Sunday, May 29, 2011

Bezalel

"Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts." Exodus 31:1-5

Some people have the idea that a person must be a vocational minister in order to really serve God on some elevated level. This thought couldn't be further from the truth. While God does call some people to be vocational ministers, He also calls people to a vast array of other professions and equips them for those things.

Bezalel had the hand of God upon him and was given all kinds of knowledge, creativity, and craftsman oriented skills which could be used for His glory. God has similarly given each person unique abilities and empowered them to serve Him through those skills.

If you're a good teacher, do that as unto Him. If you're good at construction, do that as unto Him. If you're gifted with financial matters, serve Him in that arena. If you're artistically inclined, let Him guide your creative efforts.

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”


No matter what your job is, do it well and in a way that would glorify God. This can open doors to share with co-workers, clients, or vendors about spiritual matters. You may be the first person they've encountered who demonstrates Jesus in real life outside the walls of a church building. Many people give up on church or have just never had interest in going but would be open to listen to someone they respect in the professional world.

We are all vocational ministers. Some have the title of pastor while others have the title of accountant, nurse, salesman, police officer, waitress, or custodian. God has given you talents and abilities, use them to bring glory to Him.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Alabaster



This is a song I wrote based on the passage about the woman who anointed Jesus with an alabaster jar of perfume and cleaned his feet. See Luke 7:36-50 for the full story.

While it is written to speak to her scenario, the lyrics can apply to anyone's life in receiving forgiveness and then telling their story of freedom in Christ.

Alabaster
by: Andrew Allen

Take your jar of alabaster
pour it out upon the master
clean His feet and dry your tears
you're forgiven do not fear

Let not your heart be troubled
Let not your spirit fail
The chains of sin are broken
Go into the world and tell

He has given me life
and healed the pain
from all the things that I've done
freed me from shame

Give your heart to Him instead
and listen to the words He says
Sin is gone now you are free
Faith has saved you go in peace

Let not your heart be troubled
Let not your spirit fail
The chains of sin are broken
Go into the world and tell

He has given me life
and healed the pain
from all the things that I've done
freed me from shame

Saturday, May 07, 2011

In All Your Ways Acknowledge Him

How many times have you compartmentalized faith as a part of your life? It can be so easy to have that 5, 10, or 15 minute quiet time in the morning or at night (check it off the list), go to church for a couple hours on the weekend, and then more or less not include God in the rest of your day/week.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." "All your ways" means all, Not just some but all. On a practical level, that means staying in a constant mindset of conversation with God. As you're driving to work, before that conference call, when you're making a difficult decision, while you're standing in line at the grocery store, as you're talking with people. At all times.

When we get in this habit of praying continually -I Thessalonians 5:17, we can really involve God in all aspects of our life and not act as if he's just a minor player in it. He becomes intricately woven throughout our lives and we more clearly hear from Him as He guides our steps.

A really short but good book on this topic is The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Lasting Joy

False hope and cheap imitations of joy promoted by the world are revealed as shallow when juxtaposed with life in Christ. Lasting joy and satisfaction will only be found in fixing our eyes on Jesus and running the race of life in His power.
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