Growing up in church, it seems that ministry is so far away. I know I believed for so long that there was a certain beginning and end to ministry. For example, one may say ministry begins after college when I get my degree or after I get that job, once I’m married, once I graduate high school, once I’m in my 20’s, 30’s, or even 40’s. I’m here to tell you that ministry is here, and it is now. God has called us to be the salt and light of the world. Your ministry begins with you, when you’re ready to take that step.
You may be thinking, “well isn’t that easy for you to say, you’re on a ministry team?” I may be on this ministry team, but I would be the first one to admit that I am not qualified for this position. In fact if this was where you told me I would be even a year ago, I would say you’re lying. To be honest, I’m just a teenager that can barely play my instrument compared to others that are so much more skilled than me in experience and musicianship. BUT thank God, God uses the willing, not the qualified. If that were not the case, I would not be here writing to you now.
As Quincy, our team leader, has said before, “God does not call the equipped, he equips the called.” If we look into the “hall of faith” from the Bible, every single person God used was flawed. Noah was a drunk. Moses killed a man, and let’s not forget he could barley speak. Yet God used him to lead his people out from bondage. David, a man after God’s own heart, was also a murderer and an adulterer. We can even look at the apostle Paul’s life. He prosecuted Christians, God’s children, and still God used him to go on and write half of the New Testament. Time and time again we can look at whom God uses and see the flaws that come with each person.
So why did God use these men? They were willing.
In Romans 12 verse 1 Paul says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
It was right after I read this verse for the first time I thought to myself, “I really don’t have much to offer.” And you may be thinking the same thing, whether it be talents or skills, but God called us to give all of ourselves to him, no matter what you bring to the table. Nothing is too little, and no one has gone too far away for Him to use. Our God is able, and He is able to use the parts of you that you never thought were adequate enough. Through your weaknesses and your strengths God can use you. He will prepare you and strengthen you to do His work for His glory.
Ministry never really ends. Your life and the way you conduct yourself in every aspect is a ministry opportunity. How you live your life is a living testimony to what is written on your heart. Despite what the world may say, you are the light of the world and God may use the most ordinary, everyday interaction and the way you respond to plant a seed for His kingdom. Ministry is here and it is now.
- Matt
You may be thinking, “well isn’t that easy for you to say, you’re on a ministry team?” I may be on this ministry team, but I would be the first one to admit that I am not qualified for this position. In fact if this was where you told me I would be even a year ago, I would say you’re lying. To be honest, I’m just a teenager that can barely play my instrument compared to others that are so much more skilled than me in experience and musicianship. BUT thank God, God uses the willing, not the qualified. If that were not the case, I would not be here writing to you now.
As Quincy, our team leader, has said before, “God does not call the equipped, he equips the called.” If we look into the “hall of faith” from the Bible, every single person God used was flawed. Noah was a drunk. Moses killed a man, and let’s not forget he could barley speak. Yet God used him to lead his people out from bondage. David, a man after God’s own heart, was also a murderer and an adulterer. We can even look at the apostle Paul’s life. He prosecuted Christians, God’s children, and still God used him to go on and write half of the New Testament. Time and time again we can look at whom God uses and see the flaws that come with each person.
So why did God use these men? They were willing.
In Romans 12 verse 1 Paul says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice- the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
It was right after I read this verse for the first time I thought to myself, “I really don’t have much to offer.” And you may be thinking the same thing, whether it be talents or skills, but God called us to give all of ourselves to him, no matter what you bring to the table. Nothing is too little, and no one has gone too far away for Him to use. Our God is able, and He is able to use the parts of you that you never thought were adequate enough. Through your weaknesses and your strengths God can use you. He will prepare you and strengthen you to do His work for His glory.
Ministry never really ends. Your life and the way you conduct yourself in every aspect is a ministry opportunity. How you live your life is a living testimony to what is written on your heart. Despite what the world may say, you are the light of the world and God may use the most ordinary, everyday interaction and the way you respond to plant a seed for His kingdom. Ministry is here and it is now.
- Matt