People ask me all the time how I can think of something to write about five times a week. The answer is, “God!” There was no way I could do it! I was obedient and three years later, He still gives me the words and passion. This is God’s grace and God’s goodness! I do not deserve it and I remain blown away that He could use broken me, sinful me! Again, this is HIs grace and goodness! 1 Chronicles 16:34, “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.”
At revival this past week I heard a lot about God’s grace and goodness. I was reminded that we are all a mess and God still uses us. God makes us over into a masterpiece! 2 Corinthians 5: 17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” As the pastor said, we are not bragging on ourselves but bragging on how God can use us! I love how he reminded us that if we were there it was not a coincidence. God wanted us there. When we think and believe that, I think we begin to see things that we believe were meant just for us. A gift from God brought to us by a line in a song, maybe the sermon or maybe by someone who speaks to us. Others do not know it but sometimes we may feel like it is a huge gift wrapped with just our name on it!
Look at the miracles around us everyday and you see God's goodness! People sometimes just think of miracles as turning wine into water, manna from the sky and so on. But I see miracles everyday. Look at the sunrise. Look at a flower. Look at the ocean. Look at your child. Look at a sunset. Look at how God has made you over! Look at how God has worked in other’s lives. Years ago, I decided to only praise God when I walked each morning. I could not ask for anything - just praise and I still love doing that. I thought that would be hard for 45 minutes but all you have to do is look around at creation and then think about how He has made over your life! He is the Great Masterpiece! Hebrews 2: 4, “God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
We need to be spiritual leaders and share God's grace and goodness to this famished world! We need to be spiritual leaders! I had just heard another pastor speak on this recently reminding us that we all lead and/or influence someone. We are leaders. We may lead at a church, lead a group, lead at work, lead our children or maybe we are the child leading the parents. We all lead and or influence someone. And we all need to be spiritual leaders because the people out there in this world are famished! Matthew 5: 14-16, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.“
If we ask God to help us be spiritual leaders, He will show us who to lead, equip us and transform us. We should, ALL, (that includes you and me) have a grace filled ministry! We need to commit to doing the will of God. Leadership is not easy. Paul experienced affliction in every city and imprisonment! He paid a great cost to preach the Gospel but he pressed on. Being a spiritual leader costs us discipline. When we are disciplined we train to improve our strength and self control. We grow our faith with God's Word, we spend time in prayer and praise. To prepare our souls we must prepare ourselves and let God work on and through us. If God doesn't work on me constantly all you would see is a worrier, controller, mean, proud, ugly and the list goes on. But God kills our ego and we know we are nothing without Him. "Being a spiritual leader is an eternal mission from God."
Do you believe you are God’s masterpiece?
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