Many have a worldly view of "ministry success." They think if they have won many to Christ, planted many churches, pastored a large church, etc., that they have achieved "ministry success." This is false. Ministry success is doing what the Lord calls you to do, to be a faithful steward of your gifts and calling (1 Pet. 4:10). It is the Lord's job to save and sanctify people.
Let's say you want to do a certain ministry. You make plans. You pray. You execute your plan and everything works out as you prayed it would! A door is open for you to fulfill your ministry. Praise God! But also, be prepared to praise God if you are opposed, thwarted, hindered, blocked, slandered, persecuted, or run out of town for faithfully fulfilling your calling.
Don’t equate "ministry success" with getting what you want, the size of your church, the scope of your ministry, the number of your converts, but with being faithful to be and do what God has gifted and called you to be and do. Faithfulness to the Lord is real ministry success. Just ask Jeremiah, who was constantly rejected, persecuted, and eventually taken captive to Egypt after warning other people not to go to Egypt. There in Egypt he died. He had no converts. Yet Jeremiah had ministry success because he was faithful to do what the Lord called him to do. Mediate on the Scriptures below so that when you have made plans to do ministry, prayed, prepared, and yet are thwarted, hindered, and all is overthrown, you can still praise God.
- Ps. 33:17 "A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength."
- Ps. 37:23 "The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way."
- Prov. 16:9 "The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps."
- Prov. 19:21 "Many plans are in a man’s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand."
- Prov. 20:24 "Man’s steps are ordained by the Lord, How then can man understand his way?"
- Prov. 21:31 "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the Lord."
- Jer. 10:23 "I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps."
Be faithful to do your ministry and trust and praise the Lord for whatever path He may set you on.
Breaking news for anyone who hasn't worked this out yet:
Cows are vegan.
No, stay with me.
The cow eats the grass. The clover. The herbs. The wildflowers. The diverse, mineral-rich, organically grown plant matter from the field.
The cow then, and this is where it gets interesting, converts all of that plant material into complete protein, bioavailable heme iron, zinc, B12, fat-soluble vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, creatine, and carnosine.
Using its four stomachs. Which are considerably better at this than yours.
So technically, the most efficient way to eat a plant-based diet is to let a cow do it first.
The cow is the blender.
The cow is doing the processing you cannot do yourself.
When you eat beef, you are eating a hyperconcentrated, biologically optimised, grass-powered superfood that a vegan has been assembling for you in a field for eighteen months.
You're welcome.
@Neurocell83@jwilson1717@DelusionPosting We would love to help you learn Greek (and Hebrew if you want). We help people drop translations and learn to read and study the scriptures so you can evaluate scholarly arguments for yourself. https://t.co/IhwRZA6Wnc
Owen’s definition of theology:
“True theology is nothing but the disciplined efforts of the student's intellect (directed according to the rule of Scripture) to enhance and improve those inner spiritual gifts and saving light which constitute true, heavenly wisdom.”
🎯💯🔥👌
@brettroberts To be fair their big chain competitors are as bad. I now look for locally owned pizza places instead. A little more expensive but a much better experience and you support a local business.
We want to know what your experience level in Greek is because in a couple days we will be starting an event that everyone can take part in.
Stay tuned for that — But for now share your experience with Greek:
This is one of the reasons I chose the platform and model I did for Biblical Mastery Academy Tutor. You never have to update the app, next time you access it, it will automatically be the latest version. If you want to learn biblical Greek, try it at https://t.co/Px31t0UvqV.
In a world of self-improving software, nothing feels more dated than "click here to update the app". This will become more obvious as the rate of software production continues to increase. The only viable software delivery model is the web's: "Hot app replacement".
“Redemption is not just about being saved from sin, it is also about being saved to something—to resume the task for which we were originally created.
And what was that task? In Genesis, God gives what we might call the first job description: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.”
The first phrase, “be fruitful and multiply,” means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws.
The second phrase, “subdue the earth,” means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, compose music.
This passage is sometimes called the Cultural Mandate because it tells us that our original purpose was to create cultures, build civilizations—nothing less.
This means that our vocation or professional work is not a second-class activity, something we do just to put food on the table. It is the high calling for which we were originally created. The way we serve a Creator God is by being creative with the talents and gifts He has given us.
We could even say that we are called to continue God’s own creative work. Of course, we do not create from nothing, ex nihilo, as God did; our job is to develop the powers and potentials that God originally built into the creation—using wood to build houses, cotton to make clothes, or silicon to make computer chips. Though modern social and economic institutions are not explicitly referred to in the Garden of Eden, their biblical justification is rooted in the Cultural Mandate”
From Total Truth
Thanks to WayneAna Villarreal for posting!
Want to truly go deeper in your Bible reading? Then don't just read a translation. Instead see how the authors phrased things in New Testament Greek. Comprehending the original language unlocks deeper meaning and enjoyment.
"I still do _some_ in English" 😎 Stephen Hackett spends most of his time reading the Bible in New Testament Greek. The best part is that you can use the same system that he did to learn Greek at https://t.co/O0xHgg1Hq5 #BibleStudy#Greek#NewTestament#Scripture#DevotionalLife
Your pastor may not be the best preacher, but if he opened the Bible today and preached what the text says and pointed to Christ, you are blessed. That may be a rarer thing than you imagine.
This word from @PaulTripp is spot on.
“Two of the angriest men I ever counseled were two of the best non-seminary trained theologians. They were guys who just loved the labyrinthine nature of Biblical theology, and they had studied it, but that theology hadn’t transformed their living. And it was all about them, and everything made them angry.
I mean, if everything makes me angry, that’s me in the center of my world as king. But they could have passed a third-year level theology exam with no problem.”