iShineInMinistry

John 8:7 (NKJV)

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let Him throw a stone at her first.”

I love when I hear about people that are new in their faith growing little by little in their belief in the Lord. It is such a blessing to see their hearts get more understanding about the character of Jesus. I also love when someone that has been battling and struggling with a life-dominating sin issue gets victory as they cling to Jesus. It is such a blessing to see God do a work in people’s lives. I love that He continues to do work in my life and struggles too!

I think it is healthy and a genuine show of our relationship with the Lord when we can have hearts of compassion as we see people have sin issues and not judge, condemn or be ready to write them off as a failure. I love how Jesus does that with us…so why are we unable to do that with one-another? We should always look to edify, encourage and redirect as we see people get sucked back into things of the world. The Lord does not just say, “I knew she couldn’t handle this. I’m over her”, so why should we always have our self-righteous fingers ready to point out when someone stumbles?

As we walk with the Lord and continue to be sanctified each and every day, let us not forget that we too are works in progress, just like the people we decide “aren’t Christian enough” or “must not really be saved”. We are all being made into a reflection of our Savior as we learn to trust and obey. So, let’s be a blessing, pray for one another rather than point fingers when someone falls into sin and be the body of Christ that is so filled with the kindness, gentleness and unconditional love of Jesus that people actually want to know our Lord, because of our gracious witness that shows godly character and humility.

Here are a few scriptures to look at as we walk this walk of faith.

Luke 6:37-38 (NKJV)

Ephesians 5:19 (NKJV)

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)

Read John 8:1-11 about the woman caught in adultery.

Also, please make sure to keep people in prayer if you know they are struggling. Keep those that are in the spotlight in prayer as well. Lastly, keep those that have walked away from the Lord in prayer and keep interceding for them; with God all things are possible!

Are you always waiting, watching and ready to point out sin in someone else’s life and decide whether or not they are truly saved? Are you aware of the fact that only God really knows? What if people always pointed out your area of struggle and said the same about you? How would you feel?

Philippians 2:13

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

It is time for all things new and all things spring…kind of. With February already coming to a close, mission trips, ladies retreats, spring Bible studies and all sorts of other wonderful events and outreaches will be underway. There will be planning and praying, fun and fellowship, outlines and outings. All of this blessed fun is enough for us to just explode with the joy of the Lord.

Do you absolutely love the calling that you have as a woman in full-time ministry? Isn’t it so exciting to hear a praise report from a lady in your Bible study group or see God’s provision come through with the donations you need for an event? Isn’t it just the best when you are setting up an event and a new volunteer shows up? You get to spend time serving as well as meeting a potential new friend. Every part of the ministry has an opportunity to bring great joy as the Lord continues to use you for His glory.

When you are sitting with your team members, study leaders, retreat overseers, staff, or other people that you serve with on a daily basis, remember to thank the Lord for them and each of the wonderful gifts He has given to them. Remember to praise the Lord for all of the amazing ways He continues to show His faithfulness in the ministry where you serve Him. Give thanks for those moments that seem difficult and remember that God is in the middle of those situations as well. Pray without ceasing and praise the Lord at all times as you walk in this calling that is such a blessing and an honor.

I hope that you will always be thankful for this opportunity that you have to be a handmaiden of the Lord, ready and willing to be used as He sees fits. Love your calling and happy serving!

Psalm 146:5 (NET)

How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,

Whose hope is in the Lord his God.

Are you loving the calling that God has placed on your life? Take time each day to thank Him for the amazing blessing of serving in the ministry and always be grateful in this season.

2 Timothy 4:2 (NET)

Preach the message, be ready whether it is convenient or not, reprove, rebuke, exhort with complete patience and instruction.

I love this instruction in the bible because it shows us that we need to always have our mind on things above, whether or not it is a church-service day, retreat weekend or random Saturday at the salon! Sometimes we get in the habit of "turning on" and "turning off" when we work in full-time ministry, forgetting that our calling is not only contained in the walls of our church or ministry building. Let's look at this scripture and make sure we are obediently following it as we worship the Lord in every area of our lives!

