I don't know how some in today's church got the false idea that the preacher is a servant and the folks in the pews are just members. No one is a bystander in God's kingdom! All believers are in partnership with the Lord (2 Cor. 6:1). He chose to work through mankind to accomplish the gospel mission on earth. To borrow a biblical metaphor, we are the workers cultivating and harvesting His fields (Matt. 9:37-38).
God gave one or more spiritual gifts to every single believer to aid in the work for His kingdom. We each need this special "wiring" to carry out our unique role in His plan. He knits that spiritual gift into our personality and inborn talents to create a useful and effective servant. And just to be clear, there is no such thing as a non-gifted believer.
Believers are the Lord's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works (Eph. 2:10). Spiritual gifts are not our own abilities. The Holy Spirit manifests them through us. Remember, it is the sap running from the vine into the branches that produces fruit (John 15:5). In the same way, the Spirit lives and works through God's followers to bring forth acts of service. The Lord's power is behind it all. Think of that when you are tempted to shy away from God-given opportunities.
God's awesome power is present in and available to every believer. The Holy Spirit equips us to obey the Lord in whatever He calls us to do. Don't waste your life sitting in a pew! Get busy using that spiritual gift. The fields of this world are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).Dr. Charles Stanley,Maintaining Focus
Has it ever been easier or more convenient than now for a believer to lose focus on God? If the apostle Paul found himself "greatly distressed" that Athens was "full of idols" (Acts 17:16), what would he think after checking out today's culture? The Internet alone is overwhelming. A recent Wall Street Journal article quotes an Internet guru who plugged the word "God" into a popular search engine. He received a number of responses remarkably close to the amount of sites listed for "sex." Yahoo Inc. lists thousands of sites devoted to religion and spirituality, compared with thousands about movies and hundreds about home and garden.
And these figures are expanding exponentially. We're only a mouse click away from countless links, Web pages, and chat rooms, that define God, redefine Him, recast Him into our own image, or explain Him away altogether.
With all this at our fingertips, it's more important than ever to stay focused on the true God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We can't allow ourselves to be sidetracked by falsehoods or temptations that will prove destructive to our faith.
The writer to the Hebrews called this "fixing our thoughts" and "fixing our eyes." "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 3:1; 12:2).
The old adage is true; the eyes are a window to the soul. So what things will your eyes let into your soul today? It's your call. You get to decide to be the strong, self-disciplined person you know you want to be, or let your eyes lead you to places that you know deep down you don't want to go. Focus.
Our Partnership with God
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
I don't know how some in today's church got the false idea that the preacher is a servant and the folks in the pews are just members. No one is a bystander in God's kingdom! All believers are in partnership with the Lord (2 Cor. 6:1). He chose to work through mankind to accomplish the gospel mission on earth. To borrow a biblical metaphor, we are the workers cultivating and harvesting His fields (Matt. 9:37-38).
God gave one or more spiritual gifts to every single believer to aid in the work for His kingdom. We each need this special "wiring" to carry out our unique role in His plan. He knits that spiritual gift into our personality and inborn talents to create a useful and effective servant. And just to be clear, there is no such thing as a non-gifted believer.
Believers are the Lord's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works (Eph. 2:10). Spiritual gifts are not our own abilities. The Holy Spirit manifests them through us. Remember, it is the sap running from the vine into the branches that produces fruit (John 15:5). In the same way, the Spirit lives and works through God's followers to bring forth acts of service. The Lord's power is behind it all. Think of that when you are tempted to shy away from God-given opportunities.
God's awesome power is present in and available to every believer. The Holy Spirit equips us to obey the Lord in whatever He calls us to do. Don't waste your life sitting in a pew! Get busy using that spiritual gift. The fields of this world are ripe for harvest (John 4:35).Dr. Charles Stanley,Maintaining Focus
Has it ever been easier or more convenient than now for a believer to lose focus on God? If the apostle Paul found himself "greatly distressed" that Athens was "full of idols" (Acts 17:16), what would he think after checking out today's culture? The Internet alone is overwhelming.
A recent Wall Street Journal article quotes an Internet guru who plugged the word "God" into a popular search engine. He received a number of responses remarkably close to the amount of sites listed for "sex." Yahoo Inc. lists thousands of sites devoted to religion and spirituality, compared with thousands about movies and hundreds about home and garden.
And these figures are expanding exponentially. We're only a mouse click away from countless links, Web pages, and chat rooms, that define God, redefine Him, recast Him into our own image, or explain Him away altogether.
With all this at our fingertips, it's more important than ever to stay focused on the true God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We can't allow ourselves to be sidetracked by falsehoods or temptations that will prove destructive to our faith.
The writer to the Hebrews called this "fixing our thoughts" and "fixing our eyes." "Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 3:1; 12:2).
The old adage is true; the eyes are a window to the soul. So what things will your eyes let into your soul today? It's your call. You get to decide to be the strong, self-disciplined person you know you want to be, or let your eyes lead you to places that you know deep down you don't want to go. Focus.
- Steve Arterburn