Loyalty or Faith?

[Bobinfaith]

Dear Brothers and sisters;

I have always admired persons who have close ties with their families and community as a ministry. I can see it in a man's face who loves to come home to his wife and kids. Praise God for that! :shade:

When a person goes to a community center or retirement home to serve dinner, or just hang out. Its a joy when the residents light up and their eyes bug out like a volkswagon in reaction to the person's upbeat attitude. lol!

I especially love to see how a person's witness becomes an inspiration while serving in the church or at work to the pastoral staff or employer.
:boy_hug::computer:

Ever notice at times we get ho hummed about the things we have been doing like clock work everyday for years? But at least we feel some sort of accomplishment that we did our part for the day?

Please read and meditate on Micah 6:6-8, With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good? And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to LOVE MERCY and to walk humbly with your God.

Many are loyal to "order and organization", and feel good about making our rounds. But the one thing that God desires to see is our obedience and FAITH toward LOVE and MERCY. To serve in LOVE is the foundation of our ministry. MERCY is the blessings of sacrificing self for the goodwill and assurance of others.

In the real world that we are to be separated from is this same real world that we are to reach out to in our witness to others. The real world sees a difference in Christians because of our FAITH. Singlemom asked an excellent question in Live Chat. What is the difference between FAITH and CHRIST. They are one in the same. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Amen?

Hebrews 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Lamentations 3:22-23, Because of the Lord's great LOVE we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Meditate on these beautiful verses. God rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

We are to wake up and just PRAISE God for a new day in our lives. PRAISE God for the opportunity to be a part of His wonderful purpose and plan. PRAISE God for all the blessings that we don't even see ahead of our day.

Think of every single thing that crosses our path and many times;

Isaiah 53:6-7, We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

So when someone cuts you off and gives you the finger, give them the green light. Jesus died on the cross for us. We are suppose to be blameless? I am the first to confess I fall all the time and get mud on my shirt. I am so sorry. PRAISE God for His forgiveness when we fall.

When God gives us the opportunity, don't think like a new toy for being loyal - keeping score, but a new day. Does this not mean that His purpose and plan for us comes from reward for FAITH?

Romans 5:1-5, Therefore, since we have been justified through FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by FAITH into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His LOVE into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

Final thought. This is not easy but with God all things are possible. FAITH is also reassurance from God. He is pleased.

Your servant in Christ Jesus.

 

[born*again]

Amen, brother in Christ.......God bless you in all you do..........; )

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Dear Brothers and sisters;

I have always admired persons who have close ties with their families and community as a ministry. I can see it in a man's face who loves to come home to his wife and kids. Praise God for that! :shade:

When a person goes to a community center or retirement home to serve dinner, or just hang out. Its a joy when the residents light up and their eyes bug out like a volkswagon in reaction to the person's upbeat attitude. lol!

I especially love to see how a person's witness becomes an inspiration while serving in the church or at work to the pastoral staff or employer.
:boy_hug::computer:

Ever notice at times we get ho hummed about the things we have been doing like clock work everyday for years? But at least we feel some sort of accomplishment that we did our part for the day?

Please read and meditate on Micah 6:6-8, With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good? And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to LOVE MERCY and to walk humbly with your God.

Many are loyal to "order and organization", and feel good about making our rounds. But the one thing that God desires to see is our obedience and FAITH toward LOVE and MERCY. To serve in LOVE is the foundation of our ministry. MERCY is the blessings of sacrificing self for the goodwill and assurance of others.

In the real world that we are to be separated from is this same real world that we are to reach out to in our witness to others. The real world sees a difference in Christians because of our FAITH. Singlemom asked an excellent question in Live Chat. What is the difference between FAITH and CHRIST. They are one in the same. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Amen?

Hebrews 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Lamentations 3:22-23, Because of the Lord's great LOVE we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Meditate on these beautiful verses. God rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

We are to wake up and just PRAISE God for a new day in our lives. PRAISE God for the opportunity to be a part of His wonderful purpose and plan. PRAISE God for all the blessings that we don't even see ahead of our day.

Think of every single thing that crosses our path and many times;

Isaiah 53:6-7, We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

So when someone cuts you off and gives you the finger, give them the green light. Jesus died on the cross for us. We are suppose to be blameless? I am the first to confess I fall all the time and get mud on my shirt. I am so sorry. PRAISE God for His forgiveness when we fall.

When God gives us the opportunity, don't think like a new toy for being loyal - keeping score, but a new day. Does this not mean that His purpose and plan for us comes from reward for FAITH?

