Love, Life and Ministry # 1

Picture Courtesy of Lea vd Heever

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NKJV)

The above scripture puts into context what the motivating factor in our lives should be. The motivation for interacting with people, ministry, doing good deeds and sacrificing yourself for a cause: should all be motivated by love. So often we do good things with questionable motives, we start off with the right intentions, but end up trying to draw attention to ourselves, or at least, away from God.

You see, when you do anything out of love, it is a direct reflection of the Father Himself, because God is love (1John 4:8). We often claim to have Jesus as our first love, but do our fruits portray this? I am not out to condemn anyone, but let's be honest, if more Christians had a revelation of how much God loves them, then they would be able to give that very same love away, to a world that is in such desperate need of it! Jesus said, that it is by this (love) that all men will know that you are my disciples, that you "have love for one another" (John 13:35)

Friends, if you don't yet experience or even have a knowledge of the love that God has for you, then how will you ever be able to share His love? The greatest revelation that any believer may ever get in their walk with God is how much He loves you. It will revolutionize the way you go about doing life and ministry, because it is no longer an aimless pursuit from one religious deed to the next, in fact it becomes a pursuit of more love, which is more God, to be able to give more of it away!

This post has, hopefully, whet your appetite to find out more about how much God loves you and that it is not just a cliched phrase that Christians have killed over the years. Rather, it is a tangible reality of the security in knowing that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more or less, when we are in Him. The following posts will expand further and go deeper into what the bible says about God's love for the world and how we can tap into it and be part of it!

What Lies Ahead: Awesomeness!

Friends! After much prayer and deliberation, I have settled on a definite direction for this blog for the year 2011. Most of my earlier posts involved my being involved with the 2010 soccer world cup and then from there, transitioning to bible school in the U.S.A. My passion for ministry is only surpassed by my passion for Jesus and this single focus will dictate future posts. "Start Living" is going to transition as well, to where I believe God is taking my ministry.

"Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." - Matthew 10:39

People, are what ministry is all about. Helping bring you to a closer, more intimate relationship with Jesus, so that you can change your generation and have a positive effect on the generations to come, is my sole purpose in life. If people can understand who they are in Christ, what the finished work of the cross actually means and how they can access grace through faith, then I believe they will stop at nothing to achieve the goals God has set before them. We will reach our potentials, start living and bring glory to God in the process. Not by our own works, but by God's grace, because if we try in our own strength Christ died in vein! (Galatians 2:20)

I say this only because, for us to reach our potential in Christ, we must come to the end of ourselves. The sooner we come to the end of ourselves, the sooner we are able to walk in purpose and understanding of what God's will is for our lives. Romans 12 speaks of God's good and perfect will for your life and mine; this means that whatever plans God has for us, they are to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us a hope and a future! (Jeremiah 29:11)

These promises are ours for the taking, however, most don't walk in the fullness of what Christ has for us. Most people are satisfied with a mediocre, safe existence; but I am here to say that Jesus came to give us life and life in abundance! (John 10:10) Be encouraged, therefore, to press in to the fullness that is on offer, with an intimate relationship with Jesus and you will walk in His will more accidentally, than you ever will on purpose!

A New Year in Time

Happy New year everyone, may 2011 be another stepping stone to a brighter, more joy-filled future! Having seen the year of 2010 fly by like it did, it makes me realise more and more how little time we actualy have on earth and how precious every moment is. So much of our time goes into trivial things: movies, video games, driving, sport or sleeping.

The average person spends four years queuing (waiting in line) in a lifetime, two years and three months on Facebook (when Facebook has actually lasted a lifetime) and one year and four months getting ready.

Keeping these (seemingly trivial) facts in mind it made me think about how much things in life actually steal our time. We get sucked into things that seem important at the time, but in fact have no bearing on how we can reach our potentials in life. Think of all the times you've answered surveys on the phone (6 months), read junk mail in the post (8 months) or worrying (5 years est.). Now you might argue that most things we do are necessary for us to live our lives and carry on with our days. But are they really? The average man spends 30 minutes a day in the bathroom and 2 years of his life watching T.V ( the average woman spends 3 years of her life watching T.V!)

We have added so many 'optional extras' to our lives, filled up our days, weeks, months and years to such an extent that they start to slip by unnoticed and unaccounted for. Relationships start to fall apart, health starts to fail and your perspective starts to change, our past seems like a fuzzy haze that is better left forgotten.

My challenge to myself and to you, for 2011, is to not let the seconds, minutes or hours pass without being able to give a constructive account for them. Prioritise your time: God, family and then responsibilities. An eternal perspective on life is the only way of getting proper earthly priorities.

Be blessed and may God keep you and make His face shine upon you, may He be gracious to you, as you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness!

Sources: dailymirror.uk funtrivia.com donotmail.org silhouetteclipart.com facebook.com brainz.org