Out of the Abundance of the Heart

The tongue
O, that little member
That steers the ship
Though a small rudder

The spark
That sets aflame a forest
Animals are tamed,
But who can tame this

The tree
Producing olives and figs
With our tongue
We bless God and curse men

The tool
For building up one another
That also can
Destroy our brothers

The flaw
Of all the human race
Is corrupted hearts
In need of God's grace.

The cure
Is being filled with the Spirit
For what's within
Is what will exit.

"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart." Luke 6:45


~Inspired by James Chapter three

True Wisdom

Wisdom is not knowing. It is knowing that you do not know. We have no wisdom in ourselves, and our hearts are deceitfully wicked.  


"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord (Proverbs 3:7a)."

"If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know 
(1 Corinthians 8:2)."

Wisdom is knowing the source of where to obtain wisdom. God is the only one who is truly wise.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach (James 1:5)."

Adam and Eve sought to be wise apart from God and became fools. There is no wisdom apart from God. True wisdom is knowing that all wisdom is found in God and trusting His Word is truth.

If we follow our own foolish hearts and try to become wise through our own reasoning we will become fools.

"Professing to be wise, [we will become] fools (Romans 1:22)."

Scripture commands us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (Proverbs 3:5)."

"To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen (Romans 16:27)."(emphasis added)

The Keys to Unity

The keys to unity are humility and love.
The key to humility and love is the cross.

"Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Colossians 3:14

"In humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity" Psalm 133:1

There will be conflicts in the church and in our homes that we must handle with love and humility in order to maintain unity. Unity is not agreeing about everything, it is maintaining loving, healthy relationships despite conflicts. In order to do this we must fix our eyes on Christ. Truly, He is the perfect example of love and humility.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:5-8


May we, "[be] diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace"(Ephesians 4:3), and may God bring unity to His Church and to our homes.

Motivations for Ministry

What should the motivations of God's workman be? What are the Biblical reasons to minister to others?

1. The Glory of God
Our first motivation for ministry should be the glory of God. The goal of all ministry is to serve Christ, for as we do it to one of the least of these, we have done it for Christ. We must minister out of a heart desire to glorify God. "...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31b

While we do minister to people, serving people cannot be the focus of our ministry. Otherwise, our ministry ceases to be ministry and becomes a humanitarian work and a work of our flesh. This is important. Ministry can become an idol in that it can become our focus. We cannot truly love or minister to people if they are at the center of lives. If our goal is merely to help people, we will not be much help. However, if our chief goal is to glorify God and we lift up His name, God promises that He will draw men unto Himself.

Compassion for people will not always sustain you. People will not always appreciate your efforts to reach them with the gospel. Many laborers for Christ have been killed, tortured, and imprisoned for serving Christ. Not only this, there are people who you will not feel like ministering to that will require you to draw on God's strength in order to love and serve them. Jesus tells us if our enemy is hungry to feed Him. Truly, if we are merely serving man, we will quit when we aren't appreciated or when the man we are to serve happens to be our enemy.

The apostle Paul was faithful to the end of his ministry. He wrote these words: "For am I seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."  Galatians 1:10. Paul offers us great insight into ministry in this passage. If we are not motivated by devotion to Christ and a desire to glorify Him, we will stop ministering as soon as we wear out or are persecuted. If we are simply serving man, we will not persevere. Our highest goal in ministry must be to serve God.

2. Love
Our second motivation for ministry should be love for our others. While our chief goal in ministry is not to serve man, we should love man. Without love, we will wear out. The Bible tells us love "does not seek it's own" (1 Cor 13:5). We see from this text that love is self sacrificial. Love seeks the good of others at one's own expense. It will take christian love to be able to continue ministering to people who don't appreciate you, take advantage of you, or even mistreat you.

We read in 1 John 3:13-14 and 16, "Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." We shouldn't be surprised if the very people we are ministering to hate us. Once Christ saves us though, we ought to love others as Christ loved us. We ought to lay down our lives for others in love as Christ laid down His. We ought to love others at all cost, even if it costs us our lives. This is true love. This is the kind of love that should motivate us to minister.

 It took love for Elizabeth Elliot to take the gospel to the people who killed her husband. She went back and faced violent Auca tribes people because she still loved them even after they had murdered her beloved husband. This is the power of the love of Christ.

It took love for Jacob Deshazer to take the gospel back to the people who had brutally tortured him for years in POW prisons. Upon seeing the head prison guard of one of the prisons he stayed in, Jacob said,"We meet today in the presence of the God who loves and offers forgiveness to everyone." He was able to offer forgiveness to his former torturer because he had the love of Christ.

 It took love for Jesus to say,"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." as the people stood in the crowd and mocked Him. This is the kind of love it takes to fulfill your ministry.

May we be faithful ministers who seek the glory of God and who love others.

What is Self-Control?

Under Whose Control?

