I think that the things we want to do should be things that we are doing.
We all have dreams about what we want to do and what we should be doing, but then there's also the reality element. No one sells everything that they have so that you can go on a tour of Europe or to go and live in another country to learn a new language, cos you're gonna need those things but this is where the rubber hits the road doesn't it. Many people want to do ministry but the idea of doing it full-time. Once we've sorted out what is practically necessary for us to survive, then there's the dilemma of doing what we think we ought to.
Is it really practical to leave work so that you can share the Gospel? If everyone was involved with full-time ministry work, then what will happen to the economy? Should everyone then just get involved in part-time ministry work and find ways to practically work out our faith?
This is part of a discussion that some friends and I are having and so I'm being rhetorical when I'm asking those questions.
But it does make me think that there must be a happy medium for all Christians. At college I learnt that everyone ought to be learning theology and that everyone ought to be a market place minister. Maybe I need to do my HDE and start teaching at a high school and then I can be with the people who I feel called to work with anyway! Maybe my bucket list should include making a difference in the same people's lives for an extended period of time in the same place.
Maybe when Christians can exercise their calling in practical part-time ministries, then we can live out what God intended for us. Then we'd be doing the thing that we enjoy AND allowing God to use us for his glory.
I'm rambling a bit, but in writing that first line about doing what we should be doing, I had a rush of blood to the brain and all this just came out. The more I think on it, the more I like what is here. Maybe the item of priority for my bucket list should be getting my HDE part-time next year, so that I can get to a school in 2010 :)
What I'm really saying to you is that I think we should work out what is practical and what we CAN do and then instead of waiting for later or until you only have six months left, that you get busy with those things. If God came today, you won't be expected to answer for the things you wanted to do, but only on the things that you did.
So get started on the things that matter to God and don't let the "practical" things stop you from being salt and light where you are!!
Rom 14:17 - 23
God's kingdom isn't about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ in this way, you will please God and be respected by people. We should try to live at peace and help each other have a strong faith. Don't let your appetite destroy what God has done. All foods are fit to eat, but it is wrong to cause problems for others by what you eat. It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that causes problems for other followers of the Lord. What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God. You are fortunate, if your actions don't make you have doubts. But if you do have doubts about what you eat, you are going against your beliefs. And you know that is wrong, because anything you do against your beliefs is sin.
Rom 14:17
God's kingdom isn't about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit.
Dis speaks to me, because when I get separated from God, eating and drinking (pleasure) becomes what my life is about. I say I am about God’s kingdom, but my life really is about me. I’m still selfish and wanting to have my own way like a spoilt child.
The other day I was listening to sonicflood and one of the songs was saying: . . .
“My heart reformed, my mind transformed and my will conformed to yours.” (Or something like that) and I realised that I still have a way to go.
My heart still has a way to go. My mind is slightly transformed, but when I consider my will and the fact that my mind isn’t completely transformed then how can my will be conformed to that of Christ. I have the Spirit within me, but so much of who I am is still controlled by my old nature.
There’s a part of me that understands why people became monks. It was easier to live for God when no pleasure was an option. As long as the daily grind is centred on God and pleasure is completely removed then focus on God and being Godly would be easier. Is it possible to live such a life today? Is life to be devoid of pleasure? Is their a form of pleasure that is pleasing to God? Answer!?
Rom 14:18, 19, 20(a)
If you serve Christ in this way (v17), you will please God and be respected by people. We should try to live at peace and help each other have a strong faith. Don't let your appetite destroy what God has done
If we do anything against our beliefs it is SIN. This is why we need to know what God considers sin also, because we’ll excuse our habits/pleasures as ok and not consider it sin. It’s amazing how we will justify even those things that we consider sin as not too bad so that we can get away with it.
