Flexibility
"Blessed are the flexible, for they shall bend and not break!"
"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."
1 Cor. 9:22-23
Requires - Humility & Selflessness
Points to ponder: We need to be open to changing our style of ministry
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! Philippians 2:3-8
I must be:
-willing to be considered unimportant
-willing to forego my agenda/schedule
14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[a] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. Philippians 2:14-16a
(Entry 3)
Ignite Study 2"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 15:5-6
"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
Points to Ponder:
- God puts others in our lives to be a blessing
(Rom. 15:5-6 the God who give endurance and encouragement......unity )
(Pr. 27:17 sharpen one another)
- God has called the church to function as one body
1 Cor. 12:20-25
Application:
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Phil. 2:14
I must be on guard against - selfish ambition
and
Look out for the interests of others
and
Consider others better than me
So counterintuitive!
"Teach me Lord to be selfless!"
Practical:
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but the shared everything they had." Act. 4:32
"Lord, teach me to think like this please. I want to have a heart that considers nothing my own!"
(Entry 2)
Ignite Study 1 - Dying to Self
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20
Notes: Christ gave himself for me / was crucified
Will I crucify myself & let Christ REIGN in me?
Will I live by faith in the One who
- loved me
- gave himself for me?
Jesus gave everything for me!
Will I trust that he is better able & more worthy of living my life than I am?
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." Rom. 12:1
Paul urges me to
"offer (my body as a living sacrifice)"
offer = willingly give up
living = alive, still useful
sacrifice = laid down, given up
Why? "in view of God's mercy"
"This is my spiritual act of worship," in response to "God's mercy" and this "sacrifice" of my "body" is made "holy and pleasing to God" because of Jesus!
It is a privilege to be able to offer my body to God. I couldn't if it weren't for Jesus making me holy!
Illustrations to Consider:
Jesus (Matt. 26:36-46)
Jesus knew & completely understood what was coming!
Perhaps he was already beginning to feel the weight of every person's sin bearing down on him!?
He knew His Father would have to turn away from him.
He longed for a way out
AND YET
He was completely obedient - completely surrendered and trusting God's will, His plan!
_________________________________________________________________________________
(Entry 1)
Yesterday Josh and I had a meeting with Pastor Steve at Potter's Field. We discussed many things regarding our personal ministry and our partnership with Potter's Field. It is so awesome getting to know the people at PFM (Potter's Field Ministries) and as I've said many times, we are thrilled to be a part of such a Great Commission, Jesus loving group of people!
One of the things we discussed was our upcoming trip to Guatemala. At the end of July, our family will be going for a week to serve with Potter's Field at their Antigua Potter's Field Kids location. We will also spend time at the Potter's Field Training Center, where the Ignite interns spend 3 months at the beginning of their year long mission commitment. We will get to sit in on some classes, spend time getting to know the interns and serving with them. We are sooo excited!
Of course being a mommy who's about to take my little boys out of the country and being a "planner" at heart, I asked a lot of questions about the logistics of our trip (i.e. what immunizations do we need to make sure we have up to date, what should we pack, etc...) In order to help with our planning, Pastor Steve gave me an Ignite Training Handbook. We won't be actually participating in Ignite, but the handbook has a lot of great information about the program. This will be so helpful in preparing for our trip, but even more so as we desire to learn more about Ignite so we can accurately represent the program to the churches where we minister.
In the handbook, there is a guide for "pre-work" for the students. It's a way for them to prepare their hearts for the upcoming time of Bible study, discipleship, training and service. There are 8 topics, each with Scriptures to study and points to consider. The suggestion is that the Ignite interns study one topic each week for the 8 weeks prior to beginning their training.
There are almost exactly 8 weeks between now and when we go to Guatemala! How perfect!?! :) So, I'm going to work these topics into my personal quiet times over the next 8 weeks in preparation for our time serving in Guat. I'll share about what I'm learning here on this page.
Stay tuned...
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