March 19, 2013 … Full-time Christian Ministry

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2013 - Day 78

Passage of the Day: Colossians 3: 23-24 [in the context of verses 22-24 [NLT] …  
22 You slaves must obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Obey them willingly because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving is Christ. 
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Contextual Study of today’s passage: Colossians, Chapter 3 [NLT] … Go to this link … 
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Reference Passage #1: Romans 12: 1 : [As Christians, we are all in full-time “service” to Christ, … slaves to Him for life – eternal life.] …[NKJV] …  
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

My Journal for Today: One of my favorite “ice-breakers” when I speak to a Christian group who has never heard me speak before is to tell them I’m trying to get to know my audience; and I ask all in the audience to stand if they consider themselves “disciples of Christ.” Of course, most – if not all – in the audience will stand. … Then I ask all who are in “full-time Christian ministry” to remain standing; and usually only a few will do so. … Then, I shake my head and I say, “I’m confused; …I thought most all of you said you were disciples of Christ; and yet there are only a few of you who say you’re “full-time” Christians in ministry. So I say, “Let me repeat that last point. Would all who are FULL-TIME [said loudly] Christian ministers please stand up.” And by this time some have figured out my ploy; and more will stand. Then, when I ask – for a third time – for all “full-time” Christian ministers to stand, and usually all in the audience will stand, understanding what I’m getting at.

And so, I ask you if you’re reading here with me, “Are you in full-time Christian ministry?” And if you’re a born-again Christian, you simply must answer affirmatively to that question, … right? And in today’s workplace ministry devotional, the author, Os Hillman, points to one of the Scriptures which brings that issue to the fore. In Colossians 3: 23-24, the Apostle Paul exhorts (no actually, he really COMMANDS) all Christians to do “whatever you [i.e., “we”] do as though you [we] were working for the Lord.” And are not all Christians under the “Great Commission” (i.e., Matt. 28: 19-20 as well, … charged to be “full-time” ministers of the gospel of Christ? Of course we are; but in this dualistic world in which we live, somehow when we say “full-time Christian Ministers,” most Christians have been duped into thinking of those who are working in the church for pay, especially those who’ve gone to seminary and have degrees, addressed as “Reverend” or “Father” or some other priestly designation. But we don’t think of ourselves as the ones who should be considered “full-time” ministers of the gospel.

As Os Hillman puts it today in his devotional blog, ”We are all in missions. Some are called to foreign lands. Some are called to the jungles of the workplace. Wherever you are called, serve the Lord in that place. Let Him demonstrate His power through your life so that others might experience Him through you TODAY and see your vocation as worship to His glory.”

I really don’t think any more need be said to any Christian reader here today, … do you? But above, I also pointed out another of the Apostle Paul’s exhortations in Romans 12: 1 (from the NKJV), which calls on ALL Christians to be living … 24/7, … giving our ALL, as “living sacrifices,” … which is our “reasonable service” to our Lord. And so, if you’re one who now considers yourself to be a “full-time” minister of the Gospel of Christ, what will you be doing in the place of your calling today?

And that certain is … NUFF SAID!!

My Prayer for Today … Lord, my Master, … give my Your grace to serve You today. … Amen