Romans 5:1-5, Therefore, since we have been justified through FAITH, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by FAITH into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perserverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His LOVE into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

Final thought. This is not easy but with God all things are possible. FAITH is also reassurance from God. He is pleased.

Your servant in Christ Jesus.

Just a weord about you're citing the world we move around in as the "real world". In his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning often refers to God as the "Really Real".
Under that concept, the only "real world" is the Kingdom of God.

GBU my friend.

SLE

 

[Mike]

Dear Bob . You are absolutly amazing . Is there no limits ? Thanks for the thread . Mike

 

[To Christ]

Ever notice at times we get ho hummed about the things we have been doing like clock work everyday for years? But at least we feel some sort of accomplishment that we did our part for the day?

Please read and meditate on Micah 6:6-8, With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good? And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to LOVE MERCY and to walk humbly with your God.

Many are loyal to "order and organization", and feel good about making our rounds. But the one thing that God desires to see is our obedience and FAITH toward LOVE and MERCY. To serve in LOVE is the foundation of our ministry. MERCY is the blessings of sacrificing self for the goodwill and assurance of others.

Bobinfaith, spending time with what you have written here has been thought-provoking. I thank God for your eloquent and prayerful contrubutions.

It is not only the "ho hummed" daily routine that can interfere with our intimacy with God. Some of us sometimes mistake the work we do for Him as relationship with Him. This is highly personal - I am not saying it applies to many of God's workers, but if there are any who have been disappointed by the end of a long-time particular service, they may relate to my experience.

I am reminded of the times that my work for the Lord was ultimately shown to be to please man. There is a great satisfaction that comes from ministry work and the accolades. We can be willing to suffer hardship for Jesus, because the "high" of knowing the fruit of our labor is for Him is a reward in itself - not necessarily that we were motivated by reward, but that in the areas of self, we have not yet cast off unrecognized worldly motivation. We might even bear drudgery aspect of ministry work, as long as we know that it is helping others for Christ.

I had two ministries with which I was involved for years. Both came to a close within months of each other. Both also included prayer ministry. For a duration after the labor ended, I figured that my part was to let the prayer ministry be my service. Then within a year, I found no energy to pray for anyone or anything in either quarter. My faith was shaken and the love of God felt inaccessible. To make a long story short, and to make quick result of my ongoing asking of God as to what I could do to be of service to Him, the answer He gave was, "Nothing. Do nothing for Me."

It took a long, uncomfortable wait until the Holy Spirit helped me accept what our Lord required of me. (Praise God, He blessed me with material provision during the waiting time!) To truly be of service and know the peace of unshakable trust in Jesus, I had to be devoid within myself of everything except willingness to receive His faith and His love.

 

[Bobinfaith]

To Christ;

When you mentioned the long duration of two ministries that came to an end, its amazing that they ended within months of each other. It reminds me of 1 Corinthians 15:1-3;

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.

Circumstances aside, Paul teaches a concept that Christians must adhere to, that is tradition - handing over, handing down, handing on, the passing of teachings to others.

Thank God for the opportunity to serve Him in the ministries commanded at that time and place. I am not saying it was perfect. But how exciting that a contribution, whether big or small, had to be made for His glory! Then pray that God will bless the ministry to the next brother or sister who is willing to serve.

When its time to rest, receive it with a blessing and refresh! Because when God appoints the time, He will see your heart and lead you to the next ministry. Its exciting! :shade:

Thank you for sharing.

Your servant in Christ Jesus.

 

[To Christ]

I am sorry about the misunderstanding, Bob. I was referring to something that happened some years ago. Everything you express here is a confirmation of what God spoke to me during the prayer only interim and the long wait I mentioned, except passing on blessings to those who came after was a given.

I had to end my work for the ministries because a physical injury disallowed the work. I worked for several years in great difficulty while God's strength gave me rise above physical pain that limited my walking. Both were very physically demanding "jobs." I kept the ministry descriptions out of the post, because they are not relevant to the glory to God. Anyone of any type of ministry for the sake of Jesus can gain each for themselves whatever might be gleaned from my experience, if they too have heard God's call to wait.

I mean I did not want to boast, yet now I tell,

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I did not include this previously because I was confining my testimony to the thread theme, and the specifics seemed a sidetrack from contrasting loyalty to faith. Even with the handicap, it took quite a work of God in me to refine my understanding of the difference between the two. Especially the unique display of love from faith in my current Pastor and church are instrumentally ongoing for my growth. At the height of my misery, God answered my prayer for the "perfect" church for me. I am fortunate to see and be at peace as to why God had to allow me to be smitten in order for me to hear Him.


:note2: