I’m taking a break this week!
Seeking to honor God by living within my margins and boundaries.
How about you? When was the last time you took some time away for refreshment and rest?
Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
John Sung was a young Chinese believer who was sent by his family to America to study chemistry. After obtaining his PhD from Ohio State he went on to seminary before returning to China. During his time in the U.S., God called John to a life of service for the Kingdom. On the ship home one evening, he took his diplomas and threw them into the Pacific Ocean, telling God he would follow Him wherever He led.
After arriving home, he told his family of his calling and decision to serve Christ rather than teach science. The family thought he had lost his mind and committed him a mental institution. During his 193 days in the asylum, Sung read the Bible through 40 times! Finally, the family had him released, and he became an itinerant evangelist traveling throughout China and many Asian countries. His fifteen-year ministry was characterized by unusual power and influence until his death at the age of 43.
Not all of those who seek God’s best will be asked to give up their careers in order to serve Christ full-time. Many will serve Him in God-honoring careers, being light and salt in the marketplace. But whatever their vocation, the pilgrims of this new generation of believers will often live lives that will be misunderstood by others. Pilgrim values will be contrary to the values of this world. Life decisions based on eternal values will go against the tide of this world’s norms. Pilgrims will be thought of as foolish or at least not living up to their full potential. It will only be in the world to come that we will see completely who made the correct choices. “But wisdom is proved right by all her children” (Luke 7:35).
“Seek to depend on God for everything. Put yourself and your work into His hands. When thinking of a new undertaking, ask, ‘Is this agreeable to the mind of God? Is it for His glory?’ If it is not for His glory, it is not for your good, and you must have nothing to do with it. Mind that!
“Having settled that a certain course is for the glory of God, begin in His name and continue it to the end. Undertake it in prayer and faith and never give up.” George Mueller
What will it take to find a generation of God’s people who will live for the summit of God’s best? It will begin with individual believers who base their lives on eternal rather than temporal values. It will take believers who are so convinced about the reality of life in heaven that this world’s pleasures will not be able to grip their lives. It will begin with an eternal value system in the believer’s life.
Both the seen and unseen world has values. Individuals adopt these values and life’s choices are based upon them. This world places value on such things as youth and physical beauty, intelligence and education, the accumulation of money and physical goods, personal power and position, and self-gratification.
The world to come says that this world and its values will soon pass away. In the world to come we will all be given new bodies that don’t age or deteriorate (1 Cor. 15:35-58), we will know even as we are known (1 Cor. 13:9-12), there will be rewards for faithful service (1 Cor. 3:5-15), and we will reign with Christ forever (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 22:1-5).
Those believers with an eternal value system will have a pilgrim’s mentality. They will view this life as temporary, a brief interlude on the way to eternity forever with Jesus. They are only passing through this world on the way to a better life. The time given for this temporal life will be used for God’s glory, always with the eternal end in view. Decisions in this life will reflect the reality of the eternal life we await.
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:13-16)
The tragedies of this past week have left all of us deeply saddened and concerned about the present state and future of our country. Every news channel on our TV has non-stop interviews and commentary on the frightening details of these horrific acts. Over time we can become saturated and numb to it all. And we are tempted to simply change the channel.
But for our ethnic minority staff, especially our African-American staff, they can’t change the channel. They agonize with the continual reminder that their sense of personal vulnerability has to be addressed every moment of every day.
1 Cor. 12:25 reminds us that all parts of the body should have equal concern for each other. Therefore we stand with and support our ethnic minority staff as they live daily with the racial tensions of life today. Indeed we all live with these racial tensions.
Our Calling reminds us that we are to advance the Gospel to all peoples. We are all seeking to advance the gospel of Jesus and His Kingdom to people of all ethnicities. It does not matter the color of their skin or the color of their uniform. The command of Jesus is to disciple all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20). And we all desperately need His help and empowerment to do accomplish this challenging task.
So what are we to do?
First, we can pray for our fellow ethnic minority staff for wisdom and courage as they live with the racial tensions day in and day out.
Second, we can look for opportunities to advance the gospel in the midst of this storm. We must fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18). Jesus is the only lasting solution to these long-standing issues.
Third, we can actively listen to the voices of our ethnic minority friends and pray for ourselves for growth in understanding.
But whatever we do… Don’t change the channel !
Here’s some practical ideas on how best to utilize your extended time alone with God.
The first step in spending a half-day with God is to schedule the time and a place. The place must be free from distractions and interruptions. After you have chosen the date, you must protect it from other urgent, pressing needs that will tempt you into canceling or postponing. Remember that our enemy, the devil, is actively opposing this plan and will seek to get you to cancel or postpone this time with God. Be mentally ready for a battle!
Take with you a Bible, a notebook and pen, a songbook and perhaps a devotional book that can help you focus on the Lord.
Divide your time into three parts. During the first part you want to fellowship and worship the Lord. Read the Bible (especially the Psalms), worship Him with singing, confess known sin in prayer and thank and praise Him for all His goodness and faithfulness. During this time you also may want to read your devotional book in order to help focus our thoughts on Him.
During the second part of your time alone with God you will want to pray for others. Remember to pray as specifically as possible. A poor example would be, “Lord, please bless Joe.” A better example would be, “Lord, please help Joe live a life that is pleasing to you. Give Him a heart of obedience and a hunger for your Word.” Pray for others what you would pray for yourself.
In the third part of your time, you want to especially pray for yourself. Pray for wisdom and insight from the Lord. Pray for His perspective on your life and its problems. Pray that your heart will desire to do His will. Pray that you may be used to glorify Him through what you do and say. Pray over your future activities and plans. If you are facing a problem, ask the Lord to show you the solution or how to overcome it. Think through your current spiritual condition and make note of any impressions or ideas you may get from the Lord.
Before you finish your time alone with God, it is most helpful if you summarize in writing what things God has spoken to you. Perhaps it is a decision that you made, a new objective for the future, a task or project that must be started or other important matters. Don’t look for some mystical experience during this time. Rather, if you have taken time alone with God, realize that there will be an impact in your daily life, even though you may not have some special feelings.
It is best if you can take this half-day alone with God on a regular basis, about every several months. This is especially true if you are facing major decisions or stressful times.
Have you scheduled your next half-day alone with God?
There are many important things that fill up our personal schedules each day. These important tasks occupy our time and often other items that are much more important are neglected because of the pressure of the urgent. Taking time to pray often is considered something good to do, if we have the time, but not something that is a necessity. It is even more of a struggle, if we desire to take a half-day with the Lord for fellowship and prayer!
What is the purpose and what benefits can we expect if we take an extended time for prayer and fellowship with the Lord? Listed below are some thoughts related to this question.
When was the last time you took some extended time with the Lord? Is it time to put it on your calendar?
OVERCOMING PROBLEMS IN PERSONAL TESTIMONY PREPARATION
May the Lord use the power of your story to impact many!
Here’s some practical tips for preparing your salvation story.
ORDER OF PREPARATION FOR YOUR TESTIMONY
Your personal salvation story is a powerful way to influence others. Prepare well and then trust God to give you natural opportunities to share it.
The following are guidelines to remember when compiling your salvation story to share with others.
Our personal salvation story is designed to be shared with a non-believer. Our testimony will have its most impact if shared naturally during a personal conversation or in a small group. It can be used as a “door opener” in order to turn the attention of your listener towards spiritual matters and create an opportunity to share the gospel in a more complete way. Successful evangelism begins with a well-prepared testimony.
When sharing our testimony we want to explain what Christ has done in our lives, not preach at our listener. Everyone who has trusted Christ as their personal Savior has a testimony about how God has touched their life. Certainly this testimony is different for each person; we are not seeking to have our listener imitate our personal experience, rather we want them to personally trust Christ as their Savior.
Your testimony may be dramatic, especially if you trusted Christ as an adult, or it may not be so spectacular, if you trusted Christ as a child. But, spectacular or not, God can use your testimony to touch the hearts of others. A disciple of Jesus must be able to tell others how they came to know Christ.
OUTLINE FOR A SALVATION TESTIMONY
PART 1 Before I Trusted Christ
A brief background sketch of what your life was like before you trusted Christ (i.e. family, old way of life). During this section you may want to share one or two specific instances that would illustrate what your life was like without Christ. If you share some sinful experience, do not give a lot of details as this can disturb your listener’s concentration and detract from your main point.
PART 2 How I Trusted Christ
Specifically share how you came to know Christ as your personal Savior (i.e. when, where). Create a word picture that will attract your listener’s attention.
In this section you must remember to distinctly share the four parts of the gospel as follows:
PART 3 After I Trusted Christ
Explain briefly what changes you have seen in your life since you accepted Christ as your Savior (i.e. deep peace because our sins are forgiven, the reality of the new life, assurance of salvation based on the promises of God).
Your objective is to be able share this three-part testimony in approximately four minutes. If we examine the testimony of Paul as shared in Acts 24 and Acts 26 we find that it was about this length of time. We can also see that Paul’s testimony easily divides into the three parts listed above, which we use as our model testimony.
Developing Kingdom Leaders - Tom Yeakley 