a believer. When Jesus died on the cross, God ripped that veil in the temple from top to bottom, symbolizing that there no longer was a barrier. I have been gifted for ministry to serve others. I am to use my talents and gifts to help others (minster). God saved me so that I could serve him and others. To better understand and know what my ministry is, I need to look at my talents, gifts, and abilities. When I use those talents and gifts to help others, that’s called ministry. 

My life is to be centered around serving God and helping others.Today, I’d like to consider what my talents, gifts and abilities are. If I properly identify these, I’ll know much more about what type of job I should pray for as well as just serving where I am. I ask you Father for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership and my interactions with others. Also help to guide me in additional training I need and the type of job I should look for next. I pray these things through your Son Jesus’ name, Amen.

Whatever I Do, Do It as a Ministry

In review of Colossians 3:17 it says,  “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (NLT).

This means I am to bring honor to Christ in every aspect and activity of daily living. As a Christ follower, I represent Christ at all times, wherever I do, and whatever I say. What impression do people have of Christ when they see or talk with me? What changes do I need to make in my life in order to honor Christ?

God has called me to be a minister. While I’ll probably not be preaching sermons, or officiating weddings or funerals, or never be leading a church. As a follower of Jesus, I’m a minister.

I’m learning that God has called me to be a bi-vocational minister. Much like the word “bifocal”, a type of glasses that allow someone to see two things at the same time, both far away and up close, with clarity.

When I follow Jesus, I do everything for two reasons, not one: to help others and to honor God. That makes me a bi-vocational minister, no matter what my job is. In this job I work to help others and to honor God.

The Bible says it like this in Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father” (NLT).

This verse reminds me that anything I do can be a ministry and a blessing if I honor God and help others through it. Whatever I do, do it in the name of Jesus. This can be taking out the garbage, changing a dirty diaper, and cleaning the living room. These can all be ministries.

As long as my motivation is right, the Bible says that whatever I do can become a ministry. That means menial tasks become meaningful tasks when I do them out of love for God.

When I choose to look at life from this perspective, everything I do becomes significant.

Whatever I do or say, my perspective should be to do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him God the Father. I represent Christ at all times, bringing honor to him in every aspect and activity of my daily life. God has called me to be a minister. I do everything for two reasons: one to help others and the other to honor God. No matter what my job is, I am to work at helping others and honoring God. As long as my motivation is right, even menial tasks become important when I do them out of love for God. 

As I reflect on this today, it’s a great reminder of what I do and say matters. As his follower I represent him in what I do. And what I do should be focused on helping others and honoring God. This morning I pray that this perspective permeate my mind and my focus. I also ask for your wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership and my interaction with others. I also ask that you help me communicate with my team clearly. These things I pray through your Son Jesus Christ name, Amen.

My Pain Will Often Reveal God’s Purpose For Me

In review of 2 Corinthians 1:4, 6 it says, “God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things.”

Bottom Line:

God will use us and what happens in our lives to help others. We share the comfort he gave us to help others patiently endure what they may be experiencing.

What this means to me:

Nothing is ever wasted. God will use me and what takes place in my life to help minister to others. I can share the experiences and comfort God gave me while I went through it, to help others patiently endure what they may be experiencing.

At the core, my pain will often reveal God’s purpose for my life. What I’m learning is that God will never waste a hurt! Any hurt I've gone through, he wants me to use to help others who might be going through the same hurt. He wants me to share it and my experience. God can use the problems in my life to give me a ministry to others. In fact, the very thing I’m most ashamed of and resent the most could become my greatest ministry in helping others.

In retrospect, who can better help somebody going through a financial problems than somebody who went through a financial problems? Who can better help somebody struggling with an addiction than somebody who’s struggled with an addiction? Who can better help parents of a special needs child than parents who raised a special needs child? Who can better help somebody who’s lost a child than somebody who lost a child?

The very thing I hate the most in my life is what God wants to use for good in my life and helps to fulfill my purpose.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1, verses 4 and 6, “God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things” (NLT).

Rick Warren calls this “redemptive suffering.” Redemptive suffering is when you go through a problem or a pain for the benefit of others.

This is exactly what Jesus did. When he died on the cross, he didn't deserve to die. He went through that pain for my benefit so that I can be saved and go to Heaven.

There are many different causes for the problems, pains, and suffering in life. Sometimes the stuff that happens I bring on myself. When I make stupid decisions, then it causes pain. If I go out and overspend and buy things I can’t afford and presume on the future, and then I go deeply in debt and lose my house, I can’t say, “God, why did you let me lose my house?” I can’t blame God for my bad choices.

But for some problems I’m completely innocent. It could have been a hurt by the pain, stupidity, and sins of others. And some of the pain in your life is for redemptive suffering. God often allows us to go through a problem so that we can then help others.

So today, I should consider problems I've faced in life, ones in which I've questioned God about or wondered why they ever happened. I should consider how could I use these painful experiences to minister to others.