The Leader’s First Calling
We would all agree that church leaders must devote themselves to the daily study of God’s Word. They need to work at developing their gifts and calling. They will likely spend many hours in ministry service. Those things are all essential parts of ministry and are always important priorities.
In all the “doing”, however, leaders must not lose sight of their most important quest: to know Christ; to have His likeness formed in them; and to have His Spirit empower them.
Many people seek to find spiritual fulfillment from their “ministry” or “calling”, instead of through their relationship with God. They become far more concerned with what they can do or accomplish than with who they are becoming in Christ.
Our spiritual destiny is not just about what we do for God. It consists instead in the conforming of our life to like Christ’s. Our destiny--first and foremost is Christ likeness.
There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul was an extraordinary man. God used him to lead thousands of people to Christ, write Scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, plant churches and move in spiritual gifts with power. We would certainly say Paul fulfilled all that God called him to do.
Yet Paul’s top priority was not his calling. It was his passion to know and become like Jesus! It was Paul who wrote, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil 3:8, 10 & 12-15).
Spiritual Thoughts
. Take that which God has given you and share it. - Stephen F. Olford
. His strength is made perfect, not in our strength, but in our weakness. - Hannah Whitall Smith
. Passions are evil if love is evil and good if it is good. – Augustine
. lease make of my life what You would have it be. Time and fate have twisted things I cannot straighten out alone. Dear God, may I begin again. My body, my mind, my spirit, my love, my hate, my pain, my sorrows, my joy, my questions, my fears, my hopes , my visions, I give them all to You. Amen. - Marianne Williamson
We would all agree that church leaders must devote themselves to the daily study of God’s Word. They need to work at developing their gifts and calling. They will likely spend many hours in ministry service. Those things are all essential parts of ministry and are always important priorities.
In all the “doing”, however, leaders must not lose sight of their most important quest: to know Christ; to have His likeness formed in them; and to have His Spirit empower them.
Many people seek to find spiritual fulfillment from their “ministry” or “calling”, instead of through their relationship with God. They become far more concerned with what they can do or accomplish than with who they are becoming in Christ.
Our spiritual destiny is not just about what we do for God. It consists instead in the conforming of our life to like Christ’s. Our destiny--first and foremost is Christ likeness.
There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul was an extraordinary man. God used him to lead thousands of people to Christ, write Scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, plant churches and move in spiritual gifts with power. We would certainly say Paul fulfilled all that God called him to do.
Yet Paul’s top priority was not his calling. It was his passion to know and become like Jesus! It was Paul who wrote, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Phil 3:8, 10 & 12-15).
Spiritual Thoughts
. Take that which God has given you and share it. - Stephen F. Olford
. His strength is made perfect, not in our strength, but in our weakness. - Hannah Whitall Smith
. Passions are evil if love is evil and good if it is good. – Augustine
. lease make of my life what You would have it be. Time and fate have twisted things I cannot straighten out alone. Dear God, may I begin again. My body, my mind, my spirit, my love, my hate, my pain, my sorrows, my joy, my questions, my fears, my hopes , my visions, I give them all to You. Amen. - Marianne Williamson
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