God is too good

Recently I have been feeling alone in this journey. When I feel alone, I get overwhelmed and try to do too much. This has been a time of stretching for me. One of the things I had grown use to having something to work with when beginning a new ministry. Most ministries I have been involved in have had someone there for me to lead and then those people would reach their friends. This has been frustrating to me realizing that I have no one outside of my immediate family to disciple here. As I was praying yesterday, I came to the thought that God was the only one to create something out of nothing. This caused me to beg Him to do this again in this church start. I am realizing that it is God who brings people to Himself and it will be God that will connect me with those He wants to bring to Himself. It will be God that creates ex nihilo (I think I spelled that right, it means out of nothing) and it will be God who gets the honor for all He creates.

I also have been struggling with what ministry really is. I have felt guilty about not beating down every door that I walk by and share the Gospel. In Hawaii, I would have the cops called on me and run off if I took this approach. I have been spending a lot of my time settling my family, which also has brought guilt on me. You see, I am guilty but not of avoiding ministry but defining ministry wrongly. I believe one of the measures that Paul tells Timothy about the office of a Pastor is to have his household in order. This means my family is the second level of ministry built on the foundation of Christ. If I don't lead my family, I cannot lead others. I am guilty of segmenting ministry and life. This is horribly wrong but is also the atmosphere that I have grown up in. You had ministry stuff and family stuff and ministry stuff was not to cross over to family stuff or vice versa. This is garbage. My family is my ministry. I am a father before I am a minister of the Gospel. But also, my family is called to this as much as I am which means that God will use our family as a whole to start this church. I refuse to feel guilty about taking care of my family and seeing God use them to draw others into the kingdom.

Which leads me to this thought. I think most of us are guilty of segmenting our Christian lives. We do our Christian things and our family things. We look at ministry as something we do and not something we are. God has called us out of darkness not to put a hat on for a couple of hours a week but to live Christ through everything we are part of. I call this natural Christian living. We should move from ministry and life things being separate to our life being ministry. We should naturally live as Christ's representatives through our family time, our work, our vacation, our friendships and our hobbies. It should be as if we live to minister for Christ and to Christ through all of life's activities. Paul said "to live is Christ", what if that meant more than living through persecution and meant naturally loving people in everyday situations and events. We must quit segmenting our Christian life and our other life. The relationships that we are in are there to love Christ through and to. The job we have is there to love Christ and most of the events God has allowed us to connect with are there to love Christ through and to. Don't live as Christ is only there in church or ministry, live like He is loved through a basketball game or the families connected on a soccer team or through your bike club. When we move to natural Christ living we move to where God wants us, complete intimacy with Him.

Comments

  1. just keep on being shawn i see christ in you and through brother, love ya.

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  2. Pray for your whole family each and every day. I love what you have written here and you are so right. I have a tendency to segmenting my Christian life and not always making it the center of everything I do. Hang in there and God will bless you all.

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  3. I'll be praying for your family. God is good he always provide for our needs and everything that we ask for. God is working in you and as far as i can see. u really are living ur life for Christ, that's amazing. u wouldn't be in Hawaii if it weren't for God. I thank God for you and ur Wonderful Family.

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  4. Your words are words of wisdom! Thank you for sharing. Praying for your family!!!

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  5. You're on target, Shawn...keep looking to God to create your ministry and you'll be as successful as He plans for you to be. I'll pray for your strength, discernment, and wisdom as you walk this road. Much love to you and your family.

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  6. I just read this from the book "Jesus Calling" and had to share.

    When I give you no special guidance, stay where you are. Concentrate on doing your everyday tasks in awareness of My Presence with you. The Joy of My Presence will shine on you, as you do everything for Me. Thus you invite Me into every aspect of your life. Through collaborating with Me in all things, you allow My Life to merge with yours. This is the secret not only of joyful living - http://bit.ly/eF5kSq

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