When the Bible mentions self-control as a fruit of the Spirit, what is it talking about? It seems that self-control would be to control one's self; however, this is not the correct definition here. In fact, to be controlled by one's self is not a challenge at all. We all do this by nature. We do what we want to do. It does not take the power of the Spirit to make us decide to take control of our lives. The original sin occurred when Adam and Eve decided to take control themselves. Clearly, Scripture is talking of something else when the term "self-control" is used.

Self control, is to have one's self under the control of the Holy Spirit. This means to have our thoughts, emotions, tongues, and actions submitted to the Holy Spirit. Self control is not just deciding to "behave". It is walking by the Spirit and having ourselves under His control. It is having the attitude of Christ who lived in perfect submission to the Father (John 5:19) and was led by the Spirit (Matt 4:1). Self-control is carried out through the power of the Spirit.

The Keys

Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, not the self. Too often, I have tried to control myself rather than walking in the power of the spirit. In order to walk in the power of the Spirit, I've found that praying and seeking direction from the Spirit are helpful. Taking time to be alone with God, asking for a greater filling of the spirit, and then walking in the Spirit's guidance and power are the keys to being self-controlled.

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16)."

Are you walking by the Spirit today? Are you being controlled by Him?

Come Away

"Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away"
Song of Solomon 2:10

Solomon wrote these words to his beloved wife. He beckoned her to come and enjoy intimacy with him away from everyone and everything else.

"O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret place of the steep pathway... let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet." Song of Solomon 2:14

He called her away with him to be alone so they could enjoy each others presence. 

Jesus spoke similar words to His disciples.

"And he said to them, 'Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.' For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat." Mark 6:31

In fact, Jesus was always slipping away to be alone with the Father. Often His disciples would search for Him because He had gone away to pray. Jesus knew the importance of coming away. He knew the sweetness of secret intimacy. 

Christ is the husband of the church (2 Cor 11:2, Is 54:5). He beckons His bride as Solomon beckoned his. 

"Come away." I hear Him say to me. "Come away from all the worries and cares in this life. Come away from your distractions and daily tasks. Come away and rest in my presence and commune with me. Come away and enjoy intimacy in my presence. " I hear Him calling, "In the secret place let me hear your voice."

How often are we in the desolate place? How often do we come away to pray? We have much more need of coming away than Jesus did. Let us imitate Christ. Can you hear Him calling? "Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and Come away. Come away. Come away."

Four Components of True Ministry

What is true ministry? What is it comprised of, and how is it accomplished? 

1. True ministry is accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit.  

Without the work of the Holy Spirit, nothing is accomplished. The Holy Spirit is not to be thought of as a necessary ingredient that is added to our efforts to prosper our ministry. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can minister to people's souls, and He uses our efforts in the work He is doing. We do not accomplish ministry; we participate in God's work.

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart form Me you can do nothing." John 15:5

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." John 6:36

2. True ministry is accomplished by prayer.

Since we have no power in ourselves to minister to people's souls, we must pray for an outpouring of the Spirit. We must pray that God would do what only He can do: change hearts, give strength, provide comfort, and build up His Church. Prayer is the key to joining the ministry God is doing. In prayer we intercede on behalf of our fellow men, and God does the work.

3.True ministry is accomplished through sharing the Word.

People do not need our wisdom or our ideas. They need God's Word and His wisdom. "The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the Word of The Lord endures forever." God's Word is never outdated. It is"the power of God unto salvation." It is sufficient to revive men's souls and to sustain them after salvation. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds form the mouth of God." Scripture is sufficient for ministering to others' various spiritual needs, and it is an indispensable tool in ministry.

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of the soul  and the spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

"All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." 

2 Timothy 3:16-17

4. True ministry is accompanied by ministry to physical needs.

Jesus set an example of caring for people's spiritual and physical needs. God also cared for His people's physical needs in the Old Testament. God knows our physical and spiritual needs and cares for both. We should do likewise. We are told to love our neighbors in Scripture. Man is both spiritual and physical. We should love their their soul and care for their body. 

Ministry to men's souls and physical needs is important. One should not be without the other. 

"If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,' and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?" James 2:17

"We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth." 1 John 3:16-18

May we be faithful ministers of the gospel, and may we faithfully minister to our fellow men through the power of the Spirit and the Word of God, praying on their behalf and caring for their physical needs.

The Reversed Effect of Self Esteem Building

It is commonly taught by psychologist that those who are insecure need to boost their self esteem. This however does not produce the desired affect. Insecurity is not caused by a lack of confidence one's self, but it is caused by placing too much confidence in yourself. Security in a being so unreliable, sinful, and constantly changing as one's self is destined to cause insecurity. It is only when all our confidence is in God that we can truly be secure. He never changes, and He knows everything. He is good, and we can trust Him. We don't need more confidence in ourselves. We need more confidence in God.