Taking a break

Dave and church

I just re-read something I wrote a long time ago:

"I learned many years ago that it does not matter how busy I am for God, or how many things I am doing in the Name of Jesus, or how much I am able to bless other people, if I am not “with Jesus” on a continual basis. How easy it is to be absorbed, obsessed, and consumed with our little ministry, our little work, our little church, and forget that the whole reason we are called in the first place is to minister to the Lord, to be with Him, to love Him. Are we in love with the Lord, or are we in love with the Lord’s work? Are we motivated by the Lord’s Need, or by man’s need? If the Lord told us to come aside for a year, leave our ministry alone, and just be with Him, would it bring us great joy or would we argue that we are engaged in such an important work that we cannot stop?"

From "The Priests of the Lord"
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-priests-of-the-lord-part-1.html

Guess what?

I said "I learned" but I need to learn it again.

So I've been taking a break from things.

But I thought this idea of "ministering to the Lord" might give you something interesting to think about.

Here's another part:

"Is it possible that long ago we became so entrenched in the work of the Lord that He is no longer involved in what we are doing? Could it be that we are now proceeding in our own strength, in our own name, according to flesh and blood? The fruit of our labor (or the lack thereof) tells the whole story. If spiritual fruit is defined by how many people are saved, how many churches are planted, how many sermons are preached, then we can bring forth that kind of fruit and never involve the Lord at all. But if spiritual fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control, then we must be with Jesus in order to bring forth this fruit, and no amount of WORKING for God can make up for a lack of simply BEING with Him."

If you're interested in reading the whole thing, here's the link again:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/the-priests-of-the-lord-part-1.html


-Chip



PO Box 552, Canandaigua, NY 14424, USA