We need to always be ready first off...even when it is not convenient for us. Inconvenient means times when we are at the super market trying to get dinner for the night last minute or when we are out getting a latte at the coffee shop and someone "accidentally" cuts us in line...or when we are at our friend's house just talking about nothing in particular. God can use whatever instance He wants, so we must not limit His timing and plans with the confines of our timing and plans.

We must be ready to help someone through patience and instruction in the "fun parts" and "not-so-fun parts". Sometimes we get exhort and encourage; but sometimes we have to graciously correct too. No matter what the case and the response, we must remember to be patient and helpful. When we exhort and pride begins to rear its ugly head, we need to graciously instruct.  When we have to rebuke someone that does not have a teachable spirit, we also get to graciously instruct. How do we do this?

We prepare our hearts, stay filled with the Holy Spirit and make ourselves ready, allowing ourselves to be rebuked, reproved and exhorted as God reveals areas in our lives that need to be worked on. We have to make sure we are in the right place first before we can really do this in a way that patiently instructs, rather than harshly criticizes and tears down. Let us make sure that we get ourselves ready, tell ourselves it is always convenient because it is priority and have a heart of humility so that the Lord can effectively use us, in the church and wherever else we go!

Matthew 5:16 (HCSB)

In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is...self-control.

The Lord moves so powerfully in the ministry as we are daily filled with His Holy Spirit and have the fruit of the Spirit manifesting in our lives. One of the hardest evidences of fruit in our entire society today is that of self-control. Our world tells us to follow our hearts, have “YOLO” moments and do what “feels good”. The problem with this is that our hearts are deceitfully wicked and we can only trust in the Lord with all of our hearts to walk in a way that is pleasing. This is true in our day-to-day lives as well as in the ministries that we oversee.

When we are being stewards over the ministry God has given us to oversee, we want to make sure to be in His will, doing everything to His glory and make sure that we are bearing fruit as He entrusts us to serve His people. As we prep and plan, place things in order and make sure that we have crossed every t and dotted every i, we must be careful. Our self-control in being diligent can quickly slip into a spirit of becoming a control freak. We have everything “just so” then a volunteer steps in to assist us and afterward we re-do everything they help with so that it looks the way we want. However, what we should be doing is making sure it is the way that the Lord wants.

As we pour out our hearts through service and ministry, let us continue to yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him lead the way as His vessels of honor. Let us have the fruit of the Spirit of self-control without becoming overly controlling of the situation to the point where God is no longer the center. I pray that our hearts will always check our motives and make sure that we serve in a way that is pleasing to Jesus and a wonderful example of a godly woman to the women we minister to on a daily basis.

When your plans do not look exactly as you have planned do you get in the flesh? Make sure that as you practice self-control it stays in Spirit and does not flip to control-freak mode. We need to be flexible so that we are willing to move as God moves!

Hebrews 4:1

...a promise remains...

What big plans have you made for your life that have not come to fruition yet? Have you come up with a “Plan B” and “Plan C” just in case things don't work out as you hoped and planned? Do you doubt the God of the universe when He makes a promise to give you a future and a hope? If you are coming up with alternatives to God's plan for you and making a new path for yourself to walk in...Guess what?? You doubt the God of the universe!

Do you think that He ignores our prayers? Or perhaps that He does the Lord's version of pranks, where we have a moment when we are sure He has spoken to us; but when the plan takes too long (in our opinion) it is like God is saying, "Just kidding! That's not really going to happen."

God is not making a fool of us or trying to make us crazy. He is orchestrating every single part of our lives to bring forth His sovereign plan. He sees us, He hears our prayers and He knows the exact moment when the promise He gave needs to come to pass.

When we have those times when nothing but the promise is all that remains, trust that God's faithfulness is the only thing we really need. He will move, He will bless and He will make a way out of no way. Trust, obey, wait and see...He always keeps His promises!

John 11:41-42

...“Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me...

Are you fidgeting trying to be still and know that He is God? Remember that so many people in the Bible were given promises; then they had to wait, and wait a little longer…and still wait a little while longer until they walked in their calling.