All posts tagged: Service

7 Reasons why God won’t use you

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Throughout time, God has, in His Sovereignty, chosen to use people to accomplish his purpose. When he needed a deliverer for his people in Egypt, he called Moses. When he needed to finally save men from sin and damnation, he chose Mary to bring Jesus into the world. He used a stick to part the Red Sea, a little boy’s lunch of fish and bread to feed thousands. He even spoke through a donkey at one time. So God is in the business of using people to accomplish his plan. But as much as God wants to use us, sometimes he cannot adequately use us because we get in His way. The following are 7 reasons God cannot adequately use you. 1. You steal His Glory I am the Lord ; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.  Isaiah 42:8 ESV Satan was banished for it Nebuchadnezzar regretted it Herod was killed for it. Simon was cursed for trying to buy for his glory Paul …

Charity Begins at Home

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A Paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 13  Author Unknown and altered by J. Yardy Though in the glamour of the public eye I sway the emotions of many by my oratory, or my silver singing, or by my skillful playing, or by my winning personality, and then go home and gripe because things don’t go m way, I am become a sounding brass or a tingling cymbal. And though I am able to impress others with my vast knowledge of the deep things of the Word of God in Bible Studies and prayer groups, and though I am able to accomplish mighty things through faith so that I become famous in the church as a remover of mountains, and have not love that reads the deep longings of the hearts around the family circle, and removes the barriers that grow up in shy and tender hearts, I am nothing at all. And though in glamour of public praise I bestow my goods to feed the poor, and though I win the name and fame of the …

So long Selfie…

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The word “Selfie” first popped up in an Australian chat room on September 13, 2002, to describe an undignified scene.  For years after its birth, “selfie” crept through the web largely unnoticed. But in 2012, the word of the year began its ascent to digital fame. By August 2013, Oxford proclaimed it a real English-language word and gave it a place in the dictionary — but that was merely a stepping stone to lingual infamy. “Selfie” beat out seven competitors, including “twerk,” “schmeat” (synthetically produced meat) and “bitcoin” for the Word of the Year crown. What is the meaning of “Selfie?” Selfie is: “A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smart phone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.” I often thought it was something that kids did until I saw Presidents and Heads of state do it at a funeral. Sorry, I did not mean to sound too self-righteous. I have taken selfies of myself – innocent snapshots hanging with my family, celebrating and creating digital memories to enjoy …

You are being build into a Spiritual House

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Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 God is on a mission. Through the hands of the master carpenter he is building a temple. Only this time a spiritual power house. As we draw new to Him, our foundation is the chief cornerstone – Jesus himself. I love the way C. S. Lewis describes it in mere christianity: Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth …

7 Habits of Highly Effective Christians

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Charles Nobles once said, “first we make our habits, then our habits make us.” We are what we repeatedly do. And if we ever want excellence in our lives, we need to remember that it “is not an act, but a habit.” Some habits are good, others very bad and still some are of no value or eternal significance. However, to effectively impact the people around us and leave a lasting impression, we must develop good habits and do everything in our power to unlearn bad ones. I would like to leave you with 7 Habits of highly effective christians. By their constant practice of 7 biblical principles they do not only excel in their knowledge of God, devotion to the Lord, ministry and calling, they also effectively inspire and challenge others to personal development and growth. They give cheerfully Their primary motivation is not what they will get out of their giving. They are more interested in being a blessing than receiving a blessing. They are kingdom driven and what ever promotes the work of …

Servant Leadership

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“A person who is worthy of being a leader wants power not for himself, but in order to be of service.” — J. Ervin, Jr. “Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others.” — H. Jackson Brown, Jr. “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” — Martin Luther King Jr “Men are governed only by serving them; the rule is without exception.” — V. Cousin “Servant-leadership is more than a concept, it is a fact. Any great leader, by which I also mean an ethical leader of any group, will see herself or himself as a servant of that group and will act accordingly.” — M. Scott Peck “The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life …

Cultivating Growth: what church leaders are saying

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Six leaders describe how they foster spiritual transformation in others Article Via Leadership Journal There are many ways Christians grow: Bible study, fellowship, service, prayer, even hardship. Of course all transformation is ultimately the result of God’s work in a person’s heart. But we were curious: what can a leader do to facilitate this mysterious change in those he or she leads? We asked six church leaders to share one way in which they foster spiritual growth. We trust their responses will contribute to your growth, too. Discover the Story Together Scripture is best encountered in community. Sean Gladding For a decade my wife and I have been leading a study called “The Story of God.” Basically, we retell familiar biblical narratives in plain, … Disciplinarians Needed A firm word can lead to spiritual growth. Merrill Powers For the past 11 years, my wife and I have had the privilege of working with individuals who suffer from substance abuse issues. Nearly 600 men … Feed Yourself First If we’re not growing, we have little to …

How to work for Google Earth in a hurry!

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A few days ago, George and Lu Sigalas, a husband and wife and members of our church invited my family to spend 4th of July with them in the hills of San Jose, California. We accept promptly. I was thinking, free food a swimming pool and a magnificent view for the fireworks later that evening. We made it up the mountain and began to mingle  with the people at the house. George and Lu introduced his nephew and his wife the owners of the house in the hills. The kids jumped into the pool and my wife and I began checking out the finger foods on the tables. While we stood there a gentleman came over and got a plate of meatballs, he said hi and went back to his seat. A few minutes later he came back and got another plate. At this time we realized the  meatballs must have been really good. So we went over and got some too. While we stood around talking this gentleman reached out and introduced himself as Michael. …